Vocalist and songwriter
Allyson Seconds is a longtime fixture on the Sacramento, California music scene who is best known for her collaborations with fellow indie pop notable
Anton Barbeau. Born Allyson Goble in Anderson, Indiana on December 27, 1968,
Seconds (who is married to
Kevin Seconds of the long-running punk band
7 Seconds) first started singing when she was a girl, discovering she enjoyed harmonizing with her siblings.
Seconds studied sculpture at the University of California in Davis, and soon branched out into photography, capturing many of California's most noted musicians on film as both a hobby and a profession. After settling in Sacramento,
Seconds not only snapped photos of her favorite musicians, she began collaborating with them, singing backups with the likes of
Jonah Matranga of
Far,
Kepi Ghoulie of
the Groovie Ghoulies,
Sal Valentino of
the Beau Brummels, and the group
Andrew Jackson Jihad.
Seconds was good friends and an occasional collaborator with smart pop cult favorite
Anton Barbeau for years before the two first teamed up to make an album.
Seconds' 2009 debut album, Bag of Kittens, was produced and co-written by
Barbeau, and included guest appearances from
Kimberley Rew of
the Soft Boys, Gabe Nelson and
Vince Di Fiore from
Cake, and members of the U.K. pop group
Stornoway.
Seconds teamed up with
Barbeau again to record and release her second album, 2016's
Little World, which featured contributions from
Colin Moulding of
XTC and, in one of his final recordings, Scott Miller, the late founder of
Game Theory and
the Loud Family. ~ Mark Deming