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Chalkboard Confessional: Nevershoutnever

Alternative Press - Rob Ortenzi on 8/31/09 @ 7:00 AM - altpress.com

Ever since the suits at Disney made Miley Cyrus one of today's biggest pop stars, teen musicians have been spreading like wildfire (or, depending on your Hannah Montana stance: an epidemic). Consider 19-year-old CHRISTOFER INGLE the antidote. When paired with his acoustic guitar, Ingle is NEVERSHOUTNEVER, a pop juggernaut that began in his Midwestern bedroom and rose to massive internet acclaim through MySpace and other sites. Unlike contemporaries with possible short-sighted musical tastes and influences, Ingle draws from three definitive classics for Nevershoutnever's sound.

INTERVIEW: Chris French

If you were to make your childhood mix tape, which bands would be featured?
During my childhood I didn't really listen to much music--I was more interested in sports and girls and stuff like that. I guess I just listened to whatever I thought was cool on the radio. That's pretty lame I guess, being a musician now, but I used to listen to a lot of rap like OutKast. They were my favorite rap group back in the day. And then my parents introduced me to some really awesome bands like the Beatles and the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan. So I guess I listened to whatever was cool and then the classics.

What was your favorite OutKast song?
I really liked "Ms. Jackson" and "So Fresh, So Clean." That song was amazing. [Laughs.] But that's all I really remember; I was in, like, fifth or sixth grade. I was a dumb kid.

You spent most of your childhood in the Midwest. Did that region have any affect on the music that you listened to as you got older?
As I grew up, I got into folkier stuff. Just being around [that part of the country] everyone listens to country, alt-rock or pop music. So I had to find a nice in-between for myself. Bob Dylan was the first folk artist that I was really passionate about. Later I really got into Limbeck for a while--I mean, they're kind of like folk-rock--and then I got into Ryan Adams. I mostly listened to what my friends had because my friends are real cool and listen to awesome music. [Laugh.]

You've mentioned that the Beatles and the Beach Boys had a major impact on the music you play and you cover the Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand." What was it about those bands that struck such a chord with you?
Growing up I was really into the Beatles' poppy songs. They always just put me in the happiest mood, and I felt kind of cool for listening to them because not many kids my age listened to that kind of stuff. When I was a little guy, I remember some of my favorite songs were "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," pretty much all their first hits. I remember my dad bought me a greatest-hits CD, and that got me really into the Beatles. Then with the Beach Boys, I was really into their early surf tunes, like "Surfin' USA." And then as I grew up a little more, I got into Pet Sounds a lot. That was more like my high school album.

Screamo and hardcore were hitting a peak during your time in high school. Did you listen to anything like that then?
I was listening to more roots kind of shit, you know? I was into roots hardcore and stuff like that because in my hometown, it was mostly Christian metal. It was really strange. I guess I listened to it. I was in a couple shitty hardcore bands. I made electro-core at one point in high school and that was funny.

What influenced you as you started making your own music?
I mostly just kept to the classics. I started writing when I was 14--like my freshman year. I started really writing and wanting to understand music a little better. I mostly just wanted to listen to classics because I felt like the classics were classic for a reason. Those songs made history and I wanted to see what it took to make a song that would actually make history or make people happy. So mostly I just kept to my roots with the Beatles and the Beach Boys. I never really tried to discover new music because I really didn't think there'd be much out there that I'd be interested in.

You did eventually find other contemporary musicians that you admire, though, like Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz. What is it about those artists you find so appealing?
They're chill. Their music is super laid-back and they kind of just do whatever they want. They don't go by the cookie cutter. I feel like all these bands these days are just kind of doing whatever everybody else is doing, and [Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz] are doing things different and doing it their own way. I love the acoustic vibe.

Would you say that you started listening to acoustic music because you were playing in that genre, or did acoustic artists cause you to want to play that music?
I think it was more that I was into acoustic music. Like, I was just getting started and some people were like, "Oh, you kind of sound like this," or, "You sound like you're grabbing from this." And then they'd play me that music and I'd be super pumped on it. I think what got me playing acoustic guitar-like really got me into it--was this song "Yesterday" by the Beatles. That song grabbed me.

You've said that you write a lot of your songs on the ukulele first. Are there any artists out there that play that instrument that you listen to for inspiration?
No, not really. I toured with Hellogoodbye in October, and I had a ukulele starting off on the tour and their frontman Forrest [Kline] plays ukulele, and I was like, "Dude, I don't know what I'm doing. Will you teach me?" He pretty much showed me a couple chords and I kind of just went from there.

So what do you find yourself listening to today?
Man, I've been on a huge Bob Dylan kick lately; his acoustic stuff is all I've been listening to. I went to the studio last session-we're doing the album in two sessions, [and] we're working on the second session right now--and I was listening to a lot of the Beatles and the Beach Boys at that point. I was just trying to, like, get those vibes and intertwine them into my own sound. And then, when I came out of the studio, I started listening to a lot of Bob Dylan. I'm trying to write some controversial acoustic songs. [Laughs.] alt

NEVERSHOUTNEVER WOULDN'T EXIST WITHOUT

THE BEATLES: "I never really understood what a real pop song was until I started listening to the Beatles. That's when I really realized that pop songs could be awesome too, not just, like, weird music or rap."

THE BEACH BOYS: I'm all about their harmonies and what they did vocally. I thought it was just so insane how they would just, like, go above and beyond with every harmony; like, they'd double it a hundred times. And it's just happy music.

BOB DYLAN: He was the mouthpiece for a generation. He said things that needed to be said and I really looked up to that. And that's what I'm trying to do with some of my newer acoustic stuff, just saying some things that need to be said.

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