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An only child, Jiri was born in Zlin, Czech Republic.
By age 6, he was already identified as a potential
elite talent. By age 7, he was performing piano
recitals with kids 3 and 4 years older.
However, the Soviet invasion of his homeland changed
his destiny forever. Fortunate to escape, his family
emigrated to Canada after a brief stay in Austria. It
would be more than 20 years before he would be able
to return to his home, and the memories of those
tumultuous times and the emotions of leaving
everything behind would forever be etched in his mind.
The family arrived in Toronto with $35, 3 suitcases,
and not a word of English between them.
Jiri became fluent within a year, and immediately
began learning French, and eventually Spanish.
Europeans have very different attitudes about such
things. But there was no music.
The economic realities of the time made it impossible
to be involved in any formal music education, and
when it finally did become possible, it was difficult
for a now-teenage boy to essentially start from
scratch. He eventually taught himself basic piano,
but the formal training was now a lifetime ago.
Nonetheless, he immediately began writing songs. All
along he had been writing poetry and lyrics, but now
there was also music. Unfortunately, the music in his
head was much more complex than he was capable of
playing on the piano.
At 18, he went to University in Sudbury, Ontario to
study geology.
He learned to play guitar mostly because he no longer
had a piano and needed a release for the music that
was always inside him. He first realized the true
power of his talent when he wrote a song upon
learning that his idol John Lennon was murdered in
1980. The song is called 'Goodbye Dear John', and it
was written in about 30 minutes. No rewrites. It just
poured out, pure and true. He played it at a coffee
house soon after, and when the song was over there
was only silence. No applause. Jiri thought the song
was bad, but then he noticed that the 30 or 40 people
that were there were all crying.
Upon completion of his studies, Jiri immediately
moved to Alberta to begin working. Once again, the
music was left by the wayside as he began the career
that originally was meant to provide him something to
fall back on. It is said that if you have something
to fall back on, you will fall back.
Working as a Geologist in the oil industry meant a
steady income, and with this came a personal
complacency which often accompanies this type of
lifestyle. He still played music and wrote songs and
some excellent and deeply personal and emotional
lyrics, but with a steady stream of money rolling in
there was no incentive for him to do anything with
his music despite the urging of virtually everyone
who heard him.
As years went by he played in several local cover
bands, but this never gave him a release for his
original material. He did some minor studio work in
Edmonton throughout the 1990s, but once again made no
effort to market his music. From his days as an
isolated only child in a new country, he always
tended to be an introspective loner. He entered local
music competitions on 2 different occasions, and
placed first both times.
A true passion can take a beating, but it never dies.
Not satisfied with other people's treatment of his
songs, he began dabbling in recording his own music,
and slowly began piecing together a rudimentary
studio. Finally, when technology brought digital
recording to the PC, he was able to begin truly
expressing himself the way he wanted to all along. He
finally found his way.
Established in his career, with a beautiful daughter,
he has a renewed passion for his music.
Jiri has a catalogue of hundreds of songs, and
countless works of poetry and lyrics. He is currently
working on his first CD.
