Kevin Seconds
Encyclopedia
Kevin Seconds is a singer/songwriter/musician, born in Sacramento
. As a teen, he moved with his family to Reno
, Nevada
where he lived until 1988 when he relocated back to Sacramento and has been based ever since.
He founded the highly influential hardcore punk
band 7 Seconds in 1979 with his brother Steve Youth. Having been their frontman from the start, he also writes their lyrics. The band signed to the Better Youth Organization label in late 1983. BYO put out 7 Seconds first record, The Crew. Since its formation, 7 Seconds has released over 15 records as well as touring North America, Europe and Japan multiple times.
Simultaneously with his career with 7 Seconds, he has been engaged in several side band projects. These include Go National, Drop Acid, Mustard, 5'10", Ghetto Moments and The Altruistics. He recently started a secret musical/art project called Swallow My Pride that will make its debut in the spring of 2011.
Besides his musical endeavors, Kevin is an artist and illustrator and makes his artwork available at his live shows and via his website. He also hosts a 2-hour punk rock
online radio show called Pay To Strum with Kevin Seconds, on the popular Canadian-based Internet radio station punkradiocast.com. The show is currently on hiatus while Kevin tours as a solo artist and with 7 Seconds. Kevin announced recently that he was working on creating a new radio show he will produce and host via his own radio site radio.kevinseconds.com. There is no official kickoff date but he occasionally does "test broadcasts".
He also hosts his own podcast
show via the ipadio.com website.
In 2001, Kevin and his wife Allyson Seconds opened the popular "True Love Coffeehouse" in Sacramento, CA but closed 4 years later after multiple problems with the landlord of the building. In 2006, Kevin reopened True Love in a new building, not far from the original location. He recently closed it for personal, economical and philosophical differences with his business partners. Kevin and Allyson have no immediate plans to re-open the cafe.
at the City Gardens
club in Trenton, New Jersey
. Since then, he has toured the United States
and Europe
extensively under his own name and has played with the likes of Elliott Smith, Jonathan Richman, Ben Lee, John Doe, Bouncing Souls, Bad Brains, Bob Mould, Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music
), Ben Nichols (Lucero
), Vic Ruggiero (The Slackers
), Greg Attonito (Bouncing Souls), Joey Cape (Lagwagon
) and Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy
), among other acts. He has released 4 solo albums ('Stoudamire', 'Heaven's Near Wherever You Are', 'Rise Up Insomniacs' and the recently released 'Good Luck Buttons') and has appeared on several compilations, split 7 inch vinyl releases and a popular split album with Matt Skiba
of Alkaline Trio
, released in 2002 on Asian Man Records
.
He frequently collaborates with his wife Allyson, who sings lead in her own musical project BagOKittens with Sacramento
-based singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau
.
Although 7 Seconds still tours, Kevin has focused almost solely on his solo music and tours as frequently as possible. Since the summer of 2008, he has toured throughout North America, as well as the U.K. and mainland Europe.
of Minor Threat
, Kevin has had a great deal of influence on the straight edge
subculture but has never fully embraced it as a movement. He has been outspoken about his opposition to the more militant aspects of Straight Edge and does not support it. Kevin continues to maintain a drug/alcohol/smoke-free lifestyle but appears to have no interest in being a spokesman for the Straight Edge lifestyle.
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. As a teen, he moved with his family to Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
where he lived until 1988 when he relocated back to Sacramento and has been based ever since.
He founded the highly influential hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band 7 Seconds in 1979 with his brother Steve Youth. Having been their frontman from the start, he also writes their lyrics. The band signed to the Better Youth Organization label in late 1983. BYO put out 7 Seconds first record, The Crew. Since its formation, 7 Seconds has released over 15 records as well as touring North America, Europe and Japan multiple times.
Simultaneously with his career with 7 Seconds, he has been engaged in several side band projects. These include Go National, Drop Acid, Mustard, 5'10", Ghetto Moments and The Altruistics. He recently started a secret musical/art project called Swallow My Pride that will make its debut in the spring of 2011.
