Jeffery Straker - Jan/Feb 2009
Jeffery Straker
If ever an artist was ready for radio, it’s Jeffery Straker.
If radio is not ready for Jeffery Straker that, sadly, will be radio’s loss, but I don’t think finding acceptance at radio is going to be a major problem for Straker. I suspect the reaction of many in radio upon hearing the Saskatchewan-born tunesmith’s latest project, Step Right Up, would be similar to mine.
Cycling through that Justin Gray-produced 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 who pens interesting songs about interesting people who’ve wandered through his life at one point or another – from a friend with bi-polar disorder to a school mate who came out of the closet in junior high in a small town.
In addition to being a talented songwriter and an accomplished musician, he’s also a dynamic performer, blessed with power-to-spare pipes capable of taking a big song like “Special K” over-the-top one minute, then drawing you back in with a sighs and whispers for the ballad-like “Snowflake.”
His music is a marvelous marriage of style and substance that draws inspiration from classic pop music, cabaret, and folk music.Listen to Straker’s music for any length of time and you can hear the influence of several artists who, like him, have pitched their songs from behind the piano: Elton John, Billy Joel, Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, and going back even further, the late great Peter Allen, who was immortalized on Broadway in The Boy From Oz. Some industry scribes have also drawn comparisons to Mika, which is not at all out of line.
Straker has begun to build a following in the west and in central Canada thanks to a series of live shows in key markets, one of them an opening spot for the Spice Girls’ Mel C in Toronto.
He’s also getting radio play in the prairies and Ontario from both commercial radio and the CBC.
His talents were recognized earlier this year with a nomination for best pop album at the Toronto Independent Music Awards. He was also recognized with a nomination for recording of the year at the Outmusic Awards in New York.
Straker is very much an artist to watch.