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Jeffery Straker
Pop / Indie / Alternative

video 'Hypnotized' on MUCH MORE MUSIC Canada!



Regina/Toronto,
Canada

Profile Views:  85631




Last Login:  7/4/2009
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   Contacting Jeffery Straker

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   Jeffery Straker: General Info
Member Since1/2/2007
Band Websitewww.jeffstraker.com
Band Members

Me and 88 little chromatic keys who keep me very very very very busy.

BOOKINGS: Asia management/bookings: contact Caroline- query@eastwestentgrp.com

Join Jeffer's Mailing List

NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'HYPNOTIZED' Hypnotized - Jeffery Straker



iLike jeffery straker


BAND MEMBERS IN LIVE SHOWS

Often, I'm joined by Rob D - bass, Jill Straker - backing vocals, Kory Gibbs - drums, Amy Borton - cello and Sam Minevich & Cody Gamracy - guitar


BAND ON THE ALBUM

Drums: Randy Cook (Five for Fighting, Chantal Kreviazuk, Kelly Clarkson), Guitars: Justin Abedin (Jacksoul, Amanda Marshall), Bass: producer Justin Gray. Piano: Jeffery Straker

PRODUCER

Justin Gray produced the album Step Right Up at ZEN in Los Angeles

Special thanks to the Saskatchewan Arts Board, SaskMusic, and FACTOR for the much appreciated financial help with this album.


Jeffery Straker performing 'Tykie's Comin Out'



LIVE PERFORMANCE OF 'SNOWFLAKE' - ON TOUR '08



SPECIAL K - Jeffery Straker feat. Kate Proctor on Opera Solo


BRING JEFFERY TO YOUR TOWN BY CLICKING BELOW





Events by Eventful
InfluencesElton John
Beethoven
Ben Folds
JS Bach
Rufus Wainwright
Grieg
Freddy Mercury
Debussy
Ray Charles
Joni Mitchell
Mika
Gordon Lightfoot
Scissor Sisters
My mom (she plays a mean piano)
Norah Jones
and possibly a bit of Billy Joel

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Sounds LikeElton John and Rufus Wainwright meeting Freddie Mercury and Ben Folds at a late night cabaret OR....

A guy from Canada, playing the piano, singing, writing pop songs and really really really enjoying it. After live shows people usually say they hear bits of Elton John, Mika, Freddy Mercury, & sometimes George Michael in the vocals and music. I honestly think it all depends on how much they've had to drink.
Record Labelunsigned
Type of LabelUnsigned


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   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Jul 5 2009 7:00P
Dundas Square - Dignitas Int’l Race for Dignity Toronto, Ontario
Jul 16 2009 7:00P
Slacks - Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Jul 19 2009 5:00P
Sask rural History and Culture Ass’n Shaunavon, Saskatchewan
Jul 25 2009 2:15P
Bruno Cherry Festival - SK Bruno, Saskatchewan
Jul 25 2009 8:00P
Prince Albert - house concert Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Jul 26 2009 1:00P
Bruno Cherry Festival - SK Bruno, Saskatchewan
Jul 29 2009 7:00P
The Roundhouse Arts Centre Vancouver, British Columbia
Jul 31 2009 8:00P
Davie Street Festival Vancouver Pride time tba Vancouver, British Columbia
Aug 1 2009 3:00A
Punnichy Homecoming Punnichy, Saskatchewan
Aug 14 2009 7:00P
Private Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Aug 30 2009 5:00P
Ottawa Pride Festival, ON Ottawa, Ontario
Sep 8 2009 8:00P
Hugh’s Room - Toronto Toronto, Ontario
Sep 24 2009 7:30P
Lloydminster Allied Arts Council- OSAC tour Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
Sep 25 2009 7:30P
Kindersley & District Arts Council - OSAC tour Kindersley, Saskatchewan
Oct 2 2009 12:00P
Carlton Comprehensive High School Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Oct 2 2009 8:00P
House Concert Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Nov 5 2009 7:30P
Moosomin & District Arts Council- OSAC tour Moosomin, Saskatchewan
Feb 6 2010 7:30P
Biggar District Arts Council- OSAC tour Biggar, Saskatchewan
Feb 21 2010 2:00P
Melville Arts Council - OSAC tour Melville, Saskatchewan
Feb 25 2010 7:30P
Shaunavon Arts Council - OSAC tour Shaunavon, Saskatchewan
Feb 26 2010 7:30P
Leader and District Arts Council - OSAC tour Leader, Saskatchewan
Feb 27 2010 7:30P
Watrous Area Arts Council - OSAC tour Watrous, Saskatchewan
Feb 28 2010 2:00P
Quill Plains Regional Arts Council; Foam Lake Branch - OSAC tour Foam Lake, Saskatchewan

