“Juneau Afternoon” host Sheli DeLaney interviewed Quinn Christopherson and Nick Carpenter ahead of their sold-out concert Thursday night in Juneau.
Christopherson was the winner of this year’s NPR Tiny Desk Contest, and both he and Carpenter traveled to Washington, D.C., this summer to perform at the famous Tiny Desk.
The Alaska musicians played three songs live on Thursday’s show, two of which were brand new.
“That was a real debut of everything!” said Carpenter, after they finished the first song, titled “Grow Up.”
“We’ve been learning this new set for about a month,” Carpenter said. “Anchorage hasn’t even seen this yet!”
When asked to introduce himself, Christopherson hesitated before offering an understated response: “I’m Quinn and … this is tough. I’m just an Alaskan who worked for a living and put my name in a hat, and I got chosen, I guess.”
Overnight celebrity status was a side effect of winning the high-profile contest that the musicians have taken in stride.
“It’s what you make of it,” Christopherson said. “It was a really special opportunity that we got to be a part of, and we learned a lot.”
He added that he had never toured anywhere outside of Anchorage before, and that even though he was born and raised in Alaska, it was his first time visiting Juneau.
Despite the subdued tone of Christopherson’s music, humor is a big part of his persona. The banter between bandmates and the lyrics in his songs lighten up the heavy themes contained throughout his music. Christopherson’s merchandise includes pink erasers branded with “Erase Me,” the title of his winning song, and T-shirts sporting the slogan, “Quinn Christopherson Bums Me Out.”
Listen to the full interview with Quinn Christopherson and Nick Carpenter below, which includes the final track “Crybaby” in its entirety.
