Kevin Seconds (born Kevin Marvelli; March 24, 1961) is an American singer/songwriter/musician, born in
Sacramento, California
)
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, mapsize = 250x200px
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. As a teenager, he moved with his family to
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
, where he lived until 1988 when he relocated back to Sacramento and has been based ever since.
It was while living in Reno, that he founded the highly influential
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
band 7 Seconds in 1979 with his younger brother Steve Youth."Rancid, Dropkick Murphys playing Avila Beach this summer" ''The Tribune''. Retrieved August 1, 2017. Having been their frontman from the start, he also writes their lyrics. The band signed to the Better Youth Organization label in late 1983. BYO put out 7 Seconds' first album, ''The Crew''. Since its formation, 7 Seconds has released over fifteen records as well as touring North America, Europe, and Japan multiple times.
Simultaneously with his career with 7 Seconds, he has been engaged in several side band projects. These include Go National, Drop Acid, Mustard, 5'10", Ghetto Moments, Kevin Seconds & The Altruistics, Positively Ventilate, Unsteady Heights and his newest musical project, Gimme An F.
Besides his musical endeavors, Seconds is an artist and illustrator and makes his artwork available at his live shows and via his website. He also sporadically hosts an online radio show called Sound Salvation Radio as well as his own podcast The Ramble Transmissions which he oftens broadcasts live from his van while on tour. On his podcast, Seconds discusses music, art, politics, social media and whatever else happens to be on his mind at the time.
Starting in 2001, Seconds and his wife Allyson owned and maintained True Love Coffeehouse in Sacramento but closed four years later after multiple problems with the landlord of the building. In 2006, Seconds reopened True Love in a new location, not far from the original location but closed it after two years, after having personal, economic, and philosophical differences with his silent business partners. The couple has no immediate plans to re-open the cafe.
In the summer of 2018, the Secondses opened an art gallery, shop and live music space called Riving Loom Arts in Sacramento. Various nationally-known singer-songwriters such as Vic Ruggiero,
Dave Dondero
David Dondero (born 24 June 1969 in Duluth, Minnesota, United States) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. In 2006, NPR's All Songs Considered named David one of the "best living songwriters" alongside Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and T ...
Jonah Matranga
Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga (born Jonah Sonz Matranga, August 11, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under his own name and onelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bands ...
Starting as a solo artist in 1989, Kevin Seconds began performing as a solo acoustic performer, debuting as an opener to the band Dramarama at the
City Gardens City Gardens was a nightclub located at 1701 Calhoun Street in Trenton, New Jersey. It opened in 1979 and closed in 2001.
History
Early years
The Nalbone family of Trenton and Lawrence, New Jersey, owned the building several years before it becam ...
club in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Hot Water Music), Ben Nichols (
Lucero Lucero may refer to:
* Lucero (given name) a Spanish given name
* Lucero (surname) a Spanish surname
* Lucero (entertainer) (born 1969), Mexican singer and actress
** ''Lucero'' (album), eponymous album released in 1993
* Lucero (band), an America ...
Bouncing Souls
The Bouncing Souls are an American punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1989. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk rock scene, they had reignited a "pogo" element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-he ...
Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Is ...
), among other acts. He has released 7 solo albums (''Stoudamire'', ''Heaven's Near Wherever You Are'', ''Rise Up Insomniacs'', ''Good Luck Buttons'', ''Don't Let Me Lose Ya'', ''Off Stockton'' and ''New Years Rulin's'', a tribute record featuring 33 short songs inspired by Woody Guthrie's 33 new year's resolutions for the year 1943, and has appeared on several compilations, split 7 inch vinyl releases (including releases with Mike Hale (
Gunmoll
A gun moll or gangster moll or gangster's moll is the female companion of a male professional criminal. "Gun" was British slang for thief, derived from Yiddish ''ganef'', from the Hebrew ''gannāb'' ( גנב). "Moll" is also used as a euphemism for ...
) and Mike Scott (
Phinius Gage
Phinius Gage were an English underground skate punk/melodic hardcore band who started up in 2001 and were active until 2008. They reformed in 2015 and played a reunion tour.
History
The band is named after Phineas Gage, an 1840s railway fore ...
and
Lay It on the Line (band)
Lay It On The Line are a British melodic hardcore band from London. They were formed in 2012 by Phinius Gage
Phinius Gage were an English underground skate punk/melodic hardcore band who started up in 2001 and were active until 2008. The ...
Asian Man Records
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
.
Starting in 2016, he began touring America and Europe with Steve Soto 9 (
The Adolescents
The Adolescents are an American punk rock band formed in Fullerton, California in 1980. Part of the hardcore punk movement in southern California in the early 1980s, they were one of the main punk acts to emerge from Orange County, along with ...
), who had also established himself as a formidable recording and touring artist. The two would share the stage, taking turns performing their own songs, telling stories and singing on each other's songs. These performances were heralded by many. Seconds and Soto had begun recording material for a planned split 7 inch e.p., when Soto passed away on June 27, 2018 at the age of 54 of natural causes.
In 2017, Seconds was invited to open all Western U.S. dates of the 'From Boston To Berkeley' tour co-headlined by Northern California's ( Rancid) and Boston's (
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...
), culminating with an appearance at It's Not Dead punk music festival in San Bernardino, California.
He frequently collaborates with his wife Allyson, who sings lead in her own musical project BagOKittens with Sacramento-based singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau.
After 38 years of touring and recording, 7 Seconds called it quits, citing personal health issues as the main reason. Seconds has focused almost solely on his solo music and tours as frequently as possible. Since the summer of 2008, he has toured extensively throughout North America, as well as the U.K. and mainland Europe.
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...
, Seconds has had a great deal of influence on the
straight edge
Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...
subculture but has never fully embraced it as a movement. He has been outspoken about his opposition to the more militant aspects of straight edge and does not support it. Seconds continues to maintain a drug/alcohol/smoke-free lifestyle but appears to have no interest in being a spokesman for the straight edge lifestyle. He is
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
.
Discography
* 1997 ''Stoudamire'' (Earth/Cargo)
* 2001 ''Heaven's Near Wherever You Are'' (
Headhunter
Headhunter or head hunter may refer to:
* Headhunting, hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing them
* Executive search, informally called headhunting, a specialized recruitment service
Arts and entertainment Film and telev ...
)
* 2002 ''Matt Skiba & Kevin Seconds'' (Split CD with Matt Skiba)
* 2008 ''Rise Up, Insomniacs!'' (
Asian Man
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
Rise
Rise or RISE may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world
* Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3''
* Rise Kujikawa, a video ...
)
* 2014 ''New Years Rulin's'' (This Means Something)
* 2016 ''Band-Aid On A Bullet Wound'' (Birthday Money)