Besides his musical endeavors, Kevin is an artist and illustrator and makes his artwork available at his live shows and via his website. He also hosts a 2-hour punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
online radio show called Pay To Strum with Kevin Seconds, on the popular Canadian-based Internet radio station punkradiocast.com. The show is currently on hiatus while Kevin tours as a solo artist and with 7 Seconds. Kevin announced recently that he was working on creating a new radio show he will produce and host via his own radio site radio.kevinseconds.com. There is no official kickoff date but he occasionally does "test broadcasts".
He also hosts his own podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
show via the ipadio.com website.
In 2001, Kevin and his wife Allyson Seconds opened the popular "True Love Coffeehouse" in Sacramento, CA but closed 4 years later after multiple problems with the landlord of the building. In 2006, Kevin reopened True Love in a new building, not far from the original location. He recently closed it for personal, economical and philosophical differences with his business partners. Kevin and Allyson have no immediate plans to re-open the cafe.
Solo career
Starting as a solo artist in 1989, Kevin Seconds began performing as a solo acoustic performer, debuting as an opener to the band DramaramaDramarama
Dramarama is an alternative rock band.It may also refer to:* Dramarama , a 1980s British television series* Dramarama , a 2006 film that was to star Lindsay Lohan but was unreleased...
at the City Gardens
City gardens
City Gardens was a nightclub located at 1701 Calhoun Street in Trenton, New Jersey.The Nalbone family of Trenton and Lawrence, New Jersey, owned the building several years before it became the legendary rock club known as City Gardens. The "City Gardens" moniker was first used strictly as a blues...
club in Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
. Since then, he has toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
extensively under his own name and has played with the likes of Elliott Smith, Jonathan Richman, Ben Lee, John Doe, Bouncing Souls, Bad Brains, Bob Mould, Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music is a punk rock band from Gainesville, Florida. The members of the band are Chuck Ragan, Chris Wollard, Jason Black, and George Rebelo. HWM first formed in 1993...
), Ben Nichols (Lucero
Lucero (band)
Lucero is an American punk/Texas Country infused rock band that is based in Memphis, Tennessee.-Biography:Lucero's punk rock roots flavor their now "country-ish" music, while their Southern roots give them the twang that they have come to be known by. They had their start in Memphis, TN. The band...
), Vic Ruggiero (The Slackers
The Slackers
The Slackers are a New York City band, formed in Brooklyn in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz...
), Greg Attonito (Bouncing Souls), Joey Cape (Lagwagon
Lagwagon
Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...
) and Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after Tumbler-Snapper and before Upshot-Knothole. Its purpose was to help upgrade the U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons in response to the Soviet nuclear weapons program...
), among other acts. He has released 4 solo albums ('Stoudamire', 'Heaven's Near Wherever You Are', 'Rise Up Insomniacs' and the recently released 'Good Luck Buttons') and has appeared on several compilations, split 7 inch vinyl releases and a popular split album with Matt Skiba
Matt Skiba
Matthew Thomas Skiba is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio.-Early life and family:...
of Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
, released in 2002 on Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
.
He frequently collaborates with his wife Allyson, who sings lead in her own musical project BagOKittens with Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
-based singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau
Anton Barbeau
Anton Barbeau is an American singer-songwriter from Sacramento, California. He primarily accompanies himself on guitar or keyboard, though on his recordings he's performed on many different instruments, additionally including bass guitar and percussion....
.
Although 7 Seconds still tours, Kevin has focused almost solely on his solo music and tours as frequently as possible. Since the summer of 2008, he has toured throughout North America, as well as the U.K. and mainland Europe.
Straight Edge
As with Ian MacKayeIan MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
of Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
, Kevin has had a great deal of influence on the straight edge
Straight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
subculture but has never fully embraced it as a movement. He has been outspoken about his opposition to the more militant aspects of Straight Edge and does not support it. Kevin continues to maintain a drug/alcohol/smoke-free lifestyle but appears to have no interest in being a spokesman for the Straight Edge lifestyle.