Michael Schumacher
(born 3 January 1969, in Hürth-Hermülheim, Germany[1]) is a German former Formula One driver and seven-time Formula One world drivers' champion, and current advisor for Ferrari. According to the official Formula One website, he is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen".[2] He is the only German to win the Formula One World championship,[3] and is credited with popularizing Formula One in Germany.[4] In a 2006 FIA survey, Michael Schumacher was voted the most popular driver of the season among Formula One fans.[5]
After winning two championships with Benetton, Michael Schumacher moved to Scuderia Ferrari in 1996 and won five consecutive drivers' titles with them from 2000–2004. Schumacher holds many records in Formula One, including most drivers' championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season. Schumacher is the only Formula One driver to have an entire season of podium finishes, a feat he accomplished in 2002. His driving sometimes created controversy: he was twice involved in collisions that determined the outcome of the world championship, most notably his disqualification from the 1997 championship for causing a collision with Jacques Villeneuve.[6] After the 2006 Formula One season Schumacher retired from race driving.[7]
Schumacher planned to return to F1 racing for the 2009 European Grand Prix as a replacement for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.[8] However, it then became apparent that he was not fit enough to race due to a neck injury he sustained during a German Superbike test earlier in the year.[9]
Off the track, Schumacher is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts throughout his life and donated tens of millions of dollars to charity.[10] He is the elder brother of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, currently racing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM).[1] They stand as the only brothers in F1 history to have both won races and they scored the first sibling 1-2 finish in Formula One.
2009 - Planned comeback
In his capacity as racing advisor to Ferrari, Schumacher was present in Budapest for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix when Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was seriously injured after being struck by a suspension spring during qualifying. As it became clear that Massa would be unable to compete in the next race at Valencia, Schumacher was chosen as a replacement for the Brazilian driver.[81] Therefore, on 29 July 2009, Ferrari announced that they planned to draft in Schumacher for the 2009 European Grand Prix, and subsequent Grands Prix until Massa is able to race again.[8] He had already started to test in a modified F2007 to prepare himself.[82] He had been unable to test the 2009 car, due to testing restrictions. Ferrari appealed for special permission to test, but Williams, Red Bull and Toro Rosso were against this test.[83][84] However, Schumacher called off his return on August 10 due to the severity of his neck injury which he got in a motorcycle accident earlier in the year.[85] It is still unclear if Schumacher will race in 2009 after Valencia, or possibly in 2010, as Ferrari's president Luca di Montezemolo hinted Ferrari might push for a rule change which would allow Formula One teams to run three cars during a Grand Prix.
Sabtu, 10 Oktober 2009
Old Time F1 Racer
Batik Sebagai Budaya yang Mendunia
Walaupun kata "batik" berasal dari bahasa Jawa, kehadiran batik di Jawa sendiri tidaklah tercatat. G.P. Rouffaer berpendapat bahwa tehnik batik ini kemungkinan diperkenalkan dari India atau Srilangka pada abad ke-6 atau ke-7. [2]Di sisi lain, J.L.A. Brandes (arkeolog Belanda) dan F.A. Sutjipto (arkeolog Indonesia) percaya bahwa tradisi batik adalah asli dari daerah seperti Toraja, Flores, Halmahera, dan Papua. Perlu dicatat bahwa wilayah tersebut bukanlah area yang dipengaruhi oleh Hinduisme tetapi diketahui memiliki tradisi kuna membuat batik.[4]
G.P. Rouffaer juga melaporkan bahwa pola gringsing sudah dikenal sejak abad ke-12 di Kediri, Jawa Timur. Dia menyimpulkan bahwa pola seperti ini hanya bisa dibentuk dengan mengunakan alat canting, sehingga ia berpendapat bahwa canting ditemukan di Jawa pada masa sekitar itu.[4]
