With his latest release, “Mountain Born,” David Beck ruminates on a soulful lifelong connection to the Sierra Nevada.
“Mountains bring you peace,” he says. “Mountains bring you serenity. They bring you comfort. I hope my music can bring you that wherever you’re at. It’s for the mountain lovers, the conservationists.”
Mountain Folk Micro Fest
Sept. 11 and 12 | Lost Marbles Ranch | Beckwourth | tahoemountainfolk.com
Beck’s rootsy sound takes a cue from contemporary country artists including Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers as the hillside poet explores subdued folk rock lyricism through the eyes of a Tahoe native, his signature baritone voice exploring what it means to be a 21st Century mountain man.
Watch David Beck sing “Lake Tahoe” with cellist Colombe Tresan
by the docks of Donner Lake.
Born at Tahoe Forest Hospital in 1982, Beck has been living, working and playing in the Tahoe Sierra all his life. He is collaborating with Alibi Ale Works to couple his most recent release with some local brew.
“You drink the beer and listen to the song,” he says. “I’m trying to pair it like cheese and wine. I suggest listening while enjoying the Contradiction.”
Something of a paradox himself, Beck specializes in place-based narrative compositions delivered in a down-home, yet emotive musical style. He’s Northern California’s answer to John Denver singing praises to the dramatic Western landscape, yet in a slightly darker and more whimsical style.
“I don’t understand why a woman or a man would want to live amongst the chaos in the bottomless pit of flat land,” he sings on “Mountain Man” in a low croon that’s one part John Prine, one part Crash Test Dummies.
Songs like “No Friends on a Powder Day” and “Biggest Little City in the World” chronicle the experiences of growing up the area.
“I have found that telling stories from truth and experience sits with the listener,” he says. “I’m not faking anything; it’s who I am. It’s my true nature. I like to tell stories like you’re sitting around the campfire and bring people’s imagination into the music.”
After graduating from North Tahoe High School in 2001, Beck began a career in construction. He learned a lot from his father, pioneering adventure filmmaker Craig Beck. Surfing the seasonal booms and busts of a mountain town, he eventually saved up for a down payment on a house in Cisco Grove. While he always wanted to play music at heart, he was working hard just to make ends meet.
“It was the 40-hour grind,” he says. “I just wanted to play my acoustic at a restaurant, but it would be impossible because I would work so much. We were paycheck to paycheck.”
Eventually, he left a secure job to go on his own with Beck Construction. He and his wife, Camille, also created a wakeboard and apparel company, Tahoe Native. While managing his own business is a commitment, it provides Beck the flexibility to work on his music.
“When I die, I want people to know I shared as much as I could,” he says. “I’m not just this guy swinging a hammer. I want my kids to know who I really was. I consider myself a poet and songwriter. That’s the reason why I’m on this Earth.”
The Becks are expecting their first son in June, who will be named Kai Clayton Beck in memory of Beck’s brother, Clay, a popular ski coach at Alpine Meadows who died in a plane crash in 2008.
“People come to me and say I’m so lucky,” says Beck. “I am lucky, but I’ve worked my ass off. I’m not a trust fund baby. I’m not one of these people who just sits at a coffee shop and chills. I sacrifice my work to pursue my music. I want people to know that I’m genuine. All I do is work, write music, be with my wife, sleep and eat. I’m a family man. It’s just who I am.”
On Sept. 11 and 12, the Becks will host the 2nd Mountain Folk Micro Fest at Lost Marbles Ranch in Beckwourth. The one-night festival features live music, local beer, yoga and art as it helps to support Sierra Nevada Alliance and Clean Up the Lake.
In another one of his new songs, “Gravel Road,” Beck talks about the immense changes facing our region and the accompanying threats to the natural world.
“It’s the most change I’ve seen my entire life of my 38 years in Truckee,” says Beck. “The message I would send to any newcomer is: Please tread lightly. We all love the mountains. Let’s treat them fairly.” | David Beck Productions on SoundCloud, tahoemountainfolk.com
