In the past he has worked with some big name producers while producing his music himself. He has taken the experience that life and music has handed him and ran with it, using those experiences to their fullest extent. Secondhand Serenade is now on tour promoting the new album which promises to be a little different than the past recordings. According to John we can look forward to some harder hitting, upbeat music on this album.
Interstatelive.com recently had the chance to speak with John about the past, the present and what is to be.
When we spoke to John he was still in L.A. tying everything up and getting ready to head to Denver for his show at the Marquis Theater this coming Sunday.
Interstate Live: Hey John, how are you?
John: Hey Tom, how’s it going?
IL: Pretty good. I understand that you’re going to be in Denver playing the Marquis Theater this coming Sunday.
John: Yes I am. I’m on my way!
IL: Are ya?
John: Well, almost. We’re just tying everything up in Los Angeles and we’re about to leave in a day or two.
IL: Are you originally based in L.A.?
John: I’m based in Northern California, Menlo Park, in the bay area. I live between there and L.A.. I go back and forth.
IL: Do you do most of your studio work in the L.A. area?
John: Yeah, the majority of it. My studio is all set up here. So when I’m doing the record or when I’m doing co-writing or production for other artists it’s all here.
IL: I wasn’t aware that you did production for other artists.
John: Yeah, I’m just kind of getting started. While we were working on this record I ended up producing three of the songs myself, including Something More, and it kind of opened a few doors. So I’m taking some stabs at it.
IL: I heard you were quite the producer.
John: Thank you! It was cool. It was a good learning experience. I’ve been able to work with some pretty amazing producers in the past few years. We worked on this album with Aaron Johnson, he did The Fray records with Mike Flynn, and he did a fantastic job. The last record I worked with Butch Walker and Danny Lohner. It’s really great working with several producers, seeing the way that they work, and learning from that paves a solid path for me to take a stab.
IL: Any plans down the road on doing more producing?
John: Definitely! I’m laying ground work and I’ve definitely wanted to for a long time, and this finally gave me a catalyst. I ideally want to be playing, writing and creating music for as long as I can. I also want to have a foundation of writing and producing, so if in the future I’m not doing music so much I can still be doing this, taking part in the creation of music for the rest of my life. I’ve taken my studio rig on the road too, so if there is an artist that wants to work on the road, or if there is someone in the city that we’re in that wants to do a co-write we can do that.
IL: You actually played bass starting out, in bands ranging from ska to hardcore to rock and to pop. How does one go from playing in bands with that type of music to what you’re doing now?
John: It’s all an evolution, and finding what you’re really good at. You are obviously gravitating towards music that you like when you’re creating it. There is a time when you’re a kid, when you’re young, and you’re going through school and all these different situations and social situations and this is the first time you’re really hearing, or being a part of music. So you’re kind of testing the grounds. So I started off with ska, going to the Warped Tour all the time. That was right at the beginning of Warped Tour and some of my fondest memories were going with my friends and band mates. And then you get involved in the local scene, and the I started to get into hardcore because I had seen some hardcore bands playing around and I really enjoyed it and the energy. Then I kind of gravitated to pop punk and joined a pop punk band. That’s what introduced me to Saves The Day and New Found Glory at the time, and that was something I was really crazy about for a very long time. That introduced me, in turn, to The Get Up Kids and music that was more like that. It’s all kind of a slow evolution that happens step by step.
IL: So all that stuff you did in the past definitely has a bearing on what you’re doing now.
John: Oh, absolutely! All of it comes in at one point or another. I’ve never had any musical training, so it’s kind of like picking things up as I went along. It’s the same with production. You kind of pick things up as you go along. They reoccur, and every producer has a style just like a musician does.
IL: Is it true that you’re playing with a band now?
John: You know, I picked up a band to tour with. They are some of my close friends and really, really talented musicians. It’s a pleasure to play with them and it’s as tight as it’s ever sounded with a band. One of them happens to be my brother playing keys. He’s been playing keys for me for about two and a half years now, and he‘s been my only keyboard player since I started playing with a band, him and the drummer Tom who also co-produced the songs with me. He’s a fantastic drummer, a very talented programmer and he’s just great to work with.
