About Secondhand Serenade

Secondhand Serenade is an acoustic rock band which led by vocalist and guitarist John Vesely. Secondhand Serenade has released three studio albums : Awake (2007), A Twist on My Story (2008) and Hear Me Now (2010).

Early history

John Vesely formed Secondhand Serenade in his home town, Menlo Park, 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 a number of acts ranging in style from ska and hardcore to rock and pop. One of the bands he played in, Sound Like Life, included fellow Bay Area artist Ronnie Day. After years of playing bass , he opted for an acoustic guitar. Vesely follow Ondrasik 's Five for Fighting. Vesely was also the son of a Czech immigrant.

Vesely began writing his own songs when he met his wife Candice Vesely . She 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. 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 children . People all over the world only get to hear the songs ' second hand '. " While Vesely continues to market the affectionate biography , the couple divorced in 2008 . Vesely was heart broken as can be seen in many of his songs . He launched " A Twist In My Story " as a reference to divorce .

In 2005 , Vesely released his debut album titled Awake . It is recorded as a demo , after booking a few days in a studio Ontario earlier in 2005 , " using just an acoustic guitar and multi - tracked vocals. " The album was promoted through the Secondhand Serenade Myspace page and by playing local shows. CD 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 . The album experienced tremendous online support , and by the end of 2006 Secondhand Serenade has 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, It sells more than 15,000 copies of the album itself , and the strength of sales and support , naturally , the labels came calling . 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. In 2006 , Rolling Stone announced Secondhand Serenade as # 3 in the magazine reader's poll for Best Myspace Artist. In 2006, Rolling Stone Announced Secondhand Serenade as # 3 in the magazine 's reader 's poll for Best Myspace Artist .

Awake re -release (2007 )

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

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 ? and appeared on the talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He also played in many shows , including a tour 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.

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

A Twist in My Story (2008-2009)

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 the band . Most of the album is a new song written by John Vesely and recorded with the band . Two tracks on A Twist in My Story was produced by famed producer Butch Walker , while others are 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 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 MTV TRL . To support the release , Secondhand Serenade spent most of March and April touring with American bands Making April , Automatic Loveletter , and The Tie Affair White . Members of his touring band include Steve Shebby 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 children. In November 2008, the album's first single " Fall for You " , was certified Platinum by the RIAA . On December 5, 2008 " Fall For You " is # 13 on the American Top 40 songs in the country . Video " Your Call " 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 . 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 ) released on February 3, 2009 . The album includes five bonus tracks including " Your Call " ( Radio Version ) , " Fall for You " ( Acoustic Version ) , " Like A Knife " ( Acoustic Version ) , the single " Last Time " , and a cover of Coldplay's " Fix You ".

Hear Me Now and Weightless EP (2010-2011) 

Secondhand Serenade's third studio album , titled Hear Me Now , which was released on August 3, 2010 .

On June 1 , " Something More " was released to 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 . On July 21, while on tour in Dallas , Vesely announced that a downloadable track pack for Rock Band will be available soon, featuring multiple Secondhand Serenade hits including " Fall For You " . On July 27, Vesely added the eleven tracks on the new album to his Myspace and made ​​them available for streaming for fans . Many of these songs have also leaked onto sites such as Youtube . Vesely plans to release an EP following the current tour featuring all new acoustic songs . On 23 November 2010, Vesely released a free online download for a demo of a new song from the new EP entitled " Let Me In . " The next single from the new album is a new version of " You & I " featuring Cady Groves .

In March 2011 , Vesely announced he was mastering the new EP and will be entitled Weightless . Weightless was released digitally on May 3, 2011 and consisted of five songs : " Our Time " , " Let Me In , " " Animal ( Neon Trees Cover ) , " " You & I ( Acoustic ) , " and " Never Too Late " .

2012 - NOW

In January 2012 Pledgemusic Vesely started a campaign which he promoted on Twitter and Facebook to fund the recording of their next album . He announced on Pledgemusic page that he has left the record label to start from scratch . He stated that he wanted to focus on music and not have to deal with " industrial policy , expectations , and all other natural pressures that come along with companies tied to " , and cynically cited creative differences as the reason for leaving the record label in the video , with a caption that read : " lool " .

Pledger range from $ 10 to $ 20,000 , including various awards such as a signed guitar and CD manual , handwritten thank you notes and lyric sheets , private Skype guitar lessons and Q & A sessions , VIP passes to the concert , the opportunity to visit Disneyland or Universal Studios with him , which was signed and used Gibson guitars , co - writing session with her ​​in LA , dinner for two home - cooked by him in LA , a private concert , and so on . Pledgers will also be entitled to exclusive videos , demos , and stream a new song , pictures , blog posts , and more . It was also announced that 25 % of the money collected will go to Ear Candy, a charity that provides musical instruments and educational for children .

During the summer of 2012 , Vesely recorded an acoustic remake of A Twist in My Story . In July 2012, the release date and title of the remake was announced by Vesely and released on iTunes and Amazon . One week before the official release a few examples of the " Suppose" , " Stranger " , " Like a Knife " , and the recording of his new song " Belong To" which was released on Soundcloud site .

On September 11, 2012 , Vesely released a remake of an old acoustic album A Twist in My Story called A Naked Twist in My Story . Upon release , Vesely back into the studio to record a new album with producer / engineer Brandon Metcalf in Nashville , TN .

On February 26, 2013 , a new single titled " Shake It Off " was released to begin 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 stay positive . I really think it's time for me to write a good feel of the song and I could not be happier with how reality . "

On May 20, 2013 , he completed the album and special guest star on Veronica Ballestrini online via Live event stageit , and they sing " LA LA Love " for 61 viewers .

September 23, 2013 , Vesely and Veronica Ford Fiesta commercial Ballestrini perform in Nashville and videos uploaded to YouTube on October 1 . This video reached 12,000 views within 4 days .