Batik telah disebutkan dalam literatur Melayu abad ke-17, Sulalatus Salatin. Legenda ini menceritakan Laksamana Hang Nadim yang diperintah oleh Sultan Mahmud untuk berlayar ke India untuk mendapatkan 140 lembar kain serasah (diduga adalah batik) dengan pola 40 jenis bunga pada setiap lembarnya. Karena tidak mampu memenuhi perintah itu, dia membuat sendiri batik itu. Namun sayangnya kapalnya karam dalam perjalanan pulang dan hanya mampu membawa empat lembar batik sehingga membuat sang Sultan kecewa[5]
Dalam literatur Eropa, teknik batik ini pertama kali diceritakan dalam buku History of Java (London, 1817) tulisan Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Ia pernah menjadi Gubernur Inggris di Jawa semasa Napoleon menduduki Belanda. Pada 1873 seorang saudagar Belanda Van Rijekevorsel memberikan selembar batik yang diperolehnya saat berkunjung ke Indonesia ke Museum Etnik di Rotterdam dan pada awal abad ke-19 itulah batik mulai mencapai masa keemasannya. Sewaktu dipamerkan di Exposition Universelle di Paris pada tahun 1900, batik Indonesia memukau publik dan seniman.[2]
Semenjak industrialisasi dan globalisasi, yang memperkenalkan teknik otomatisasi, batik jenis baru muncul, dikenal sebagai batik cap dan batik cetak, sementara batik tradisional yang diproduksi dengan teknik tulisan tangan mengunakan canting dan malam disebut batik tulis. Pada saat yang sama imigran dari Indonesia ke Persekutuan Malaya juga membawa batik bersama mereka.
Tradisi membatik pada mulanya merupakan tradisi yang turun temurun, sehingga kadang kala suatu motif dapat dikenali berasal dari batik keluarga tertentu. Beberapa motif batik dapat menunjukkan status seseorang. Bahkan sampai saat ini, beberapa motif batik tadisional hanya dipakai oleh keluarga keraton Yogyakarta dan Surakarta.
Story of Sky king
Itsuki "Ikki" Minami, is a student and a delinquent. Also known as the "Unbeatable Babyface", Ikki is the leader of the youth gang by the name of "East Side Gunz". Upon his return home, after being humiliated by a Storm Rider team called the Skull Saders, Ikki discovers a secret hidden from him by his benefactors, the Noyamano sisters. The sisters belong to a group of Storm Riders who go by the team name of Sleeping Forest. In the anime, learning the sisters' secret angers him and he steals a pair of Air Trecks, abbreviated as "AT". (In the manga, the sisters give a pair of ATs to him and invite him to skate with them.) Ikki eventually settles his grudge with the Skull Saders, but in the process he receives more than the simple satisfaction of revenge. Determined to experience the sensation of "flight" for as long as he can, Ikki is quickly engaged in the mysterious, irresistible world of Air Treks.
The main protagonist of the story, he was given Air Trecks (in the anime, he took them himself) and soon delved into the world of Storm Riders. Eventually he creates a team, Kogarasumaru. Originally trained to become the Sky King by Sora, he soon finds himself betrayed by Sora and Nike, (Sora's twin brother) who steal his Regalia. Shortly thereafter, Ikki becomes the Storm King and follows the "Hurricane Road."
Kazuma "Kazu" Mikura Voiced by: Kenn (Japanese), Clint Bickham (English)
A long-time friend of Ikki, Kazu is a friend who's always by his side. He is a speed-type rider who has recently inherited the title of Flame King following the path of the flame road along with Spitfires old AT's. Due to his speed he got the nickname Stealth.
Onigiri Voiced by: Masami Kikuchi (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)
Also a long-time friend of Ikki, Onigiri is a "perverted pig" as called by most. He has an unorthodox riding style, wearing his Air Trecks on his head and riding it upside-down. He has his own unique Road called the Smell Road, which uses an opponents senses against them.
Issa Mihotoke "Fats Buccha" Voiced by: Hitoshi Bifu (Japanese), Mark X. Laskowski (English)
Formerly of the Team Yaō (Night Kings), Buccha was defeated by Ikki and his team was forced to disband. Eventually, he joins Ikki's team as one of the main power riders, making use of his extremely large build and strength.
