Music

Q&A with Memphis band Ingram Hill

By Kelli Johnson
Special to The Star

05-08-2008

Justin Moore, Phil Bogard and Matt Chambless are hard guys to track down, but that goes with the territory when you're a talented, fast-rising pop group. Together since their childhood days in Memphis, these guys — also known as Ingram Hill — have worked their way up the musical ladder. Their first EP, Until Now, was released in 2002 by independent label Traveler Records and sold 10,000 copies.

Their next album, June's Picture Show, released in 2004, was also intended as an independent release, but got the band enough recognition to be re-released by Hollywood Records, a subsidiary of Disney. These guys are traveling in big circles now!

Justin, Phil and Matt have toured with some pretty big names such as Maroon 5, Better Than Ezra and Hootie and the Blowfish, just to name a few. They also had a part in the Herbie soundtrack.

Their newest release, Cold in California, is available in stores now. Moore was kind enough to answer a few questions about their music. You can see the guys perform locally when they roll into Jacksonville on Friday to play at Brother's Bar.

So you guys are childhood friends? How long have you known each other?

A: Phil and I have known each other since a week before we started kindergarten. Our grandparents lived across the street from each other, so we met there, and coincidentally we ended up in the same class. I haven't been able to get away from that guy since. I met Matt my freshman year of college. We were actually roommates at the time that I asked him to be in the band, so I didn't have to look far for a drummer.

Do you write your own songs?

A: We do write our own songs. We are prone to throwing in a cover or two, but we do consider ourselves songwriters, as well as performers.

Where is the farthest you've traveled?

A: I think Japan would be the farthest we've been. We've been fortunate enough to do tours to play on the U.S. military bases that are overseas, so we've gotten to play and see a several countries that we likely would never have traveled to.

Will this be a first time in Alabama?

A: Oh no, we've been to Alabama more times than we could count. We've actually played Jacksonville (including Brother's Bar) several times, but it has been quite a few years since we've been there. But we're definitely looking forward to coming back.

You've toured with some pretty big names. What would you say would be a most memorable moment on the road?

A: That's pretty much impossible to narrow down to one, or even five, but a pretty memorably moment was playing for 45,000 people in Atlanta at a festival called On The Bricks. I'd say that was pretty cool … and a PG memory. Ha ha.

Being childhood friends, are there ever any moments where you guys don't get along, or disagree?

A: We disagree on about an hourly basis. OK, maybe not that much, but we disagree a lot. But it's kinda like we're married to each other (Phil being more like a married woman). You spend so much time in close quarters with someone, you're sure to argue. But we all love each other and usually end up getting along by the end of the day, so it's usually not a big deal.

You have a huge fan base already, even including a group called "IHFL's" who meet on message boards and travel the country to see you play. How does it feel to have such loyal fans?

A: It's both amazing and surreal. When you start out playing music, you dream about stuff like that, but you're not ever really sure it's going to happen. And we feel very blessed to have fans who feel that passionate about our music, and we hope that more people jump on the bandwagon, too!

Kelli Johnson is a freelance writer and the vocalist for the band Distant Cousins. She currently resides in Gadsden.