Dan Iead of the Broken West was kind enough to contribute the next installment of My First Time.

MP3: The Broken West - On the Bubble

My First Time … with the Broken West

First record you bought
The first CD i bought was Pearl Jam Ten. If you were in 5th grade in 1990 you probably had it yourself. Prior to that I owned Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” 45 which was a gift from my mom cause I apparently enjoyed it as a child. The rotation on my Fisher Price record player was Van Halen Van Halen, some Ringo Starr solo album, and The Allman Bros Live at The Fillmore. I’ve always had a somewhat eclectic taste –contrary to some people’s beliefs.

First record that changed your life
This probably happens a lot, whether I fully realize it or not, but the last one is Robyn Hitchcock. I think many of his records are great but Black Diamond Role was his first one. When I first heard it I thought that someone wrote and performed a record just for my ears. . It’s like a long lost friend you know?

First time playing live
My first time playing live was either at Bishop Orchards on a flat bed truck or at a Christening in my hometown of Branford, CT. I feel for the people and the child that had to hear Seismic Tydes play a few Eagles covers — as well as our hits “Flying High Again” and “Lobotomy”. “Flying High” had some suggestive crack cocaine references. (Don’t worry we were only smoking
a little grass). Seismic Tydes also played after school to an auditorium filled with kids, and at the end of the last number, we thought it would be funny if we destroyed the mics and stage as the curtain came down. The sound man was not pleased. This was at the
age of thirteen — ten years later The Broken West played its first show at M-Bar in Los Angeles.

First tour
My first real kind of tour was the first Broken West tour on the east coast in 2005. We were gone for about two weeks in my mom’s Nissan Pathfinder and a rented SUV. Boston and New York were fun, but as expected, there were some instances of poor attendance — or poor quality. One particular show was in Martinsville, Virgina at Ten Pins Bowling Alley. One would think that the name would have given it away, but we had no clue that we would be playing a bowling alley with a Skynyrd cover band called Paradox. This place was full of Confederates, but I think they warmed up to us. Highlight of the night: Brian (bass player in TBW) played, note for note, the piano solo in “Sweet Home Alabama”.

First instrument you learned and/or first piece of equipment you loved
The first instrument I learned to play was the guitar — at age ten or so. I played cello prior to that but wasn’t that interested in it. I love musical instruments but I’ve never had the bread to buy any. I had never owned more than one guitar until recently and I only have one amp. I have to admit I’m becoming a recording gearhead, so this might change soon.

First band you were a part of
My first band was called “Seismic Tydes”. I was twelve years old. Some of my fondest memories, though, are when I was in a band called “The Institution of Brotherhood” when I was about sixteen. The Institution was about 15 people playing loud rock n’ roll and soul/funk covers. We played shows at a 100 yr old Sicilian puppethouse in Branford, Conneticut where Orson Welles once performed.

First song you wrote and/or recorded
I’ve been writing songs since I was about fourteen or so. I used to have this book of poetry that I would steal lines from. I wish I could remember some of the poems or the title but I can’t. I also used one of them for a final in my freshman year of high school creative writing class. I don’t know the name of the first song I wrote but I’m sure it was called “Song in G” or “Song in E” because I don’t usually have a real title for anything.