ARTiST : Secondhand Serenade
ALBUM : Awake
LABEL : Glassnote Records/Eastwest
GENRE : Acoustic
RELEASE : 2007-01-23
STREET : 2007-02-06
ENCODER : LAME v3.90.3 --alt-preset standard
QUALiTY : 188kbps avg / 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo
SiZE : 67.74 MB
PLAYTiME : 00:47:35
+ TRACK LiSTiNG +
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[#] [Track Name] [Time]
1. Half Alive 3:43
2. Broken 3:53
3. Vulnerable 3:22
4. Your Call 3:44
5. Maybe 3:32
6. It's Not Over 3:28
7. I Hate This Song 4:38
8. Awake 4:04
9. Take Me With You 4:53
10. Let It Roll 3:27
11. The Last Song Ever 4:38
12. End 4:13
47:35
+ RELEASE iNFORMATiON +
-----------------------
Over the last few years, the music industry has evolved in a way which allows
the common man with extraordinary talents, to rise above the sea of similarity,
and stand on his own as the voice of a generation. A generation that is fueled
by heart, emotion, passion and determination.
And that man has come to surface as Secondhand Serenadeà
Born into a family of musicians, John Vesely has taken the gift he was instilled
with, and shaped it into his own. With the help of his father, a professional
jazz musician for over 20 years in the Czech Republic, he started getting into
music around the age of 12. Playing bass for 8 years, he was a member of
numerous Bay area bands ranging in style from ska and hardcore to rock and pop.
But it wasnÆt until he picked up the acoustic guitar that he finally found his
true calling. ôI switched to guitar when I met my wife. She wanted me to play
her a song, but I didn't have a band at the time and serenading her with a bass
guitar was out of the questionö Vesely said.
Once he began writing his own material, John scraped up the money for 8 days of
studio time and went in to record the 10-track album, known as Awake in the
summer of 2005. Armed with a superior vocal range, a mind blowing sense of
harmony and heart wrenching lyrics, he was able to walk away with an acoustic
album that would prove to be the groundwork for the start of his career. When it
came time to chose a name, he decided to go with Secondhand Serenade in an
attempt to stay away from the typical singer/songwriter image. ôIt's everything
I would want in a band name and more. It basically sums up what I do. I write my
songs about events and feelings that occur in my life, and I sing the songs to
my wife. Everyone else gets the Secondhand Serenade.ö
While some artists may fear the rawness of playing with just an acoustic guitar,
John welcomes the honesty it comes along with. He claims ôIn 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.ö
It only seems right that an artist with this mentality begins to spread his
wings.
With his eyes set on conquering a fan base, John put together a MySpace page and
started playing out in his area. As the number of listeners at his shows began
to grow, so did his on-line fan baseà in a BIG way. In just a few months time,
Secondhand Serenade would shoot to the #1 position of all unsigned bands on the
widely popular site. Simultaneously, he would become the only unsigned act to
have a CD in the top 100 alternative albums on itunes. While that seemed
exciting enough, he also released a few demos on Yahoo! Launch, which would soon
claim the #1 position as well, on the Adult Alternative station. This time, he
was not beating out other unsigned acts, he was competing with the cream of the
crop, and winning. Months would go by as Secondhand Serenade claimed the top of
the chart over such names as John Mayer, Nickelback and Evanescence. Not used to
seeing this kind of reaction, industry insiders began to wonderà was it actually
possible for an unsigned, one man act, with nothing more than a self-produced
acoustic album, and the help of no one but fans, to post numbers that were
superior to artists on major labels? Artists with millions of dollars spent on
promotions? For Secondhand Serenade, it was not only possibleà it was reality.
As 2006 began to wind down, JohnÆs career was in full swing as he stepped to the
next level. Having made the rounds to major labels in New York and Los Angeles,
a deal was eventually signed with Glassnote Records, a brand new label started
by respected industry veteran, Daniel Glass. As GlassnoteÆs first official
artist, the team immediately went to work mapping out the next year for
Secondhand Serenade, along with the help of Warner/Independent Label Group.
2007 now looks to be an eventful year as well. With 2 new songs added to Awake,
Glassnote/ILG will be releasing the album to retail on February 6th. In
addition, a video is planned with Frank Borin (director for Simple Plan, Good
Charlotte, Eminem) for the song ôVulnerable,ö a fan favorite. This year will
also provide Secondhand Serenade an opportunity to see his fans from all over
the country. With shows already scheduled for SXSW and numerous other tours
taking shape, John anticipates giving his audience from coast to coast, a
firsthand experience. He will also see the studio again soon as another release
is being planned for later in the year. Stay tunedà Secondhand Serenade is
invading the hearts, minds and airwaves of the world.
http://www.myspace.com/secondhandserenade