Jay Semko: Singer, Survivor, Eerily Nice Guy

By Colin Hunter

I'm looking forward to catching the concert by Jay Semko this Thursday at The Circus Room, not only because he's a veteran singer-songwriter (he was the creative guru behind legendary Canuck band The Northern Pikes), but also because he might just be the nicest man in the known universe.

I have several pieces of evidence for this assertion:

Exhibit One: My friend Marshall Ward, who made a documentary about Semko a few years ago, assured me that Semko was unfailingly kind. Marshall was a huge Northern Pikes fan -- perhaps the hugest -- during the band's late-'80s-early-'90s heyday, and was therefore understandably over-the-moon when Semko invited him to Saskatoon to film what would become the doc Love Will Set You Free.  "Jay Semko is the nicest guy you'll ever talk to," Marshall assured me before I interviewed Semko a couple of weeks ago. "He's ridiculously nice."

Exhibit Two: Mark Logan, owner of Encore Records and impresario behind Busted Flat Records (the local label on which Semko's new album was recently released), also assured me that Semko was staggeringly friendly. "Really supernice" was the term Logan used, I think.

Exhibit Three: Pat Lackenbauer, a creative fella known locally as The Wandering Artoholic (read a blog I wrote about him here), used to work as a lighting technician with rock bands, including a stint with The Northern Pikes. Pat recalled that Semko and his fellow Pikes were "the most friendly, humble guys" he had ever worked with.

Exhibit Four: I interviewed Semko over the phone recently, and he was indeed disarmingly nice, humble and honest.  First, he called exactly on time, which never happens with artists and musicians (they're an interesting but notoriously un-punctual bunch, them).  Then he spent the next 45 minutes chatting -- on his long-distance dime -- about anything and everything. He didn't shy away from questions about his past struggles with drugs and alcohol, and he thanked me profusely for the interview.  The last time I interviewed someone that friendly, it was imaginary. You can read my full story about him here:

So yes, I'm looking forward to seeing Semko perform songs from his new solo CD, International Superstar, and probably some classic Pikes tunes too. But mainly, I'm excited about basking in the guy's relected niceness.