Jeffery Straker's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

An incredible painting inspired by a Straker song  (view more)

Recent press on my music video climbing the Canadian charts  (view more)

I've made the top 10 on Canada's Much More Music! can we get higher?  (view more)

Vote for my video on the Much More Music Top 10 count down  (view more)

now on Much More Music Canada - April '09  (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

   About Jeffery Straker

REVIEWS
“Rufus Wainwright, as well as k.d. lang ... are among the Canadians making essential and beautiful music. Add the name Jeffery Straker to that list. Straker’s strong and playful vocals combined with his considerable songwriting talents make his debut album “Step Right Up” an invitation that’s nearly impossible to resist. "
- Chicago Free Press - Gregg Shapiro (Jan 09)
"Cycling through (Jeffery's) record I could not help but wonder why he’s not already a star in this country. Over time, he’s evolved into a fine songwriter with great lyrical sensibilities. His music is a marvelous marriage of style and substance. Straker is very much an artist to watch."
- Canadian Musician Magazine (Jan/Feb 09)
"There’s so much energy and fun here the effect is almost psychedelic, like being drunk on a rainbow. A set of wickedly theatrical piano-driven chamber pop songs, Step Right Up is in every jubilant note a manifesto of escape."
- Oxyfication.net (Nov 08)
“Musically delicious”
- Outlooks Magazine, National / Canada (Aug ‘08)
“Another great disc of music!! I am always happy to spin good tunes, thanks for continuing to make them!”
- Dan Reynish - Host/Producer, CBC Radio (June ‘08)
'With Elton John ala Tiny Dancer inspired pianos and MIKA vocals, you can’t help but sit up and take a listen.'
- www.spotthegroove.com (Sept 08)
‘I was enthralled by your performance, as was the audience. Never have I seen a crowd erupt with such applause, appreciation and enthusiasm’
- Marilyn Sigda CJTR 91.3fm (June ‘08)
‘Your music has great energy and you’re a superb performer’
- Sandra Butel – Artistic Director, Regina Folk Festival (May ’07)

THE STORY BEHIND THE NEW ALBUM
Hear Jeffery speak to journalist Val Williams about how the songs for the new album came to be - a back alley, an outdoor cabaret at dusk, being jumped from behind by a herd of side-show freaks...


BUY THE ALBUM ON I-TUNES

buy
jeff's music on iTunes!

AND NOW FOR SOME LIGHT BIO READING MATERIAL...

NEW NEWS
Top 10 Video on Much More Music Canada (Apr/May 09)
Regional winner, Canadian radiostar songwriting competition (Jan 09)
2008 Toronto Independent Music Award nomination – Best Pop Album
Opened for MEL C (Spice Girls) – TORONTO (summer ’08)
Number 11 on Toronto's Proud fm Top 20 chart (summer ’08)

A guy from the sweeping prairies of Canada, who was born under a piano, and hasn't crawled away from one since. He spends a lot of his time between Toronto and Regina but mostly under pianos there as well. A recent listener did a great job of capturing Jeffery's sound with this phrase:
"it's like the offspring of Elton John and Rufus Wainwright meeting the offspring of Ben Folds and Freddie Mercury in a cabaret”

There you have it - if you put all of them in a blender and hit puree you'd hear what we're talking about. His piano playing draws from many styles including rock, pop & cabaret and blends in his distinct tenor voice. His range runs from the highest falsettos to deep rumbling bass notes and is delivered with lively stage flair.

Musically, Jeffery is an actual descendant of both Beethoven and Chopin (see his website for the full true story!) and the piano-man recently released his new chamber-pop album "Step Right Up" produced by Justin Gray (LA/Toronto). He's now on the road with his unique brand of piano-vocal music and people are taking note of his tunes.

