The FREEMAN Friday Night Live

Local singer Beck lets wind carry her

Performer who fell

into music career

now loves it

By Matthew Olson

Special to Timeout

Tracy Beck never imagined her music would be heard anywhere outside of her living room or be performed in front of anyone at all.

But Beck is happy to see the enjoyment other people have been finding in her very personal music after three years of performing in front of crowds and back-to-back appearances at Summerfest,

A life in music and live performances were never Beck's idea of how her life would end up. The Brookfield native had just moved back to Wisconsin in 2001 when she found herself needing an outlet for her ideas.

"I had always been involved in poetry, but I needed to fill a void in my life, so I started writing songs, " Beck says.

Beck was looking to hear what her music sounded like and a coworker led her to Darnell Ellis of Safire Records.

"I wanted to record a demo for myself and everything just trickled down, " Beck says. "I never planned this career, it just hap-

to the Jackson Browne song of the same name) which was originally written about her tendency to keep her car's gas tank near empty, but she says people can also interpret it personally and emotionally to their lives. Beck has had a chance the last two years to expand her audience with performances at Summerfest.

Right now, Beck is much more concerned about finishing work on her second CD, Into the Sun, a 13-song follow-up to her debut. Let the Wind Carry Me. The album contains another wide mix of music and emotions. Beck says. She also is sending some of her songs to a music publisher and has ambitions of hitting Austin and New York in a tour next year.

And for a person who never dreamed of a musical career, Beck has a very clear and permanent goal now.

"I live for performing it's my passion, " Beck says. "I want to do this forever. "

Submitted photo

Tracy Beck will perform Friday at the last Freeman Friday Night Live of the summer.

penned. "

What that recording session revealed was a personal, relatable voice and a wide-ranging musical sense.

"She's very unpredictable in her music, " Ellis, now Beck's producer, manager and percussionist, says. "She doesn't give you the same four by four meter time you often hear in female pop. "

Beck's musical style ranges from blues and folk to country and swing and touches on many aspects of Americana music in between. She took quickly to performing, thanks mostly to being

able to see the reactions her music was able to generate.

"A lot of the songs I write make people feel good and people can relate to them, " Beck says. "I love to see people having a good time. "

Beck uses her personal experiences as the basis for most of her songs, but she believes her song-writing style does not make these tales exclusionary.

"A lot of my blues songs people can grab onto because they're light-hearted and it's all about personal relationships, " Beck says.

Beck's example is her song "Running on Empty, " (no relation



The FREEMAN Friday Night Live


Local singer Beck lets wind carry her

Performer who fell into music career now loves it By Matthew Olson Special to Timeout Tracy Beck never imagined her music would be heard anywhere outside of her living room or be performed in front of anyone at all. But Beck is happy to see the enjoyment other people have been finding in her very personal music after three years of performing in front of crowds and back-to-back appearances at Summerfest, A life in music and live performances were never Beck's idea of how her life would end up. The Brookfield native had just moved back to Wisconsin in 2001 when she found herself needing an outlet for her ideas. "I had always been involved in poetry, but I needed to fill a void in my life, so I started writing songs, " Beck says. Beck was looking to hear what her music sounded like and a coworker led her to Darnell Ellis of Safire Records. "I wanted to record a demo for myself and everything just trickled down, " Beck says. "I never planned this career, it just hap-			to the Jackson Browne song of the same name) which was originally written about her tendency to keep her car's gas tank near empty, but she says people can also interpret it personally and emotionally to their lives. Beck has had a chance the last two years to expand her audience with performances at Summerfest. Right now, Beck is much more concerned about finishing work on her second CD, Into the Sun, a 13-song follow-up to her debut. Let the Wind Carry Me. The album contains another wide mix of music and emotions. Beck says. She also is sending some of her songs to a music publisher and has ambitions of hitting Austin and New York in a tour next year. And for a person who never dreamed of a musical career, Beck has a very clear and permanent goal now. "I live for performing it's my passion, " Beck says. "I want to do this forever. "
	Submitted photo Tracy Beck will perform Friday at the last Freeman Friday Night Live of the summer.
	penned. " What that recording session revealed was a personal, relatable voice and a wide-ranging musical sense. "She's very unpredictable in her music, " Ellis, now Beck's producer, manager and percussionist, says. "She doesn't give you the same four by four meter time you often hear in female pop. " Beck's musical style ranges from blues and folk to country and swing and touches on many aspects of Americana music in between. She took quickly to performing, thanks mostly to being	able to see the reactions her music was able to generate. "A lot of the songs I write make people feel good and people can relate to them, " Beck says. "I love to see people having a good time. " Beck uses her personal experiences as the basis for most of her songs, but she believes her song-writing style does not make these tales exclusionary. "A lot of my blues songs people can grab onto because they're light-hearted and it's all about personal relationships, " Beck says. Beck's example is her song "Running on Empty, " (no relation