Akito/Agito/Lind Wanijima Voiced by: Kokoro Kikuchi (Japanese), Blake Shepard (English)
He is the Fang King with a split-personality. Akito is the "light" side while Agito is the "dark" side. They used to work for the police team of "WIND" until inspired by Ikki to leave and join Kogarasumaru after being rescued. Their split-personality changes depending on the side their eye patch is worn. Akito wears his patch on his right eye, Agito on his left. Later, a new personality named Lind emerged. Lind is somewhat like a "big brother" personality. He claims he is the original personality of the body.
Muse
Muse have released five studio albums – Showbiz (1999); Origin of Symmetry (2001); Absolution (2003); Black Holes and Revelations (2006), which earned the band a Mercury Prize nomination and a third place finish in the NME Albums of the Year list for 2006;[6] and The Resistance (2009). Muse have won many other music awards throughout their career, including five MTV Europe Music Awards, five Q Awards, six NME Awards, two BRIT awards and four Kerrang! Awards. The majority of these awards have been attributed to their live performances.
Muse have been involved with Teenage Cancer Trust and have performed at the Royal Albert Hall where they donated all money made from the merchandise stands to the charity. On the 25th of September 2008 all three members of the band were awarded Honorary Doctorates of the Arts by Plymouth University.
The members of Muse played in separate bands during their stay at Teignmouth Community College and Coombeshead College in the early 1990s, but soon the formation of Muse began when Bellamy successfully auditioned for the part of guitarist in Dominic Howard's band. They asked Chris Wolstenholme, who played drums at the time, to learn to play bass guitar for the band. Wolstenholme agreed and took up lessons.
In 1994 the band used the name Rocket Baby Dolls with a goth/glam image to compete in a local battle of the bands. The band won the contest, smashing their equipment in the process.
In July 2006, Muse released their fourth album, co-produced by Muse and by Rich Costey, titled Black Holes and Revelations. The album was released officially in Japan on 28 June 2006, in Europe on 3 July 2006 and, in North America on 11 July 2006. The album charted at No. 1 in the UK, much of Europe, and Australia. It was also a success in the United States, reaching number nine on the Billboard 200 album chart.[23] Black Holes and Revelations was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize, but lost to Arctic Monkeys. The album did, however, earn a Platinum Europe Award after selling one million copies in the continent.[24] The album's title and themes are the result of the band's fascination with science fiction and political outrage.[25][26] In August 2006, Muse recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road.
The first single from the album, "Supermassive Black Hole", was released as a download on 9 May 2006 and accompanied by a music video directed by Floria Sigismondi. It was later followed by general releases as a single the next month, all ahead of the main album release. The second single, "Starlight", was released on 4 September 2006. "Knights of Cydonia" was released in the U. S. as a radio-only single on 13 June 2006 and in the UK on 27 November 2006. It also had a six-minute promotional video filmed in Romania and was featured on the popular video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It was also voted number 1 in the world's largest music poll Australian Radio's Triple J Hottest 100 for 2007 and 18th in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009. The fourth single from the album, "Invincible", was then released on 9 April 2007.[27] Another single, "Map of the Problematique", was released for digital download only on 18 June 2007, following the band's performance at Wembley Stadium.
Main article: The Resistance (album)
The Resistance was released on 11 September in Italy, Germany and Australia and the Benelux, 14 September in the UK, and 15 September in the U.S. and Canada. It is the first Muse album to have been produced by the band themselves. The album was mixed by Mark Stent [43]
On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries and reached number 3 on the American album chart. It also beat its predecessor, Black Holes and Revelations, in relative album sales in its debut week in the UK with approximately 148,000 copies sold. [44] The first single "Uprising" was released 7 days earlier. [45]
On 2 June 2009, the band announced through e-mails and their website that they would begin a tour of Europe and the UK, beginning on 22 October 2009, at Hartwall Arena, Finland, and ending on 4 December, at Pala Olimpico, Turin, Italy, and including two nights at London's O2 Arena. A full list of tour dates can be found at their official website.[46] This tour had completely sold out their UK 95,000 allocated tickets within minutes from the general sale at 9 a.m. on 5 June.
On 14 July 2009, it was announced that the band will play their first televised United States performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on 13 September 2009, performing "Uprising".
