My First Record is a music column where we ask musicians about the first record they remember listening to, bought with their own money or was passed down to them. Whether it was a CD, vinyl album, cassette tape or even an 8-track (we haven’t run into anyone yet whose first music was downloaded, but we won’t be surprised when we do) we’re curious about the first record a musician remembers listening to. This week we welcome a post from Yair Yona.
The first record that I bought, was by a famous Israeli band called Mashina, and it was their 1992 album, The Glory Monsters.
While the band usually played nice pop/rock music, sometimes with ska influences and many homages to other bands, this one was different. They decided to turn all knobs to eleven, and decided to completely upset their audience who wasn’t ready for the big sound and hard rock.
I didn’t know much about music, I was 14 when I bought it (in 1995), but I liked the band and suddenly it hit me that I wanted to buy a CD, not sure why exactly. I asked my father to take me to the store, give me money, and then I went on a mission.
I was REALLY excited when I went into the tiny store and asked the guy for a CD, any CD. So he asked if I like Mashina, and I said yeah, and he sold me this record. When I got home, I was so thrilled by the fact I just bought a record, that unwrapping the cellophane and hitting the play button felt like a ceremony.
The energies in the album just got into me, and I remember being carried away with the music, not feeling the ground anymore, with a great passion to break a guitar, or somehow relive the energies in me. It was an amazing experience, and until this day, it’s one of my favorite albums by an Israeli band.
Yair Yona is a self proclaimed musician, blogger, radioman, dog owner, vegan, and nice guy. While living in London, Yair Yona discovered British folk music, switched to acoustic guitar and started exploring the fingerpicking style. Upon discovering the world of acoustic instrumental music, he started composing his own instrumental music, and in 2010 released his solo debut album ‘Remember’. In 2012, he released his second album ‘World Behind Curtains.”
Yair Yona also writes the music blog Small Town Romance and hosts a radio show called Sonar in IDC radio, Israel.
Thanks to Yair Yona for sharing his thoughts on his first record! We love hearing about different musician’s earliest experiences with music. Hope you do too!
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