Giving It Up

When you're a rock star, life consists of a few seminal moments: discovering Never Mind the Bollocks, losing your virginity, playing your first show and selling out the Garden seven nights in a row. (The first three are relatively easy, but few can do number four.) Because it's more fun to talk about sex than that other stuff, we cornered a few candid musicians and asked them the million-dollar question: How did you lose your virginity? If they could remember what they were listening to when the action went down, all the better. Now, do you remember your first time?

Uncle Kracker I don't remember exactly what happened. We were drinking. I was probably on acid. I could have been with a guy or a girl–who fucking knows? I remember how exciting but also how anticlimactic it was. I remember being happy to lose it and that it was fucking sweet. It was summertime, and we were down in this swampy area we called Sleepy Hollow. A fire was going, and there were a lot of drugs. A Steve Miller greatest-hits record was probably playing-all we did was drop dots and listen to Steve Miller. The details are sketchy since it was so long ago. Most people keep in touch and shit, don't they? Well, I was a scumbag. Ladies, be thankful you were nowhere near Detroit in 1989.

Melissa Auf Der Maur It was high school graduation weekend in 1989. My boyfriend and I were both 16. He went to a more prestigious school, and I went to an arty, experimental public school. I went to his graduation weekend, and a lot of rich kids and jocks who had big country homes were there. We camped outside one, and as the more bohemian one I was already feeling uncomfortable being at the rich kids' graduation. My boyfriend was an extreme mod, so when he pitched our tent he draped his Union Jack across it. As we were attempting to lose our virginity we got attacked by the jocks, who kicked our tent and yelled, "Fuck the mods!" We spent the next night in a hotel with Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction playing on auto reverse. That's when we finally accomplished the deed.

Travis Barker, Blink-182 I lost my virginity in seventh grade. I was just 13, and I lost it to a ninth grade cheerleader I'd always had a crush on. I was a scared kid with a weird haircut, and I didn't think a ninth grader would be into me. We were in music class together, and she would flirt with me and touch my dick. One night my friends and I skateboarded to her house. Her family had a trailer in the back, and she and I went in there and made out and did all that crazy stuff. I don't think we had any music playing. She was on top–she wasn't fucking around. It was very, "I'm older, I know more, and I'm about to take you to school." She was a badass, rad girl. Her vagina felt like hot jelly. I'd never felt one before. I don't believe it lasted long. Afterward it was awkward, and I didn't talk to her. I should have handled the situation better, but I didn't know. At 13 all you want to do is get laid. I remember walking home at three A.M. and thinking, I don't care if I have sex again; it's no big deal. Then she went around telling everyone she was pregnant, scaring the shit out of me. Later we became good friends and laughed about it.

Jack Black I'm not one of those people who like music playing when they make love. When I lost my virginity I played "Comfortably Numb" from Pink Floyd's The Wall, and that soured the whole music-while-boning experience for me. Music to bone to–I don't do that. I was 17 and a senior in high school. I'd had an experience with a girl before that, but you can't really call it the time I lost my virginity, because it was dry humping. It was hot. Our genitals were rubbing against each other with just a thin piece of fabric between us. It felt fantastic, and I shot my load in my pants. You could see the stain, and it was very embarrassing. She knew. She was sweet about it.

Pharrell Williams I was 16. I was talking shit to this woman at my job–we worked at McDonald's–acting as if I'd fucked before, and I had to go through with it because I couldn't back down. She was an older lady, 28 or 29.

Lil Jon My first time was with my then girlfriend in my mom's basement. It sure wasn't her first time. She said I did a good job, but she could have been lying.

Ludacris I was 17. She (continued on page 148)Music(continued from page 95) was in college. We were in my dad's house. He was home at the time, and she and I were on a water bed. You hear stories about people climaxing quickly their first time, but for some reason I went for a long-ass time—20 minutes.

Marilyn Manson I think I was 16. It's been so long I forget. It was on a baseball diamond at about 11 P.M. in Canton, Ohio. I'd gotten drunk on Jim Beam that I'd stolen from my grandmother and smuggled in my Kiss thermos. It lasted 35 seconds. It was just something I had to get out of the way.

Slash I was 13, and she was 12. We did it at her and her mom's apartment. We were listening to Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin. The song that comes to mind is "Dancing Days." We were smoking a lot of pot and drinking Southern Comfort. We had to go to the laundry room to do it. Every time after that, her mom would take a Valium and we would do it on the couch in the living room. When I hear that record now, it reminds me of that. When you're that age, to really have sex is a big deal to everybody else. But to us it was just this thing we were into. After a while her mom got hip to it. As long as we kept the door closed it was okay.

G. Love We were listening to High Tide and Green Grass by the Rolling Stones. I was 15; she was 14. We would always go to her house after sports practice because she lived by the school. We were very much in love. We used to chill before her dad came home and listen to Janis Joplin, the Velvet Underground and the Cowboy Junkies. But that day it was the Stones. I still have the record, and of course today it sounds better than ever.

