Small Town Band with Big Sounds, Dreams

Offstage, the members of the band Your Second Chance are quintessential nice guys – friendly and courteous to both fans and strangers alike.  However, give this Christian rock band some amplifiers, drums, guitars and microphones and they get meaner – sonically speaking.

Their dynamic sound couples lyrics with a message and instrumental control in a cohesive way. The band has been together since 2006 with a self-produced full-length album coming out in 2008, titled “Thorns and Thrones.”

Since the initial album, the band has released a second EP with Blue Room Records titled “Crimson EP.” Last month, they released their third album titled “Blood to Tranquility,” recorded with George Merroquin at Ned Brasseler’s studio in English Hills.

The band is comprised of five members: Eric Johnson is the voice of the band; when Matt Johnson isn’t writing for the Solano College’s Tempest and Dixon Patch, he plays guitar for the group; Jake Eilers provides another layer of crunching guitars, and bassist Kyle Ruona and drummer Curt Boicelli round out the rhythm section. Most of the bands members are self-taught from a young age, and grew in their musicality through theory and the occasional lesson.

The band writes its own lyrics, and finds inspiration in God’s word.

“Our inspiration comes from each of our backgrounds in the hardcore music scene growing up,” Eric Johnson said.

Additionally, the band attributes their sound to other bands such as The Chariot, Mewithoutyou, Bright Eyes, Ida, Jason Mraz, Blink 182 and Kings of Convenience.

While the band has never toured, they aspire to travel to the different music scenes such as Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

“We’ve played roughly 50-60 weekend shows, and we started out performing in garages, and living rooms, sometimes cramming 50 people in a house,” Matt Johnson said.

The band aspires to not only connect with hardcore music fans, but also spread the word of God through their music. And even though Your Second Chance has strong religious undercurrents, their sound is one that all people can relate to.

The band has a large following in Dixon, where almost every local fan shows up to see their performances. On March 11, the band performs at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Dixon during the semifinals of the church’s annual Battle of the Bands event.

“Dixon isn’t too big, so it’s easy to quickly notify a lot of people about a show with short notice,” Eric Johnson said.

Living in Dixon and playing to a hometown crowd has strengthened the band’s ability to cultivate a loyal fan base.  Their commitment to their fans and to the local community remains a top priority, the said.

The band appears to be headed in the right direction – moving forward. With their solid fan base, consistent record output, and continued interest in playing local venues, their future looks bright. However, they have all expressed that they will be taking it one day at a time and see what’s in store for their future.

Their music can be found on iTunes, Zune, Amazon and Napster. Additionally, the band has a fan page on Facebook, and a MySpace page as well. Log on and listen and hear for yourself the sounds of Your Second Chance.