Secondhand Serenade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to:navigation, search

Secondhand Serenade
Origin Menlo Park, California, USA
Acoustic rock
Alternative rock
Genres
Pop rock
Emo[1][2]
Years active 2004–present
Labels Warner/Glassnote[3]
Website Official Myspace
Members
John Vesely

Secondhand Serenade is an acoustic rock band, lead by vocalist and guitarist John Vesely.
Vesely has released two studio albums to date under the name Secondhand Serenade: Awake in
2007 and A Twist in My Story in 2008. The debut album used multitrack recording to create the
sound of a band using technology,[3] while the second album took a different path, using a proper
band and an orchestra to establish a more accomplished sound.[4] Vesely's third album, Hear Me
Now, is scheduled for release on August 3rd, 2010

Contents
[hide]

 1 History
o 1.1 Early history, first release
o 1.2 Awake re-release
o 1.3 A Twist in My Story
o 1.4 Hear Me Now
 2 Discography
o 2.1 Studio albums
o 2.2 Singles
 3 References
 4 External links
I will explain to you about my favorite music
secondhand serenade her name. the band was derived from Menlo Park California, USA.
vocalist named John Vesley [edit] History
[edit] Early history, first release

John Vesely formed Secondhand Serenade in his home town of Menlo Park in California, USA,
in 2004. Vesely was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in a musical family and as the son of a
professional jazz musician father, commenting that "getting into music was a natural thing" for
him. He spent 8 years playing bass in local bands, featuring in a number of acts ranging in style
from ska and hardcore to rock and pop.[5] One of the bands he played in, Sounds Like Life[6],
included fellow Bay Area artist Ronnie Day. After years of playing bass, he opted for an acoustic
guitar. Vesely follows in the tradition of John Ondrasik's Five for Fighting. Vesely was also the
son of a Czech immigrant. According to John Vesely, his songs are originally sung to his wife as
serenades. Music fans hear them only secondhand. That's where the name Secondhand Serenade
comes in as. [7]

Vesely began writing his own songs when he met his wife Candice Vesely. She had wanted him
to play a song and "serenading her with a bass guitar was out of the question." He has admitted
he found his "true calling" when he picked up the guitar.[5] The pseudonym Secondhand
Serenade is a reference to the way in which his songs were 'serenades' sung to his wife Candice,
with whom he has two young sons. People around the world are merely getting to hear the songs
'second-hand.'[5] While Vesely continues to market the affectionate biography, the couple broke
up in 2008. Vesely was heart broken as can be seen in many of his songs. He released "A Twist
In My Story" as a reference to the divorce.[8][9]

In 2005, Vesely released his debut album titled Awake. It was recorded as a demo, after booking
a few days at an Ontario studio earlier in 2005, "using just an acoustic guitar and his multi-
tracked vocals."[10] The album was promoted through the Secondhand Serenade Myspace page
and by playing local shows. The CD's were originally sold through mail order with a PayPal
account by Vesely, eventually he signed up with distributor TuneCore, making Secondhand
Serenade's songs available on music portals including iTunes.[11] The album experienced
tremendous online support, and by the end of 2006 Secondhand Serenade had received millions
of plays on Myspace and had been the social-networking site's No. 1 Independent Artist for
months. Financially, he was said to be bringing in up to $20,000 a month from downloads and
merchandise sales out of his home.[10] He sold over 15,000 copies of the album on his own,[12] and
on the strength of these sales and the support, naturally, the labels came knocking. Secondhand
Serenade was signed by longtime label executive Daniel Glass, on his new label Glassnote
Records, which is distributed through Warner's Independent Label Group.[11] In 2006, Rolling
Stone announced Secondhand Serenade as #3 in the magazine's reader's poll for Best Myspace
Artist.[12]

[edit] Awake re-release

In early 2007, Awake was reissued by Glassnote Records with an additional two songs. It was
released on January 31 and gave Vesely his first chartings, debuting at #16 on Billboard's Top
Heatseekers chart.[11] Added success lead to it peaking at #164 on the Billboard 200, #3 on the
Top Heatseekers and #19 on the Independent Albums chart.[13]

