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Artist
Paul Janz
12+ albums
AORCanadianrock80spop
about
Born in Three Hills, Alberta, Paul Janz moved to Switzerland with his family when only four years old. The son of a Mennonite Minister, his earliest musical influences were naturally gospel and choir. By age ten he was an established singer in the church choir and was already dabbling in writing gospel arrangements. His first instrument was the trumpet and by age 13 was performing with the local chapter of The Salvation Army. By the time he was out of high school, he'd also taught himself to play guitar and drums. By then he was also studying opera with the Basel Conservatory of Music, which led to conducting and arranging assignments with the Basel Symphony. He started his first group while still at the Conservatory, called Deliverance. A mix of his gospel-music upbringing with his passion for roots rock such as Elvis and Perkins, the band recorded three albums over the course of 10 years, topping the charts in Germany and reaching #56 on Billboard with 1979's "Leaving LA". Amid financial difficulties, Janz left the group and returned to Canada the next year. He found work doing various projects for commercials and enrolled in Simon Fraser University in '81 to study philosophy. With his passion in life still music, and still determined to make it in the business, he found time to record some demos, playing all the instruments himself. The demos caught the attention of several major labels, and signed to A & M in '84. His first solo album was a Candian-only release, HIGH ST
