Five Firsts: Joe Mele of Emerald City

NAME: Joe Mele
BAND AFFILIATION: Emerald City, the Ernie Williams Band, the Joe Mele Blues Band
INSTRUMENT: Guitar

1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … B.B. King’s “Live at the Regal”

2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS … The Beatles at Shea Stadium

3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … Guitar from Montgomery Wards

4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … Probably something from the Ventures. When I was 12, my brother Dave, Denny Moffrey and I got together and played out at the Sunset Inn in Troy.

5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … The Grand Prees

After a hiatus of many years, Joe Mele and the other members of Emerald City reunited last year, and that reunion is still going strong. Emerald City will kick off the 2012 season of Albany’s Alive at Five concert series, opening for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason at the Albany Riverfront Park in the Corning Preserve at 5pm on Thursday (June 7). Admission is free. In case of rain, the concert will move to the Corning Preserve Boat Launch beneath the I-787 overpass.