First/Last-Joey Troupe

Image courtesy the band's MySpace

The Electric Pear
Lava Lounge
Thursday November 4, 2010
Southside

This local duo describes it's sound as 'minimalistic Amish blues'. Nice. You can catch them tonight playing with Cleveland's Mr. Gnome and School Of Athens. Joey Troupe plays guitar and sings and was cool enough to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?

The first album I ever bought with my own money was Pearl Jam - Ten on cassette from Ames department store in Punxsutawney, PA around 1992 or 1993. I was only about 8 years old at the time but I loved the Jeremy music video on MTV. I wish I still had that cassette.

Your last album bought?

I came home from my last trip to Paul's in Bloomfield with The Walkmen's new album Lisbon, The Band - Music from the Big Pink, and Big Boi's new solo album Sir Lucious Left Food, all on vinyl.

Favorite album of all time?

Its hard to narrow it down to just one album. If I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life, it would probably be Hendrix - Are You Experienced? But some others that played a major role in defining my musical taste are Highway 61 Revisited, Led Zeppelin II, The White Album, Tres Hombres, Doggystyle, and Elephant. I'm sure I'm forgetting something else of great importance to me too.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?

In hindsight, it seems like I should have seen it coming because its hard to imagine it any other way. But a few years ago when I bought Kings of Leon's newest album, Only by the Night, I had no idea what they were becoming or had become. I played their debut album Youth and Young Manhood hundreds of times over the years, and although I liked each of their subsequent albums slightly less, I was totally let down by the transition they had made on the newest album.

First concert attended?

Van Hagar at Star Lake.

Last concert?

The last show I went to was Broken Social Scene at the Byham.

Favorite concert ever?

I saw Pearl Jam at Mellon Arena in 2006 with my dad, and it was great to relive all of those classic songs with him. They played for 3+ hours and put on a fantastic show. It was only a few weeks before my 21st birthday and the All-Star game at PNC Park, so it was a pretty good time for me and for Pittsburgh. I've also had some great memories at Lollapalooza over the years seeing Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, The Strokes, Arcade Fire and 100s of other bands.

Least favorite concert?

I've actually seen Van Halen twice, which is odd because I'm not a big fan of their music. To think Van Halen is being mentioned twice in a conversation about my musical taste is actually a little disturbing. The first one was my first concert, so I remember it fondly for that reason. The second time I was given free tickets to see them with David Lee Roth back in the mix. It was just kinda’ sad. I also once saw Nas and did not enjoy it at all.

Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?

I love Pittsburgh and I'm proud to be from Pittsburgh. I think there is a lot to like about this town. When you come back to Pittsburgh from a visit to New York City or Chicago or LA it really feels like such a small town, but despite being small in area there is so much to offer from a cultural perspective. The music scene is small but growing, and its a great time to be a part of it. There are some nice venues and some amazing record stores. I think Pittsburgh is on the rise and with all the bright people and creative minds there is a promising future ahead.

Thanks Joey. So what's the deal with this Van Halen fixation? I kid. I also have to say that several people I know have experienced a letdown from Kings of Leon as they put out more albums but you wouldn't know by how big they have become now would you?