First/Last-ROAR

"Pop mini-masterpiece from Phoenix's best kept secret. Soaring keyboards, perfect harmonies and sunny melodies surrounding a big black cloud of panic and terror. Oh fuck."

Check out the band at Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, BandCamp and Twitter. I continue my coverage of the excellent and ongoing Paste 50 States Project with ROAR from Arizona. The band is Owen Evans and an ever-evolving cast of musicians that play his tunes live. You can discover for yourself how he rolls by picking up some of his music here. I want to thank Owen for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?
I think my first album was Michael Jackson's “Dangerous”.

Your last album bought?
I don't remember the last record I bought. I think it might have been a Celine Dion “A New Day Has Come”. I was on tour at Amoeba Records in LA and had remembered loving the record having been forced to hear it over and over when I worked in a record store. Man, that was quite the run-on sentence. I ended up regretting the $4 purchase.

Favorite album of all time?
I do love “Pet Sounds”.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?
I was pretty disappointed with Weezer's “Green Album” when that came out. I was pretty excited for a new Weezer record at that point.

First concert attended?
My first concert was Diana Ross in Hong Kong when I was 8 and lived there.

Last concert?
The last concert was one that we played with Anamanaguchi and they were wonderful.

Favorite concert ever?
My favorite concert was when my old band played with The Spinto Band in Phoenix. They covered ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ and ‘I Think We're Alone Now’. And I think we bonded.

Least favorite concert?
I don't think I have a least favorite concert... Or maybe it was so bad that I've blocked it from memory.

Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
I played at Garfield Artworks in 2010 in front of maybe 5 people but it was really rainy and pretty that night.

Thanks, Owen. Loving your stuff, man. Don't let that GarfArt experience deter you from coming back to Pittsburgh. Would love to see you live!

First/Last-Ryan Dillaha & The Miracle Men

"Ryan Dillaha and the Miracle Men play the kind of music you wish people still played; call it Detroit Americana call it soulful folk rock and roll, but whatever you call it raise a glass and bring your dancing shoes. Born & bred in the downriver area, singer/songwriter Ryan Dillaha is truly a product of Detroit. After playing with drummer Tim Rios for nearly a decade, The Miracle Men were formed in 2013 with the addition of Millman on bass and Portier on guitar. The band is already earning rave reviews from critics and fans for their exuberant live shows. Their debut album will appear in 2013. Ryan Dillaha and the Miracle Men play the kind of music you wish people still played; call it Detroit Americana call it soulful folk rock and roll, but whatever you call it raise a glass and bring your dancing shoes."

Check out the band at their official ReverbNation and Facebook. The band stops in Pittsburgh tonight at the Thunderbird Cafe with support from local favs Dan Getkin & The Masters of American Music. My thanks to Ryan Dillaha (Acoustic Guitar/Vocals) himself for taking a few minutes to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?
The Beastie Boys “Licensed to Ill”, I was 12 and walked up to the local K Mart. I remember I thought it was so scandalous that the airplane said 3MTA3 on the wing. Still a great record.

Your last album bought?
Jason Isbell's “Southeastern”. The band and I have been listening to it a lot on the road this last month. It is amazing.

Favorite album of all time?
That is a tough one. On principal, I can't answer just one. Stevie Wonder's “Songs in the Key of Life”, The Band's “The Band” and Public Enemy's “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” are definitely in my top 100, and those three probably give a good idea of the range of the other 97.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?
Since I haven't actually heard the records that I would classify as least favorite, I will say I hate anything that was written by a team of songwriters for another person that had little to no hand in the creative process - I'm looking at you Nashville. And Kenny G, that dude has ruined way too many free wedding dinners for me to forgive.

First concert attended?
The Bon Jovi ‘Slippery When Wet Tour’. I went with my big sister Jill and her boyfriend. I think it was an early indication that Detroit would be an important city for the merging of rock and rap, because I remember Jon Bon Jovi made a disparaging remark about Run DMC - who had played the same venue the night before - and was booed by his own crowd. It also taught me that folks in Detroit like what they like and fuck you if you don't like it.

Last concert?
The last concert I went to was a big music night in the Detroit music scene. I saw three of the best bands in the country that night. Detroit's own: The Beggar's, Duende, and Bars of Gold. We have an extremely diverse and inspiring music scene in this city.

Favorite concert ever?
That is another tough one. Two transcendent experiences that come to mind are seeing Josh Ritter solo acoustic, and sitting at the end of a 9 foot Steinway and watching the Ahmad Jamal Trio...I think Ahmad is from Pittsburgh, right?

Least favorite concert?
I don't have a least favorite concert, but I will tell you two things I cannot stand at shows: folks talking loudly during quiet songs, and folks not dancing.

Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
This show will be my first visit to Pittsburgh, but I already feel an affinity for the city because of its industrial and working class roots. Our drummer Tim Rios said he likes that all the sports teams in Pittsburgh have the same colors, and likes even more that Art Blakey is from there.

Thanks, Ryan. You are correct in that all of our sports teams share the same colors...don't all city teams do that?

