Audio By Carbonatix
Welcome to My First Show, where we
give bands a chance to talk about the first shows they ever attended —
no matter how uncool and embarrassing those tales may be.
Jeff Parker spent many years as the bassist for [DARYL], but Les Américains has been his main band for the past few years. Best described as a collision between Built to Spill and The Replacements, the four-piece’s debut, Other People’s Lives, came out last year.
Growing up, Parker spent some of his youth in New Mexico — not necessarily the state to always hit for a national touring band. Luckily, he still saw some shows that remain in his mind.
After the jump, he shares with us those early show-going memories, plus what he remembers of the first show he played with Les Américains.
Do you remember the first concert you ever saw? Were your parents with you?
I was living in New Mexico at the time and I remember going with my
parents to see Kris Kristofferson at the state fair one year.
What was the first show you saw with your own money?
The first show I spent money on was Soul Asylum at the University of New
Mexico Student Union. I followed that up by seeing Butthole Surfers,
Stone Temple Pilots, and Firehose at a water park. That was pretty
interesting to say the least.
What do you remember about the first Les Américains’ show?
The very first Les Américains show was pretty fun — primarily because we
didn’t tell anyone about it. Some good friends of ours were booking
Rubber Gloves at the time and got us an opening slot on a Thursday
night. It was an interesting lineup, and I think we played in front of a
total of maybe three people (five, if you include the bartender and door
girl). We had a great time, though, and we were all excited about finding
out how well we would interact on stage. Plus, they have really big
beers at Rubber Gloves.
Les Américains perform Sunday, March 13, at Hickory Street Lounge as part of this weekend’s 35 Conferette in Denton.