In support of his first label release, Vesely was featured on MTV's You Hear It First, AOL
Music's Breakers Yahoo! Music's Who's Next?[11] and appeared on talk show Late Night with
Conan O'Brien.[10] He also played numerous shows, including tours with the likes of Hawthorne
Heights and The All-American Rejects and at music festivals South By Southwest and along side
My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park at Bamboozle.[11][12]

Secondhand Serenade released only one song as a single from the debut album, "Vulnerable".
The song spawned a music video, which was created by Frank Borin who was responsible for the
Red Hot Chili Peppers' video for hit single "Dani California".[12] "Vulnerable" peaked at #83 on
the Billboard Hot 100, #64 on the Pop 100 and #56 on the Hot Digital Songs charts.[14]

[edit] A Twist in My Story

A Twist in My Story was released on February 19, 2008 and features songs from Awake such as
"Maybe" and "Your Call," but reproduced with a full band. The bulk of the album however is a
list of new songs written by John Vesely and recorded with a full band. Two tracks on A Twist In
My Story were produced by famed producer Butch Walker, while the others were produced by
former Nine Inch Nails member Danny Lohner. The first single, "Fall for You," was released
January 21, 2008. The album was leaked, and was made available for download one month
before its official release. On January 28, 2008 the music video for the first single from the
album "Fall for You" premiered on the MTV show TRL. In support of the release, Secondhand
Serenade spent most of March and April touring with American bands Making April, Automatic
Loveletter, and The White Tie Affair. Members of his touring band include John Harvey on bass
guitar, Lukas Vesely (Vesely's brother) on keys/vox, Ryan Cook(former bassist of the White Tie
Affair) on lead guitar/vox, and Tom Breyfogle on drums.

The title A Twist in My Story is a reference to Vesely's 2008 divorce with his former wife
Candice, with whom he has two young sons.[8][9]

In November 2008, the album's first single "Fall for You", was certified Platinum by the RIAA.
[15]
As of December 5, 2008 "Fall For You" was still #13 on the American Top 40 songs in the
country.[16]

The "Your Call" video premiered on FNMTV on December 5. It can be viewed on the FNMTV
website.

He released a video for the song "Maybe" on his Myspace page on May 4, 2009. Its a video
about his concerts and trips around the world and was shot and directed by his tour manager
Preston Jones and his drummer Tom Breyfogle.

A Twist in My Story (Deluxe Edition) was released on February 3, 2009. It contains 5 bonus
tracks including "Your Call" (Radio Version), "Fall for You" (Acoustic Version), "Like A Knife"
(Acoustic Version), his single "Last Time", and the Coldplay cover "Fix You".
[edit] Hear Me Now

Secondhand Serenade's third studio album is entitled Hear Me Now, and is scheduled for release
on August 3, 2010. The album's track listing has also been announced.[17] In a recent interview,
Vesely stated that the new record will be more upbeat than his last album, which focused on
relationships.[18]

Secondhand Serenade - singer/songwriter John Vesely - returns with his third album,
“ Hear Me Now, out August 3rd on ILG/Glassnote Records. Eight of the eleven songs on
the album were produced by Aaron Johnson (The Fray) at Swing House studios in Los
Angeles. The other three, including the first single, "Something More", were produced
by John Vesely himself along with Secondhand drummer Tom Breyfogle at Vesely's
home studio and mixed by Mark Endert (Train, Maroon 5). "Something More" will
debut at 7:40AM on May 17th on Kid Kraddick's nationally syndicated radio show and
will be available at iTunes on June 1st.[17] ”
On June 1st, "Something More" was released onto iTunes as a deluxe single with a bonus track
"You Are A Drug", a video showing the making of "Something More", and a digital booklet to
the new single.

[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums

Chart Positions[13]
Year Album US US
US
Heat Indie
2007 Awake 164 3 19
2008 A Twist in My Story 44 — 6
2010 Hear Me Now TBR TBR TBR

