Secondhand Serenade is an American rock singer, real name John Vesely - a vocalist, pianist and guitarist. Vesely has released four studio albums to date under the name Secondhand Serenade. His debut album used multitrack recording to create the sound of a band using technology,[5] while his second album took a different path, using a proper band and synthesizers.[6]
History
Early history, first release (2004–2006)
John Vesely (born February 5, 1982) started performing as Secondhand Serenade in his home town of Menlo Park in California in 2004. Vesely was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area as the son of a jazz musician.[7] He started getting into music at the age of 12. 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.[8] One of the bands he played in, Sounds Like Life, included Ronnie Day. After years of playing bass, he opted for acoustic guitar. Vesely follows in the tradition of John Ondrasik's Five for Fighting. Vesely was also the son of a Czech immigrant.[9] Vesely found success as Secondhand Serenade.[10]
Vesely once said "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."[11]
In 2005, Vesely released his debut album titled Awake. 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."[12] The album was promoted through the Secondhand Serenade MySpace page and by playing local shows. The CDs 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.[13]
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.[12] He sold over 15,000 copies of the album on his own,[14] 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, on his new label Glassnote Records, which is distributed through Warner'sIndependent Label Group.[13] In 2006, Rolling Stone announced Secondhand Serenade as No. 3 in the magazine's reader's poll for Best MySpace Artist.[14]
Awake re-release (2007)
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 number 16 on Billboard'sTop Heatseekers chart.[13] 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 chart.
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".[14] "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)
The title A Twist in My Story is a reference to Vesely's 2008 divorce from Candice, with whom he has two young sons.[15][10] 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.[16]
As of December 5, 2008 "Fall for You" was still No. 13 on the American Top 40 songs in the country.[17]
The 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", 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.[18] In an interview, Vesely stated that the album would be more upbeat than his last album, which focused on relationships.[19]
Departure from Glassnote and Undefeated (2012–2015)
In January 2012 Vesely started a Pledgemusic campaign to fund his next album.[20]
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. After this release Vesely goes back to the studio to record his new album with producer/engineer Brandon Metcalf in Nashville, TN.[21]
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."[22]
On a videochat on Spreecast, Vesely announced the official title of the new album: Undefeated.[23]
The Rebel Roads (2015)
In 2015, Secondhand Serenade appeared on Blues Traveler's album Blow Up the Moon, co writing the song "Hearts Are Still Awake" and singing the song "The Darkness We All Need".[24]
^Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (May 9, 2009). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 59. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^Mason, Stewart. "Awake Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2008.