“It’s optimistic. Reflective. Powerful. Contemplative. Seething. Personal. Bold. Simply put, it’s a statement of purpose. Where The Lies Begin is the debut record from The Pollies—a collection of songs that defy categorization and signal the arrival of this oft-buzzed-about Muscle Shoals, AL group onto the national scene. With that, The Pollies are ready to be introduced the world. It’s been a long time coming, too. Anyone who knows this band knows that the journey to the release of this record has been, well, quite a journey. Where The Lies Begin acts as a snapshot of that time. To me and you, we call that “living life”. To The Pollies, it’s something worth singing about. Now, finally, you can hear why.”

I have really been enjoying the band’s debut, “Where The Lies Begin” since it’s release last month. Check The Pollies out on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Soundcloud. I want to thank Jay Burgess (Guitar/Vocals), Chris James (Bass) and Reed Watson (Drums) for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.

• The first album you ever bought?
• Jay Burgess: Nirvana, “Nevermind”.
• Chris James: Michael Jackson, “Thriller” on cassette tape.
• Reed Watson: The first album I ever bought with my own money was R.E.M.’s “Out of Time”. I was an MTV nerd and they were running ‘Losing My Religion’ once an hour probably. I loved it .
• Your last album bought?
• Jay: Elton John, “Tumbleweed Connection”.
• Chris: Ty Segall, “Slaughterhouse”.
• Reed: Diamond Rugs’ self-titled one.
• Favorite album of all time?
• Jay: There is a lot, but The Beatles’ “Revolver” would definitely be towards the top.
• Chris: The Beatles, “Revolver”.
• Reed: The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds”. ‘God Only Knows’ is my favorite song.
• Least favorite/most disappointing album?
• Jay: I don’t think I ever bought a record that I hated, but there is some I haven’t that I don’t like.
• Chris: I’ve heard a lot of really bad albums before, don’t think I could pick a least favorite.
• Reed: Least favorite would be a long, long list. I work in a record store so I make a new one every week. But most disappointing? Well, the most disappointing record I’ve heard in a while was the new Radiohead record. I’m not a fan of the two drummers, ten drumpads approach. Oh well.
• First concert attended?
• Jay: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
• Chris: Red Hot Chili Peppers in Nashville.
• Reed: Probably something at City Stages in Birmingham. My uncle used to play it every once in awhile. I think I saw Little Richard at one of them. Who knows?
• Last concert?
• Jay: Wilco.
• Chris: The Melvins at Bottletree. It was great.
• Reed: Neil Young & Crazy Horse w/ Alabama Shakes in my beautiful hometown of Tuscaloosa, AL. Absolutely incredible.
• Favorite concert ever?
• Jay: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
• Chris: I’ve been to a lot of really great shows. Trevor Dunn’s Trio Convulsant at Workplay was amazing. Fleet Foxes and Dr. Dog at Bottletree, every time I’ve seen Centro-matic, Deerhunter at Exit / In.
• Reed: I saw Paul McCartney at Phillips Arena in Atlanta 4-5 years ago and that was, without any exaggeration, a complete religious experience. Nothing has matched it.
• Least favorite concert?
• Jay: There was a rock festival in Birmingham I went to that wasn’t much fun and I don’t remember the name.
• Chris: Usually the bigger they are, the less I like them. Most of my least favorite concert experiences occurred at festivals.
• Reed: Lynyrd Skynyrd played on the University of Alabama Quad for Homecoming one year… and well, it’s a disgrace to still call whatever THAT was, “Lynyrd Skynyrd”. It was atrocious. The ‘Free Bird’ solo sounded like those “shreds” videos on YouTube. Ugh.
• Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
• Jay: I played there once to a small crowd, but the city was nice.
• Chris: I’ve been there only once. I ate a really good hamburger, got sick, and played a show for 3 people. It was fun, though.
• Reed: I’ve driven through it a couple of times, but I’ve never been lucky enough to perform there. I hope we can make that happen on our next tour. We’d sure like to, I know that.

Thanks, fellas. Would love if a Pittsburgh date was in the future for you guys!