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Geoff Berner writes peculiar, witty, sometimes heartbreaking songs with way too much insight into human nature. When he sings them, he stands alone on stage, playing his accodion, Estella. The music is a unique mix of folk, punk, and klezmer. The effect can be at times haunting, confrontational, or just absurd. Sometimes all three at the same time.
“I play accodion,” the Vancouver native says, point blank. “I make no apologies for it. It’s part of my heritage as a Jew of Eastern European descent. I choose to present my songs this way.”
In spite (or perhaps because) of his unorthodox approach, he’s earning a living as a traveling, recording musician. He’s toured Europe five times, played at over a dozen Canadian folk and jazz festivals and performed throughout the U.S. Radio and television appearances have included features on Canadian, Norwegian, Northern Ireland, Czech, and Slovenian National Radio.
He’s shared bills with such luminaries as Billy Bragg, Corb Lund, Alberta Slim, D.O.A., Chuck Brodsky, Carolyn Mark, the Show Business Giants and the Be Good Tanyas, who cover Berner's song “Light Enough To Travel.” The list of other artists covering his songs has reached 20 and climbing.
Berner’s first full-length CD, “We Shall Not Flag or Fail, We Shall Go On To The End” was released in Canada in 2003 and the reviews have been uniformly stellar, including raves in the Toronto Star, Exclaim! and Chart magazine. A video for “Iron Grey” reached #4 on the Bravo! Chart.
As his style shifts gradually further into klezmer, Geoff is playing more with a small ensemble featuring Diona Davies (Po’ Girl) on violin and Wayne Adams (Zolty Cracker) on percussion. In May/June 2004, the trio travelled to rural Romania to investigate the roots of klezmer music with their klezmer guru, Bob Cohen of De Naye Kapelye.
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