First/Last-Banditos

"Banditos are famously eclectic, paying tribute to a little Aretha here, a little CCR there, with a tidbit of Squirrel Nut Zippers packed around the edges. While such a myriad of influences would bury a lesser band in tuneless muck, Banditos use their disparate influences to forge a more assured identity. Though they recall a dozen bands, they sound like none so much as themselves. The instrumentation is as ambitious as it is deftly executed, mingling upright bass with kazoo and banjo while the soul-spangled howl of frontwoman Mary plays counterpoint to a deceivingly sparse guitar, drenched in a quantity of reverb and delay not often associated with “danceable.” All this would mean crap if Banditos couldn’t play, but these mothers can choogle. It’s always the mark of a good band to be able to play the hell out of three chords and a breakdown, and Banditos shake it down like John Fogerty. Honestly, their shows are such burndowns of shimmying shins and stomping heels they should carry warnings for bone spurs."

Check out the band at their official Website, ReverbNation, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and BandCamp. Continuing today with my coverage of the ongoing Paste 50 States Project, I bring you straight from Alabama, Banditos. This band is infectiously fun and could only imagine their live show. I want to thank Timothy Steven Corey Parsons (Guitar/Vocals) for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?
The first three cassettes I bought were Bob Dylan's “Greatest Hits”, Johnny Cash's “Greatest Hits”, and Metallica's “Ride The Lightning”.

Your last album bought?
“The World of Johnny Horton” vinyl.

Favorite album of all time?
Well, that's an impossible question to answer, so just name a few of my favorites at the moment “Exile on Main St.” Rolling Stones, “Moon and Antarctica” Modest Mouse, “The Slider” T. Rex and “Leave Home” The Ramones.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?
Probably, the first album I ever recorded.

First concert attended?
Aerosmith.

Last concert?
Last Saturday us and Blair Crimmins and the Hookers at The Earl, ATL.

Favorite concert ever?
Most recently, Tom Petty and Stevie Wonder at The Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores.

Least favorite concert?
Our first show in Jacksonville, FL.

Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
Never been. Would love to come party sometime. Let's book a show. Go Steelers!

Thanks, Corey. Anytime you want to play a show here, lemme know. We'll see what we can do.

First/last-Stephen Chopek

"Stephen Chopek (aka SodaCan) lives and works as a musician and artist in Jersey City, NJ. He is a multi-instrumentalist and self-taught artist. His work explores the connections that exist in the process of creating music and visual art. Chopek's music is the sum of many parts – what he terms audio collage. Individual elements are both created by the artist and sampled from previously existing sources. They are then gathered, categorized, arranged, dissected, deconstructed, sliced, diced, manipulated, repeated, rearranged, recycled, reused, and molded into original compositions."

Check Stephen out at his official Website, Facebook, BandCamp and SoundCloud. Stephen returns to Pittsburgh this Thursday at Howlers with locals Neighbours and Paddy the Wanderer. I want to thank Stephen for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?
The first album I ever bought was a cassette. Van Halen “1984”. I still have it.

Your last album bought?
I listen to a lot of new music; but to be honest with you, I can't remember the last time I bought an album. The closest thing would be a CD trade I did with a band from Austin, TX called Diving. I recently shared a bill with them at The Meatlocker in Montclair, NJ. I traded them my CD, “See Through”, for their EP, “Places And Objects You Find There”. It's really good. Check it out.

Favorite album of all time?
Wow! That's a tough one. I'll have to go with The Beatles “Revolver”.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?
That's also a tough one. I usually listen to an album at least album twice all the way through before I make my decision. I can usually find redeeming qualities in most records. While I was on tour last year, I listened to the audio version of the Keith Richards book, “Life”. It got me inspired to get my hands on as many Rolling Stones albums as possible and listen to them chronologically. I was having a great time until I got to “Voodoo Lounge”. It wasn't a complete disaster, but definitely not one of their shining moments.

First concert attended?
The first concert I ever went to see was Yes when they were touring in support of their album, “90125”. It was quite some time ago, and I was sitting far away (in a big arena); so I don't remember the details, but I was kind of enthralled by the grandiosity of the whole experience.

Last concert?
Most of the live music I see is other acts on the bill before or after I play a set. It's rare that I'm at a show as a spectator only. The last show that I attended as an audience member was David Pajo at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. He was playing songs from his Papa M album, “Live From A Shark Cage”. That album is beautiful, as was the performance.

Favorite concert ever?
I've seen a lot of stellar shows, but one that sticks out in my mind is Paul Westerberg at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI. He was on tour for his first solo album, “14 Songs”. I'm a huge Replacements fan, but I never got to see them live back in the day (although, I may get a second chance since they recently confirmed some reunion shows). He sounded great and the band was fantastic.

Least favorite concert?
This wasn't a concert, but it involved two of my favorite musicians. A few months ago, I attended a lecture at New York University that featured David Byrne and Questlove (Amir Thompson). The moderator was asking them questions about their experiences in the music world (and beyond). I have great respect for them both as artists, entrepreneur, authors, etc. The evening had great potential, but Questlove would not stop talking. It got really frustrating after a while. When David Byrne managed to squeeze in a few words, Questlove would interrupt him in mid-sentence. He was totally unaware of how rude and disrespectful he was being.

Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
I've been to Pittsburgh many times throughout the years at different venues with lots of bands. I like it more each time. It's a friendly place with a strong music and art scene. Whenever I get the chance, I like to see what's happening at the Mattress Factory and the Warhol Museum. Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water (in Mill Run, PA) is also a highlight.
My first solo show was in Pittsburgh at Hambone's this past May. I'm looking forward to perform at Howlers.

Thanks, Stephen. Jeez...?eustlove sounds like a real douche. He 'played' (read:DJ'ed) CMU a few years back and his rider leaked online. Dude is a douche.