American Bass Player Beaver Felton | Inspirational Musicians | Musicians with Disabilities

Beaver Felton

Location: Orlando, FL

Challenge: Paraplegic

A native of Savannah, Georgia, Beaver Felton began playing bass at age 13 and spent his teenage years jamming in local cover bands. In 1979, Beaver moved to Orlando, Florida, having gained a reputation as one of the hottest bass players in the Southeast. While working in several bands in the Orlando area, Beaver got the idea for his Superchops bass instruction series, which he began marketing to several music publishers.

Beaver has been named as a musical influence by thousands of bassists worldwide including many top players such as Will Lee, Dave LaRue, Victor Wooten, Bill Dickens, Randy Coven, and many others.

On June 26, 1985, while driving to a gig, Beaver was in an accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Ironically, at this time, Beaver’s career was about to rise dramatically. Just prior to the accident, Guitar Player magazine had chosen to feature Beaver in Mike Varney’s 'Spotlight' column.

With his newfound credibility, Beaver was able to acquire some endorsement deals and launch his Superchops series. He developed and marketed several Superchops audio and videotapes, as well as other educational resources for Hot Licks and Hal Leonard.

Beaver is well known as the Owner and Founder of Bass Central, a music instrument store specializing in high-end equipment for bass players. The store is considered the #1 store of its type in the world.

Both Beaver's playing ability and the instructional course have received critical acclaim from virtually every major trade magazine in the US as well as from publications in Germany, Japan, and Australia. He has also written more than 100 educational columns, published in such international trade magazines as Bass Player, Bassics, Bass Frontiers, Guitar World, Guitar School, Guitar For The Practicing Musician, The Music Paper, Buzz Magazine, and The Monitor.

Beaver started playing “air drums” to Beatle songs at a very early age. Several years later, he played drums for a short while in his first band when he was about 12 years old. Beaver says "I had to borrow the drums, since I never owned any". Shortly thereafter, a friend, George Carellas, taught him a few things on guitar in a Kmart and Beaver was hooked! He adds "I quit drums and bought a cheapie Harmony guitar at Woolworth’s. Shortly after that, the band decided they needed a bassist, so I got “drafted.” At first I played bass parts on the guitar, but soon got a $100 import bass. I still have it, forty years later"!

Beaver's early influences were Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, Chris Squire – he adds "still my favorite to this day" – Stanley, Wyzard (from Mother’s Finest) and Jaco, and Will Lee. He says "Later in my career, it was Billy Sheehan, Vic Wooten, Dave LaRue and a handful of others. If you dig deep, most bass players will realize they’ve been influenced been many players, even on a sub-conscious level".

School dances and church get-togethers were Beaver's very first experiences playing out. Then he started playing clubs at age 15. He adds "At my very first bar gig, a dive in Savannah, I looked about 11 years old. I was playing the first set and out came the strippers! Surprise! Then for the next few years, I played lots of other clubs, parties, dances, weddings, battle-of-the-bands, etc. I also did studio work in my later teens".

Beaver went on the road at age 21 and started making a name for himself in the Southeast and Midwest, playing every type of club, including the 'Chitlin’ Circuit', the dance/hotel circuit, and the rock circuit. He played six to seven nights per week, forty-nine or fifty weeks per year, for nearly a decade. He adds "One band I was in from ’79 to ’80, Mantra, signed a record deal on a major label. When that deal 'went south', I changed groups for the next four years, still 'chasing the dream' with original material".

Beaver was an Olympic-style lifter, not a bodybuilder or powerlifter. His best friend, George Carellas, got him into weightlifting. He adds "I entered the gym my first day, a 'shrimp' at 85 pounds at age 15. I just wanted to gain some weight and muscle, but was soon attracted to competitive lifting, known as Olympic-style, which includes the overhead lifts: snatch and clean & jerk. This is the style you see in the Olympic games".

Beaver trained several hours per day, six days per week and started competing at 16. He was in the 52-kilo flyweight division, weighing 114-and-a-half pounds. Two years later, He won the USA Junior Nationals in Fairfax, Virginia. The following year, He took first place and won Triple Gold Medals at the USA Nationals in Culver City, California, becoming national champion at age 19, fulfilling a personal goal. He adds "I could have gone to The Olympics the following year, but that would’ve required steroids in order to compete on that level, which I opted not to do".

