Tell us about your first ever record

**CanyonCarver** · 05-17-2003, 09:24 AM

I'd like to start this thread where you tell us about the first record/tape/CD you ever owned, who gave it to you, and if it influenced your musical tastes today or your playing style if you play any instruments.
For some, this probably has a lot to do with who they are musically. For others it may not...
I'd like to hear your story.

ericgtr · 05-17-2003, 09:57 AM

I can't remember exactly my first music record but my older brother was really into rock in the 70's, Kiss in particular. He always had an eight track running every Kiss album made and he got me hooked on it, to this day I still dig all the old Kiss stuff. I didn't really get influenced until around the time I started listening to cassette of Fair Warning that a buddy lent me. My first real influence was VH.

Stiglar · 05-17-2003, 03:34 PM

first record i ever really paid for and listened to was dire straits .. i can't remember which it was one of their earlier records ... mark knopfler was a huge huge influenece on me in the beginning i adopted his thumb and fingers style pretty early on i n my playing and deveoped it a bit so i could play really fast van halen style phrases using my fingers used to have everyone so confused how i did it ! ... i used to wiggle my middle finger on one string to get that kinda fast tremelo picking sound .. .i moved onto a pick after i start studying jazz cause i was told it was better .. and it is i have alot more control now over tempo and stuff . if anyone would like to hear a sample i'd be happy to make an mp3 of some finger playing so you get an idea .. not bragging or anything here , just people used to tell me ALL the time it was really strange the way i used to play. i even learned how to do pinch harmonics using my fingernails and stuff it was strange !

**CanyonCarver** · 05-18-2003, 09:27 AM

Stiglar, that is a fascinating technique.
Sure you should post your finger picking mp3...

**CanyonCarver** · 05-18-2003, 09:45 AM

My first records:

It must have been around 1977 or 1978. My elder brothers and sister pooled together to pay for my first stereo for my birthday. It was a Russian-made, simple setup with a turntable and two speakers, a volume knob and a tone knob.

I didn't have anything to listen to aside from spoken word stuff and comedy albums and a huge collection of classical music (hugh!) records my dad had lying around. So my sister handed me down four albums:
Three releases from British rock band Ten Years After, namely Sssshhhh, Cricklewood Green, and Watt.
Also she gave me the Woodstock 2 double album.
With these four albums I was catapulted into the rock world.

The first album I purchased with my allowance was Pink Floyd's The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. (That was some really weird and trippy shit for an early teen to listen to...)

To this day I still have these albums (and most of the others ones that would follow) and still listen to Ten Years After (which I was able to find in CD). Alvin Lee, guitarist for Ten Years After was a huge shredder as early as the late sixties (few people are aware of that, thinking Jimi Hendrix was the only one to push the electric guitar to new heights).

Anyways that's my story...

Coyote · 05-18-2003, 02:11 PM

I have three, all in three formats.

1. A old close friend of mine (surprisingly a girl), gave me for my 8th birthday a tape. A New Kids On The Block-tape.
Luckily that didn't influence me at all. But what it DID do to me was something better: I started to dislike that kind of music.

2. Another birthday, another "first". It was my 13th birthday. My sisters ex-fiancé gave me Van Halen's BOV1.
Influence amount: A fuckin' lot. [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

3. There's third story. An LP. I went to this record store with my dad a couple of years ago, just looking around with time to kill. I was looking at the CD's, when I looked across the room and saw Steve Vai's "Passion and Warfare" LP sitting there on the shelf all alone. I asked dad if he'd help me out financially (since I didn't have any money on me that day). He did, albeit with some protest: According to him the record cost a fortune, but if you ask me it was a drop in the ocean. [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Those were my stories, let's hear some more from someone else.

Influence: It just made me wanna practice more

Stiglar · 05-18-2003, 03:48 PM

[/ QUOTE ]3. There's third story. An LP. I went to this record store with my dad a couple of years ago, just looking around with time to kill. I was looking at the CD's, when I looked across the room and saw Steve Vai's "Passion and Warfare" LP sitting there on the shelf all alone. I asked dad if he'd help me out financially (since I didn't have any money on me that day). He did, albeit with some protest: According to him the record cost a fortune, but if you ask me it was a drop in the ocean. [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

god i remmeber the first time i heard passion and warfare , my brother and i watched the g3 video with satriani , vai and eric johnson and i just knew i had to check out steve vai some more so i bought passion and warfare and it changed me forever it's a brilliant album .. i also bought venus isles by eric johnson after that after hearing manhatten on the g3 video it's such a great album eric has the best tone and technique .

i'll make an mp3 up of some finger pickin stuff i used to do , this should take me back to the good old days! hehe

**CanyonCarver** · 05-18-2003, 05:58 PM

I think I played Passion and Warfare everyday for over a year whe it came out.
I like Vai more than I can say. His style can sometimes be overwhelming to the average listener, but he can express himself incredibly well with the instrument. For The Love of God is a classic Vai masterpiece...

