MySpace a place for friends

The Biography

Jan was born on 18th November 1977. From a very young age, at music school, he studied to play the flute and guitar. Legendary artists like Paul McCartney, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi and The Beatles influenced his early years. By the age of sixteen, he was already recording his first home demos inspired by these artists. At about that time, he started to write his own music and lyrics.

Shortly after, he recorded and produced his first CD “Demo 2000”. His unique interpretation of the now classical songs by these artists as well as by Queen and U2 has become well known to his audiences across the country. As a singer and song writer, Jan was one of the top finalists in prestigeous competitions „ Bohemia Talent“ and „Zlin Talent“ in 2001. Jan performs mostly with his own band, the Blackbirds, which he founded in 2003. The song and the biography book “The Blackbird” of Paul McCartney inspired the band's name, and it has since been known as Jan's personal alter-ego and symbol. His fondness of pop-rock, an appreciation of cabaret, and a regard for rythm were mirrored in the band's early repertoir, but it also included many of his original songs. In recognition of his unique interpretation of Queen songs, the band was invited to perform at the biggest after-party concert of Queen & Paul Rodgers. Over the years, Jan made an number of appearances in various TV shows. His song "I Swear To You", in particular, was chosen by the Czech TV's program featuring young talents, and then made it into various radio stations enjoying great acclaim.

Despite engagement with the band, his performances on the musical scene remained mostly solo. He kept trying his hand in various musicals, cabarets, cafes and clasical concerts in the Czech Republic. He often played at the Prague’s prestigious piano-bar Rhapsody for devoted audiences as well ambassadors and other influential visitors including the British Prime Minister and the Czech President. As a singer, composer and an actor, Jan participated in a musical play The Hammer for Witches bringing to life its main character, Rake Marquee. Original songs that Jan wrote for the play, “One more Chance to Give” and “Foolish Things” as well as the already well known „I Swear to You” became the centrepiece of the play‘s sound track. Meanwhile, he also managed to secure small parts in movies like ”Van Helsing”, “First Daughter”, ”Henry IV”, as well as in several commercials.

Year 2006 started with his recognition as a registered author with OSA (Protective Federation of Authors). Soon after, Jan left behind most of these diverse activities and concentrated on returning to his pop-rock roots and presentation of his own songs, many of them in English due to his fans abroad. Less than two years later, he released a new single titled „Lost and Found“ and announced an upcoming album in 2008.

In May 2008, due to the popularity of his newly released singles, he was invited to perform at the international festival “Carpathia” in Poland. Other international engagements, like the Queen Convention in Hungary, and Mysliborz in Poland, followed. He also performed in Germany, Slovakia and England.

The author debut album Lost And Found

In autumn of 2008, Jan returned to the studio and completed his newest album, appropriately called “Lost and Found”. The CD was produced by a small independent label, Good Day Records, in December 2008. The album carries through pop-rock vibes, and the influence of Jan's early childhood idols is evident. It is worth noting Jan's versatility and passion for detail; besides being the author of the music and lyrics, he provided musical arrangements and programming for the CD production, and recorded most of the musical instruments. He simply wanted to be involved in every aspect as he wanted it to be conceptually beautiful. “Lost and Found” is a pop-rock album with mainly English lyrics, which besides having rythmic rock guitar rifts, has plenty of ballads that pull at the heartstrings. Above all, the CD shows the author's originality with his heart-felt message inspired by his life story and experiences, which, in his own words, make up 90% of the album. The official CD release party was held on January 19, 2009 with a live onstage performance by Jan and the Blackbirds, featuring some of the album's songs along with some of the band's other favourites. The gala occassion brought in many exclussive guests and friends. Among them, as godfathers of the album, Peter Freestone, former secretary and personal friend of the legendary Freddie Mercury; Czech actress Jitka Asterova; and singer and producer Martin France. And finally, as if the event couldn't get any better, the singer, songwriter and producer, frontman of the legendary Czech band Olympic, as well as the chairman of the Czech X-Factor TV series (Czech version of Britain's Got Talent) Petr Janda, walked in. When Petr first heard the CD he accepted an invitation and, by the evening's end, Petr offered Jan the chance to be the opening act for the Olympic's upcoming series of concerts.

Jan is passionate about his music. “If the public buys the the album, I will be delighted, but if not, I'am really happy just gigging about in small clubs”, he adds. Knowing that he is a musician who likes best travelling and live concerts, his fans can soon look forward to a string of his performances at clubs not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad.