Nita Strauss and fiancé Josh Villalta have assembled an all-star cast of musicians to play on a new track, “Some Assembly Required”. The song is based on one of Jason’s original demo tracks that was pitched to David Lee Roth but never got used.
Photo by Paul Haggard
Jason says: “So, I wrote this song in early 1990, hoping that David Lee Roth would want to use it. I went to Matt and Gregg Bissonette’s place and recorded it with them. It was a lot of fun. Dave passed on it. Cool, because now all these fantastic players get to jam on it.
A few years ago, Nita and Josh came over to go through some of my unreleased music to see if they wanted to do some kind of collaboration. This Christmas they surprised me with this beautiful video. Man, what a gift! Not only from them, but from everyone involved. I am such a big fan of you all!
Thank you all so very much.”
Nita says, “From the moment we went up to Jason’s house for the first time in 2015, we felt an amazing connection with Jason and his team. When we were able to have a chance to help out in some way, we jumped at the opportunity. The original idea was to do a song for my own album, but we quickly realized this could be a much bigger project and more importantly, have a bigger impact to help Jason raise awareness and funds.
We took Jason’s rough demo, set it to a click, Josh re tracked the drums and I re played the rhythm guitars. The incredible Billy Sheehan came down to the studio and played bass. From there we reached out to tons of Jason’s friends and peers, from all genres and eras, and amassed an army of friends to trade solos on this track. We left Jason’s original demo solo where it was, where it shines to this day alongside so many of the players that love and look up to him.
We were able to send this video to Jason on Christmas Day and bring some holiday cheer to him and his family! Jason loved it and christened the new song “Some Assembly Required.”
Now we are reaching out to you, the rock community, to be an ally to Jason and his family.
The ongoing struggle to find caregiver help seems to be an endless challenge. This brings stress and worry for Jason because of the out-of-pocket funds he pays, not to mention the daily pressure of just staying alive against all odds. This stress makes it difficult for any creative activity, which keeps him going.
Jason is dedicated to writing and creating music, and this is an opportunity for all of us to support him. All donations received will go directly to Jason to assist with his ongoing medical care. You can contribute by visiting The Jason Becker Special Needs Trust Donate Page.
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