You are currently listening to The Unknown Rider
by Second Coming
THE SECOND COMING STORY
Every musician, songwriter, and producer involved over the years has greatly contributed to the groups overall sound and success. We're all very grateful for the body of work they've created.
Second Coming is about many talented people, not just the four guys in the current line-up, as you'll see in the story below.
In the early-ninties, Bacolas and James Bergstrom formed the heavy-rock cover band, F.T.A., with teen friend and guitarist Tim Wolf. The group would perform on the outskirts of Seattle. "None of the guys we knew in "original" bands really knew what we were doing" says Bergstrom. "We kept it our little secret, we didn't really want everyone to know we were playing cover songs 6 nights a week." he added. "When Maxi moved back up to Seattle from Los Angeles, he joined the group. The acronym/moniker "F.T.A.”jokingly stood for “FUNDING THE ALBUM”. The band specialized in performing heavy-rock music (go figure).
"M.T. Your Gun" by Second Coming (from the album L.O.V.Evil)
The Theban Band (1994): (L to R) Yanni Bacolas (Bass),
James Bergstrom (drums), Maxi (guitar), Davis Martin (percussion).
This ad for Diadora ran for 3 months in Rolling Stone and GQ.
The band later changed the name to Second Coming.
In the early years, Maxi and his brother, Ron Holt, were instrumental in the formation and sound of Second Coming. Bacolas credits much of the bands influences, still, to Ron Holt's writing style. Holt wrote “It's Coming After,” featuring Layne Staley on lead vocals. Second Coming released on the song on their “technically debut record" titled L.O.V.Evil.
"L.O.V.Evil" by Second Coming
In 1994, the band had assembled enough music and money to make their first record, L.O.V.Evil. It was engineered by Dave Loucks, and mixed by Maxi. Dave Loucks was murdered
during the making of this record. He was a great man, and we were all
devastated. The murderers were eventually charged and sentenced.
Dave Loucks, Bacolas and Bergstrom - approx 1994
L.O.V.Evil got national attention, and Cathy Faulkner, Music Director for Seattle's #1 Rock
Station, KISW 99.9 FM, embraced the record, playing three consecutive singles from it.
Yanni Bacolas, Layne Staley, Maxi
w/ Second Coming @ The Weathered Wall
Seattle 1995
During this time, MTV News, VH1, and all the Rock magazines were reporting Alice in Chains was breaking-up, due to Staley's supposed, “unspecified health reasons.” Layne was also supposedly missing, or too ill to perform. Then he would appear in Seattle with Second Coming. This created a great deal of controversy and unexpected National media attention.
MTV NEWS - Layne performs with Second Coming amidst rumors
Staley and Bacolas performing with Second Coming - Seattle, 1994
Yanni Bacolas (Bass), Layne Staley (Vocals),
Mark Nelson (Guitar) at a Second Coming
concert. RCKNDY, Seattle 1996
In '96, things were changing in the Second Coming camp. The band parted ways with
founding member, Maxi. Maxi, who was the band's guitarist and lead singer, would go off and do solo recordings and productions. He would be replaced by Travis Bracht (vocals), and Dudley Taft (guitarist), and a new sound was formed.
Travis Bracht James Bergstrom Yanni Bacolas Dudley Taft
At this point, Bacolas, Bergstrom, Taft, and Bracht revitalized the cover-band F.T.A. and
began performing in night clubs, on the outskirts of Seattle, 6 days a week, to finance future recording sessions. This would be FTA's 4th and final incarnation.
FTA LIVE in 1996: Dudley Taft, Travis Bracht, Yanni Bacolas, and James Bergstrom - not
pictured on drums (FTA performed approx. 320 days a year)
Dudley Taft and Yanni Bacolas - 1999 on tour in unknown city
F.T.A. began perform in the evenings, and the guys would get together
during the days to write and record. These sessions would end-up creating Second Coming's self-titled" cd that received massive critical acclaim, and ultimately led to a
multi-record deal with Capitol Records.
Bacolas [business affairs for the band] then contacted producer, Kelly Gray to listen to the songs and hopefully get him involved. Gray was impressed and
immediately scheduled a recording date at Bob Lang Studios
in Seattle, WA to begin recording drums.
Gray was now officially the band's producer. Dudley Taft also co-produced this recording.
Kelly Gray and Yanni Bacolas at Avast Studios, Seattle
The Crying Spell Sessions - Oct. 2007
(3rd producer, Len Hotrum, not pictured)
Once the eight-song "Self-Titled" record was finished, Bacolas began sending out
the CD's to several of his contacts in the industry. Cathy Faulkner from KISW and Virgin's Steve Walker would also begin to get more involved with the band,
at this time, and helped with their time and resources.
Many cd's were mailed out by all parties, and one ultimately landed on the desk of Greg Sorrels, editor for Los Angeles-based trade publication, "The Album Network."
