"Whoa-ohh-ohh, isn't life just wonderful," Jacob Jeffries belts on the Beatlesque opener to his debut EP, Life As an Extra. And life has been pretty sweet for the 19-year-old Pembroke Pines-based singer-songwriter. Consider:

• Warner Chappell/BMI signed him to a contract before he graduated high school.

• Last month, he played high-profile gigs at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and the National Association of Music Merchants show in Anaheim, Calif.

• In a couple of weeks, he'll head out to Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival, where he'll be performing at the swanky Four Seasons hotel and a few other venues.

• Due out in March, Life As an Extra features top session players such as guitarist Dan Warner (Justin Timberlake, Pink) and drummer Lee Levin (Christina Aguilera, Shakira) and was produced by Warner and 11-time Grammy winner Sebastian Krys.

Bursting with hook-filled melodies and dramatic, instantly likable vocals, the five-song EP foretells a bright future for the piano- popster, who welcomes comparisons to artists such as Ben Folds and Billy Joel. Another three EPs are planned for release in the next few months.

And yet all the success and promise has been tempered by the absence of one of Jeffries' most avid supporters: his dad. In November, Jeff Groten had a heart attack and died suddenly. He was 51.

"It was crazy and just completely blindsided everyone," says Warner, who is based in Fort Lauderdale and not only played on the EP

but also served as a producer. "His dad was at every single gig. He was invested but without being overbearing. He was, like, the perfect dad."

"It seems so long ago, but it's pretty fresh," a reflective but upbeat Jeffries relates. Sporting a red Paul McCartney concert T with the scrawled logo "Music lives," he picks at a Caesar salad and a dish of school-bus-yellow papas à la Huancaina at Las Totoritas Peruvian restaurant in Pembroke Pines.

"We were getting ready to release these EPs, and Sebastian was like, 'How do you feel about your name, because we got to set it in stone. Do you want to come up with a band name, or are we doing [your real name] Jacob Groten like we have been doing?' And I'm like, 'Geez, "Jacob Groten." I don't like the way people pronounce it sometimes, or they think I'm Josh Groban.' But my dad was fresh on my mind, so I'm like, 'Jeffrey. Jacob Jeffrey.' It rolls off the tongue, and it means so much more than people will ever know."

Deciding that the new moniker sounded more like a clothing-designer than a rock star, he added an s, and Jacob Jeffries was born.

Whatever name appears on his CDs, the talent behind it has been there from an early age. Just out of toddlerhood, Jeffries played guitar along with his parents' videos of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, trying his best to emulate his rock 'n' roll heroes. At age 5, he was playing piano, and by 10, he was writing songs. In his senior year of high school, while his friends were receiving college acceptance letters, Jeffries was inking a record deal.

"The day before or of my 18th birthday, April of last year, I get a call, and they're closing the contract," Jeffries recalls. "I was like, 'Whoaaahhh! Sick birthday present!' "

The contract with Warner Chappell came about through the efforts of Jeffries' high-school classmate Kelsey Stang. Her dad, Aaron Stang, works for Warner Publications, and she brought him Jeffries' demo recording. Impressed with what he heard, Stang called his friend and former guitar student, Dan Warner.

"He was telling me, 'You really gotta hear this kid,' " Warner says. "And I finally went and saw him play, and I was really blown away by not only how much I liked the music but how good he was at such a young age — he was only 17. It was mind-blowing to me that someone could write that maturely and articulately at such a young age."

If Jeffries' songs have a cinematic quality, it's no accident. For years, he attended the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts' summer programs, in which he not only honed his songcraft but also did some acting and playwriting. The bluesy, aching piano ballad "Life As an Extra" also borrows its theme from movie terminology, though the piece actually stems from an argument Jeffries had with an ex-girlfriend.

"I'm not writing anthems, feed-the-world kind of things," he says. "A lot of it's personal. It's the ability to take something really personal and specific and broaden it up just enough so that it can apply to someone else."

Even with the continuing decline of the record companies, having label support still means something. BMI sent Jeffries to Sundance and NAMM and arranged for his gig at SXSW. Still, the pianist realizes that he'll have to hit the road hard to make a name for himself. But then, there's also MySpace and YouTube and at least one girl in Australia who really digs his music.

"I don't want to say 'to be famous,' because there's so much more to this than having someone recognize your face," Jeffries replies to the question of his ideal situation 10 years down the road. "There's someone identifying with your music and someone appreciating the fact that I'm putting a lot on the table for people to look at. Lyrics are more than words. It's corny as hell, but it's a piece of me."

Jeffries is happy that at least his dad got to celebrate some of his success. He also notes a weird coincidence: In 2005, his grandfather died right before Jeffries landed his record deal. In 2007, his father died right before Jeffries found out he was going to Sundance.

"I don't know how much I believe in that stuff," he says, "but something funky's happening. With every bad comes a good. You know, [my dad's] watching over, I think. I hope. I don't know what the deal is with that, but we'll see what happens."

The Jacob Jeffries Band will perform at the Harry Musika Festival taking place 4-9 p.m. Friday on the back patio of the Sonken Building at the University School of Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Ave., in Davie. Other performers will include Yoni, Suénalo Sound System and Team Falcon. Admission is $12. Call 954/ 262-4476 or visit Uschool.nova.edu. Contact Bob Weinberg at bweinberg@citylinkmagazine.com.

Liner notes

1. In his song "Fairfax," Jacob Jeffries sings about the characters who hang out at a neighborhood diner. However, it's not based on a real place; the melody just popped into his head while he was driving in Los Angeles and passed a sign reading "Fairfax."

2. For his show at the Turning Leaf wine bar at the Sundance Film Festival, Jeffries shared the bill with Jarrod Gorbel of the band The Honorary Title.

3. Jeffries' mentor at the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts, Ryan McCall, turned him on to the music of Ben Folds, Tom Petty, Wilco and The Jayhawks, all of whom whom, Jeffries says, have greatly influenced his songwriting.

4. The CD-release party for Life As an Extra will take place 8 p.m. March 19 at the Gibson Showroom, 180 N.E. 39th St., Suite 200, in Miami. Call 305 /573-3523.

5. Web site: Jacobjeffriesband.com JACOBJEFFRIESBAND.COM