The band hits Brillobox tonight with special guests Motometer and The Long Knives supporting their latest release “Mania!” from Pravda Records. My sincere thanks to Pony (Guitars/Keys/Vox), Ryan Smith (Vocals/Guitars), Ron Caron (Drums) and Mark Wade (Bass/Vox) for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.
- The first album you ever bought?
- Pony: Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” single on cassette.
- Ryan Smith: It’s a tie with Prince’s “Batman” and Husker Du’s “Warehouse: Songs and Stories.” I picked them up from Target after saving and dreamingabout how cool it would feel to own these cassettes for months.
- Ron Caron: Ace Frehley’s solo album.
- Mark Wade: First album I bought with my own money was The Offspring’s “Smash.”
- Your last album bought?
- Pony: Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “It’s Blitz”.
- Ryan: Japandroids’ “Celebration Rock”.
- Ron: Fiona Apple, “The Idler Wheel is…”
- Mark: Miles Davis, “B*****s Brew”.
- Favorite album of all time?
- Pony: Patti Smith, “Horses”.
- Ryan: The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds”.
- Ron: XTC, “Skylarking”.
- Mark: Radiohead, “OK Computer”.
- Least favorite/most disappointing album?
- Pony: “Shok Paris”. I think it was self-titled.
- Ryan: I love ‘em all. Every single album ever by every band ever.
- First concert attended?
- Pony: The Steve Miller Band.
- Ryan: Sugar at First Ave. in Minneapolis.
- Ron: Def Leppard ‘Pyromania’ Tour.
- Mark: Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. My parents had to escort my sister, and I got dragged along. The first concert that I chose to attend was Smashing Pumpkins.
- Last concert?
- Pony: Prima Donna.
- Ryan: The Promise Ring.
- Ron: Blondie.
- Mark: Stone Temple Pilots.
- Favorite concert ever?
- Pony: Iggy Pop & The Stooges at SXSW.
- Ryan: 12 Rods in the 7th St. Entry.
- Ron: Prince.
- Mark: Radiohead at Alpine Valley.
- Least favorite concert?
- Pony: Steve Miller Band.
- Ryan: Whoah, I saw Steve Miller Band and I actually thought they were quite good. I’ve seen much worse bands many times, but for sanity’s sake I’ve chosen to forget the names of said groups.
- Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
- Pony: Not at this moment.
- Ryan: I hear it’s lovely there this time of year. I’ve also heard everyone there loves to go to live rock shows and howl at the moon shirtless, so I have a feeling this gig will be off the hook.
- Ron: It will be cool to be back. I haven’t been there since ‘99. I remember really digging it!
- Mark: I’ve heard about the “Primanti Bros Sandwich” and am looking forward to trying one of those!
Thanks, fellas. Here’s a little secret, if you want to get the most out of a Primanti’s sandwich, you definitely need a belly full of beer. Otherwise, it’s just exactly what it sounds like.