Jacoby Shaddix, Papa Roach I was at a party, and this girl from school asked for a ride home. I was about to drop her off, and she goes, "I don't feel like going home. Can I come to your house?" My parents were asleep, and my room was 10 feet away from theirs. We were listening to Pyromania by Def Leppard. She goes, "I've had a crush on you for a year." I'm like, "Fucking cool." This chick wasn't a virgin. She jumped on me, and we started making out. Then we started fucking. We were going at it for a while, then she got off and sucked my dick. I was like, This can't be happening. This is the shit you see in porno movies. Then the door flew open, and my mom came in. I was sitting there with a raging hard-on. My mom was white as a ghost. She slammed the door, and I was tripping. I guess it's shocking to walk in and see your son getting a blow job. I was scared of the pussy for a good year after that.

Ja Rule Anything with a smooth groove is good when it's time to get rowdy. My first time was horrible. My cousin and I had these two chicks who were sisters, and we took them into a stairwell in the projects. There wasn't enough space, and I couldn't get anything right. You have to be comfortable your first time.

Gene Simmons I had just turned 14. I had a newspaper route and had to pick up the weekly pay. It was a Friday night around Christmas, and it was freezing. This woman must have been in her early 20s and must have been drunk. She came to the door in a see-through nightie and started crying, "Oh, my husband. It's Christmas. Where is he?" I said, "Maybe I'll come back later." She goes, "No, come in." She sat me down, pulled my pants down and rode me. When it was all over, I was afraid to come back. I got the money and a nice tip. I suppose I gave her the tip.

Tommy Lee I was 13 years old. It was the girl next door—my sister's best friend—and I got busted by my sister. My sister walked in and saw me fucking her on the floor of the garage, where I used to have this little drum room. She just freaked. And because it was her best friend, she told my parents. Fuck, it was all bad, dude. An all-bad first experience.

Macy Gray I was 15 years old. My boyfriend and I went to the drive-in during the day and we were supposed to go right back to my house, but we left the movie early because my mom was timing us. We went to his aunt's house and did it in this tiny room on a little twin bed in the corner.

Jonathan Davis, Korn I was 18. It was a fluke. I was hanging out with my friends, drinking and kicking back, and this girl took me home and fucked the shit out of me. I didn't want to say I was a virgin, so I just did it—and she loved it. I couldn't believe I was fucking, but I did a good job. It wasn't one of those things where you just put your dick in someone and come. I fucked for a long-ass time. It was awesome.

Conrad Keely, and you will know us by the trail of dead I was listening to Sonic Youth's self-titled first album. My girlfriend and I had driven to Seattle to see a Nirvana show. Before the show she asked if I wanted to make out in the car. So then it happened, and as we were in the heat of it, Krist Novoselic knocked on the door and asked us for a light. He said, "This car smells like teen spirit!" And I told him, "That's not teen spirit—that's my jizz!" I didn't realize who he was until I saw him onstage. I still think that's probably the best Sonic Youth record to fuck to.

Bret Michaels I was almost 15, and my buddies and I had a plan. We decided separately to be with the same girl, but I was going to go first. We went on motorbikes, and we'd strapped a blanket down. I brought my Nazareth Hair of the Dog, and "Love Hurts" was playing. My buddies took off on their dirt bikes, and the girl and I were in the woods. I'd bought an unlubricated condom because I didn't know jack shit about condoms. I'd never put one on before, so it ripped. She was lying on the blanket and smoking, and she said, "Are you ready?" She didn't get a chance to put out her cigarette before I was done.

Nelly I was real young. The girl was 15, and I was 12. I lied to her and told her I was older. I was a little hot-ass. It was at my grandparents'. I don't remember it lasting too long.

Scott Russo, Unwritten Law I think I was 14. My friends and I used to hang out at this building site and smoke weed, drink our parents' liquor and talk about how none of us had had sex yet. Girls weren't on my radar—all I cared about was skateboarding—but then this girl invited me to her house when her parents were out. She pulled me up to her mom's room, and we started making out. I hadn't had a wet dream yet, and I hadn't started masturbating, so I had no idea what coming felt like. As soon as I put it in I thought, God, this is better than Disneyland—quickly followed by, Holy shit, I'm going to piss. It probably lasted a minute and a half. MTV was on, U2's "With or Without You" was playing, and I was terrified that I'd just pissed inside this girl.

Wayne Coyne, The Flaming Lips It was no big deal. I think I was 16. I had gotten a job working as a cook at Long John Silver's. This woman I knew from high school, who I ended up living with for four years, came by one summer night with a few of her friends. They were drunk, and it happened about five hours later at her house. Steely Dan was playing in the background, and I did the best I could.

Cam'ron I was 12. Me and my baby were at a friend's house cutting school, and we put on a porno and did it.

