John Peter "Jay" Semko is a singer/songwriter and bassist with Canadian band, The Northern Pikes. He is also a music composer for numerous film and television productions, most notably the successful Canadian television seriesDue South. Semko has been nominated for a Juno Award eight times as a member of the Northern Pikes, and also been nominated twice for a Gemini Award, and once for a Canadian Screen Award, and received two awards from the Canadian Music Publishers Association for his songwriting. His hometown is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Career
Semko's first solo album, Mouse was released in 1995 following the end of The Northern Pikes in late 1993. During this time, Semko was music composer for the Due South by Paul Haggis and has won the MMPIA Blizzard and SMPIA awards for Best Music Score as music composer for the movie, "Paris Or Somewhere". Semko has composed music for many other dramas and documentary series on Discovery Channel, CBC, Global, APTN, Showcase, History Television, and others, and has had many of his songs and compositions featured in film and television, "Men With Brooms", "Being Erica", and "Cedar Cove". In 2013 Semko was nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards for his work as composer on the reality TV series "Dust Up" in the category of 'Best Original Music for a Non-Fiction Program or Series'. As a songwriter, Semko has co-written in Nashville and Canada with such writers as Willie Mack, Tim Chaisson, Gilles Godard, Andrew Fromm, Roger Springer, Larry Haack, Jack Lenz, Tim Taylor, Steve Fox, Daryl Burgess, Sean Hogan, Paul Gross, and David Keeley. He has recorded with other artists including Garth Hudson, the late Stan Celeste, John Sebastian, Crystal Taliefero, Margo Timmins, Bob Egan, Ken Greer, Patricia Conroy, Greg Godovitz, Matt Andersen, Ashley MacIsaac, Leslie Stanwyck, and Serena Ryder. He has toured with such artists as Bruce Hornsby, Robert Palmer, Tom Cochrane and Peter Frampton, to name only a few. Semko wrote the music for a permanent installation at Saskatchewan's Western Development Museum, as well as for a number of art exhibitions, including visual artist Linda Duvall's "Where Were the Mothers?" and "The Toss". Semko has also been the music producer for a number of albums, including projects by Screwtape Lewis and Punch Drunk Cabaret. Since 2009, Semko has performed at the International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, and toured across Canada both solo acoustic and with accompanying musicians. Jay has released eleven solo albums, firmly establishing him as one of Canada's premiere songwriters - in 2009 Jay was a finalist in the Gospel/Inspirational Category of the internationally acclaimed John Lennon Songwriting Contest for "Jesus Is Gonna Help Me"; in 2011 Jay was nominated as Songwriter of the Year in the Western Canadian Music Awards for "Before You Leave Canada"; in 2012 won the SCMA Award for Roots Album of the Year, was a finalist in the international Independent Music Awards Gospel Song category for "Drop You In The Water", was nominated in the Best Solo Roots Recording category for "Sending Love" in the Western Canadian Music Awards, as well as being inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame with his band mates in the Northern Pikes. Jay is an accomplished voiceover artist and a full ACTRA member, with his voice being heard on radio and television advertisements, public service announcements, documentaries, and dramas, and has also instructed songwriting courses and hosted songwriting workshops and seminars through the University of Saskatchewan, Songwriters Association of Canada, SOCAN and private clients. Jay has also co-written with many other songwriters in Canada and the USA, and continues to do so regularly. Jay's album, Flora Vista, released on Inner Expression Records, won the SCMA Award for Roots Album of the Year. His most recent album, Never Sent, was released in 2018. Semko continues to tour, and his solo acoustic concerts are legendary for their laughter, tears, sheer love of music and life.
