www.worstkeptsecret.com

bio

Spencer Alexander Downs, the only child of Sean and Allison Downs, was born in New York City, New York on January 21st 1983. The Downs family has been well-known for generations as successful industry CEOs in mass media communications and publications. They own and publish over 50 of the nation’s leading newspapers and magazines and in 1998 launched accompanying websites for a few of them as well; a venture that has been growing ever since. However, with the death of Spencer's grandfather in 2000, his father Sean has now taken control as head of the family business. He met his wife Allison, a well-known and respected attorney in and around the New York and New Jersey areas, when her firm represented Downs Inc. during one of their last rounds of minor lawsuits back in the early 1980s. The two began dating after the trials were won and within two years time were married with their first child on the way. However, the high-class fairytale ends here. Spencer never had much contact with his parents. In fact, he was raised by a nanny almost exclusively until the age of five, when he entered kindergarten, due to his parent’s rigorous work schedules. At that point, he attended school during the day and at night was primarily looked after by the maids and other house staff of their Manhattan penthouse. Because of this "hands-off" parenting approach, Spencer never really formed any type of familial bonds with his parents nor did he have any siblings to bond with because for Sean and Allison one child was "time consuming enough." This notion was one that Spencer found extremely amusing as time went on, particularly in his pre-teen and teenaged years, simply due to the fact that neither of his parents had ever really done any active parenting at all.

Middle school was a breeze for Spence because, despite his issues at home, the house staff and babysitters had been there to help out with homework and he actually made really good grades. He had his fair share of friends, but instead of inviting them over to his family's swank penthouse he always opted to spend the night away from home and did so as often as he could. His parents never seemed to care or even notice when he was out of the house, which he figured was probably for the best in the end. However, high school was an entirely different matter. All of Spencer's friends were at least a year or two older than himself and when they graduated he made a decision to drop out. All he'd needed to do was get his parents to sign off on the decision, which was much easier than he thought it would be. In his junior year, at the age of 16, during a "family dinner" that the Downs organized once a month he simply lied. He told his parents that he needed it signed so that he might go on a field trip to the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Not even bothering to read over the note their son had given them, both Allison and Sean quickly signed their names to get their son off their cases and that, as they say, was that. Spencer was then free to pursue his one true love and passion, music.

Worst Kept Secret was unofficially formed in 1997 when Spencer was just 14 years old, long before he ever dropped out of school. He and his bandmates spent a year writing their own songs and recording "crappy little demos" according to their current manager, Greg Wright. Greg grew up with Spencer and the rest of the band. He also had connections into the local music scene, including a foot in the door at legendary rock club, CBGBs. After Spencer dropped out of school in 1999, Worst Kept Secret played their first gig at CBGBs (Greg had to pull some strings to get them into the club in the first place) in the worst possible time slot for the venue. It was a Tuesday night, but they made a much bigger splash than anyone had expected. Above all, they were actually pretty talented and not just for people their age. This first gig led to many more at CBGBs and other clubs around New York and New Jersey. After a year of doing mini tours in a van, playing countless other shows in basements or wherever they could, and shopping their EP around to every label they could think of both indie and major, the band caught the attention of an A&R representative from a local indie record label named Chris Cassel. They were signed to that label by the end of 2000 and in 2001 recorded and released their debut album. Spencer and Worst Kept Secret were finally on their way and all the while Spencer had barely seen or spoken to his parents except for an occasional phone call, which always ended in a voicemail message, to let them know he was alright.

Their debut album didn't do terribly, but it was far from being a great success and it definitely didn't catch any major label attention. Spencer and the rest of Worst Kept Secret weren't complaining though. As soon as he turned 18, Spencer completely cut all ties to his parents and hasn't spoken to them since. They toured around on their first album, opening for some of the biggest bands around, before they made it back into the studio in January 2003. About 10 months later the band released their sophomore album on the same indie label. Once again, the album did well but still wasn't doing as well as the band had expected or hoped it would. They jumped on the road and started touring again, this time playing a slew of smaller co-headlining shows which actually helped amp up their popularity. They toured the United States, Canada, and even made it out for a few dates in Europe and the UK over the next year and a half. By the time the boys got back home they were more than thrilled to have a bit of down time before heading into the studio once again for a third album. All of them were excited, except for Spencer. With no family other than his band mates Spence, who was living in Brooklyn at the time, spent a lot of time alone in his apartment. That’s when he meant Sasha, a devoted WKS groupie. It was Sasha that introduced Spencer to a new way to cope with life’s little difficulties in the form of a fine white powder and a needle. Heroin became part of Spencer's family, or at least that's how it felt to him. His relationship with the drug only continued to grow and he kept it hidden as much as he could during the recording of their third album, which wasn't released until 2006. Some of his band mates grew suspicious but ultimately decided to leave it alone, at least for the time being because confronting him would mostly likely just piss him off.

