Mar 16, 2007

Local makes MySpace his space

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

Menlo Park's indie rocker John Vesely not only makes phenomenal music, but is himself a phenomenon. Under the name Secondhand Serenade, he has become an astounding Internet rags-to-riches story.

Vesely sank all his funds into recording an album, "Awake." It's a tremendously appealing, acoustic pop-rock collection. He had 1,000 copies made and wondered if he would ever sell that many.

He began playing local dates and, more importantly, set up a MySpace page (www.myspace.com/secondhandserenade). Secondhand Serenade shot to No. 1 among all the mega-site's unsigned bands. He became the only unsigned act to have a CD in the top 100 alternative tunes on iTunes. On Yahoo! Launch, he quickly grabbed the top spot, competing against not only unsigned artists, but superstars, as well.

Through his PayPal account, Vesely ended up selling over 15,000 copies of "Awake." An unprecedented buzz sounded. A few weeks ago, Daniel Glass (Royal Crown Revue) and his new label Glassnote Records (Warner) released the album with two additional new tracks. Secondhand Serenade is making a major impact on the charts and MTV.

Vesely, who plays San Francisco's Great American Music Hall on March 25, before embarking on a tour, says, "The fan base just keeps building. Five years ago, you really couldn't do this. You could tour all year and not get the kind of exposure that I got in a few months on MySpace."

He explains that it's just a matter of having a good product and being willing to work at marketing it. Vesely worked tirelessly, poring over other demographically targeted band sites, contacting the top 50 comment-senders on each one.

"If people want to take a chance, click on your page and listen, they will. Those who do are potentially going to be huge fans for a long time," he said. "The great thing about MySpace is, if they like what they hear, they can add your song to their profile and everyone who visits their page hears it. They can then click on the (music) player to go to your (Web) page or add the song directly. It's an amazing way to promote music."

With a tool like MySpace at artists' disposal, the rate of exposure to fans "exponentially increases every day," Vesely said. "Eventually you start climbing the charts and that's another way to get people to visit your (Web) page. You take it step by step and it works really well."

It worked so well for Vesely that he was soon making more money from iTunes sales than he was at his day job. Thus a career was born.

"That's what every musician dreams of - to be able to just write songs and play them for a living," he said.

Vesely's father made a living as a musician in the Czech Republic for 25 years prior to moving to the Peninsula and working as a technician. While attending Menlo-Atherton High School, Vesely played bass in ska, punk and hardcore bands.

Meeting his wife Candice, who grew up in Redwood City, proved to be a musical, as well as romantic turning point. "She wanted me to play her a song and, as a bass player, I really couldn't do that. It inspired me to start playing the guitar."

He joined the Peninsula band Wordsfail, and when the group's lead vocalist dropped out, Vesely was asked to take over the mic. He subsequently teamed with Ronnie Day in Sounds Like Life.

Vesely polished his songwriting skills, drawing ongoing inspiration from his wife. "She's had to deal with the fact that some of the songs are not too happy. Being married is a tough thing, tougher than any other relationship you'll ever have," he said.

"Once more and more people were hearing the songs, it was hard for me and Candice. We didn't want people to think we had a bad marriage, which we definitely don't. But life isn't always perfect. The way I write is honest and people can relate to the realism."

Like Five For Fighting, Vesely chose to use a name that sounded like a group. "With a solo artist people have an expectation of what the music is going to be," he said. "I'm more of a rock guy than a singer-songwriter guy. I want to portray a band, in essence."

Secondhand Serenade made an ideal moniker. "I write my songs for my wife and sing them to her. That's the firsthand serenade. So when I'm playing them for fans, it's like a secondhand serenade."

And his wife offers her feedback. "My goal is to have songs that are emotionally stimulating. If she gets something out of it in that way, then I feel pretty confident about that song."

When he records a new album later this year, Vesely might also give his street team a preview, to get their input. "I value the fans' opinions."

He's balancing creative, marketing and personal aspects of his life. He has two sons, ages 4 and 14 months.

"Being away from my family is really a hard thing for me. Fortunately, Candice is an amazing mother and an extremely supportive and understanding wife."

Though he spends time in Los Angeles and New York, Vesely doesn't plan to move. "I wouldn't trade the Bay Area for anything," he said. "The neighborhoods are comfortable. Palo Alto has a downtown where you can actually walk at night and not worry about anything. A great school system. It's all I could ask for."

As Vesely looks ahead, his goals aren't primarily financial. "I'd love to go gold or platinum. But mainly I just want my community to grow, to have a lot of people involved in what I'm doing."

But Vesely is still working at building his audience. "I've barely tapped the amount of fans I could reach. If you get signed and expect the label to do all the work, you're destined to fail," he said.

"It's important, as you go along, you continue to do what works, as well as trying things that are fresh and new. I'm always thinking."