Growing up in small town Saskatchewan can garner a wide variety of lifestyles and outlooks on life. Some people are content to spend their entire life in said town of choice, going about their day-to-day activities and enjoying all the community has to offer. On the other hand, some small town citizens dream of a world completely unlike the one they’re accustomed to, and they long to embrace the bright lights, big city. Jeffery Straker, local musician and Punnichy SK native, was someone striving for this embrace.
At the tender age of six, Jeffery began to spend countless hours practicing the piano and perfecting his craft. With routine weekly scheduled trips into Regina for piano lessons and the nurturing support from family and teachers, Jeffery adopted the “Put in more time; get better results” mantra. Drive and determination would prove to be the initial key assets this multi-talented and extremely motivated individual would posses; all the while shaping his career in the years to come.
Discovering the steps Jeffery has taken to further his career and help his music see the light of day becomes slightly perplexing after awhile, as it seems almost physically impossible to assume that one person has the time for the full DIYapproach. Songwriter, musician, booking agent, promoter and “hardcore” social networker are simply a few of his current and past titles and fortunately for Jeffery, his hard work and continuous efforts have lead to a well-established foothold in the music industry leading to a full-time career.
Over the past few years, Jeffery has set sail on a path of astonishing accolades which have set him apart from his musical counter-parts and have also gained national and international acclaim. He has released three full-length albums, with his most recent album “Step Right Up” garnering a national distribution deal with Universal Music Canada. His hit single “Hypnotized” has received national radio and video airplay and he has performed numerous showcases including: Organization of Arts Councils, Western Canadian Music Awards and Canadian Music Week ’09, not to mention one hundred plus shows booked and played per year. One recent show of note included his CBC Canada Live performance in Regina on April 23. Jeffery has performed in exciting locals such as Ireland, China, and New York. In 2009 alone, his songwriting abilities have received serious nods in competitions such as The Canadian Radio Star Competition (national finalist), The Unisong Competition (top 20 finalist), and the presti¬gious Mountain Stage Newsong Contest (top ten finalist).
Fortunately for this jack of all musical trades, his hard work and numerous self-established accomplishments gained the attention of Winnipeg agency, Paquin Entertainment. Jeffery was added to their roster of incredible talent for distribution and promotional assistance in the fall of ‘09. On top of this, the pay off comes yet again, as book¬ing/management company Eastwest Entertainment Group (based in China) also jumped on board to support Jeffery when they caught his performance during Canadian Music Week ‘09.
With everything Jeffery has currently accomplished, it is easy to get swept away with it all and I can assure you there are absolutely no signs of slowing down as he continues to ride these waves of success.
As I sat down with Jeffery for this “caffeine-laced” interview, I was highly intrigued to find out more about a few of his most recent ac¬complishments and get a sneak peek at what’s up his sleeve for the future. Come to think of it, the time we spent during this interview probably cost him at least six more bookings on his, “Hop, Skip & Jump” tour and possibly some crucial discussions with booking agents alike. It’s not my fault; I was dying to find out more.
His album “Step Right Up”, which Jeffery dubs as “piano-driven cabaret pop” was recorded in LA with acclaimed producer Justin Gray (Joss Stone, Jacksoul). The album is highly visual, while backed by strong lyrics and upbeat instrumentation; all of which helps to tell stories about interesting characters and incidences in Jeffery’s life. I was excited to talk to Jeffery about the transitions I had noticed throughout the album. Whether it was a slight change in the analo¬gies or a new vocal tone, I wanted to find out the “whys and hows of his music”. When asked where his musical inspiration comes from, he explained that he is loosely influenced by a well-rounded combina¬tion of classical composers, Elton John’s piano, Sarah Slean’s voice and Regina Spektor’s lyrics. Jeffery’s style is truly one he can call his own.
While his lyrics and instrumentation play important roles in his songs, there is also an undeniable visual element that shines throughout this album; an element which he has successfully translated through the video medium. The videos of Jeffery Straker are always exciting and refreshingly different; both in style and content. In watching, it becomes highly apparent that the playful musical style and emotion¬al and honest delivery of his live performance seamlessly transcend into is medium. His beaming talent and personality can be recog¬nized through the stereo, the stage, and now, the screen.
When I first began to do research for this piece, Jeffery was hard at work promoting his video “Hypnotized”, which reached as high as #6 on Much More Music’s Top 10 countdown in the summer of 2009. Filmed in late 2008 by Rawfootage Productions (Toronto) with director Alex Colthart, the video takes place in dirty back alley in Toronto, but stylistically takes a strong visual turn when the alley is suddenly filled with a cast of colourful circus performers and dancers. Jeffery takes a trip down the alley and discovers a piano, providing the musical accompaniment to the video’s reverie. Jeffery explains, “Hypnotized came about after a video producer saw me do a show in Toronto. He was eager to get a song of my genre into his reel. It was an awesome experience and everyone involved really wanted it to be a success. The cast were all volunteers that we found on craigslist and the piano we used was donated from a listing as well. The Choreographer was an accomplished dancer from Toronto who happens to be a friend a friend of mine and did it as a favour. It’s amazing what you can get if you just ask and it’s amazing what can happen with some good planning. Things like that just added up and the results were great.”