Finally, the big break that Spencer and the boys were hoping for came. Their third album was released to critical acclaim and attracted a slew of major label record executives. Eventually, the boys signed a contract with RCA Records with plans to head into the studio and record their first major label record the next year. But first, there was a fair amount of touring to be done. That tour was the biggest they had been part of at that point and none of them could believe their hard work had finally paid off and they were living their dreams. Unfortunately, this dream was short-lived. After 5 months on tour, the relationships within the band began to break down. Worst Kept Secret's drummer Jason, Spencer's best and oldest friend, was elected to approach him about the heavy drug use which had begun to affect his on-stage presence more and more. Spencer was forgetting words to the songs and more than once had just blacked out on stage; it was clear that something had to be done. As they expected, Spence was furious at his bandmate's accusations that he had taken "having a good time" way past out of control. They proposed that he went to rehab or else they were all planning to walk, regardless of the recording contract looming over their heads.

Begrudgingly, Spencer spent the next 90 days in a rehabilitation center and managed to get himself clean and sober. The executives at RCA were surprisingly understanding about the situation and kind enough to postpone the band's dates for recording so they could re-schedule and finish up the tour they had started. Everything started off great, but as so often happens, being thrust back into the touring lifestyle so quickly after rehab enabled Spencer to fall right off the wagon of sobriety. However, instead of picking up the needle again, he began what would become a long struggle with cocaine. He loved the feeling of euphoria and felt completely invincible while he was on a high; once again, his bandmates noticed a change. This time there was no talk, no intervention. Spencer watched as his oldest and dearest friends walked away from him leaving nothing in their wake but a name of what had once been a band with nowhere to go but up.

Spencer was left to pick up the pieces of his former life and attempt to find a way to move on. He took the money that was left in the trust fund his grandfather set up for him when he was born, funds that he gained access to the minute he turned 18 much to his parent's dismay, and the bit of money he had from his time with the band. He moved out of the apartment in Brooklyn that he'd been sharing with his old drummer and off to a loft apartment in the city. The separation he felt from his friends was nothing that couldn't be eased by drugs, alcohol, parties, and sex. Reckless abandon is, to this day, a part of the cloth from which it seems Spencer was cut. Though it’s impossible most days to see through the veil of drugs to the person that he once was, the passionate musician is still there just beneath the surface. He’s spent the next year or so in search of other musicians and managed to piece together a new band. They played a lot of local shows and managed to draw regular and decently-sized crowds around NY, NJ, and PA due to the credentials of Spencer's name alone. He got on well enough with his new bandmates, but it just never felt right. Not anywhere close to the way things had been before, playing music with his oldest and dearest friends.

Swallowing his pride, Spencer ditched the new band and checked himself into rehab once more. After he got out, he contacted his old bandmates and all but begged them for one more chance to prove himself. Jason and the rest of the guys talked it over before giving him a definite answer and decided that Spence was so much like a younger brother to them that they couldn't leave him high and dry. They were willing to stick by him and help him work through whatever obstacles he might have to face on tour. Until they all met up again, Spencer believed that RCA had pulled the deal out from under them. Over dinner, however, he was informed that they were still signed and had just been in search of a new lead singer and they couldn't have been happier to have him back. In 2010, four years after the release of their last album, Worst Kept Secret announced they were back together and headed into the studio. By March 2011, the band were finally releasing their first major label debut album.

They shot off like a rocket with a triumphant return, a chart topping album, and a worldwide tour all done with backing from a well-known major label. It was the first time Worst Kept Secret had ever played to sold out stadiums. They stayed so busy and were feeling so on top of the world that Spencer didn't even think twice about drugs. Everything seems to have been a whirlwind, despite the band's very humble beginnings nearly two decades ago. Now, when Spencer's not touring, he lives between NYC and Los Angeles and just recently purchased a vacation home on the Hawaiian island of Maui where he says he intends to spend a lot of his down time in the future. Of course, all of that will have to wait because in July of 2013 Worst Kept Secret released their fifth studio album. Thus far, their second major label recording is doing well and the band are gearing up for yet another worldwide tour.