Being the son of an auctioneer and a church organist might explain why he enjoys making music for an audience. His musical mother recognized his talents and had him in piano lessons by age 6. At his peak Jeffery practiced piano 4-5 hours a day and earned a degree in piano performance from Trinity College of Music (England) when he was just 19. But he was also listening to his parents’ Elton John and Fats Domino LPs which began seeping into his soul and his fingers started to produce something different. “I remember learning the intro to Tiny Dancer, and the riff to Blueberry Hill and feeling like I’d slipped into a new skin”.

He spent 2006/2007 touring his previous album “Songs from Highway 15”- a collection of piano-folk-pop songs inspired by growing up on the Canadian prairies. FACTOR hopped on board to support the album, while CBC radio helped grow his fan base. Having performed over 200 shows in 2 years he created some good momentum for his music with tour stops including Canada, China, Ireland, and Panama (touring there with the Canadian Embassy). He also performed in New York City with a nomination for ‘Recording of the Year’ at the Outmusic awards. He sold almost 2000 CDs - quite a feat for an indie artist in Canada - and reviews said things like:
“One of the hottest entertainers on the Canadian prairie music scene” -Northeast Sun, Ryan Land.

Now Jeffery has released his new chamber-pop album “Step Right Up”, produced by Justin Gray (Joss Stone, Emma Bunton, Jacksoul) in Toronto & Los Angeles. The two met at a songwriting workshop and with the pairing Straker’s artful songs met Gray’s incomparable pop-touch that has helped him sell 20 million+ albums worldwide. The recording features industry heavyweights Randy Cook on drums (Five For Fighting, Chantal Kreviazuk, Kelly Clarkson), and Justin Abedin on guitar (Amanda Marshall, Jacksoul). It also features a tuba and a string section caressing Straker’s cabaret leanings. And to tap into more musical vibes while recording in LA, Jeffery slept at the famed Alta Cienega Motel in room 32 where Jim Morrison slept during his Hollywood stint in the late 60’s.

The songs create interesting and colourful narrative snapshots for the listener. “Flat Lines” paints the picture of a friend as she struggles with bi-polar disorder. The 3rd verse chases her as she steals a black-forest cake from a Tim Horton’s and feeds it to a statue of Alexander the Great. The gospel-tinged “Tykie’s Comin Out” spotlights a friend who came out of the closet in 8th grade in small town Saskatchewan to unexpected results while “Hypnotized” tips its hat to early Elton John with its driving piano as the uptempo love tune unravels. Also, a trilogy of piano-vocal songs dot the album (“Bookmark”, “Emoticons”, “Dressed to Kill”) in a tongue in cheek ode to on-line dating.

Jeffery is touring across Canada at a feverish pace. Dec-June 08 saw 80 dates all tolled including opening for Brit Superstar Mel C (Spice Girls) in Toronto, playing to 10,000. He was nominated for a Toronto Independent Music Award (Best Pop Album), and in August performed a knock-out set with the Regina Symphony bringing the audience to its feet. Add to that some steady gains in radio play with songs spinning on Z99 FM Regina as well as the CBC. All summer long on Toronto’s PROUD FM the anthem “Tykie’s Comin Out” sat at 11 on the top 20 chart ahead of artists like Moby and Chris Brown. Jeffery landed performances at festivals including JUNOfest, Ness Creek Fest, and many PRIDE festivals across Canada while his recent CD release concerts in Regina, Saskatoon, and Toronto sold out. Additionally, Jeffery’s engaging stage flair-and frequent sprints through the crowd with tambourine in hand- caught the attention of the CBC who recorded and broadcast a performance at their Regina studios.

As touring momentum continues to build with these new songs, Jeffery looks forward to getting “Step Right Up” into more and more listeners’ hands - across Canada and abroad

Thanks for reading this!

Also see: www.jeffstraker.com


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   Jeffery Straker's Friend Space (Top 20)
Jeffery Straker has 5294 friends.
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 Pascal Labillois 





Jeffery Straker's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 278 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Jessica Frech





Jun 25 2009 3:54 PM

Glad to have you as a friend! Hope to see you at a show sometime. Thanks for the support!
Stephen Maguire





Jun 25 2009 5:20 PM

Hi Jeffery

Stay safe on the road and I hope to see you back in Saskatchewan soon.
Soul Side In





Jun 22 2009 11:28 PM

Hey how are you doing?
Have a listen to our songs and let us know what you think....
 
