“My First Time” is the newest weekly feature on YANP. I wanted a way to get to know the background of some of the fresher faces on my musical radar. What better way, then, than to look at where they got their roots? “My First Time” takes a look at the musical firsts of some of my favorite bands old and new.

MP3: Thao Nguyen with the Get Down Stay Down – Bag Of Hammers

It’s been just about two years since I posted on Thao Nguyen’s “Tallymarks.” Since then, her popularity has exploded — and not without reason. Her new record We Brave Bee Stings and All is both a tender jolt of electricity and a powerful kiss to the cheek of everything that’s great about folk-pop.

My First Time with Thao Nguyen…

First record you bought
Salt N Pepa’s Black Magic — I was looking for the album with “Push it” on it– bought the wrong one. It was on cassette. The next week i bought Green Day’s Dookie. Shortly thereafter I graduated to CDs and rocked the sh*t out of Ace of Base.

First record that changed your life
Sarah Mclachlan’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Fantastic album. I was maybe 13? 14? I stand by it still. Did I just lose any indie cred I had?

First concert you attended
Fairfax County Fair — it was a bluegrass band. My mom made me squaredance with strangers, wholly uncomfortable. And then late in middle school I saw Semi-Sonic. I’m sure we all remember “Closing Time.”

First concert that blew you away
Lucinda Williams at the 9:30 club. “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.” Gracious me.

First time playing live
I was in eighth grade and for a Lord of the Flies project I wrote a song and performed it for the class. It was in a minor key, very fast strumming. maybe the most intense live show i’ve ever played.

First tour
With Willis and our friend Jay on bass. Toured the south east. In Shreveport, Louisiana during load in a drunk man at the bar asked where we were from — (Virginia). Everytime we passed through the doors with equipment he screamed “Vurrgina!!” it was 6 pm.

First instrument you learned and/or first piece of equipment you loved
First learned – viola. Quit after about 4 months. I was pretty sh*t, if I recall correctly.
First loved – guitar. Still do. But the drums are gaining ground.

First band
Freshman year of highschool I was in a cover band for one day. We played Clapton’s “Cocaine” and Cake’s song with that line “When she walks she swings her arms instead of her hips.” [ed: "Let Me Go"] Great song.

First song you wrote and/or recorded
The Lord of the Flies anthem ( please see above).

First musical obsession (band, song, singer, genre or otherwise)
Richie Valen’s “Oh, Donna”- I would call the local oldies station and request it, telling them my mom’s name was Donna and it was her birthday (both lies). They never played it for me.