Wolfman · 05-18-2003, 06:07 PM

The Beach Boys' Endless Summer. Still one of my favorites to this day. [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]

After that it was like 10 KISS albums in a row, and then I joined Columbia House and added stuff like the Eagles' Hotel California, some Dire Straits, Kansas, Cheap Trick, and a lot of other cool stuff. Matter of fact, my first copy of VHII was in that first batch from Columbia House. [img]images/smilies/icon_jam.gif[/img]

Stiglar · 05-18-2003, 06:26 PM

i always liked vai cause he's amazing but in a different way than the average 80's player , sometimes his most amazing stuff you don't even realise is incredibly hard till you either see him live or sit down and try and play it. he makes some things sound so effortless but realyl they're impossible

siN · 05-19-2003, 04:20 AM

I started with tapes.... I don't know which one was first, but I bought these tapes legally:

- Van Halen - 1984
- Dio - The last in line
- Stray Cats - Stray Cats
- Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

After that I copied a lot of tapes. I really started to buy music when the CD-players became affordable.....

**Mondy** · 05-19-2003, 07:33 AM

Good thread.

I have loads of vinyl, tapes and CDs. So I might be wrong in telling you which one I bought first.

However, my musical taste was influenced heavily by my older brother and sister. Not a surprise really, as when you're young, you don't have the money to buy your own albums, and you certainly can't afford your own stereo.

I shared a room with my younger and older brother. My older brother had a huge collection of albums, and his record player. He always knew what order the albums were in, which way the sleeves had been put in, etc., etc. Basically, he knew if you'd listened to any of his albums, and it would result in a good twatting from him. Sorry for the language, but that is what he'd do to you, no other way to describe it ! This sixth sense was something I inherited, resulting in my little brother receiving several of the aforementioned beatings.

It never stopped me, and a good hiding was worth it to listen to his Rush, and Marillion records. Because they were so out of bounds for me, I yearned to own one myself.

It was everything about the vinyl. The actual size of the cover itself (something lost with CD Covers nowadays), the intricate artwork, the satisfaction of sliding out the vinyl, and the warm sound of it through the turntable (Fair Warning still sounds fucking wicked on vinyl, despite the superior quality of the remasters !).

Anyway, the first album I remember receiving was Iron Maiden's Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. I was so excited. The album cover featured great artwork, and I couldn't wait to get home to play it. My brother made me wait to listen to it, but when I did I was amazed by it. I was convinced they were Devil Worshippers at the time. They must have sold their souls to be able to write and play such great music.

I've never stopped since. I'm a sucker for cool album covers, limited edition, etc., etc. I have a fairly moderate vinyl collection (consisting of Marillion 12" picture discs, Steve Vai Passion And Warfare Picture Disc, David Lee Roth's Eat 'Em And Smile in Spanish, and numerous 12" box set), and a 400+ CD collection.

I love it. I have no idea whether any of these bands or artists have made it into my playing style, but it's taught me one thing : if it sounds good and I like it, then fuck what everyone else thinks !

[img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]

**CanyonCarver** · 05-19-2003, 08:48 AM

Mondola,

Seventh Son of A Seventh Son is indeed a great album, with great art.
I have this one is vynil only. That reminds me I should get the CD so I can listen to it more.

I"m looking forward to their new album. It should be out soon. [img]images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img]

**Mondy** · 05-20-2003, 01:42 AM

Hi CC,

Yes, I went to see Iron Maiden last year in London for the benefit concert. They were as amazing as ever, and I had a great time.

I too am looking forward to the new album, as well as another tour so I can go and see them again. [img]images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img]

I also only own Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son on vinyl as well, so it's a wonder it isn't scratched, or indeed worn out. I must make an effort to buy it on CD as well, cuz it's only a matter of time before I mess it up !

UP THE IRONS !!!

[img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]

**CanyonCarver** · 05-20-2003, 08:40 AM

Mondola,

I saw Maiden twice. First time in 1992, and last time on their last tour. Bruce Dickinson is always great on stage.
He's got an amazing set of pipes.

Number of the beast was also a big influence for me when it came out. I never bought it, only had a friend tape it for me.
I ended up buying the CD last year, after no having heard the songs in ten years.
I think Maiden's sound is unique and it doesn't get old to me.

UP THE IRONS! [img]images/smilies/icon_bowdown.gif[/img]