Training with weights taught Beaver discipline, sacrifice, short- and long-term goal setting and progressive training methods. He incorporated this exact methodology when working on his bass technique and still do to this day when woodshedding. Howard Cohen was his lifting coach. Beaver adds "I must mention his name because he is, by definition, one of the most important people in my life. He indirectly played a role in my development as a bassist".

Talking about his accident and finding motivation, Beaver says "After being a champion weightlifter earlier in life, as well as a stage performer for the previous fifteen years, then ending up a paraplegic in a split second, I actually wanted to just 'clock out'".

He adds "Obviously, I didn’t do that and the reason is because I had an enormous support group, consisting of friends, relatives and fellow musicians. Several national acts participated in benefits for me in Florida. Developing the instructional course gave me a reason to keep going, as well".

Since Beaver could still play, he formed a band called Shut Up & Drive with a bunch of old friends. They played around Savannah. That band was extremely popular and successful from 1986-1992 and it allowed Beaver to play regularly. He adds "I often refer to playing music as my only link to sanity, which was certainly the case in the first few years after my injury".

Around the same time, Beaver also had the momentum of having just received international recognition in Guitar Player magazine by producer, Shrapnel Records owner and talent scout Mike Varney, right before the accident. Mike had also discovered many great players, like Billy Sheehan and Yngwie Malmsteen. He says "Being featured was what I consider to be the 'first domino' in my career from that point forward. I still thank Mike for choosing me out of hundreds of players from all over the world. Guitarist Tony MacAlpine and I were actually featured side by side in the same issue, August 1985".

Before Beaver's accident, he’d been playing on the road full-time six to seven nights per week for nearly a decade. He’d already been through a record-deal-gone-bad on a major label with a well-known producer. He was in his late 20s and started questioning whether he’d really make it as a recording/touring artist. He adds "I had to consider what would be my long-term financial stability", so along came Superchops.

Beaver adds "Well before my accident, I’d always taught privately on the side, even while touring, and was in demand as an instructor. So I figured this may be an avenue to pursue, but on a larger basis. I mentally laid out a teaching system, created a few sample lessons on tape and sent them to several major instructional companies, such as Hot Licks, Star Licks, etc. They all responded with, “You’re a great player with great teaching methods, but you’re not well known,” so I didn’t have the credentials to attract sales. Again, this was before being featured in Guitar Player and before my accident, all of which happened in the same month, ironically, in 1985".

After the accident, since Beaver's disability pretty much terminated his career on the road, he had the time to develop the audiotape lessons and created my own instructional company, Superchops 4 Bass. He adds "With the credibility and visibility from Guitar Player, now I had an angle. I also entered and did well in solo contests by D’Addario, Guitar Player and Marshall Amplification, all of which added to my reputation on a large scale. Additionally, I played at a number of NAMM shows as a featured performer for Carvin, ART and Hipshot, as well a number of music store clinics, all of which helped my recognition even more".

Beaver produced, marketed, advertised and finally released the original audiocassette course in 1986. The course received great reviews, was used and endorsed by a bunch of famous players, such as Bill Dickens, Roy Vogt, Wally Voss, Vic Wooten, Randy Coven, Dave LaRue and Will Lee, and became a success.

The original course was about eleven separate audiocassette lessons. Due to the success of those, he expanded to nineteen. Afterwards, he produced videos, CDs, books, DVDs, etc. The lessons were all distributed internationally, which got his name out there even more. This attracted numerous endorsements and interviews and resulted in a lot of high visibility in musician trade mags, etc. Beaver adds "I remember once seeing myself in three different locations of one particular issue of Bass Player magazine, which I felt was somewhat of a distinction. Great for my ego!"

Beaver Felton took a tragic situation, got over feeling bad for himself and turned his life around and into a success story. An inspiration to all of us, both as a player and a person who refused to accept what life had handed to him.

Beaver Felton - Superchops