John Vesely
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Secondhand Serenade is an American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, led by vocalist, pianist and guitarist John Vesely. Vesely has released four studio albums to date under the name Secondhand Serenade. The name can also refer to John Vesely alone. His debut album used
multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking or tracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a ...
to create the sound of a band using technology, while his second album took a different path, using a proper band and synthesizers to establish a more accomplished sound.


History


Early history, first release (2004–2006)

John Vesely (born February 5, 1982) 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 humorous family and as the son of a jazz musician. He started getting into music at the age of 12. He spent 8 years playing
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
in local bands, featuring in a number of acts ranging in style from ska and hardcore to rock and pop. One of the bands he played in, Sounds Like Life, included fellow Bay Area artist
Ronnie Day Ronnie Day (born Ronald Guglielmone Jr.; January 18, 1988) is an American songwriter from Redwood City, California. By the age of 16, Day had sold over 10,000 copies of his bedroom record, ''Nine Sleepless Nights''. After being tested for profic ...
. After years of playing
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
, he opted for an
acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
. Vesely follows in the tradition of John Ondrasik's Five for Fighting. Vesely was also the son of a Czech immigrant. John Vesely found success as Secondhand Serenade. While some artists may fear the rawness of playing with just an acoustic guitar, John welcomes the honesty it comes along with. He claims "in some ways a band is more powerful, but in other ways there are things you can do with one voice and one acoustic guitar that you couldn't do with an army of musicians behind you." In 2005, Vesely released his debut album titled ''
Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...
''. It was recorded as a demo, after booking a few days at a San Francisco studio earlier in 2005, "using just an acoustic guitar and his multi-tracked vocals." The album was promoted through the Secondhand Serenade MySpace page and by playing local shows. The
CDs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...
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 iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
. 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. He sold over 15,000 copies of the album on his own, and on the strength of these sales and the support, the labels became interested in him. Secondhand Serenade was signed by longtime label executive
Daniel Glass Daniel Glass is an American music industry executive whose output has included work with artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinéad O'Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur, Huey Lewis and the News, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Erykah Badu ...
, on his new label Glassnote Records, which is distributed through
Warner's The Warnaco Group, Inc. was an American textile/clothing corporation which designed, sourced, marketed, licensed, and distributed a wide range of underwear, sportswear, and swimwear worldwide. Its products were sold under several brand names ...
Independent Label Group Independent Label Group was an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. The company was formed in 2006 as an umbrella for various Warner auxiliary labels including East West Records, Rykodisc, and Cordless Recordings. Outside the United ...
. In 2006, Rolling Stone announced Secondhand Serenade as No. 3 in the magazine's reader's poll for ''Best MySpace Artist.''


''Awake'' re-release (2007)

In early 2007, ''
Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...
'' was reissued by Glassnote Records with an additional two songs. It was released on January 31 and gave Vesely his first chartings, debuting at number 16 on ''Billboard's'' Top Heatseekers chart. Added success led to it peaking at number 164 on the ''Billboard'' 200, number 3 on the Top Heatseekers and number 19 on the
Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...
chart. In support of his first label release, Vesely was featured on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's ''You Hear It First,'' AOL Music's ''Breakers'' Yahoo! Music's ''Who's Next?'' and appeared on talk show '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. He also played numerous shows, including tours with Hawthorne Heights and The All-American Rejects and at music festivals
South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
and alongside My Chemical Romance and
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
at The Bamboozle. 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". "Vulnerable" peaked at No. 83 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 64 on the Pop 100 and No. 56 on the Hot Digital Songs charts.


''A Twist in My Story'' (2008–2009)

'' A Twist in My Story'' was released on February 19, 2008, and features songs from ''
Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...
'' 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 Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
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 Automatic Loveletter was an American rock band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 2005. The band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Juliet Simms, her older brother and lead guitarist Tommy Simms, and drummer Daniel Currier. History Automatic Lovel ...
, and The White Tie Affair. Members of his touring band include Steve Shebby on bass guitar, Lukas Vesely (Vesely's brother) on keys, Ryan Cook (former bassist of the White Tie Affair) on lead guitar, 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. Vesely had separated with Candice in August 2007, the time when the tracks for ''A Twist in My Story'' were being created. In November 2008 the album's first single "Fall for You", was certified Platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. As of December 5, 2008 "Fall for You" was still No. 13 on the American Top 40 songs in the country. 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. It is 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. Deluxe edition of ''A Twist in My Story'' was released on February 3, 2009. It contains 5 bonus tracks including radio version of "
Your Call In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...
", acoustic version of "Fall for You", acoustic version of "Like a Knife", his single "Last Time", and the Coldplay cover "Fix You".


