The first concert I ever went to was The Who at TD Garden in Boston which my dad took me to. However the first concert I ASKED to go to was the very next day. It was Coldplay’s Viva La Vida tour also at TD Garden. I went with my neighbor and best friend Gabe who had introduced me to Coldplay. We were both 12 and suddenly the stadium which I had just seen host a classic rock group full of dad-aged dads was now raining beautiful butterfly confetti and I don’t remember how I felt but it was my first real concert and now I live in LA and have devoted my life to being a professional musician… so it had to have felt pretty good.
Gabe and I started the band Closer Than We Appear with our other friend Jack. Together we shaped each others music taste by buying and uploading CD’s to a shared dropbox folder with all the albums we discovered. Among them was Death Cab For Cutie’s “Transatlanticism,” Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” (my proudest contribution and the first album I ever bought myself), LCD Soundsystem’s “Sound of Silver” and usually any artist that was ever featured on A Take Away Show. These bands became my entire identity. Their songs taught me how to think and what to think about. I wore their merch so other fans would know I was one of them and that I was in on the secret.
^^(Me, Gabe, and Jack at our first show as Closer Than We Appear")^^
I think we found Modest Mouse through “Float On” being featured in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. And one of us, I think Gabe, going on a deep dive and us falling in love with songs like “Little Motel” and “The World at Large” before getting into the older stuff. Both Gabe and I’s parents were supportive beyond the normal sense in us discovering our musical persons. They snuck us into a 21+ secret Death Cab For Cutie show. They drove us to Montreal TWICE to see Arcade Fire open for U2 and then to Osheaga Festival before we were old enough to drive.
One particular concert worth noting that they drove us 3+ hours to see was Modest Mouse in Connecticut because it was the closest they got to Boston. Gabe and I entered a raffle while waiting in line and ended up winning backstage passes to see Paramore which we just threw away because we thought they were lame. Instead we set our sights on getting front row for MM. Opening for them was this little known band Morning Teleportation who had just released their debut album “Expanding Anyways.” We met them outside after buying their merch. They were clearly stoned but we had no idea what that was at our age so we just thought they were a little cooky. They accepted our friend requests on Facebook. They were really generous with their time. And they were the first band I remember feeling real ownership over. Like they were my little secret. Every other indie band we liked had already peaked and/or released their seminal album before we knew them. I wanted to mention them because the singer Tiger passed away a few years back now very young and it’s never felt right that they remain such small cult figures.
^^(Gabe and I wearing the Modest Mouse and Morning Teleportation tshirts we bought)^^
Anyways, from there we were off to the races: Phoenix, The Smiths, The National, Passion Pit, Radiohead, Wilco… not life changing but certainly all consuming. Meanwhile our band was taking off. We were old enough at this point to be playing shows without our parents in attendance, and at house shows or at small Allston venues. Sometimes we got to open for indie bands we loved. I was just a lead guitarist at this point. I didn’t listen to lyrics very much. I had attempted to write a few songs but didn’t feel particularly dramatically enough about anything to actually find it fun.
Then my parents dragged me to see Randy Newman at the Wilbur Theatre. I had no idea who he was or any expectations. My parents had shown me Talking Heads, and The Smiths but I still wasn’t ready to accept they might actually have cool taste. But by the time we were in the car driving home, my new dream was to be a songwriter. Most of the music I listened to up until that point had been about angst and love or heartbreak and so that’s what I thought songs had to be about, and I didn’t feel too strongly about any of them. But Randy Newman’s songs were really funny. And he was really funny. It was just him and a piano and these songs about short people and America nuking everyone. Suddenly the world of storytelling was open and I could write about the things I actually spent my time thinking about… which was a lot of nothing.
^^(Max DiRado singer/songwriter circa 2015)^^
So I accepted my parents had cool taste and I went back to another artist they kept pushing on me: Talking Heads. I realized David Byrne was doing the same thing. And so was Jonathan Richman. And so was James Murphy. My parents now full of pride bought me a record player so I could go through their record collection where I discovered David Bowie, Roxy Music, Lou Reed. Weirdos the lot of ‘em. But undeniably great lyricists.
So I went searching to find the greatest lyricists of all time. Usually I thought they were the most dramatic, over the top, grand poets and goo-feelers to ever live. Leonard Cohen, Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave.
Anyways, then I went to college and lost all my individuality. And spent four years trying to copy Alex G. But there were a few great artists to come out of it. Three more A named artists I also really like are Andy Shauf, Angel Olsen and Adrianne Lenker.
Now I am nearing 30 years old. I have reluctantly become someone who thinks the music I grew up listening to is the best. But now I listen to it with new ears or rather slightly older ears. And I’ve come to appreciate even more the genius of The Magnetic Fields, Broken Social Scene, Sun Kil Moon, Wilco, Vampire Weekend and Counting Crows. But also my music taste changes in small ways all the time. So if you want to follow along with my continuing musical journey I save every song I currently like this year here:
