Disclaimer: This is all Nonsense
There are some things in life that you have to appreciate as they are. For example, no matter how much you want to help a person, nothing will ever eventuate until this person truly opens up to you. Whether or not this occurs sooner rather than later really depends on the person in question and the problem. But I digress, I will not dwell on sad thoughts today, considering that today is the rainbow at the end of a storm.
I’m the kind of person that likes to listen to music that moves me. Quite frankly, music that regurgitates material from other songs and make it new by adding a synthesised beat and nonsensical vocals abuses my auditory senses. There’s nothing worse than listening to words that don’t make complete and utter sense or to songs that completely abandon any sense of musical style. Where did music originate from, if not exemplifying an emotion? Whether it be celebratory or romantic, a meaning was still present and over time has music has evolved to praising ancestors, gods and other events.
There’s a reason why certain songs are called classics – that’s because they’re memorable. The fact that some of us choose to listen to songs beyond our years is a clear indication of a song’s success and I highly doubt that songs of today could live up to such a thing. Music comes and goes, and unfortunately, I cannot wait until Second Wave Emo commits to its lyrics and hangs itself on its own hypocrisy…
Forgive my tangent, I’ll return to my story. Over the course of the next few weeks I’ll be working on a much waited music performance assignment. The task: perform a piece of no longer than four minutes that fits the 18th Century, 20th Century and 21st Century styles – in other words, we are at liberty to perform any song that our hearts desire. My group, the orignal music trio, comprising of Theresa, myself and Alexis will be working on playing a song called “Giving It Away” by Mae. If by chance you ever have the pleasure of listening to the acoustic version of this song – which is far more pleasant on the ears than the studio version – I can guarantee that you love the piano introduction if not the very lyrics of the song. It exemplifies all that I look for a song. Thoughtful lyrics with equally brilliant melodic accompaniment.
And like all of my phases, I have yet again relapsed into a “Secondhand Serenade” addiction. One morning I was waiting at Lidcombe station, Alexis told me that Secondhand Serenade is not actually a band, but a solo rock project fronted by guitarist John Vesely. Here’s what the Secondhand Serenade wikipedia article had to say about this interesting project:
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Secondhand Serenade (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Secondhand Serenade is an American acoustic rock solo project fronted by vocalist and guitarist John Vesely. The solo project began in California, USA, in 2004. Vesely has released two studio albums to date under the name Secondhand Serenade, Awake in 2007 and A Twist in My Story in 2008. The debut album used multitrack recording to create the sound of a band using technology,the second album took a different path, using a proper band and an orchestra to establish a more accomplished sound.
Early history and first release
John Vesely 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 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 as a bassist in local bands, featuring in a number of acts ranging in style from ska and hardcore to rock and pop. After years of playing bass, he opted for an acoustic guitar and began writing his own songs when he met his wife. She had 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 are ’serenades’ sung to his wife. People around the world are merely getting to hear the songs ’second-hand’.
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”.The album was promoted through the Secondhand Serenade Myspace page and by playing local shows. The CD’s 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.
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, naturally, the labels came knocking. Secondhand Serenade was signed by longtime label executive Daniel Glass, on his new label Glassnote Records, which is distributed through Warners Independent Label Group. In 2006, Rolling Stone announced Secondhand Serenade as #3 in the magazine’s reader’s poll for Best Myspace Artist.
Awake re-release
In early 2007, Awake was reissued by Glassnote Records with an additional two songs. It was released on February 6 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 and #19 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
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 talk show Late Night with Conan O’Brien.He also played numerous shows, including tours 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 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 #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, #64 on the Pop 100 and #56 on the Hot Digital Songs charts.
A Twist In My Story
A Twist in My Story is Secondhand Serenade’s second album to date and first on Warner Glassnote. It was released on February 19, 2008 and features songs from Awake 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 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 popular MTV show TRL. In support of the release, Secondhand Serenade spent most of March and April touring with American bands Making April, Automatic Loveletter, and The White Tie Affair.
The first EP by Secondhand Serenade will be released later in 2008, titled From Me to You. The iTunes music store release will contain four exclusive songs, including a cover of the Coldplay song “Fix You”. Vesely has also said he will be filming a music video for the next single, “Your Call”.
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That’s all that I have to say about my happy day – consider this post comic relief after posts after posts of bitching and the like. It’s my way to make it up to you in my own special way.
Sir[♥]Harlequin
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