The Guestlist w/ Ryan Young

One of the very first things I ever wrote about back when SubEx was still in its infant stages was Austin musician Ryan Young. If I am remembering correctly, his catchy single "I Got Me A..." was my first official music submission way back when.

We still check back in with the talented guitarist from time to time, most recently last fall when we previewed his White Citrus album. While his tastes in music are all over the board --from his country, folk, blues, latin, and jazz styles found throughout his disc --the one thing that is never compromised is the extrememly high level of musicianship. To put it bluntly he's a guitar badass.

He's also got a pair of local gigs coming up, March 10 at The Aardvark & March 11 at The Barley House, which makes the time ripe for a Ryan Young Guestlist.



My first car was a Ford Explorer. Loved that car. A pretty basic automobile, but it had everything I needed. I feel very fortunate to even have had a car then, given my $0 income at the time (I was in high school). Anyways....the car had a radio and tape deck, but no CD player. Fine. No problem. I had a decent selection of tapes from my boombox days, so it was cool. I also loved to frequent Sound Warehouse, so I was prepared to add to my collection. I have great memories of driving around listening to these particular albums on cassette tape. Not to mention the first one I ever made with my band, the Stone Princes. We were honest and tried hard, and definitely wore our influences on our collective sleeves. Pearl Jam much anyone? Here are my five favorite Explorer cassette tapes.

"The Top 5 Cassette Tapes I Had In My First Car (Early 90's - Dallas, TX)" by Ryan Young


Stone Temple Pilots | Core

To this day, I haven't heard a better album opening than the way "Dead and Bloated" starts. Well, maybe one or two but still...this shit rocks. If it doesn't make you move, then you have no pulse and no soul.


Snoop Dogg | Doggystyle

What can I say. It was Richardson in the early 90's. Rap had made it to the suburbs. Thank God. Also, it is a great record.


Def Leppard | Hysteria

Ah, hair metal. I learned to play guitar from hair metal. Not ashamed to say that. Those guys can really play. And although I don't consider myself a shredder in any way, I do have quite the affinity for a killer guitar line. This tape was definitely a leftover from the boombox era, but I just couldn't part with it. Plus, who gets tired of blasting "Armageddon It" when you're 17? Not this guy.


Johnny Cash | Live at Folsom Prison

Time to get serious now. This man has a presence that is second to none. He absolutely commands your attention and was a master of his vocal delivery. This had a huge impact on me.


Buddy Holly | Greatest Hits

This was one of my dad's old tapes from his P.O.S. Oldsmobile. I have very fond memories of driving to the batting cages listening to the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, etc. Buddy Holly was probably my favorite of the bunch. Another master. It was like a songwriting class.

Bonus MP3: Ryan Young - I Got Me A...

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