[edit] Singles

Chart Positions[14][19]
Year Single US US Certifications Album
US
Hot Pop CAN AUS
Digital
100 100
2007 "Vulnerable" 83 64 56 — — Awake
AUS: Gold[20]
"Fall for You" 21 8 14 36 19 US: Platinum[21]
2008
"Your Call" — — — — — A Twist in My Story
2009 "Maybe" — — — — —
2010
"Something More" — — — — — — Hear Me Now
[edit] References
1. ^ http://www.livedaily.com/news/14360.html
2. ^ http://rochester.metromix.com/music/article/secondhand-serenade/565212/content
3. ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Awake Review". All Music.com. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?
p=amg&sql=10:dxfyxqurldae. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
4. ^ Roth, Kaj. "Secondhand Serenade goes full band on new album". Melodic.net.
http://www.melodic.net/newsOne.asp?newsId=9523. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
5. ^ a b c Shapiro, Julianne. "Locals Only: Secondhand Serenade". Zero Mag.com.
http://www.zeromag.com/articles/article_view.php?id=860. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
6. ^ "Ronnie Day Biography". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Day. Retrieved 2009-
05-16.
7. ^ Lamb, Bill (2010). "Secondhand Serenade". The New York Times Company.
http://top40.about.com/od/s/p/secondhandser.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
8. ^ a b Quillen, Shay. "Peninsula's John Vesely finds success as Secondhand Serenade".
Mercury News.com. http://www.mercurynews.com/shayquillen/ci_8281695?source=rss.
Retrieved 2008-06-05.
9. ^ a b Graff, Gary. "Fans Fall For Secondhand Serenade". GoAndDoMichigan.com.
http://bands.goanddomichigan.com/reviews/review.asp?ID=1768. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
10. ^ a b c Quillen, Shay. "Peninsula's Prince Vesely finds success as Secondhand Serenade".
Mercury News.com. http://www.mercurynews.com/shayquillen/ci_8281695?source=rss.
Retrieved 2008-06-05.
11. ^ a b c d e Ben-Yehuda, Ayala. "Digital Distribution Provides Boost to Heatseeking Artist".
Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?
vnu_content_id=1003549834. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
12. ^ a b c d Press Release. "Secondhand Serenade's Debut Album Enters At #16 On
Billboard". Ultimate Guitar.com. http://www.ultimate-
guitar.com/news/press_releases/secondhand_serenades_debut_album_enters_at_16_on_b
illboard.html. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
13. ^ a b "Secondhand Serenade Albums Chart History". Billboard.com.
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?
model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=813088&model.vnuAlbum
Id=1101973. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
14. ^ a b "Secondhand Serenade Singles Chart History". Billboard.com.
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?
model.vnuArtistId=813088&model.vnuAlbumId=1101973. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
15. ^ "Search Results RIAA – Secondhand Serenade". RIAA.
http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?
resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Secondhand
%20Serenade&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type
=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aS
ex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=
&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&
sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
16. ^ http://www.at40.com/song/692/index.html
17. ^ a b Upcoming album details from PureGrainAudio.com
 18. ^ http://www.billboard.com/column/dailynoise#/column/dailynoise/secondhand-
serenade-kelly-clarkson-talk-1004059910.story
19. ^ "Discography Secondhand Serenade". Australian-charts.com. http://australian-
charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Secondhand+Serenade. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
20. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Singles". Australian Recording Industry
Association.
http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupageshttp
www.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accr.htm. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
21. ^ "Gold & Platinum Search Results: Secondhand Serenade". Recording Industry
Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?
resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Secondhand
%20Serenade&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type
=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aS
ex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=
&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&
sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved November 27, 2009.

[edit] External links

 Official Myspace
 Official JamNow Page with Recorded Live Performance and Interview
 Interview with Secondhand Serenade at TheMusicEdge.com, 3/3/06
 "Secondhand Serenade; Digital Distribution Provides Boost To Heatseeking Artist,"
Billboard, 2/23/07
 "Local makes MySpace his space," Palo Alto Daily News, 3/16/07
 "Secondhand Serenade confirms "2007 Couch Tour" with Monty Are I," Monsters and
Critics, 3/22/07
 "Secondhand Serenade brings raw emotion first-hand," Daily 49er, 3/28/07
 "Secondhand Serenade Named 'MTV Discover & Download Artist'; Band Now featured
on Yahoo! 'Who's Next?' and AOL 'Breakers' Online Competitions," top-40 charts,
3/29/07
 Complete Secondhand Serenade Discography
 Q&A with John Vesely

[hide]
v • d • e
Secondhand Serenade
Studio
Awake · A Twist in My Story
albums
SinglesFall For You · Your Call
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondhand_Serenade"
Categories: 2000s music groups | American rock music groups