Current Band Members
Jessie Jacobson
Jarrett Lesko
Brian Bielski
Mike Murray
Our Story
Second Language formed in Los Angeles in 1981. Alternative rock with multiple influences including post-punk & new wave.
1984 - ‘Souvenirs’ 6-song EP released on vinyl by Acme Recordings. Produced by renowned producer Ron Fair with two songs produced by Ron Fair, Earle Mankey & Second Language. Received national college radio airplay, along with KROQ and KNAC in Los Angeles.
2024 - ‘Souvenirs Revisited’ 40-year anniversary album released included the 6 EP songs with 13 additional studio and demo tracks recorded 1981-1984 including three tracks mixed by Michael James in 2024.
1985 - Second Language recorded an album’s worth of new songs as their calling card to the music business, co-produced by the band and legendary producer (and ex-Sparks man) Earle Mankey except ‘Words Into Action’ produced by mega-producer Tony Berg, Earle Mankey and the band.
2023 - ‘Youth Is Not For Pleasure’, a 16-song album taken from the 1985 sessions, is released on GO2L Records.
1985-1989 + 1991-1994 - Second Language record a number of songs with top producers Tony Berg, Frank Wolf, Michael James and Ken Jordan, and open for major acts like Love & Rockets, Howard Devoto, Blancmange and others.
2024 - ‘Shadow Across The Moon’ - a double album featuring 40 vintage recordings from 1985-1994 is released, produced by Tony Berg, Frank Wolf, Michael James, Jessie Jacobson, Ken Jordan, Richie Owens, Jarrett Lesko & Second Language.
1987-1989 - Second Language record a series of self-produced tracks and one track with co-producer Dan Bates.
2024 - ‘The Circus Is Back In Town’’, an 18-song album culled from these recordings in summer of 2024. Features three songs mixed by Michael James in 2024.
1996 - ‘WrongSpeak’ album is released including 16 songs recorded by the band between 1992-1995, produced by Michael James and Jessie Jacobson, and two tracks produced by Jessie Jacobson and Ken Jordan (Crystal Method).
2024 - ‘WrongSpeak’ re-released on all streaming and download services and CD.
1996-1997 - Second Language record a series of self-produced songs that are left incomplete when the band breaks up.
2023 - Second Language reconvene to complete the songs.
2024 - ‘Spread It All Around’, an 18-song album containing the completed tracks will be released winter 2024.
2022 - Second Language (Jessie Jacobson, Jarrett Lesko & Brian Bielski) enter the studio 7/7/22 and improvise 38 new songs, of which a number are chosen to edit, and in a few cases, add additional vocals to, and on one track, guitar and keyboard overdubs.
2024 - ‘Never A Plan’, the 12-song album derived from these recordings will be released, produced by Jessie Jacobson and mixed by top-rank mixer Michael James.
2025 - Alternator Records will be releasing an album of all the exclusive Michael James single mixes released from the above albums in both Atmos and stereo mixes. Additionally, more new material will be recorded throughout the 2024-2025 period.
Press
Second Language seamlessly transgresses from one rock genre to another, serving up bite-sized pieces of the larger underground musical landscape and cultural zeitgeist. They are the Talking Heads one minute, Radiohead the next, and then they're Siouxsie and the Banshees by way of Blur.
— Steven Alan Green
Second Language might be described as the Jefferson Airplane meets Jim Morrison, backed by Talking Heads. Male and female lead vocals intertwine over a thumping beat, with droning guitar and keyboards. Psychedelic, man! And, in fact, pretty entertaining. The singers are attractive, and reasonably facile at what they do, and there’s plenty of contrast between the gloomy male vocals and the woman’s; the sound alternates between Grace Slick and what you’d expect to be wailed from a minaret at sunset than from a stage at Sunset and Wilcox.
— LA Times
Second Language opened last Thursday's evening at the Lingerie with another homage to the '60s, albeit with a bit more contempo flavor of the X-Talking Heads style. Lead vocalist Toni Zeto most strongly suggests Grace Slick's aggressive style, from the "Old' days, and the abundant use of exotic and quirky percussion, combined with an '80s keyboards style makes for an inventive, and quite distinctive, melange of textures.
— Variety
“Moving and upbeat, the band bring brightness to the track, a shining light that contrasts the deeper sense of melancholy and grit further underneath the surface. The dynamic guitar riffs, the sweeping horns and the rising tide of shimmering tones are played against punk-edged vocals and punchy drumming. The uniqueness of a classic feel, a dark subject matter and raw foundations played against a sense of dazzling contentment make for a captivating listen from start to finish.”
— Andy Loe @ Vents Magazine
