The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jason Ingalls of Echo Response

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I try not to define it inasmuch as I try to get to where I think any piece wants to go naturally. I’m not married to one specific genre or sound so I’m happy to throw it all in there in some way, whether that be with instruments themselves or musically aesthetic choices. I like mixing disparate elements like dub bass and chill Sonic Youth guitars divided by Yes by way of Brazil just to see what I can find. Something could sound like King Crimson meets Jimmy Buffett but the underlying rhythm might be based on my old phone number. The important thing is to just make the stuff. Get it out there. Someone will like it.

As far as how it all came to be, after years of tapping on things with pencils and playing air guitar incessantly, I got my first drum set at age 10, started playing guitar at 15. Even back then I was into very different things like Jane’s Addiction, Anthrax, Bob Marley, Nanci Griffith, Spyro Gyra, Andrew Lloyd Webber. I’ve never really tried to stay in one spot, musically speaking, so wherever I’m at is a point along the way. I feel like when I look back at my writing I can see patterns of influence, when certain doors opened, where different phases and obsessions began or ended. I’ve never wanted to work on one sound to perfection. I’ve always wanted to explore different sounds and let that influence me in whatever way it may.

Describe your first musical memory.

Seeing the Van Halen “So This is Love” live clip from Oakland Coliseum when I was like five. I knew right away that that’s all I wanted to do in life. I remember just being glued to the tv in awe. Been a fan ever since so when I found out the brothers were mixed race of Asian descent like me, as a kid it just made me identify with them even more because I grew up in a very white town and got picked on a lot for being different. Like many of us, I cried like a baby when Eddie died.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I’m from the east coast and one time on tour I woke up in the morning and we were in the Redwood Forest. We drove in after a gig really late at night so we didn’t really see much. When I opened my eyes first thing in the morning, I just couldn’t believe it. Endor actually exists and I was there! Leaving that place was hard.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

That time I survived a round of layoffs at my desk job last year, I suppose.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I feel like the more I progress as an artist the more types of things I want to explore creatively so it just feeds on itself. Hopefully that leads towards more opportunities to release even more music play and with other people. I believe there are more creatively open-minded people wanting hear new music, wanting to collaborate and just generally support each other than ever before. That’s a best of times scenario. Other times when you progress you’re like, shit, I have so far to go before whatever I’m working on is deemed listenable. Either that or it just leads to you to simply ignoring all other real world responsibilities until it’s uh-oh time.

How do you define success?

If I’m happy with where I’m at, personally and/or creatively. It always helps to have the approval and support of others, but if you expect nothing in return from your art, everything positive thing that happens after it’s created is a success. Being ok with who you are as a person is the ultimate success. You can always work toward goals and things on top of that. You do have to figure out if you’re an asshole or not from an objective standpoint though. I’d start there. I usually do.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Legends of the Fall.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A Tele that feels like a Les Paul with the Jaguar style chimey bridge. I don’t use the tremelo arm ever, so there doesn’t need to be an enormous cavity carved out for that. Rosewood fingerboard, darker natural finish but not a sunburst or fade, black oyster mother of pearl inlays and pickguard. Either that or lights on effects pedals that don’t blind me.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Whether art is expression, a reaction, catharsis, proof of concept, anything in between, its most essential function is to just be whatever vessel the creator needed at the time. The end result isn’t always the point. Of course, from the other side of it in viewing said art, everyone is correct in whatever assessment they have of it, and they are all equally wrong as well. So for me, the most essential thing is for the art to exist at all because as it does, it performs the task that it is meant to for the artist. The rest is all squiggly lines on a white screen debating the nature of things.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

The Celtics raising another banner in the rafters.

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Echo Response, Triangles (2022)