''Hear Me Now'' and ''Weightless EP'' (2010–2011)

Secondhand Serenade's third studio album '' Hear Me Now'', was released on August 3, 2010.Upcoming album details
from PureGrainAudio.com
In an interview, Vesely stated that the album would be more upbeat than his last album, which focused on relationships. On June 1, "Something More" was released onto
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
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. The vocals of Juliet Simms from American rock band
Automatic Loveletter Automatic Loveletter was an American rock band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 2005. The band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Juliet Simms, her older brother and lead guitarist Tommy Simms, and drummer Daniel Currier. History Automatic Lovel ...
were featured on the song "Hear Me Now" and the cover of " Fix You", originally performed by British rock band Coldplay. On March 3, 2011, Vesely released an EP titled ''Weightless''.


Departure from Glassnote and ''Undefeated'' (2012–2015)

In January 2012 Vesely started a Pledgemusic campaign which he promoted on his Twitter and Facebook in order to fund the recording of his next album. He announced on his Pledgemusic page that he had left his record label to start afresh. He stated that he wanted to focus on the music and not have to deal with "industry politics, expectations, and all of the other unnatural pressures that come along with being tied to companies and corporations", and sarcastically cited creative differences as the reason for leaving his record label in a video, with a caption that read: "LOOL!!!". Pledges ranged from $10 to $20,000, including various rewards such as signed guitar picks and CDs, handwritten thank you notes and lyric sheets, private Skype guitar lesson and Q&A sessions, VIP passes to a concert, the opportunity to visit Disneyland or Universal Studios with him, a signed and used Gibson guitar, a co-writing session with him in LA, a dinner for two home-cooked by him in LA, a private concert, and so on. Pledgers would also be entitled to exclusive videos, streams of demos and new songs, pictures, blog posts, and much more. It was also announced 25% of the money raised would go to Ear Candy, a charity that provides musical instruments and education to children. During the summer of 2012, Vesely recorded an acoustic remake of ''A Twist in My Story''. In July 2012, the release date and the title of the remake were announced by Vesely and it should be released on iTunes and Amazon as download. One week before the official release some sample of "Suppose", "Stranger", "Like a Knife", and his new recorded song "Belong To" were released on SoundCloud site. On September 11, 2012, Vesely released the acoustic remake of his older album '' A Twist in My Story'' called ''
A Naked Twist in My Story ''A Naked Twist in My Story'' is an acoustic remake of the Secondhand Serenade studio album '' A Twist in My Story'', released February 19, 2008 on Glassnote. It was released on September 11, 2012 on iTunes and Amazon without any single to prom ...
''. After this release Vesely goes back to the studio to record his new album with producer/engineer Brandon Metcalf in Nashville, TN. On February 26, 2013, the single "Shake It Off" was released to start promoting the new album. Vesely explained the concept of "Shake It Off" in a 2013 interview with ''Musichel'', ""Shake It Off" is a song about putting everyday problems behind you and staying positive. I really thought it was time for me to write a feel good song and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out." On a videochat on
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, Vesely announced the official title of the new album: ''Undefeated''. On April 22, 2014, Secondhand Serenade released his
OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...
" Counting Stars" cover, published on the covers album ''The Cover Up'' by Brandon Metcalf's Destiny Nashville.


The Rebel Roads (2015)

On April 24, 2015, John proposed to Veronica Ballestrini on stage at his show in Las Vegas, NV. The couple met at Destiny Records in Nashville to do three acoustic duets for his album ''Undefeated'', "Heart Stops (By the Way)", "La La Love" and "Nothing Left To Say" back in February 2013. Ballestrini later went on tour with him starting on March 8 in Lexington, Kentucky and ended on April 10 in West Hollywood, California. They developed a relationship on March 22, 2013. John married his second wife Veronica on April 1, 2017, in Vero Beach, Florida. The duo started a collaboration act as The Rebel Roads and released their single "First to Know" on iTunes on December 2, 2016. In 2015, Secondhand Serenade appeared on
Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...
's album ''
Blow Up the Moon ''Blow Up the Moon'' is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Blues Traveler, released on April 7, 2015. Every track on the album was recorded as a collaboration; guests on the album include 3OH!3, JC Chasez, The Dirty Heads, Rome Ramirez ...
'', co writing the song "Hearts Are Still Awake" and singing the song "The Darkness We All Need".


''Awake: Remixed & Remastered, 10 Years & 10,000 Tears Later'' (2017)

On February 10, 2017, Secondhand Serenade released ''Awake: Remixed & Remastered, 10 Years & 10,000 Tears Later''. Produced and distributed by Glassnote Records, a compilation including two new songs: "Don't Look Down"' and "Lost". Vocals are all Vesley and in an interview on YouTube, Vesley states on how much he appreciates his fans and support since he's grown from MySpace.


Discography


Studio albums


Extended play


Demo, compilation and other album


Singles


References


External links


Official SiteOfficial FacebookOfficial MyspaceInterview with Secondhand Serenade at ''TheMusicEdge''.com, 3/3/06"Secondhand Serenade; Digital Distribution Provides Boost To Heatseeking Artist," ''Billboard'', 2/23/07"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 {{Authority control Emo musical groups from California Rock music groups from California Menlo Park, California American pop rock music groups Glassnote Records artists Musical groups established in 2004