It’s time again for another installment of My First Time, the series where I ask some of my favorite bands to share stories about their musical “firsts.” Everything from the first song they ever wrote to the response they got when they first played their songs for their family. It’s all here. Because after all, the best way to see where a person is going is by understanding where they’ve been.

MP3: Wye Oak - Take It In

Wye Oak have a wicked new album called The Knot that they’re releasing through Merge on July 21. I didn’t know much about their history, so I was especially glad to have Andy Stack contribute to My First Time!

My First TIme …with Andy from Wye Oak

First record you bought
I think it was “Dookie” by Green Day. I was in 5th grade and got it on cassette tape. Honestly, I still enjoy listening to that record from time to time.

First record that changed your life
Maybe not the first, but “A River Ain’t Too Much To Love” by Smog threw my musical aspirations and tastes in a completely new direction, one that I may still be following to this day.

First concert you attended
It was Bush with Veruca Salt, but let’s not talk about that. When I was about 8 years old, my father took me to the taping of a David Byrne music video here in Baltimore. My dad is a gaffer (lighting dude) for film and TV, and he was friends with the director of the video. We listened to a lot of Talking Heads as a family, so it was pretty exciting to see him in person. Then I got to have lunch with him after the video shoot . . . one of the more legit musical encounters of my life.

First concert that blew you away
I went to the DC Tibetan Freedom concert in ‘98, very early in my age of concert going. I think it was my first big stadium concert (not that I’ve been to that many), and I remember really being awed by the specticle of it all. Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Beck, REM, Beastie Boys, and some band called Sonic Youth that I had never heard of.

First time playing live
4 years old in my preschool class. I had one of those little kids-size drum sets and I got to take it in for show and tell. I performed a rousing version of the ABCs.

First tour (horror stories, unexpectedly great shows, etc)
Two weeks around the Northeast, Canada, and the Midwest. The highlight was a couple of days in Bar Habor, ME. We stayed with Nat Baldwin and he took us down to the beach to explore the tidal caves of the Maine coastline. The shows on that tour were mostly forgettable, but it was a great chance for some summer road tripping, camping, and spelunking.

First band you were a part of
Bughouse. Played bass and wrote the songs. Also obliterated covers of Lit, Third Eye Blind, and Jimi Hendrix.

First awesome thing that happened solely because you were in a band
Got a free pair of shoes at CMJ last fall. I’m wearing them right now!

First horrible thing that happened solely because you were in a band
Bought a minivan.

First reactions from your family when you played them your music
“I can’t hear the words.”

First musical obsession (band, song, singer, genre or otherwise)
I remember listening over and over to Bette Midler’s “From a Distance” when I was about 6 years old. I even made my dad transcribe the lyrics for me. Must have been painful for him.