Saskatchewan based musician Jay Semko has no shortage of musical credits.
With an impressive musical career that spans over 30 years with the Northern Pikes, a solo career, and song writing for television and film, fans old and new will have no shortage of reasons to love his work.
Semko will be highlighting his many career highs through an acoustic and storytelling show at the Humboldt and District Gallery on Oct. 5.
Even with all the impressive performance and musical talent, Semko considers himself first and foremost a songwriter. Performing with just himself and his guitar on stage, presenting his songs in their most basic, “stripped down to the nuts and bolts” way is how he most enjoys it.
The solo acoustic shows gives him the freedom to tell stories of his varied career, both as a solo artist, with the Pikes, and as a career musical composer.
“Anything good that’s happened to me in the music biz...it all stems from song writing. At the core, I’m a song writer and I like to have fun.”
Engaging with the audience and encouraging them to engage with him is the best part of these shows, he says.
And whether they like it or not, people will find themselves singing.
“Nothing feels better than when you play Girl with a Problem or Things I Do For Money or She Ain’t Pretty...it feels gratifying to get so that people know that and it’s part of their fabric of Canadian music.”
While this is a great feeling, says Semko, exposing fans to his new solo music and having them discover it for the first time live is a great feeling, too.
Semko is receiving plenty of support for his solo career with air time on CBC and college radio.
His most recent album Flora Vista won the Saskatchewan Country Music Award’s Roots Album of the Year award in 2015 and he continues expanding on his musical catalogue as he works on his next solo album.
Being able to carve out this successful career for himself beyond the Northern Pikes has been a highlight for Semko because he can go out and tell stories with no boundaries.
“Every night I play I consider it a gift and I’m completely grateful to be able be there and play music with the people.”
After forming the Pikes with fellow band members in 1984, including Humboldt’s Meryl Bryck, the Saskatoon based band made a bunch of top forty tracks and made it big independently before signing with Virgin Canada.
Travelling around North America has been an incredible part of his music career right from large Canadian and American cities to smaller centres.
“I feel like I’ve covered a lot of nooks and crannies across Canada and it’s pretty great to see what a great country we have here and so many cool places.”
Starting later in October, Semko will be heading out again with fellow Northern Pikes band members on a cross Canada tour in honour of the 30th anniversary of the Northern Pikes Big Blue Sky album release starting on the east coast.
The Humboldt and District Gallery show is care of the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils, the City of Humboldt, Friends of the Museum and Gallery, the Humboldt Journal, and HSA.
