User:Lwarrenwiki/sandbox/Jozef Becker

Jozef Becker is a rock drummer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been a member of indie rock and power pop bands such as Thin White Rope, True West, Game Theory, The Loud Family, and The Bye Bye Blackbirds.

Musical career
Becker grew up in Sacramento, California. While attending Rio Americano High School, he formed bands called Lobster Quadrille, Mantis, and Resistance with his longtime friend and bandmate Scott Miller.

Alternate Learning was initially formed while its original members were in high school. Miller, Becker, and Scott Gallawa began performing at Rio Americano High School under the name Alternate Learning as early as 1977. The group's self-titled first release, a four-song 7" EP, was recorded by the three original members in Miller's home recording studio, and was independently released on Rational Records in 1979.

In 1978, the band moved to Davis, California, where Miller was attending college. Bass player Carolyn O'Rourke and keyboard player Lynn Ross joined the Davis-based band, which became regionally well known for their performances in the Sacramento area, in San Francisco, and most frequently at U.C. Davis. Becker, Gallawa, and Ross left the group in 1980, with Becker citing conflicts of personality. Becker and Gallawa then formed the Les-Z-Boys with guitarist Guy Kyser.

Becker became a founding member of Thin White Rope, which was formed during a period spanning 1981 and 1982 when Becker and Kyser left the Les Z Boys to form a new group with guitarist Roger Kunkel and bass player Kevin Staydohar. The newly formed band played some of the same covers as the Les Z Boys, and also began to introduce original songs by Kyser.

In 1983, Becker briefly left Thin White Rope to join True West. He played on True West's first full-length album, Hollywood Holiday (1983). Becker also played on recordings that were later released on True West's compilations West Side Story (1989), Best Western (1990) and TV Western (1991).

He returned to Thin White Rope in 1984, and recorded a demo with Scott Miller producing. The band was signed to Frontier Records, and recorded Exploring the Axis.