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Jon Stancer (born August 8, 1970) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and recording artist.

Early Life and Career
Born in Toronto, Canada, Jon became interested in music at age 10, upon learning of the murder of ex Beatle, John Lennon, about whom he knew very little. Intrigued and bewildered by the world's reaction to Lennon's death, Jon eagerly consumed the many subsequent articles and television exposes and retrospectives on Lennon and the Beatles at that time and soon decided that he wanted to sing and play the guitar. After a year's worth of guitar lessons, Jon became impatient and frustrated with not being taught how to play the songs he loved, so he decided to quit and teach himself what he felt he needed to know.

Jon's attempts at songwriting started around this time and his very first composition was a tribute to his fallen hero, Lennon, entitled "Long Distance Thank You". Jon would continue to write songs and spent much of his time alone in his bedroom, working on his craft and eventually, trying his hand at recording by taping himself on to a cassette machine and then harmonizing with himself during playback as a second tape machine was recording him and the first machine. Not realizing it at the time, this process was shaping Jon's ability to create different parts and arrange, the significance of which would come to light many years later.

At around age 13, Jon found a musical partner in childhood pal Ira Rosenberg, a songwriting piano player whom Jon had known since age 4. The two would convene (typically at Rosenberg's home) almost daily after school, to teach each other the songs they had written and to work out harmonies. After some time, the two became a popular attraction both at school and at social gatherings and house parties, enthusiastically responding to requests from friends to perform.

A few years later, with the help of friend Jamie Shields (the New Deal), they made their first 'real' recording, a cassette tape entitled "Live from The Living Room", which they distributed among friends and family.

Around 1990, Jon and Ira formed the band, Smilin' Ben, a five piece outfit that featured upright bassist Sam Allison (aka Lotus Wight) and singer-songwriter, Dina Torrans. The group recorded a full length release, which was mostly captured live, off the floor. The group would disband in 1994.

Shortly thereafter, Jon was recruited by English-Canadian singer-songwriter, John Southworth, to be vocalist and guitarist in Southworth's new band. Jon spent approximately 4 years performing and touring with Southworth, and was featured prominently on his seminal debut release, Mars Pennsylvania.

After leaving Southworth's band at the end of 1998, Jon reconvened with Rosenberg and Torrans and embarked on a year-long recording endeavour, resulting in a 13-track album entitled, Saloon. Featuring a number of notable guest players including Oliver Schroer and Mocky, the album received high critical praise and spawned several tracks licensed for film and television productions for Disney, HBO and others. Calling themselves Family Ritual, the 3 core members assembled a backing band and performed a limited number of shows to promote the new album. In 2000, after some deliberation, Jon decided to disband Family Ritual, but not before recording a 3-song EP entitled 3 For Now, which remains unreleased.

Jon abandoned his musical pursuits for the next several years, performing rarely and writing and recording sporadically at best, so that he could focus his energy on his new family. In 2008, Jon entered the studio for the first time in several years, to record a song that he had written for his 5 year old daughter. Encouraged by the response to the song that he received from friends and colleagues, Jon began to consider getting back into music in some capacity, but it was a choice he would put off making for a few more years.

For The Birds
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In 2015, Jon began writing songs for what would become his debut solo album, For The Birds. Released on June 23, 2017, the album is described as 'a collection of lush and lavish hook-laden rock ‘n’ pop, connected by lyrical themes that touch on reclusiveness and resurgence, regret, revision and rejuvenation.' Jon considers it to be a very personal album, in that much of what is being sung about relates directly to his life away from music and the overwhelming compulsion to return to it.

For The Birds cast a wide net, boasting an array of sounds and tapping into varied musical landscapes. Produced by Jono Grant (who also produced Southworth's Mars Pennsylvania), the album contains all of the basic ingredients for great rock and roll: energetic drums, buoyant bass lines, bright acoustic and shiny electric guitars, piano and organ. The addition of horns, strings and a range of percussion, along with various sonic nuances create what Stancer describes as, “a pop record, I think—at least in the traditional sense. If not pop, I really don’t know what single genre it fits into. It’s an interesting collection of songs. It’s genre defying!”

Among the standout tracks are “Turn Your Back On Your Regrets,” inspired by Stancer’s ambition to get back into making music. “I like that it’s personal and relatable” he says, “…to anyone who wallows and frets over past misgivings – which is pretty much everyone, isn’t it?” Similarly, “Dance In The Sun” deals with overcoming the obstacles on the way to finding true happiness, its joyful arrangement and heavy sonic sprinklings encapsulating the record’s overall sound.

“Perfect Place To Hide” praises the benefits of occasional isolation as a respite from a complicated world. The song was conceived as a lullaby for children; a slow, jazzy piece intended for an upright bass and some brushes and a snare drum. The song was completely transformed however, after Stancer set it to a drum loop, sped up the tempo, and added organ, Fender Rhodes, percussion, horns and more. Now, an up-tempo, almost ‘danceable’ track, it comes across as chaotic and otherworldly, rather than tranquil and intimate, as initially envisioned.

“Take The Bait,” is perhaps the most unique-sounding song on the record. Written in part in response to the Bataclan attack in Paris, Stancer’s stream-of-consciousness lyrics recall his being in a bar and watching news reports of the tragedy on television as a baseball game was also in progress on an adjacent screen. The song contains the lyric, “This is all for the birds,” whose ambiguity prompted it to be used as the album’s title.

“No Right Turns”, about contemplating a reckless night of debauchery and the potential fallout is another key track as is “Heart Of My Mind” a song of despondence with a desperate yearning to take a sad song and make it better, which Stancer refers to as a ‘soul-pleaser’.