FIVE FIRSTS: James Byron Schoen of Edensong

NAME: James Byron Schoen
BAND AFFILIATION: Edensong
INSTRUMENT: Guitarist/Singer

1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … Michael Jackson’s Thriller possibly. I was obsessed with buying music from an early age and had a pretty large collection, so it’s hard to remember honestly. First CD was Aerosmith’s Get a Grip (along with TLC’s Crazy Sexy Cool, but nobody needs to know that).

2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS … Stone Temple Pilots. I was in eighth grade and went with two tenth grade girls, so I think I felt pretty cool. My second was Metallica, third was Rush, and fourth was Dream Theater, all with members of Edensong.

3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … I remember a half-size Casio keyboard that I used to trigger the demo sounds and beats. It had a great slap bass sound, from what I recall. I think I recorded an album with it in third grade. My first guitar was a red Squier Strat that I got for Christmas when I was 13.

4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” was the first song I performed in a band. It was loosely based on the Nirvana version, but also had a classic Metallica ballad-inspired arrangement, haha.

5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … Pretty much this one, though the band members and the name has shifted slowly over time. I think we were called Language of the Mad (for that one concert), which morphed into Ashes of Eden, which morphed into Echoes of Eden, which morphed into Edensong when I was in college.

James Byron Schoen leads the NYC-based progressive rock quintet Edensong into Albany’s Savoy Taproom on Tuesday (April 17) for their Greater Nippertown debut. Seaspan opens the show at 10pm. Admission is FREE.