Paul Filek
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Paul Filek

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2005

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Established on Jan, 2005
Band Pop Adult Contemporary

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Paul Filek Returns to Kamloops for a Sold-out show"

Paul Filek returns to Kamloops for a sold-out show

Cheers and applause fill the dark bar as a man dressed in a black suit and bow tie and carrying a guitar steps on to the stage.

Born and raised in Kamloops B.C., Paul Filek, 31, has returned to play a sold out show in his hometown.

By his relaxed demeanor, it’s obvious he’s in his comfort zone. He returns the crowd’s excitement with an abundance of enthusiasm and smiles as he heads straight into his performance, opening with a cover of Bruno Mars’ hit, I Wanna Marry You.

“It’s good to be back Kamloops, that’s for sure!” Filek tells the crowd between songs. His sentiment is greeted with applause, whistles and even an “I love you Paul!” or two from the crowd.

As his show progressed, Filek cracked jokes and encouraged his audience to dance and clap along to the beat. They complied, filling the bar with an energetic, happy vibe.

Filek has spent the beginning of the year touring around Western Canada and will continue to take advantage of performance opportunities throughout the year. He also spends almost every Wednesday night performing what he considers “sassy cover tunes,” for almost two hours at UBC's Mahony and Sons in Vancouver.

Since 2005, Filek has released three full length CDs, one demo CD, and most recently an EP titled Paper Planes and Spare Change.

His sound can be described as an acoustic fusion of pop-rock and folk, with a tiny touch of country inspiration.

Filek says his music has grown and evolved from being strictly folk to more pop sounding throughout the years. He says recently he draws his inspirations from artists such as Maroon 5, Bruno Mars and Train.

The youngest of six siblings, Filek grew up in a musical family. He was forced to take piano lessons when he was growing up, which he claims to have hated. His music teacher eventually kicked him out.

When he was 21 and pursuing a business degree, he wound up picking up his brother’s guitar and making up songs to tease his friends, which triggered his determination to be a musician. Word of his talent and creativity caught on and he soon began playing shows for friends and at small venues around the Kamloops area.

“The next thing I know I was playing for the next 10 years,” said Filek.

Eventually, Filek had a brief stint on Canadian Idol which didn’t do much to advance his musical career.

Filek’s professional music career really started to unfold when he met Henry Small, producer and owner of Small World Studios in Kamloops. The two worked together to produce Honest Songs from a Dishonest Heart in 2006 and Good to Meet You in 2008. The albums gained Filek recognition and he began working on his music full time.

He then moved to Vancouver and completed his third album, Elephant Shoes.

Dale Bass, a reporter for Kamloops This Week, has been following Filek’s career since he was selling CDs out of his car and bartending.She said Filek’s writing and stage presence continue to become more memorable as he grows as a musician.

“He’s not afraid to be himself,” said Bass. “He’s come right along.”

Falling For You, a romantic love tune from Elephant Shoes, became Filek’s first commercial radio single. It made it into the top twenty charts in Vancouver and Kamloops.

Filek has also supported big names such as INXS, Carly Rae Jepson, Corb Lund and Trooper on tour.

Filek’s most recent album Paper Planes and Spare Change was released in 2012. The album contains five love songs, each abundant with Filek’s character and own personal style.

It’s obvious that Filek enjoys the people he encounters on a daily basis as much as he enjoys creating music.

Before the show on Friday even began, Filek made his way through the jam-packed bar to almost every table, talking to friends and supporters who all appeared overjoyed to see him.

“One of my favourite parts is meeting people and being able to connect with people from my past,” said Filek.

He also constantly connects with his fans through social media and makes frequent YouTube videos of himself performing or just goofing off. At the time of publication, he had almost 600,000 views on his videos.

Although friends and family were in the audience of approximately 130 on this particular Friday night, there is no doubt Filek, with his smooth voice and charming personality, gained a few new fans with his performance.

“I got dragged here by a friend, but he was really awesome,” said TRU student and patron Taylor Cassidy. “I’ll definitely listen to him in the future.”

Other fans had been following Filek since his early days.

“I saw him perform at the Blue Grotto a while ago and he was just so fun and energetic that I had to come see him again,” said Sandy Wohlberg, who was seated near the front of the stage all evening.

Although the music industry can be tough even for the talented, Filek says that his determination and constant chasing of the ‘dream’ is what has driven him through his entire career.

“You have to stay true to yourself,” said Filek.

This year, Filek will continue to tour as well as work on yet another album.

“The dream is to play in front of millions of people,” said Filek. “I guess I am living the dream.” - Chelsea Grainger


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

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Bio

Paul Filek is a Canadian singer songwriter from Kamloops, BC who's released three albums since 2006 with producer Henry Small (formerly of the band Prism) and most recently a 2012 five song EP, Paper Planes and Spare Change, produced by Jeff Dawson (Daniel Powter, State of Shock, The Dudes). One thing that's certain is that Paul's confident, accomplished songwriting are commercial in their appeal, as evidenced by his charting success on Canadian radio. His smooth and effortless, funky vocals and heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics are infectiously hard to deny. His feel good songs fit perfectly on top forty radio, sandwiched between songs of similar style by Maroon 5 and Train. Paul made the decision to pursue music professionally after an interesting story unraveled on his 23rd birthday, which led him to work with a local producer and music industry mentor. If you want to hear a good piece of folklore, just ask Paul about the night he was performing in a small club when some guy claiming to be John Mellencamp wandered in and asked if he could hop on stage to play a few tunes. Word travels fast in a small town. The following morning Paul was invited to a local radio station to share the story of his bizarre encounter. During that visit Paul ended up playing one of his songs on-air and the DJ was so impressed by his song, performance and charisma that the two soon formed a production relationship together, which resulted in the release of Filek's first three albums. In 2013 Paul Filek is focusing on his full time music career more intently than ever. With a finely crafted new EP under his arm and a full tank of gas, Paul delivers fun and engaging live performances with a sense of humor and storytelling that his fans can't resist.  For more information please visit Paul Filek online at - See more at: http://paulfilek.com 

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