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From The Mind Of Adi #84: Dave Dart’s Firsts
Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Dave Dart’ Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired Dave Dart, founder and executive director of Dart Music International. The local entity hosts artists from all over the world regularly in town and its annual International Night during SXSW has featured bands from Argentina, India, Iran, New Zealand, South Africa, and many, many other countries. Head over to the the official website and check out the full list of past events and a roster of the bands DMI is currently working with. On Tuesday, January 19th, DMI presents Backstage Pass To The World -- learn more about this unique event here.
- 1st favorite song: "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond. I was young, it was on the radio...
- 1st favorite musician or band: KISS! The first album anyone ever gave me was Rock And Roll Over.
- 1st vinyl purchased: Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits. Still a great record!
- 1st album recorded on a cassette tape: That's a tough one. I remember a 90 minute tape with Under A Blood Red Sky by U2 on one side and The Alarm's Declaration on the other side.
- 1st cassette tape purchased: When I was about 8 years old I got some money for my birthday and bought a cassette player (not a tape deck, but a crappy hand-held player/recorder) and a Tom T. Hall cassette The Songs of Fox Hollow. Can't go wrong with "Sneaky Snake"!
- 1st concert attended in the U.S.: Van Halen on the Diver Down tour at The Summit in Houston. It was everything a first rock concert should be - Diamond Dave in shiny spandex, Alex lighting things on fire, everything loud and bigger than life.
- 1st concert attended internationally: The Replacements at The Batschkapf in Frankfurt, Germany in 1991. Great venue, and the only time I got to see the 'Mats in all their glory. They blasted Prince over the PA during setup. The extensive beer menu at the back of the hall caused Paul (Westerberg) to ask if he was playing a fast-food joint. I almost got in a fight with a couple of soldiers who were trying to impress their German girlfriends... A pretty complete Replacements event!
- 1st CD purchased: I think I bought 10 CDs at my first go. It was 1985 and I got my first student loan check. Boy (U2), Legend (Bob Marley & The Wailers), Van Halen's first album, Shabooh Shoobah (INXS), The Who's Next, Led Zeppelin I, Making Movies (Dire Straits), I'm the Man (Joe Jackson), probably the first albums by The Pretenders and The Police...
- 1st album downloaded: A live bootleg of Wilco at The Filmore on the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot tour. Really good quality for a crowd recording. Thanks LimeWire!
- First personal band: I've never been in a band, and the world is a much better place for it.
- 1st music entity you founded: Dart Music International is my first. I worked in record stores in college, including the legendary Sundance Tapes & Records in San Marcos, and also did quite a bit of volunteer work with SXSW before jumping into DMI.
- 1st “something” I didn’t ask you about: When I was 10 years old I read Mutiny On The Bounty. That was when I discovered that I wanted to know more about the world, especially exotic destinations like the South Pacific. I've been hooked on traveling and experiencing the people and cultures of the world ever since.
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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
- Kyle Robarge’s (The Calm Blue Sea, Murdocks, Frank Smith) Firsts
- Roy Dank’s (My Cousin Roy) Firsts
- Scott Telles’ (My Education, ST 37) Firsts
- Rob Dickinson’s (Catherine Wheel) Firsts
- Bill Baird’s (Sunset, Sound Team) Firsts
- Hung Nguyen’s (Foot Patrol) Firsts
- Jonathan Meiburg’s (Shearwater, ex-Okkervil River) Firsts
- Mark Sultan’s (The BBQ, The King Khan & BBQ Show, The Almighty Defenders) Firsts
- Zach Duran’s (The Eastern Sea) Firsts
- Rick Smith’s (Torche) Firsts
- Steve Brooks’ (Torche) Firsts
- Nicholas Saldaña’s (Visitors) Firsts
- Z Lynch’s (The Steps) Firsts
- Candice Jones’ (The Coathangers) Firsts
- Erin Mikulenka’s (Team Fabrication) Firsts
- JG Wilkes’ (Optimo Espacio) Firsts
- Aasim Syed’s Firsts
- Black Joe Lewis’ Firsts
- Christian Bland’s (The Black Angels, The Viet Minh, The Revelators) Firsts