Transmission Entertainment » From The Mind Of Adi #57: Kyle Robarge’s Firsts

From The Mind Of Adi #57: Kyle Robarge’s Firsts

Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.

Today: Kyle Robarge’s Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired Kyle Robarge, who is a member of three, yes, that’s right, three bands in town -- The Calm Blue Sea, Murdocks, and Frank Smith. The Calm Blue Sea just set sail on a U.S. tour and will be working on new material when they get back to Austin in September; you can catch Murdocks at Emo’s on November 22nd. Frank Smith, meanwhile, will perform at The Continental Club every Wednesday during Happy Hour (6 - 9 p.m.) in October. 

• 1st favorite song: I guess I'd have to say Michael Jackson's "Beat It." I know that's an easy choice... but seriously... I probably played that song a thousand times by the time I finally wore the record out. Not only were MJ's vocals unstoppable, Eddie Van Halen's guitar was unreal! I was absolutely in awe of (Steve) Lukather's main riff on the song, but Eddie's solo just took it over the top. That was my first introduction to ROCK as I now know it and my young ears were forever changed. No way was anyone gonna get me to listen to country or jazz... or anything else after hearing that. I've been a rock and roll kid since then! I have to admit, that song led me to a very intense Van Halen worship for a number of years, too...which I've since outgrown.
  
  
  
  
• 1st favorite musician or band: This would have to be Pink Floyd. I liked a lot of other music as a kid, but I can distinctly remember the exact moment I heard Pink Floyd for the first time. We were staying with a friend of my dad's for a week at his lake house, I was probably about 11 years old or so, and playing with my brother in the "kids" room. The adults put on the VHS of Delicate Sound of Thunder and the opening bars of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" lured me out of that room like some kind of snake charmer. After that, I was hooked. I still have more Floyd music, random Floyd knowledge, and general Floyd fan geek-ness than any other band, I think. David Gilmour was my ultimate guitar hero as a kid, though since then (after seeing both Gilmour's and (Roger) Waters' live shows) I have developed a much healthier respect for Roger's influence in their songs. Live at Pompeii is probably one of the coolest things I own.
  
  
  
  
• 1st vinyl purchased: Michael Jackson's Thriller. This record was probably the one I listened to the very most as a kid. I remember sitting in my room, on the floor, with that double-wide LP open thinking he was the coolest guy on earth. The glove, his million dollar smile, that freaking tiger! Vincent Price's voice at the end of Thriller used to give me goosebumps every time I heard it, too. I admit... there was a lot of (attempted) moonwalking going on in my house as a kid.
  
  
  
  
• 1st album recorded on a cassette tape: This is an easy one. 5th grade, my soon-to-be best friend and eventual high school band mate, Scott, made me a cassette copy of Metallica's Ride The Lightning. It was one of those tapes that actually said "Metal" on it... which made it extra rock. It was the first time I had ever heard Metallica and it absolutely changed my life. I didn't realize then that Cliff Burton would be a major influence on me ('cause i was just learning guitar back then), but that record and that band did a whole lot to shape my early musical life. I'm still annoyed that they started writing really shitty music after the black album.
  
  
  
  
• 1st cassette tape purchased: Two at the same time: Prince's Purple Rain and Madonna's Like A Virgin. 1984 was a good year for music! I loved Madonna back then... all melody and sex. Prince was his own brand of cool, too. I loved the cover of Purple Rain: little Prince standing next to that huge purple motorcycle. I actually saw him in the Minneapolis airport one time and he really is that small. It's amazing how talented that dude is. I think my mom just about had a heart attack when she started hearing the songs on those two tapes. I don't think she ever even figured out the lyrics to “Darling Nicky,” but it sounded risque enough that she made me fast forward past that song for a long time. I was 7, so I guess I can't blame her.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1st concert attended: The Monkees in 1986! This was at the Western Washington State Fair (in Puyallup for any Washingtonians out there) and I was there with my buddy Kris. His dad took us and we had a blast. I think this is interesting because I have always had a serious sweet spot for pop music and this concert surely had a major influence on me. Of course after that, I went out and bought as much of their music as I could... and watched the tv show regularly. I actually play with a guy named Dave Jones in the Murdocks, so that must be some kind of fate. The second concert I went to was equally important. It was Neil Diamond at the Seattle Center Arena, probably a year or so later. My parents got seats right up front along the side of the stage and he had a whole laser show to start the concert. Of course every song finished with Neil standing there front and center with one of his arms pointing to the ceiling and his bejeweled clothes sparkling to the back of the room. It was amazing to see all these middle aged women holding up signs professing their undying love... truly eye opening to say the least. Man, that guy could really put on a show, though. I was impressed, and inspired. Still think he's one of the greats.
  
  
• 1st CD purchased: Pearl Jam's Ten. I was in 9th grade when I finally got a CD player for my birthday, but before I even owned the player, I picked up a copy of this record. Another one of those indelible memories that will probably always be with me. I was in school band (I played baritone sax) and we were on a trip to Canada for some band festival. One of my friends had a copy of Ten in his CD player and he let me listen to it while we were on the ferry over to Vancouver. I was absolutely beside myself when I heard those songs. It's still their best record in my opinion...at least it's my favorite. As soon as we got into Vancouver and were turned loose for free time, I found a music store and picked up a copy. With all the extra taxes they have, I probably paid about $20 for that CD, but I still have it. That CD has probably pulled me through more tough times than any one I own.
  
