Ryland Blackinton
Encyclopedia
Ryland Blackinton is the lead guitarist for the band Cobra Starship
. He is from Wilmington MA, but was born in South Kingstown Rhode Island on March 31, 1982. Before joining Cobra Starship
, Ryland, along with high school best friend Alex Suarez
formed the folk/pop duo This Is Ivy League
. The two originally met in high school, but lost touch before re-connecting in Brooklyn, New York after seven years. Incidentally, the duo were living ten minutes away from each other, and fell back into familiar habits once they discovered that. Perhaps Blackinton's most notable performance in college was when he portrayed the difficult role of Victor Emmanuel Chandebise in the French farce, A Flea in Her Ear.http://media.www.fsunews.com/media/storage/paper920/news/2004/01/07/ArtsAndEntertainment/Back-To.The.Stage-2360730.shtml He starred in this production alongside Nicholas Ciavarella who played Dr. Finache. Blackinton also has a knack for being hilarious and impersonating Gabe Saporta
quite well.
Blackinton can be seen in several recent TAI TV podcasts for The Academy Is...
as 'Guy Ripley
', a fictional reporter for BBC
World News. Ripley is reputed to have an enormous crush on Victoria Asher
and William Beckett
. Guy Ripley is often referred to as 'The Queen of Fangirls,' and in TAI TV Episode 39, stole a lock of William Beckett
's hair. Guy Ripley's catch-phrase is "Delicious." He has repeatedly asked his favorite musicians to sign his shoes.
A song on Cobra Starship's second album, ¡Viva La Cobra!
, is titled "Pleasure Ryland". "Pleasure Ryland is an imaginary place in your mind that pretty much anybody can go to, where the drinks are free, and you can always dance with most of your clothes off." said Blackinton in an interview. Saporta also said that before Blackinton was a fully paid member of Cobra Starship, he always wore a shirt that said "Pleasure Island" and decided to name a song "Pleasure Ryland" But then Saporta said that after they went over the songs on the album, they thought that it was kind of a bad idea that two of their songs had "pleasure" in them. Blackinton rebuffed him by saying that pleasure is a good thing.
Mike Carden dedicated a song to him during the Sleeping with Giants Tour in Orlando, Florida.
Blackinton plays a humorous street musician in the 2008 feature film The Unidentified
, directed by Kevan Tucker of Floodgate Features. In that scene, he is seen playing guitar to the song "June" by This Is Ivy League.
Blackinton also co-stars in Misplaced Planet's short zombie video "Brains!" and contributed the bulk of the music for Misplaced Planet's production of "Momentary Engineering," along with Stirling McLaughlin.
Blackinton is the second cousin of Westlife
singer Shane Filan
.
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
. He is from Wilmington MA, but was born in South Kingstown Rhode Island on March 31, 1982. Before joining Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
, Ryland, along with high school best friend Alex Suarez
Alex Suarez
Alex Suarez is the bass player and additional keyboardist and vocalist for Cobra Starship as well as co-founder of This is Ivy League, a band created with fellow Cobra Starship member and high school best friend Ryland Blackinton.-Early life:...
formed the folk/pop duo This Is Ivy League
This Is Ivy League
This Is Ivy League is an indie band formed in 2005 by friends Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez .-Formation of This Is Ivy League:...
. The two originally met in high school, but lost touch before re-connecting in Brooklyn, New York after seven years. Incidentally, the duo were living ten minutes away from each other, and fell back into familiar habits once they discovered that. Perhaps Blackinton's most notable performance in college was when he portrayed the difficult role of Victor Emmanuel Chandebise in the French farce, A Flea in Her Ear.http://media.www.fsunews.com/media/storage/paper920/news/2004/01/07/ArtsAndEntertainment/Back-To.The.Stage-2360730.shtml He starred in this production alongside Nicholas Ciavarella who played Dr. Finache. Blackinton also has a knack for being hilarious and impersonating Gabe Saporta
Gabe Saporta
Gabriel Eduardo "Gabe" Saporta is the lead singer and primary creative force behind the synthpop band Cobra Starship. He was previously the lead singer, bassist, and lyricist for the pop punk band Midtown....
quite well.
Blackinton can be seen in several recent TAI TV podcasts for The Academy Is...
The Academy Is...
The Academy Is... was an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003. Before dispersing, they were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as "The Academy", but added the "Is..." in 2004 to avoid legal complications with other...
as 'Guy Ripley
Guy Ripley
Guy Ripley is a fictional British reporter for the BBC World News. He is Ryland Blackinton's alter ego, and he is known for his catchphrase, "Delicious". He often appears on TAI TV, interviewing The Academy Is... and other artists, such as members of Cobra Starship...
', a fictional reporter for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
World News. Ripley is reputed to have an enormous crush on Victoria Asher
Victoria Asher
Victoria Jane Asher , is known to Cobra Starship fans as Vicky-T, and can be seen in some of the music videos produced by the band, which she is the keytarist for. She is the daughter of producer/manager/musician Peter Asher of the hit band Peter & Gordon, who were part of the British Invasion...
and William Beckett
William Beckett (singer)
,William Eugene Beckett Jr. was the lead singer of the band The Academy Is... , who were signed to Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance Records. While still in high school in 2002, Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is......
. Guy Ripley is often referred to as 'The Queen of Fangirls,' and in TAI TV Episode 39, stole a lock of William Beckett
William Beckett (singer)
,William Eugene Beckett Jr. was the lead singer of the band The Academy Is... , who were signed to Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance Records. While still in high school in 2002, Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is......
's hair. Guy Ripley's catch-phrase is "Delicious." He has repeatedly asked his favorite musicians to sign his shoes.
A song on Cobra Starship's second album, ¡Viva La Cobra!
¡Viva La Cobra!
¡Viva la Cobra! is the second studio album by alternative dance band Cobra Starship. The album was released October 23, 2007. It was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump.- Background :...
, is titled "Pleasure Ryland". "Pleasure Ryland is an imaginary place in your mind that pretty much anybody can go to, where the drinks are free, and you can always dance with most of your clothes off." said Blackinton in an interview. Saporta also said that before Blackinton was a fully paid member of Cobra Starship, he always wore a shirt that said "Pleasure Island" and decided to name a song "Pleasure Ryland" But then Saporta said that after they went over the songs on the album, they thought that it was kind of a bad idea that two of their songs had "pleasure" in them. Blackinton rebuffed him by saying that pleasure is a good thing.
Mike Carden dedicated a song to him during the Sleeping with Giants Tour in Orlando, Florida.
Blackinton plays a humorous street musician in the 2008 feature film The Unidentified
The Unidentified
The Unidentified is a 2008 dramatic feature film by writer-director Kevan Tucker in his directorial debut for Floodgate Features. It won "Best New Director" at the 2008 Brooklyn International Film Festival and "Best First Feature" at the 2008 FirstGlance Film Festival in Philadelphia...
, directed by Kevan Tucker of Floodgate Features. In that scene, he is seen playing guitar to the song "June" by This Is Ivy League.
Blackinton also co-stars in Misplaced Planet's short zombie video "Brains!" and contributed the bulk of the music for Misplaced Planet's production of "Momentary Engineering," along with Stirling McLaughlin.
Blackinton is the second cousin of Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
singer Shane Filan
Shane Filan
Shane Steven Filan was one of the lead singers in the Irish pop band Westlife. Filan is one of the five original Westlife members, along with other current members Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Nicky Byrne and former member Brian McFadden....
.