The song "United States of Eurasia" is available for download along with Collateral Damage at the official Muse website.[The song was unlocked after a worldwide treasure hunt, 'Project Eurasia', consisting of USB keys with song data hidden in seven major cities: Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and New York. Each of the first six USB flash drives contained 1/6 of the song, which was uploaded to the Muse website once it was found. Until the last New York flash drive was found users could only listen to the song on the site, and were unable to download it. After the data from the New York flash drive was uploaded, the song was made available as a free download.
Zane Lowe played approximately 36 seconds of "Uprising" on 28 July 2009, ahead of its first full airplay on 3 August 2009 at 7:30 pm [BST]. This was the only clip made available to Radio 1 at the time. On 3 and 4 August, several radio stations aired "Uprising".
The band played live for the first time since recording, at two special homecoming gigs on a specially erected stage on the Den, a grassy area in Teignmouth, Devon, on 4 and 5 September 2009; dubbed 'A Seaside Rendezvous', where 30,000 more people turned up than bought tickets.
The East Coast of the U.S will get a big introduction to Muse when they open for U2 360° Tour 23 September to 14 October, 2009.[50] This portion of the tour will include New York City, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville (VA), Raleigh (NC), Atlanta, Tampa (FL), Dallas and Houston.
They have been confirmed as headliners for the Big Day Out Australian Music Festival. This will be part of their outdoor tour to take place throughout 2010. The band are also confirmed to play at the Stade de France, in Paris, the biggest French stadium, on 12 June 2010. There are many rumours of a proposed return to Wembley Stadium, where the band last played to 180,000 fans over two nights on 16 & 17 June 2007. There are also strong rumours that the band will play at the Reading Festival and Leeds Festival in England in August of 2010 after Melvin Benn, the organiser of both festivals disclosed to British newspaper The Daily Telegraph that Festival Republic were close to striking a deal with the band.
In the "Breakfast with Muse Concert" KROQ held, Muse was asked how long they would be on tour. They commented saying in a paraphrase, "We will probably be touring until the end of next year. We will be doing this U2 and European tour and ship off to Australia and Asia and return for an extensive US tour. It will actually be our longest US tour to date. Starting at about the end of February or March."
Latest Gundam Series
Serial ini pertama kali diumumkan oleh Sunrise dengan sebuah trailer berdurasi 15 detik, yang mengudara pada saat Terra e... ditayangkan pada tanggal 2 Juni 2007. Season kedua ditayangkan mulai tanggal 5 Oktober 2008, setelah berakhirnya season kedua Code Geass.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 adalah anime Gundam pertama yang memiliki animasi dalam format definisi tinggi (high-definition), dan serial Gundam pertama yang menggunakan kronologisasi timeline dunia nyata, Anno Domini.
Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (世界経済連合 sekaikeizairengō, disingkat menjadi ユニオン Union, diterjemahkan seccara literal menjadi World Economy Union/Perserikatan Ekonomi Dunia) terdiri atas Organisasi negara-negara di Benua Amerika, Australasia, dan Jepang, yang mengontrol elevator yang terletak di Amerika Selatan.
Human Reform League (人類革新連盟 Jinrui Kakushin Renmei, disingkat menjadi 人革連 Jinkakuren, diterjemahkan secara literal menjadi Human Reform Alliance/Aliansi Perubahan Manusia), yang terdiri atas China, India, Rusia (sebelah timur Pegunungan Ural), Mongolia, ASEAN, Papua Nugini, Semenanjung Korea, Taiwan dan Sri Lanka, mengontrol elevator yang dibangun di atas Samudra Pasifik.
Advanced European Union (AEU), yang terdiri dari negara-negara anggota Uni Eropa, mengatur elevator yang dibangun di tengah-tengah Benua Afrika.
Pada akhirnya, negara-negara Timur Tengah yang mengklaim negaranya sebagai "The Promised Land of God"(atau lebih tepatnya negara penghasil minyak) mulai terkena imbas yang sangat memperburuk situasi di sana. Berkat adanya sumber energi yang berasal dari elevator orbit tersebut, maka para negara penghasil minyak khususnya negara Timur Tengah mulai diembargo, sehingga mereka mulai melawan para reformis yang melawan hukum "The Promised Land of God".