IL: The new album comes out in august?
John: Yes, that’s correct.
IL: The last album was, if you don’t mind me saying, kind of a wear your heart on your sleeve kind of album.
John: It was definitely a little more washy. In my opinion I think it was a great album. It was definitely a part of my growth, but there was an aspect of it that was undeveloped, or under-developed I should say. It was my first attempt at working with a producer, everything is always a learning experience. There was a sense of beauty to it as well because it was so simple. Same thing with Awake. Like Green Day’s first albums, you can listen to Kerplunk or Dookie and they’re not perfect, not sonically perfect, but there is something really magical about them. It’s in the innocence of the music and it’s in the simplicity and the effectiveness. The trick is, over time, to keep that effectiveness, but really perfect what you’re trying to do.
IL: You’ve obviously been doing something right though. You were named the number one unsigned artist on Myspace.
John: It’s true. But it was gradual though. It was building on Myspace for a year, almost two years. It was being independent and solo and doing the acoustic thing. It’s the rock thing now days. A rock band isn’t going to explode over night. A Lady Gaga would, because of the type of music.
IL: I’ve seen bands that have been on Myspace for four or five years and still don’t have the fan base you do. That being said, it had to make you feel good being called the number one unsigned artist on Myspace.
John: It absolutely did. I’ve been very fortunate because I feel like I have very loyal fans, and fans that have stood by me for the past five years. That’s a long time for a person to be into the same band. It really is if you think about it. There are a lot of the same people going to my shows, they’ve been to five or six of my shows in their area. That’s awesome to see the same faces, to see the same people that I was friends with on Myspace like five years ago. It’s a flattering and great thing that I can keep in touch with them like that and have that connection with them still. And them, even over time, enjoying my progression as an artist. Because it’s not the same music as it was in Awake, it’s not even the same music now, as it was in Twist In My Story. So to see them gradually moving towards the new music fells like me graduating to the new music.
IL: What can we expect from the new CD?
John: Well, it’s definitely much more musically developed. It throws a few curve balls. It really does. There’s a lot more of an upbeat feel to it than the last record. It has some faster songs, it has some harder songs. It has some more electronic elements to it, it’s just more of a dynamic album. I’m really hoping people will adhere to it. I think it’s a really solid album and I worked really hard on it.
IL: Will you be playing any of the new songs at the Marquis Theater and if so how many of them?
John: Absolutely! We’ll probably be playing five or six songs off the new record. I’ll be playing songs off of all three of the records, but probably five or six of the new record.
According to John, the inspiration for the writing on this record came from what he’s been doing for the past few years. The songs actually relate to his life and as he puts it,” The songs are all very much about me.” He does not mean this in a bad, stuck up way of course. Quite the opposite is true. The way he explained it to me was that the songs are about being jaded and possibly spoiled from success, and acting in a less than flattering manner, but then owning up to the mistakes that have been made and making a change in life.
Make sure to catch Secondhand Serenade live at the Marquis Theater Sunday, July 18th. He was named the number one unsigned artist on Myspace after all. Aren’t you the least bit curious to see the show? I know I am. I’ll be there and you should too.
Ever heard of Secondhand Serenade ? If you have, that’s not surprising. It would surprise me much more if you had never heard the name. Who is Secondhand Serenade?
Secondhand Serenade for the most part is John Vesely, a singer songwriter that has poured his heart out to millions (yes millions) of listeners since 2004. What makes his music so special? For one, the songs are about his life or revolve around his life, and for some reason people dig it. He has been named the #1 unsigned artist on Myspace.com which is no small feat. His songs have literally millions of hits on Myspace and he has over 100,000 friends on there as well. Unreal!
John has the looks of a teen pop singer in a boy band, but comes across as a toned down pop punk singer from the late 90’s, early 2000’s. His songs can be emotional at times, and John himself has admitted to wearing his heart on his sleeve during the recording of Awake. Emotional the songs may be, but they are well thought out vocally and musically, which stands to reason since John has been labeled somewhat of a perfectionist.
Interview with John Veseler of Secondhand Serenade
Posted on July 29, 2010
by Tom Walsh
Westminster, Colorado
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