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Mar 15, 2016 Web Exclusive By Mark Redfern

My Firsts is our email interview series where we ask musicians to tell us about their first life experiences, be it early childhood ones (first word, first concert, etc.) or their first tastes of being a musician (first band, first tour, etc.).

For this My Firsts we talk to Jamie Lee of MONEY. The British trio formed in Manchester in 2011 and released their sophomore album, Suicide Songs, back in January via Bella Union. Suicide Songs is the follow-up to 2013’s acclaimed debut album, The Shadow of Heaven (which was released in the U.S. in 2014). The creation of the album was difficult, with one-third of the band (Lee) based in London and the other two-thirds (Charlie Cocksedge and Billy Byron) still in Manchester. Eventually they all came together in London with the help of producer Charlie Andrew and overcame their differences to create a darkly atmospheric and deeply emotive collection of songs.

MONEY are performing at one of Under the Radar‘s SXSW day parties this Thursday at the Flamingo Cantina at 6th and Red River (515 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX 78701). The party is free and open to the public; head over to the Eventbrite page for our SXSW parties to RSVP. MONEY go on at 4:05 PM and the rest of the lineup features England’s Everything Everything, South Africa’s Petite Noir, Wales’ Gwenno, Pillar Point, Cullen Omori (ex-Smith Westerns frontman), and Northern Ireland’s Girls Names.

Read on as Lee discusses the first time he fell in love, his first kiss, his first concert, his first job and the first time he got fired, and the first time his heart was broken.

First word?

No idea. Probably something dirty.

First best friend?

No idea. Can’t remember anything.

First pet?

A cat called Domino.

First broken bone?

Nope.

First time you had to go to the hospital?

STD clinic.

First time you fell in love?

A girl from primary school. She read her books upside down.

First person you kissed?

Jess, a Cornish girl who wore a full Adidas tracksuit. She used to come over to where we were staying and knock on the window. Me and my mate would run outside and kiss Jess and her sister. Still love that girl a bit.

First time your heart was broken?

Properly it was a wonderful sporty girl I had a long relationship with. I saw her in the train the other day. She’s a ray of sunshine never a bad word to say about anything and smiles a lot. Far too good for me.

First movie you saw in the movie theater?

Gladiator or Jurassic Park.

First record your parents played for you?

Rubber Soul by The Beatles. I think I dug that one out myself though.

First album you bought?

Not saying.

First favorite band?

Not saying.

First favorite song?

[The Beatles’] “I’m Looking Through You.” Or [The Rolling Stones’] “Ruby Tuesday.”

First musician you had a crush on?

Pink maybe. And Roxanne Clifford from Veronica Falls.

First actor or actress you had a crush on?

Morgan Freeman.

First concert you went to?

Bob Dylan at Brixton Academy. I hated it. Didn’t watch live music for years after that.

First time you got drunk?

My mum used to take me to the pub as a baby and she’d put me on the bar and I’d drink a beer.

First job you had?

Helping my local milkman

First time you got fired?

Helping my local milkman

First country you visited outside of your own?

Salford. [Editor note: Salford is a borough of Greater Manchester.]

First computer?

Nintendo.

First book you read outside of one assigned for school?

Another Country, James Baldwin. Read it.

First major disappointment?

Too many to mention.

First instrument?

Broken piano that had been played by Muddy Waters’ piano player Otis Spann.

First band you were in?

A friend who was obsessed with Nick Cave came and made me read poems over horrible drones. We were quite good

www.moneybandofficial.com

Under the Radar SXSW Day Party at Flamingo Cantina, Thursday, March 17:

5:00 PM: Everything Everything

4:05 PM: MONEY

3:15 PM: Petite Noir

2:25 PM: Gwenno

1:35 PM: Cullen Omori

12:45 PM: Pillar Point

12:00 PM: Girls Names