Boyce Avenue with Secondhand Serenade at Mr. Small's Funhouse & Theatre | CBS Local Pittsburgh Events

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Performers

Boyce Avenue

Boyce Avenue, a Florida-based band popular for its strong acoustic roots and melodic rock sound, consists of the three brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel Manzano. The band first came together in 2000, when Alejandro (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Fabian (guitar, vocals), then 14 and 16 years old, respectively, started playing guitar. Within 3 months, Alejandro and Fabian took to the stage with their older brother Daniel (bass, percussion, vocals), then 20 years old, to perform before an audience of over 350 at a Pine View High School show. This would be the first of many public performances for the band at the school where its members had all been students together throughout their childhoods.

In the years that followed, the band was separated geographically, while Fabian pursued an Architecture degree at the University of Florida and Daniel left Florida to attend Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Nonetheless, during this period, Boyce Avenue assembled at every available opportunity to collaborate musically. It was not until October of 2004 and the subsequent months, however, that Boyce Avenue would really come into its own. Daniel, who had recently graduated from law school, reconnected with the band in Florida as its full-time bassist, and Alejandro, at the age of 18, launched into writing the band's first original song, "Find Me." In the following months, the band performed locally in its hometown of Sarasota, and in April of 2005, the band hit the stage at Pine View High School for the last time. The band's performance at the Mr. Pine View competition, an event which Alejandro would go on to win, was covered in the local press.

Upon Alejandro's graduation from high school, he joined Fabian at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, where the band refined its signature sound playing out in traditional venues like Market Street and Side Bar. In October of 2006 and the months that followed, the band recorded its first three singles at Nickel and Dime Studios near Atlanta, Georgia. The project was engineered by Kris Sampson (Train, the Black Crowes) and produced by Don McCollister (Sister Hazel, Third Day). In 2007 and 2008, Boyce Avenue was honored in several songwriting competitions judged by a host of accomplished and renowned music industry artists, professionals, and executives. The band qualified as a Southeast Semifinalist in the 2007 IMWS competition; "All The While" was selected as a Semi-Finalist in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition, and as one of twelve Lennon Award Winners in the 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest; "Find Me" was selected as a Finalist in the Pop category for the U.S.A. Songwriting Competition; and "Hear Me Now (piano acoustic)" was selected as a finalist in the Best Group/Duo category for the IAMA songwriting competition, and as a finalist in the 2008 International Songwriting Competition.

Focused on the completion of a debut album, Boyce Avenue took a hiatus from its public performance schedule to write, produce, and record additional singles. In July of 2007, the band returned to Atlanta, Georgia, this time to record three songs at the Electron Gardens Studio in the historic Biltmore Hotel. These songs were engineered by Gary Pfaff and Tim Delaney, and were produced by Boyce Avenue. In October of the same year, the band finished tracking for the debut album with the recording of two songs at RMP Studios in Orlando, Florida. The final three songs for the album, "Dare To Believe," "On My Way," and "Hear Me Now (piano acoustic)" were engineered at RMP Studios by Veit Renn (Jennifer Hudson) and Adam Barber (Creed, Shinedown, Alterbridge), and were produced by Boyce Avenue.

The debut album, titled “All You’re Meant To Be,” was released by Boyce Avenue on March 25, 2008. All of the songs were mixed by Austin Deptula (Eisley, New Found Glory), and the entire project was mastered by Rodney Mills (Pearl Jam, REM, Sheryl Crow). The physical album is available worldwide exclusively through www.campuscustom.com/boyceavenue, while the download versions can be found on iTunes/Amazon.com/Rhapsody/Napster/eMusic. Since the album's release, it has been written about in CNN Money, the Kings of A&R, and in other press, its songs have been featured on various MTV shows, and the band has established itself as one of the top 8 Artists of All-Time on YouTube, with over 90 million hits. Most recently, "All You're Meant To Be" has been licensed for sale nationwide in the Philippines through MCA Music, and is on path to Gold status. On the strength of the band's touring success in the United States and the Philippines, the band is poised to launch a worldwide tour in 2009.
Secondhand Serenade

Over the last few years, the music industry has evolved in a way which allows the common man with extraordinary talents, to rise above the sea of similarity, and stand on his own as the voice of a generation; A generation that is fueled by heart, emotion, passion and determination.