  
  
  
• 1st album downloaded: Honestly, I don't remember. I was really late getting into the whole digital music thing and I never really downloaded stuff online all that much in the early days when Napster was such a big deal. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I still wouldn't even know how to use a torrent. I do buy stuff on iTunes and all the music I listen to is either on my computer or my iPod... and I've borrowed and copied plenty of CD's. Just haven't had all that much technology to play with over the years, so I've kept it pretty simple.. plus, I'm an analog kid at heart.
  
  
• 1st personal band: Threshold! I add the exclamation point because the name of our band was frequently (and mockingly) yelled at me and my bandmates while walking through the halls in junior high and high school. (I thought being in a band was supposed to make you cool!?) We started when I was about 14 and the band featured my little brother Kevin on drums, my friends Eric (who now plays bass for The Long Winters) and Scott on guitar, plus Scott's little brother Mark on bass. I was the lead singer and original lead guitar player, but after Mark left the band I started playing bass. We did a lot for a little high school band and despite some very dated music, I'm quite proud of what we accomplished. Funny enough, the guy that was the biggest jerk about making fun of us back then can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQnk5Rf4r5Y. He's the one in the wife beater almost getting the shit kicked out of him by Tim McGraw for punching some woman in the crowd. Poetic justice, I think.
  
  
  
  
• 1st recording: Threshold recorded a 4 song EP at this guy's home studio when we were all about 16 (my little brother was 14). I still have copies of it and we sold it in a few of the local record stores. It was a great experience and really cemented my love of being in the studio. We actually recorded on ADAT if anyone remembers that format. We had such a great time, we went back the next year and recorded 5 more songs. It's really charming to look back on how all that went down. We were so naive back then... it was never about "making it" or being rock stars... we just had so much fun playing and writing music. Other than a break for a few years in college, I've been playing in bands ever since and I don't see myself ever stopping.
  
  
• 1st live performance: Maple Valley Days (Threshold) in Maple Valley, Washington. It would have been around June 1992, I think. Man, that was a long time ago! We played a bunch of covers to our family, friends, and a whole bunch of people standing around eating corndogs. It was one of those semi-trailers that opens up into a stage and was quite exciting. It went by so fast and we were so young. I believe at that point we were more of a novelty for the people there than any serious talent.
  
  
• 1st national (or international) tour: Hahaha... the tour from hell. I was in a band called Your Horrible Smile and this would have been back in early 2005, I think. We had just purchased this huge (28ft long), amazing, old, airport shuttle bus style vehicle that had been converted into a mini tour bus by an AC/DC cover band that tours all over the northeast. Apparently they were upgrading to a bigger, more legit one and were happy to part with this one. It seriously looked like something out of Star Wars, like an armored transport or something, but it was totally tricked out inside. We had 6 bunks built in, a super comfy lounge area in the front with a couch, DVD/TV, stereo, and awesome neon rope lighting. We called it Betty the Battle Bus and it was a seriously sweet tour ride when it was working. We broke down so many times, and spent so much money getting the thing fixed, it would have been better to just film ourselves playing a live set and mailing it to the venues for them to play. I swear, we probably replaced every moving part in that engine compartment and the thing still kept breaking down. After breaking down in Bakersfield (on DAY 1 of the tour!), Portland and Topeka, maxing out our AAA tow privileges, spending literally thousands of dollars, and having to cancel numerous shows, we were finally limping our way back to Los Angeles when she finally blew a head gasket in Flagstaff, AZ. We left her at a repair shop for a few weeks and rented a big SUV to get ourselves and our gear home. Despite all the problems we had with the bus, we did manage to have an awesome time on the road. We also met a number of incredibly hospitable souls in the various towns where we broke down who fed us, let us stay with them and use their showers, etc. It's really wonderful how many good hearts are out there that are willing to take pity on a band in need. Without people like that, we'd all be in trouble.
  
  
• 1st "something" I didn't ask you about: Hmm... this thing is long enough and I'm not coming up with anything witty here. Let's just leave this as "First response on this questionnaire under three sentences." How's that?

Past Firsts:
• Adi’s Firsts
• James Petralli’s (White Denim) Firsts
• Chris Rose’s (Car Stereo (Wars)) Firsts
• JP’s (Built By Snow) Firsts
• Lauren Larson’s (Ume) Firsts
• John Farmer’s (What Made Milwaukee Famous) Firsts
• Martín Perna’s (Ocote Soul Sounds) Firsts
• Adrian Quesada’s (Grupo Fantasma, Brownout!, Ocote Soul Sounds) Firsts
• Marcos Cabral and Jacques Renault’s (Runaway) Firsts
• Ben and Jeff Brown’s (No Show Ponies) Firsts
• Jeramy Neugent’s (Learning Secrets) Firsts
• James Moody’s (The Mohawk) Firsts
• Nancy Whang’s (LCD Soundsystem, The Juan MacLean) Firsts
• Jen Rea’s (Team Fabrication) Firsts
• Richard Henry’s Firsts
• Matt Ragland’s (Nelo) Firsts
• Shane Lawlor’s (Electric Touch) Firsts
• Graham Williams’ (Transmission Entertainment) Firsts
• Jaylinn Davidson’s (The Boxing Lesson) Firsts
• Daniel Ash’s (Love and Rockets) Firsts
• David Garza’s Firsts
• Shay Tisdale’s (Oak is Keeping) Firsts
• Bryan Keplesky’s (Misprint Magazine) Firsts
• Steve Terebecki’s (White Denim) Firsts

Thu Sep 3 2009 · Posted in Interviews