My First Concert and Record

A couple of common interview questions I keep seeing in music magazines are:

1. What was the first concert you ever attended?
2. What was the first album you ever purchased?

Inevitably the artist gives an answer like the Kinks, Black Flag, Neil Young or something else that's way too cool to be true. I can never tell if they're just suffering from selective memory or if they're actually making stuff up to sound cooler.

At any rate, for me the first concert I can remember attending was with my parents at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo, Colorado. I guess this would've been around 1987 or 1988. We actually saw two concerts at the fair, and for the life of me I can't remember which one was first. One was the country band Highway 101 who had some big hits in the late 80's such as 'Cry, Cry, Cry' and 'Whiskey, If You Were a Women'. The other show was a reunited version of The Mamas and the Papas. I don't remember much about either show except that they were outside and we got to watch the shows from a picnic blanket on the side of a hill. I do remember the The Mamas and the Papas playing 'California Dreaming' which to this day is one of my favorites.

The first cassette tape I can remember purchasing with my own money was DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's He's The DJ I'm the Rapper. I remember getting it at a flea market in St. Augustine, Florida while we were on vacation visiting my grandparents. I can still recall blasting 'Parents Just Don't Understand' from the stereo in my room, and thinking that I was so cool. That and the fact that 'Nightmare on My Street' was kinda creepy. Good times, good times.

So there you have it. Nothing fancy, but at least it's true :-) Oh, and for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure I had a copy of Debbie Gibson's Out of the Blue before I had the DJ Jazzy Jeff album, but I didn't buy it myself so I'm not counting it. She did rock though.

See he's the DJ...Will Smith on the other hand is the rapper. Got It?