And that man has come to surface as Secondhand Serenade…

Born into a family of musicians, John Vesely has taken the gift he was instilled with, and shaped it into his own. With the help of his father, a professional jazz musician for over 20 years in the Czech Republic, he started getting into music around the age of 12. Playing bass for 8 years, he was a member of numerous Bay area bands ranging in style from ska and hardcore to rock and pop. It wasn’t until he picked up the acoustic guitar that he finally found his true calling. “I switched to guitar when I met my wife. She wanted me to play her a song, but I didn't have a band at the time and serenading her with a bass guitar was out of the question” Vesely said.

Once he began writing his own material, John scraped up the money for eight days of studio time and went in to record the 10-track album, known as Awake in the summer of 2005. Armed with a superior vocal range, a mind blowing sense of harmony and heart wrenching lyrics, he was able to walk away with an acoustic album that would prove to be the groundwork for the start of his career. When it came time to choose a name, he decided to go with Secondhand Serenade in an attempt to stay away from the typical singer/songwriter image. “It's everything I would want in a band name and more. It basically sums up what I do. I write my songs about events and feelings that occur in my life, and I sing the songs to my wife. Everyone else gets the Secondhand Serenade.”

While some artists may fear the rawness of playing with just an acoustic guitar, John welcomes the honesty it comes along with. He claims “In some ways a band is more powerful, but in other ways there are things you can do with one voice and one acoustic guitar that you couldn't do with an army of musicians behind you.” It only seems right that an artist with this mentality begins to spread his wings.

With his eyes set on conquering a fan base, John put together a MySpace page and started playing out in his area. As the number of listeners at his shows began to grow, so did his on-line fan base… in a BIG way. In just a few months time, Secondhand Serenade would shoot to the #1 position of all unsigned bands on the widely popular site. Simultaneously, he would become the only unsigned act to have a CD in the top 100 alternative albums on itunes. While that seemed exciting enough, he also released a few demos on Yahoo! Launch, which would soon claim the #1 position as well, on the Adult Alternative station. This time, he was not beating out other unsigned acts, he was competing with the cream of the crop, and winning. Months would go by as Secondhand Serenade claimed the top of the chart over such names as John Mayer, Nickelback and Evanescence. Not used to seeing this kind of reaction, industry insiders began to wonder… was it actually possible for an unsigned, one man act, with nothing more than a self-produced acoustic album, and the help of no one but fans, to post numbers that were superior to artists on major labels? Artists with millions of dollars spent on promotions? For Secondhand Serenade, it was not only possible… it was reality.

As 2006 began to wind down, John’s career was in full swing as he stepped to the next level. Having made the rounds to major labels in New York and Los Angeles, a deal was eventually signed with Glassnote Records, a brand new label started by respected industry veteran, Daniel Glass. As Glassnote’s first official artist, the team immediately went to work mapping out the next year for Secondhand Serenade, along with the help of Warner/Independent Label Group.

2007 now looks to be an eventful year as well. With two new songs added to Awake, Glassnote/ILG will be releasing the album to retail on February 6th. In addition, a video is planned with Frank Borin (director for Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, Eminem) for the song “Vulnerable,” a fan favorite. This year will also provide Secondhand Serenade an opportunity to see his fans from all over the country. With shows already scheduled for SXSW and numerous other tours taking shape, John anticipates giving his audience from coast to coast, a firsthand experience. He will also see the studio again soon as another release is being planned for later in the year. Stay tuned… Secondhand Serenade is invading the hearts, minds and airwaves of the world.