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

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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