Josh Homme Well, I lost it, but then I found it behind the couch with that one sock that's always missing. I was supposed to go to youth group and didn't go. She was a girl I knew from school. I mean, I was 13—who else would she be? But it was way better than I expected. I've been addicted ever since.

Dave Navarro I was 13. I arrived at her house around three P.M. By 3:04 I was on my way home. I felt like a king.

Carmen Electra I was 16. It was in Cincinnati in the backseat of a car. It wasn't glamorous. I don't remember it being so great. I actually felt really bad that I didn't wait longer.

Xzibit I was 14 years old and in my dad's bedroom. I was living in his apartment. There was this girl, and she took it from me viciously. It was the roughest three minutes of my life. She never saw it coming.

Chester Bennington, Linkin Park I don't remember losing my virginity. I think I was 15 and on ether.

Deryck Whibley, sum 41 I was in eighth grade, and I wanted to be the first guy in my school to have sex. My girlfriend was a big slut. After a week of dating her, I boned her. We did it in my parents' house when my mom was away for two days. It was quick. I've definitely had better sex since then.

Lemmy Kilmister, Motorhead I was 15, but she was 18, I think. She was on vacation in the resort town where I lived. She removed her bra for me because I couldn't figure it out. It was 45 seconds of ecstasy. Later on we did it for almost two minutes, and by the time she went home we had it up to about 25 minutes. That bloody sand gets everywhere.

Danger Mouse Jodeci was playing, something from Forever My Lady. She was the neighborhood ho. We skipped school and I planned to seduce her, but I got scared and tried to talk her into leaving. She was like, "You're not getting out of this." The combination of being dominated by the girl while listening to men sing kind of fucked me up. I didn't have sex sober again for about eight years.

Lars Frederiksen, Rancid I lost my virginity to my now friend's girlfriend. He was supposed to lose his virginity to her, but I got her first. I was in seventh grade. He was in sixth. We didn't know each other then. He and this girl used to hang out after school, smoke cigarettes, watch Voltron and make out. She called him and said, "Today is the day," but he was grounded. The next day his friends had to tell him that some guy named Lars slept with her.

Lady Saw I lost mine when I was 17 to a guy who was very attractive and much older. He was also married. He told me, "Married people make the best lovers." He was a god. His son and I could have been lovers, but I wasn't interested in the son. It was painful, but afterward I was hooked. We'd do it wherever and whenever. We couldn't keep our hands off each other. At night we would be on the beach doing crazy stuff. He taught me how to ride a guy. That's been my favorite position ever since.

Sully Erna, Godsmack I don't think I had a song playing when I lost my virginity. I don't remember what the hell was going on. We were 12 and 13 years old, I think. Music's always been important, but at that moment it didn't matter. It was all about figuring out how to put that square block in the round hole.

Fat Joe I was 16 or 17. I used to work in a candy store in Harlem. The girl lived on the second floor of the building. I went up there with her. She was older than me, a woman, like 25, and she just started giving me head. How did I do? Well, I didn't have to do much. It was like The Basketball Diaries, when Leonardo DiCaprio gets high on dope. Woo! You never forget that first one. She's probably some real old lady now.

Mf Doom I was listening to Keith Sweat's "Make It Last Forever." Back then he was the king. If you wanted to get a female in the mood, Keith was making panties drop. Maybe I was subconsciously trying to make it last forever. Looking back I wish it had been something like John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things"—all instrumental, smooth with no vocals. Now that's some mack shit.

Steve Smith, Dirty Vegas It was with my friend's girl. To this day he still doesn't know. She was a little older than me, and I thought I was a rock god. I had Terence Trent D'Arby's "Sign Your Name" on.

Van Hunt A girl had a crush on me, but I didn't like her. Her big brother said if I didn't go out with her he would kick my ass. I started dating her. I had never had sex before, and it seemed like an exciting thing to do, so one day after a party we had sex. I think the music was Michael Jackson's "Dangerous." After a couple of weeks of going out and trying to pretend that I liked her, I figured I owed myself a little loving. I had more fun masturbating.

Matt Goias, Fannypack The first time I did it was to a Jungle Brothers album, Done by the Forces of Nature. I think the song was "Belly Dancin' Dina." She was a big girl, and I definitely felt more comfortable doing it the first time with a big girl. As we used to say, "Practice for the pretty ones."

Jeff Hanneman, Slayer I didn't have any hair on my balls. I hadn't even masturbated. I was with my friend's older sister. We were swimming at her grandmother's house, and she said, "You have to take your clothes off before we go in the house. That's Grandma's new rule." The next thing I knew she was going down on me. I was scared shitless, but we hung out all day and had sex. I was going, "This is amazing!" She was into Zeppelin and kept playing "Kashmir" over and over. I found out years later that she'd used me. She had a new boyfriend who bragged about how his ex-girlfriend gave good head. She had never given head before, so she was experimenting on me. I'm not complaining.