His piano chords draw you in, making you wonder if the legendary Billy Joel is back making music, but it’s senior Beck Beasley playing classic songs from the 70s while he also jams to his original songs.
Over the past year, Beasley has been playing music on Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitch, and Youtube trying to grow his fandom beyond the Paso Robles High School community. Around campus, his peers know him as the guy who passionately plays the black and white piano on TikTok, but behind that screen, he is an inspiring young artist who is following his dream of making music.
Beasley grew up around music with his dad being in band all four years of high school and after graduating moved on to play alto sax at Fresno State college from 1981-1983. He would then go on to play in the Fresno City college band from 1983-1984.
“I grew up listening to John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Elton John, all these big artists. So I got into music by my dad just playing his original music and the classics in the house which inspired my sound of music I produce now,” Beasley said.
In 5th grade, Beasley was forced into piano lessons by his dad which got him familiar with the piano. Through his lessons he learned classic songs which he hated but he did it for his dad. In 2020 when Covid-19 had started and sent the world into a shut down, Beasley would not then touch a piano till November of his freshmen year.
During Christmas break of 2022, Beasley’s family had traveled to Las Vegas for their vacation leaving him, which is when he decided he wanted to start practicing the piano again. A few days prior, Beasley had listened to one of his favoirtes, Live or Let Die by Paul McCartney and wanted to learn the song to amaze his dad. Beasley would then practice for the next 3 days and when his dad came back from his trip, he was astonished by his work.
Since then, Beasley has taken those big time artists and adapted their sound to his own. When it comes to making his music, he goes through a long process that helps him produce.
”When I am creating my own songs, I normally sit at the piano and start playing tunes, and once I hear a melody, I repeat the keys, then the lyrics come to me,” Beasley said.
Once his songs are formed and finished, he goes to Tik Tok to post to see what his fans will think. Beasley has produced over 15 original songs in the last year and has even formed a band with local PRHS students. The “Beck Beasley Band” consists of Christian Serna, Seth Esparza, Ayden Moreno, and Mae Hollen. These talented students have been working together to make music as well as make a name for themselves through our Paso community. The Beck Beasley Band has earned gigs throughout town and even played at our elementary schools like Pat Butler.
For most highschoolers, music is a hobby or a class you take, but for Beasley, it’s a passion he wants to pursue for his future career. For years Beasley’s passion has been to make and create music as well as grow his awareness through social media. As some may view a music career as a job nearly impossible to start, Beasley believes “If you keep learning your instrument and learning the process on how to make music, after that comes the non stop dedication”.