Dengan sumber energi yang tidak terbatas yang hanya dapat menguntungkan tiga kekuatan besar di atas, terjadilah perang berkepanjangan di seantero Bumi, hanya untuk memperoleh bahan bakar dan energi yang akhirnya mengarah pada pembentukan sebuah organisasi militer pribadi, yang disebut dengan Celestial Being (ソレスタルビーイング, Soresutaru Biingu), yang dibentuk untuk "menghapus" segala macam bentuk perang di muka bumi dengan menggunakan mobile suit humanoid yang bernama GUNDAM.
Empat orang pilot mobile suit, yang disebut sebagai Gundam Meister (ガンダムマイスター Gandamu Maisutā atau tepatnya Master of Gundam), yang bekerja pada Celestial Being. Pemeran utamanya adalah Setsuna F. Seiei (刹那・F・セイエイ), seorang remaja pendiam berusia 16 tahun yang dibesarkan di Timur Tengah yang menjadi Gundam Meister selama dua tahun. Ia menaiki GN-001 Gundam Exia, sebuah mobile suit yang berkemampuan bertarung di dalam pertarungan jarak dekat. Para Gundam Meister nantinya akan berhadapan dengan para musuh yang merupakan pilot berpengalaman, seorang diantaranya adalah Ali-Al Saachez, seorang tentara bayaran yang bertanggung jawab atas kematian keluarga Setsuna F Seiei dan Lockon Stratos.
The Most Complicated Band of The Decade
Jamiroquai (pronounced: juh-meero-kwahhh) are an English Alternative/acid jazz/funk/soul/disco band. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, the Brand New Heavies, Galliano, and Corduroy. Subsequent albums have explored other musical directions such as pop, rock and electronica. Jamiroquai has sold more than 21 million albums worldwide.
Jamiroquai's first single, "When You Gonna Learn", was released in 1992 on the Acid Jazz label. Following its success, Kay signed an eight-album record deal with Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The first Sony album, Emergency on Planet Earth was released in 1993. It was followed in 1994 by The Return of the Space Cowboy. The single "Space Cowboy" gained notice on the charts and in club rotation.
While Jamiroquai was growing in popularity in the UK and Western Europe, they remained relatively unknown to U.S and other international audiences. The band's international breakthrough came with the third album, Travelling Without Moving in 1996, which yielded two big hits, "Virtual Insanity" and "Cosmic Girl". The success of "Virtual Insanity" was due in part to its Jonathan Glazer-directed video, which featured Kay's dance moves and some physics-defying images. At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, the creative music video for "Virtual Insanity" won four awards, including Best Video, Best Special Effects, Best Cinematography, and Breakthrough Video.
In 2003 Jamiroquai compiled and mixed a DJ mix album for the Late Night Tales series for Azuli Records. The track selection shows some of the band's funk, soul and disco influences, including tracks from The Pointer Sisters, The Commodores, Johnny "Hammond" Smith and Johnny "Guitar" Watson.
The acid jazz flavours and ethnic influences of the first three albums continued with the release of Synkronized in 1999. Jay Kay's interest in funk and disco music were shifting the band's directions towards such. By their fifth album, A Funk Odyssey (2001), they had evolved so drastically, that some critics and listeners would remark they lost the 'Jamiroquai sound'. With the departure of more and more original band members, including Wallis Buchanan and his didgeridoo, Jamiroquai had become a very different band than that of 1992. In spite of the changes, the fifth album's first single, "Little L", reached #1 in many charts worldwide.
Their sixth album, titled Dynamite was released on 20 June 2005. It reached #3 on the UK charts. The first single, "Feels Just Like It Should" was released early in June, the second, "Seven Days in Sunny June" released on 15 August 2005, followed by the third, "(Don't) Give Hate A Chance" on 7 November 2005.
Jamiroquai released a greatest hits collection, High Times: Singles 1992-2006 in November 2006. The release of this album marked the end of Kay’s eight-album contract with Sony. The album reached the number 1 spot in the UK album chart after its first week of release. The album featured two new tracks, "Runaway" and "Radio". On 18 September 2006, "Runaway" was given its first play by UK radio stations. It was released as a single on 30 October 2006. Kay remarked that compilation was released purely out of contractual obligation: "2006, they're out of the fucking picture."