A second video from “Step Right Up” for the track “Sad Song” was shot in 2009. The video features footage shot in both Regina and Toronto. It was partially shot on nostalgic 8mm film by Regina direc¬tor Eric Hill, with additional footage shot with another collaboration with Rawfootage Productions. The footage gives the video a classic cinema look and adheres strongly to Jeffery’s unique vision within his art.
His most recent video for the single “Somewhere Between” was filmed this past March, again in Toronto. This time, Jeffery received funding from FACTOR through their “Video Program”. Jeffery explains, “Once again working with Rawfootage Productions, we were able to experiment a little more with our concept development since we knew we had more production flexibility, given the bigger budget. We did have a few fortuitous things happen this time, like Baldwin lending us a grand piano at no cost – stuff like that really helped.”
Gathering support from local talent and provincial and national orga¬nizations has played a fundamental role in helping Jeffery shape his career. Jeffery notes, “I rarely use the word ‘blessed’ until I talk about situations such as these. The Saskatchewan Arts Board, FACTOR, and SaskMusic have been huge catalysts in my career. Support like this guarantees that I’m not going to rest on my laurels.”
One such supported effort of Jeffery’s is the upcoming collaboration with the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s (RSO) Chamber Players. This event has been made possible through the Saskatchewan Arts Board grant, “Culture-on-the-Go”, which is a program geared towards mak¬ing it possible for Saskatchewan’s multi-disciplinary artists to further their careers and share their art with the people in our province and beyond. As we discussed it in more detail, he pointed out his concept of having orchestral composers arranging each of his songs would be, “more fun and exciting in having nine different flavours for nine differents songs.”
The collaboration with the RSO will provide audiences who may not regularly be exposed to the genre with the opportunity to witness orchestral music in its full effect; all the while promoting Jeffery’s original songwriting, and giving him the opportunity to have his music orchestrated by this top ensemble. The concert program will include a combination of classical orchestral repertoire performed by the RSO’s Chamber Players, Jeffery Straker’s music, and then Straker’s music orchestrated. The Chamber Players who will perform on this tour are made up of twelve principal full-time musicians from the RSO. Jeffery will be backed by his band The Handsome Strangers, featuring local musicians Kory Gibbs (drums/percussion), Jill Straker (backing vocals), and Sam Minevich (bass).
This is truly a Saskatchewan based event as the concerts will hit places not every artist reaches such as the smaller communities of Strasbourg, Weyburn, Wolsely, and Gravelbourg. The daytime performances will feature a free show for school students and an off-the-wall evening performance that is sure to be a memorable and entertaining experience for everyone involved.
After hearing about this creative endeavor, I was curious to hear more about his upcoming “Hop, Skip, Jump” tour; a three-day excursion that will see Jeffery and his band making stops in Calgary, Winnipeg and Regina, not to mention a scattered selection of solo shows through¬out the country soon thereafter with stops in Saskatoon, Vancouver, Edmonton and two shows in Toronto. Jeffery notes that he is never on a “linear path, but always all over the place.” He is an artist who never follows a direct route, but gladly goes anywhere a booking may take him.
As we get to talking about touring and building his fanbase, Jeffery explains how amazed and excited he is by the encouragement and open-armed support he has constantly received from his hometown, the gay community world-wide, and all the people he has met along the way. The overwhelming support from his fans, both near and far, ignites Jeffery to suggest, “It isn’t necessarily the applause that gives me the rush to perform; it’s all about connecting the audience with music. You may think I’m crazy, but because I put so much time and energy into my song, it means so much more to me that the people are actually appreciating it.”
With his undisclosed muse working overtime, Jeffery notes that ideas for his songs and music are never pre-planned, but come sporadically. With thirty new tracks currently in his repertoire, he hints at a new record on the way; one that will feature a completely different sound and feel to his previous efforts. Of course a tour in late 2010 is also in his future. The musical journey never stops for Jeffery Straker and fortunately his fans may rest easy knowing there is always more to come.
For more information, visit: www.jeffstraker.com
By Taron Cochrane for SaskMusic. Photos courtesy Pascal Labillois and Ken Jones. Originally published April/May 2010.
This article is posted as initially published. For reprint/usage permission or any other questions, please contact SaskMusic.
