Secondhand Serenade is the name of John Vesely's primarily solo musical project. It follows in the tradition of John Ondrasik's Five for Fighting. The name Secondhand Serenade is an autobiographical one. According to John Vesely most of his songs are originally sung to his wife as serenades. Music fans hear them only secondhand. Hence the name Secondhand Serenade.
John Vesely's Early Career:
John Vesely is the son of a Czech immigrant who spent more than 20 years as a professional jazz musician. He began his musical career as a journeyman bass player in the San Francisco Bay area. After meeting his wife, Vesely switched to the acoustic guitar and began writing songs. In an interview with Zero Mag, he said his future wife wanted him to play her a song and "serenading her with a bass guitar was out of the question."
MySpace Success and 'Awake':
John Vesely recorded Awake, his first solo album as Secondhand Serenade, in 2005. It was promoted on MySpace. In 2006 Secondhand Serenade became the #1 Independent Artist on MySpace. His songs were played millions of times through the site. Record labels soon came calling and Secondhand Serenade signed a contract with Glassnote Records, a newly formed label distributed through Warner Brothers.
Awake was re-released by Glassnote in January 2007. It landed on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, and included the chart single "Vulnerable." Vesely promoted the album with extensive touring and TV appearances.
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