[edit] 7th Album and Beyond
On 11 January 2008, Jay Kay himself posted a news item in which he thanked everyone who wished him the best for his birthday, and announced that the writing process for the new album has just begun.[7] Only a day earlier, drummer Derrick McKenzie posted an article on his MySpace weblog that the recording process for the same record has also begun.[8]
On 15 January 2008, the band confirmed that the recording process begun. According to the news item, eleven tracks have already been written for the new album, with more to come. As of now, none of the tracks' names are known. [9]
On 13 February 2008, the band announced from their website that it will perform at the World Stage of the Rock in Rio — Madrid festival, being held in Arganda del Rey, Madrid with others artists who have (then) yet to be announced.[10]
On 28 February 2008, Jamiroquai performed at the Khodynka Arena in Moscow, Russia at the launch of the new Audi A4 car.
On 22 June 2008, Jamiroquai performed at the Wianki Festival in Kraków, Poland.
On 4 July 2008, the band performed in front of a 75,000 people audience in the Rock in Rio Madrid festival. Tour dates were planned for July and August of 2008.
Jay has personally stated that 2009 will bring a new Jamiroquai album. The album is uninfluenced by major record labels and will bring forth a new direction for the band. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the album will see a release in 2010. A single to be released before 2010 is likely as well.
On 5 April 2009, Jamiroquai performed at the closing concert of Malaysian F1 Grand Prix in Sepang International Circuit Malaysia, and on the 9th of April Jamiroquai played at the Sentul International Convention Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia.[11]
On 24 August 2009, Derrick McKenzie was interviewed on playvybz.com and talked about the upcoming album. He stated that Jamiroquai is now signed with Universal Records (UK) and that they have recorded more than 40 new tracks. Also the new album will be recorded live and have a style similar to the first three albums with the use of strings and horns. He claims the album will have less of a "disco sound" and will be a lot more funky and soulful.
secondhand serenade
Secondhand Serenade is an acoustic rock solo project fronted by vocalist and guitarist John Vesely. The solo project began 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,[1] while the second album took a different path, using a proper band and an orchestra to establish a more accomplished sound.
[edit] Early history, first release
John Joseph 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 bass in local bands, featuring in a number of acts ranging in style from ska and hardcore to rock and pop. One of the bands he played in, Sounds Like Life, included fellow Bay Area artist Ronnie Day. After years of playing bass, he opted for an acoustic guitar.
Vesely began writing his own songs when he met his wife Candice Vesely. 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 were 'serenades' sung to his wife Candice, with whom he has two young sons. People around the world are merely getting to hear the songs 'second-hand.'[3] While Vesely continues to market the affectionate biography.
In 2005, Vesely released his debut album titled Awake. It was recorded as a demo, after booking a few days at a Ontario studio earlier in 2005, "using just an acoustic guitar and his multi-tracked vocals."[7] 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.[8] 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.[7] 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 Warner's 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[8]. 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.[7] 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".[9] "Vulnerable" peaked at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, #64 on the Pop 100 and #56 on the Hot Digital Songs charts.[11]
[edit] A Twist in My Story
A Twist in My Story 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 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. Members of his touring band include John Harvey on bass guitar, Lukas Vesely (Vesely's brother) on keys/vox, Ryan Cook(former bassist of the White Tie Affair) on lead guitar/vox, and Tom Breyfogle on drums.
The title A Twist in My Story is a reference to Vesely's 2008 divorce with his former wife Candice, with whom he has two young sons.[5][6]
In November 2008, the album's first single "Fall for You", was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[12] As of December 5 2008 Fall For You was still #13 on the American Top 40 songs in the country. http://www.at40.com/song/692/index.html
The "Your Call" video premiered on FNMTV on December 5. It can be viewed on the FNMTV website.
He released a video for the song "Maybe" on his Myspace page on May 4, 2009. Its a video about his concert and trips around the world.
A Twist in My Story (Deluxe Edition) was released on February 3, 2009. It contains 5 bonus tracks including Your Call (Radio Version), Fall for You (Acoustic Version), Like A Knife (Acoustic Version), his single Last Time, and the Coldplay cover "Fix You".