Wednesday, December 5, 2012

9Q+1: Ryan P. Christie

Posted By on Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Ryan P. Christie, 34, grew up in Tucson and graduated from the UA in 2001 with a degree in creative writing. Christie currently works as a rock-climbing instructor/guide at Rocks and Ropes and as a rigging specialist with Rhino Staging. From 2003 to 2005, he was a music writer for aznightbuzz.com. He also played guitar in Big Bottom with his brother Shayne in the late 1990s.

What was the first concert you ever saw?
Alice in Chains in 1992 at the Tucson Convention Center. It was in the North Exhibition Hall, though, which was smaller, and mosh-y-er.

What are you listening to these days?
The new Dinosaur Jr., the Heartless Bastards, Superchunk, Yuck and lots of Dr. Dog.

What was the first album you owned?
Album was Prince, Purple Rain; tape was Aerosmith, Pump; on CD, I got Pearl Jam, Ten, and Blind Melon’s first one at once.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone seem to love, but you just don’t get?
Dubstep. Is it just the same annoying wahwahwah sound that defines it? I just don’t get it.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
AC/DC with Bon Scott, the Pogues with Shane MacGowan, or James Brown circa ... whenever.

Musically speaking, what is your favorite guilty pleasure?
I am a closet Jay-Z fan. I don’t know about his new stuff, but I played the crap out of his earlier ones.

What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
“Exit Music (For a Film)” by Radiohead, but the creepy version of the little kids covering it, or “Back in Time” by Huey Lewis and the News (with accompanying magic trick where my body disappears).

What band or artist changed your life, and how?
Kermit the Frog’s “Rainbow Connection.” When I saw that singing frog, I knew anything was possible.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Paul Simon, Graceland. Best road trip album of all time. And I remember my dad buying it when I was a kid, and that was the first time he let me sit on his lap and drive his Corvette around the parking lot.

What song should everyone listen to right now?
“Mahna Mahna” from The Muppet Show.

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