Photobucket
 
SSI on Facebook....
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Soul-Side-In/30959574164
 
SSI
Jeff





Jun 22 2009 1:25 PM

All the best...Makin' music...BigBends

bigbends.com
Holly Wasserfall





Jun 17 2009 8:10 AM

Hey. Thanks for the friendship. Great music. With love from the Eastcoast of Africa. Holly xx
NitroChrome Records





Jun 8 2009 6:00 PM

Love your Music!
%27NitroChrome%20RecordsQuantcast
Ryan MacGrath





May 26 2009 2:30 AM

Hi Jeffery! Nice to 'befriend' you. Thanks for the kind words - here they are back at ya! Isn't Shannon lovely?

Duke Special = very cool. Thanks for the heads-up.
Andrew Austin





May 22 2009 4:36 PM

Just popped round to wish you a fantastic Friday Jeffery !!

Andrew

Maude Payette Beauchesne





May 17 2009 11:04 PM

Thanks for adding me!

Maude
Maude Payette Beauchesne





May 17 2009 8:17 PM

Thanks for adding me!

Maude
Memo Scarletto





May 7 2009 7:46 PM

Hello from the amazing windy plains just outside Calgary , Alberta(weather subject to change on the 1/2 hour with out notification) Wonderful music in your space.Many discoveries made at your space, very nice indeed to be m8s.Cheers ! (mO:) moreno

In a act of Kindness endorphin levels are elevated in the Giver, the Receiver and the Observer, how nice is that.

"do not seek happiness .. but .. do rid your self of unhappiness = Zero Negative thoughts"


"Share knowledge ,it is a way to achieve immortality"



InNeR PeAcE ,LoVe and JoY ..mO
--
Electronica side of things at www.myspace.com/shaubyaella
the.girl





Apr 18 2009 6:57 PM

Baby baby - come back soon!
Alle Montecchi & Giuly Modesti





Apr 7 2009 8:12 PM

Welcome! Nice to meet you! We hope you'll come to listen to our music, and we hope you'll enjoy it!
Warm regards from Italy!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alle-Montecchi-Giuly-Modesti/53270773276

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TheShowSoGay.Com





Apr 7 2009 4:54 AM

Awesome music Jeff! Thanks for the friendship!
Vedette





Apr 1 2009 2:58 PM

We are playing tonight (APRIL 1st) at Rancho Relaxo on College (at Spadina). We are on at 9:30.
Wanna come?
Vedette





Mar 24 2009 8:03 PM

Thanks for being a friend!
Hope you had a chance to hear our music as well
if not: come on by and have a listen

we're playing in Toronto in April at Rancho Relaxo and the Opera House
we'd love to have you there :)
Ken





Mar 23 2009 7:31 PM

Hey Jeffery....just thought I would stop by and say hello. I like your music, it should take you far. Just keep true to yourself and others and you will be just fine. Peace bro.....Ken
Taylor Demetrioff





Mar 22 2009 3:38 AM

hey bud it was great meeting you as well
let me know when you're in Winnipeg we'll chill it up
take care bud!

Your Buddy Tee =D
Kim[berley]





Mar 18 2009 6:18 PM

nice meeting you the other day - cmw!
Jackie Robitaille





Mar 17 2009 1:35 PM

happy writing :)
Pascal Labillois





Mar 13 2009 11:37 PM

I'll have to come out out west at some point and see you play in your home grown country ... lol
Pascal Labillois





Mar 11 2009 4:55 AM

Jeffrey Stryker, how are you stud? Are you in TO or Sask? Hope you are well. Just got back from Bryan Adams Concert. He was so good. I thought of you and thought one day you'd be on that stage. Cheers

P.
only in the mornings





Mar 7 2009 9:01 PM

How is the Toronto scene treating you? Greetings from Chicago!
Amanda





Feb 23 2009 7:14 AM

I LOVE your music!

WOW!
NitroChrome Records





Feb 19 2009 11:46 PM

Love your Music!
%27NitroChrome%20RecordsQuantcast%27NitroChrome%20RecordsQuantcast
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