It is with a heavy heart that we inform you all of the very sad news that our amazing friend and talented colleague Kevin Becka passed away yesterday, 19th May 2019 after a very brave fight with pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed just before Christmas of 2018. The audio production industry has lost a true legend and our thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin’s family, colleagues and friends.

Russ Hughes has summed up all our thoughts with this. “He was a huge talent but best of all he was one of the most decent people I knew in the industry. Even until the end he continued to care about others.”

This memorial has been published on Kevin’s Facebook wall…

He started playing the guitar at 11 years old and aspired to become a famous guitar player. He eventually joined a band at the age of 16, called "1812," playing the guitar as well as performing vocals and writing songs. This time in his life gifted him with strong and faithful friendships that would continue almost 50 years until his passing. In the years to follow, he performed in a variety of bands while living in Tempe, Arizona, and later in the Los Angeles, California area.

Eventually, he realized he had a passion for engineering, while working on construction crews building recording studios throughout the Los Angeles area, and later becoming an assistant engineer in one of the studios he helped build. Kevin worked with many well-known artists on successful albums (Kenny G., Quincy Jones, Michael Bolton, George Benson, Natalie Cole, George Lynch, and many others).

In addition to becoming a well-respected music engineer, Kevin took on the role of writing for different music-related trade magazines, settling in with Mix Magazine as the Tech Editor in 2003.

Kevin was a teacher at heart and his greatest satisfaction came from teaching music engineering to students for many years at the Conservatory of Recording Arts (Arizona) and then later moving to Nashville, Tennessee, to help set up The Blackbird Academy in Nashville (he calls this his biggest lifetime achievement), and teaching eager students the fine details of engineering in the real world of music. He always believed in quality of a person's work and tried to share that with everyone he taught.

Another passion of Kevin's was bicycling as a hobby when the weather and time allowed, and finally his most proud cycling achievement in 2018 organizing and participating in a 500-mile fundraiser along the coast of California, inspired by the brave recovery of a student paralyzed after being hit by a texting driver while cycling home from a day at Blackbird Academy. Kevin felt great pride about the event and the team that was put together to pull it all off; and was personally inspired by the student, David, who actually participated in the ride as well with his new wife on a tandem bicycle (dubbed "Blue Steel") that Kevin had gifted to them for the ride. After Kevin and Helen had ridden it for several years they decided this was the perfect chance for it to move on to better things.

Kevin was a devoted husband to wife, Helen, and stepfather to Marshall and Conner. He loved being a step-dad and a "daddy" to his beloved dogs (all rescues), including fostering several dogs through the years, and was known to bring one of the dogs to work for "test day" at Blackbird.

With his departure from this earthly existence Kevin leaves behind: Helen (wife), Marshall and Conner (step-sons), Loretta (mother), Rorie (brother), Mary (sister-in-law), Anne (sister), and Tim (brother-in-law). Nieces and nephews: Matt, Megan, Amalea, Aleana, Andrew, Aesher, Arelea, Apollo, Jacob, and Joshua; and extended family (cousins). Fur-kids: Dude, Leo, Sophie, and Liza.

Kevin most certainly was met upon his passing by his beloved pet dogs (Rexy, Bella, Amy) as this hope brought him great comfort in the last days of his life, as well as those family members who have died before him. His expressed wish for friends he has left behind is to remember him through a donation to Agape Animal Rescue (Nashville, TN), in his name. In this way, he feels he will continue to live on and save other dogs like those that made his remaining days and hours bearable. Dying in his own bed at home with his dogs and family around him was his true desire and could not have been made possible without Avalon Hospice Care and the kind nurse, chaplain, and staff that attended and comforted him throughout his last months and final days/hours.

Thank you to all friends who have enriched his life and made him smile, laugh, and wrinkle his face in "that funny way" to be silly. His sense of humor always lightened the moment, even during initial diagnosis of cancer, chemotherapy treatments, and final palliative care/hospice at home.

A service with family and close friends will be scheduled at a later date.

A Selection Of The Great Articles Kevin Becka Produced For The Production Expert Communities

As our tribute to all that Kevin stood for and believed in and his generous spirit in sharing his knowledge and experience with all he came in contact with, here is a selection of the content he freely shared with this community. We will miss you Kevin…