Five Firsts: Michael Poulopoulos of Palatypus

NAME: Michael Poulopoulos
BAND AFFILIATION: Palatypus / M.R. Poulopoulos
INSTRUMENT: Guitar / Vocals

1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … The first album I bought was A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory.” Funky beats and rhyme schemes, sharp lyrics and tasty samples of fine jazz. I can still bust out the “Scenario” lyrics in full… Try me.

2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS … I’m blushing while I admit this and my lawyer advised against putting it in writing: Richard Marx at SPAC, one prepubescent summer. My friend, Jeremy felt fine before the show, but for some reason felt awful by the time we left.

3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … If we look past the obligatory grade school recorder and piano failures, the first instrument I ever played was everyone else’s guitar. While in college, I bought a cheap Honer that I traded a buddy for a butter-actioned Washburn. He didn’t like the straight trade, so I had to tip the deal’s scale in my favor with a loan for some lewd DVDs he wanted. I wrote my first song on that Washburn.

4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … “If I Only Had a Brain” by the Scarecrow. I danced pretty well, too.

5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … The five-piece rock and roll menagerie went by the name Men or Broccoli – we gave folks a choice. Our first payment was a 3/4 full bottle of McCormick Vodka and $50 cash, neither of which lasted the night. We performed exclusively at Olds, a musty room with a penchant for Steely Dan tunes on the Providence College drinking circuit.

M.R. Poulopoulos will sharing a performance with Erin Harkes at the Moon and River Cafe in Schenectady at 8pm on Thursday. Admission is free.