Thad Beckman
 
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"Beckman plays an engaging blend of folk, singer-songwriter and blues music. Not everyone can pull off such a combination, but Beckman has chops, writing talent, a big personality and a bag full of true stories which all dovetail for a cool show. Check out Beckman's latest album,'Carry Me Back', for proof." ( Jim Beal, San Antonio Express-News) "With a voice that rasps like shoe leather on roadside gravel, and a finger-picked guitar on which notes fly by like railroad ties under a fast moving freight, not to mention a long history of vagabonding behind him, Thad Beckman seems ideally suited to the wandering troubadour's tradition. The Oregon native has been gigging around Austin for the past couple of years, but this is his first CD, and the portraits it paints are long on disillusionment, only occasionally leavened with moments of abandon. Beckman sings of lost loves ("When the Sun Goes Down") and lost ideals, ("Song for JFK," "Freedom Slowly Sets on America"). When sorrow's coin turns to reflect a sunnier flip side, it is in sprightly blues-flavored tunes such as "Well Bottom Blues" and "Headin' On Down The Road Awhile." Occasionally, Beckman balances the two emotional landscapes very nicely indeed, as in the lovely and wistful title track. Though he doesn't expand the wandering minstrel's canon either musically or lyrically, he paints some detailed portraits ("Dust Bowl Madonna," "Pretty Senorita,") and turns a few nice phrases ("All them colors that I thought had died/ I can see 'em shinin' right there in your eyes"). File "Carry Me Back" under postcards from the road." ( John T. Davis, Austin-American Statesman)
"Thad Beckman covers a fair amount of territory on Carry Me
Back,taking his accomplished guitar and sincere voice and tackling tunes from bounce
to blues, from Delightful Ditties to Deep Brooding Ballads. Witness "Well Bottom
Blues" and You're Just So Appealin'": both are quirky fingerpickin' songs that
sound distinctly like the tunes that might pop into your head when you're on your way to
buy gumballs. Compare "Freedom Slowly Sets On America" and "When The Sun
Goes Down": Both are somber, almost sinister songs, heavily invested with a very
basic despair born deep in the belly. While the disc does end with a measure of cheer,
it's the darker mood that prevails on Carry Me Back, with Beckman coming off as a
vaguely gloomy truthseeker and self-described lost soul. Sometimes it works ("Song
For JFK" is a somnolent and spacious gem) and sometimes it doesn't ("Where Do I
Belong?" is a touch over-wrought), but there's scarcely a song on here that doesn't
carry a mood with it. Quite a few carry a growl as well. Solid Stuff from a good
songwriter." (Jay Hardwig, The Austin Chronicle ) |
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For Booking Information:
Thad Beckman @ 503-774-5195 or thad@thadbeckman.com
3950 SE Francis #11
Portland, OR 97202