THIS IS WHEN THINGS REALLY BEGAN TO CHANGE FOR THE BAND
Second Coming in LA visiting The Album Network
Once Greg had a chance to listen to the record thoroughly, he immediately
contacted Bacolas and said, "I gotta come up and see if you guys can pull this off live,
I'm bringing my bro, Tommy Dailey from The Tower. When's the next gig?"
About two weeks later, Sorrels and Tommy Dailey (from Capitol Records) flew up to
meet the band and see them perform live at "The Colourbox," in Seattle.
Bacolas, Bergstrom, and Taft
(photo by Travis Bracht)
Dailey reported back to Gary Gersh, who was Capitol's President at the time.
Gersh began following the band, and flew up for the bands CD release party at
The Fenix, in Seattle.
Second Coming and friend Columbia Records, Santa Monica, CA.
Second Coming with Columbia Records President, Donny Ienner and VP
Tim Devine Sony Building, New York, NY
Capitol's Tommy Dailey and Dave Ross, Dudley Taft, Capitol Records President Gary Gersh,
Yanni Bacolas, Capitol's Steve Patch, Greg Sorrels, and Travis Bracht (laying down).
This photo was taken in Gary Gersh's wine cellar (which was Linda Ronstadt's old mansion)
in Los Angeles, CA.
Sorrels began cryptically writing about Second Coming in his weekly columns for
The ALBUM NETWORK.
The band began playing the Northwest heavily, almost every weekend.
Now, more major-labels were beginning to take notice of the band, and soon
Greg was the liaison between the band and Los Angeles music executives,
who were asking him for more music, and to meet the band.
Three months later, offers from Major Labels began coming in. Tim Devine from Columbia Records, was among the first A&R men to give an official offer to the band.
The band hired legendary managers, Bud Prager and Mike Renault, to represent the group.
After a bidding war, amongst several major labels, Capitol Record's Gary Gersh
(Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth) won over the band's heart, and signatures.
Second Coming signed a multi-record deal with Capitol Records on May 9, 1998.
Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer Kim Guggenheim helped negotiate the
contract. "It's a multi-album deal potentially worth many millions of dollars,"
Guggenheim said. "But the record company and the band have to agree to do
all those records together." (Seattle Times/Gene Stout)
Gersh told the Seattle Times he was impressed by the groups self-assurance and the quality of it's music. "I think they have a good idea of who they are in the market place, where they can fit in and what their strengths are," he said. "And I think they know what it's going to take to (succeed)." (Seattle Times/Gene Stout)
Cathy Faulkner got married to a wonderful man named Nels
soon afterwards and started a family. She continues to do voice-overs and is an active on-air personality.
One of the many "Signing" Parties
Second Coming went off to tour heavily and achieved two songs reaching #9 and #11
on the National rock charts, with over 200 rock radio stations across the United States spinning the record. The band also had their song, "THE UNKNOW RIDER", featured in the
Bruce Willis film "The Sixth Sense" (birthday party scene in middle of movie).
Second Coming performing "The Unknown Rider" live
(Summerset, MI)
Several videos were made (see videos page) and MTV2 in the U.S., as well as well as
MTV in different countries, embraced the them. MTV Greece and other Greek Music TV shows, especially took notice to Second Coming's "Vintage Eyes" video, and VJ's would often make mention of "the Greek bassist" in the band with great pride. (see VINTAGE EYES video below).
Second Coming playing a joke on Capitol Records staff and video production
crew acting like butt-rock band during video shoot for "Vintage Eyes." Len Wiseman is seen directing the video.
Len Wiseman directing Bruce Willis in "Die Harder" - 2007
photographer is unknown
Bacolas and Bracht live at The Weathered Wall, Seattle (2001)
In 2000, Second Coming parted ways with Dudley Taft, and replaced him with
guitarist, Eric Snyder. Eric has remained the band's guitarist up to present time (2008).
Dudley Taft went off to do various recordings and projects. Second Coming and Taft's new band, Omnivoid, performed together in February of 2006, in Seattle.
Eric Snyder with Second Coming at The Showbox 2003, Seattle
Bacolas, Snyder, and Bracht ay The EMP, Seattle
Second Coming at Seattle's Moore Theatre
Bacolas and Candlebox's Peter Klett - Peter would help out Second Coming
by performing live with the band, as a second guitarist
Seconds Coming - July 2006
In 2006, Second Coming decided to take a "hiatus" while members of the group began
branching off into their own musical passions. [guitarist, Eric Snyder & Bacolas formed The Crying Spell with Point One's
singer Len Hotrum and drummer Chase Culp].
However, most of the forthcoming Second Coming record is almost all recorded.
No date is set for finishing the record at this point.
Gray and Bacolas have been engineering and producing this recording.
