If success was measured by the length of roads traveled, Jason Greeley has what it takes to be a star. In the last five years, Greeley has seen a lot of blacktop in the rear view mirror. Growing up in a small community off the Eastern shore of Newfoundland, Greeley was aware of the rich musical heritage and diversity that his native province had to offer. In a “kitchen party” atmosphere, he taught himself not only favourites of Newfoundland masters such as The Wonderful Grand Band, Ron Hynes, and Ryan’s Fancy, but also picked up on everything he heard on AM radio including the top hits of the day from the rock and country stations. It didn’t take long for Greeley to be heading up his own band and playing “bar gigs” throughout the province.
In 2004, he asked for directions off the infamous George Street to a nearby audition. Greeley’s travels had begun. From over 9,000 hopefuls across Canada he’d place Top 4 on “CTV’s Canadian Idol” and return home a hero. Seven months later he watched in awe as Canada’s most eastern Premier, Danny Williams, temporarily renamed that location “Greeley Street”.
This success resulted in the release of Greeley’s debut album “Live, Love, Sing”. The album, which included a song co-written with Idol judge / rockster Sass Jordan, debuted at number one in Newfoundland and stayed put for seven weeks, selling over 12,000 copies independently in two incredible months. But there was so much more to come.
With the notoriety of the Idol experience, Greeley would take his music overseas, making three trips to Germany to perform for Canadian troops.
Greeley, sensing the ties between the “kitchen party” music of his native Newfoundland, and the storytelling attributes of country music, made a crucial decision in his career – to move to Alberta, and travel new musical roads. As Greeley says, “the most amazing songs are often 3 minutes long, deep thoughts barely fleeting, and magic sometimes immeasurable.” In 2007, he signed with Royalty Records, the long-time Alberta indie label. Royalty then connected Greeley with two-time CCMA Producer of the Year, Joel Feeney (Doc Walker, Gil Grand).
Feeney immediately started the song search for Greeley’s album, and developed co-writing partnerships for Greeley. Feeney also pulled some strings to get “top drawer” material from the songwriter community, including “Walk Away” from Doc Walker’s Chris Thorstenson and Dave Wasyliw. Greeley’s songwriting talents came to the forefront as well with him co-writing five of the songs on the album, including partnering with Nashville’s Denny Carr (Rocket Girl) on “What I’ve Gotta Do”. The song is subtitled “Dad’s Song” a tribute to Jason’s father, who passed away
in 2008. Greeley says of his father; “He was the driving force behind everything I did in life including music. He taught me how to play when I was just a kid and I haven’t slowed down since”.
Greeley’s direction is defined by: “You’ve got to sing what you love, to love what you sing. Live for the moment – that means everything …” Those moments will be shared by many as Greeley embarks on another phase of his musical journey.
Jason Greeley's self-titled album was released on September 29, 2009.
