Pizza Rocks

or many Memphians, Little Caesars' latest national TV spot, featuring an air guitarist rocking a packed crowd with rock licks from a giant, plastic pepperoni-covered guitar, may be a familiar sight.

Those who drive by the Little Caesars at the corner of Park Avenue and Mt. Moriah have no doubt witnessed the live act.

For the past two years, Chris Robinson has been rolling on the ground, jumping around and playing his pepperoni axe every way imaginable. The 19-year-old pizza peddler compares his performance to Michael J. Fox's memorable Chuck Berry cover in Back to the Future.

With headphones on, Robinson rocks out to metal bands like Tool, the Black Dahlia Murder and All That Remains.

Robinsons' antics earned him a local following, from MySpace pages, online message boards and Youtube videos to The Commercial Appeal.

"I can't go anywhere in Memphis without someone recognizing me," he said.

"Most people tell me, 'Dude, you should have been in that commercial,' but there are still some out there who think I got it from the commercial," Robinson said. "I guess they've been living in a hole or something.

When Robinson first started working for Little Caesars, he was told to stand outside and hold a sign advertising the pizza joint. Faced with an inherently mundane task, Robinson quickly discovered he would have to find some way to make his work interesting.

"On day one, I just stood there and held the sign," he said. For Robinson, doing a job a lamppost could do was simply too boring. "On day two, I brought my MP3 player and started rockin' out, just to do something to kill the time."

People quickly noticed Robinson jamming out on his then cardboard, rectangular sign, and he eventually amassed the cult following he has today.

"I started doing the air guitar thing, and whenever I did something different, people asked me to bring the air guitar back."

"It was supposed to be just something on the side, but whenever I quit playing, it breaks people's hearts."

Commuters can catch Robinson in action from 11 to 2 p.m., every day except Sunday. Rain usually cancels his corner gig, but not the cold.

"When it's cold outside," he said, "that just means I can do whatever I want without sweating."

Robinson works hard to keep his imaginary rock show from going stale - playing the plastic guitar behind his head or with his teeth.

"Every now and then, you've got to pay homage to the rock gods," he said.

He even confirmed the possibility of a full-scale air-rock 'n' roll band playing outside the store. "It's been brought up," Robinson said. "It's still in the works, but if it gets too distracting, that could be a bad thing. We don't want people having wrecks."

Unfortunately for Robinson, Little Caesars' public relations department denied that Robinson's daily performances were the inspiration for the character in their latest commercial. "We have a lot of shakeboarders (their name for Robinson's position), and the guitar is just a promotional device we offer them."

Robinson said that he expected the response from Little Caesars.

"I've never talked to them about getting any royalties or anything." Robinson said. "I mean, I already get paid for what I do."

Robinson wouldn't tell how much, but said, "I get paid better than most people who hold signs."

Robinson is confident his street-side shows bring in customers.

"Dominos told me they'd heard I brought in business and tried to get me to work for them," he said.

But Robinson has not sold out, instead remaining loyal to his roots at Little Caesars.

Robinson said that although Little Caesars has only offered him a plastic pepperoni guitar to rock out, he is open to experimenting with other toppings, like his personal favorite, barbeque.

While as a professional, Robinson plays an air guitar, in his spare time plays acoustic guitar, although his real guitar, a Yamaha, boasts no pepperonis, sausages, or other pizza toppings.

Robinson said he was not sure how long he plans to keep his daily roadside gig. "I guess 'til I find something better." He said. "I don't want to be holding a sign when I'm 35."

After graduating from Overton High School, Robinson attended Southwest Tennessee Community College and tried to transfer to The University of Memphis this fall.

"(The U of M) told me that they never got my transcript, and by that time it was too late to send it in," he said. "I'm going to try again this spring."

As far as specific career goals, Robinson was less certain. He said he might try his hand in advertising since he already has experience with promotion.

"Some fans have told me I should go into acting," he said.

Though even Robinson could not resolve the dilemma of whether he was the original "Pizza Dude," as he's been dubbed for his inaudible rock shows, he did want to clear up one issue.

"WAIT!" he yelled out after the interview. "I have to set the record straight. The Commercial Appeal said that I listened to the band Hinder. I HATE Hinder!"