The group that would become indie rock band the Never was first formed by high-school student Noah Smith as an art project at the North Carolina School of the Arts in the spring of 2000. With his friend Ari Picker, Smith assembled a group called the B-Sides, eventually also including Ken Mosher (formerly of Squirrel Nut Zippers), Travis Horton, and Eric Kuhn. The band continued after Smith graduated from high school, self-releasing an album, Yes, Indeed, the B-Sides, Quite! (2001). Personnel changes ensued, however, and they were reduced to just the duo of Smith and Picker, who recruited bassist Joah Tunnell and his brother, Jonny Tunnell, a drummer, and changed the name of the group to the Never. They signed to MoRisen Records in February 2003 and released a self-titled album on May 18, 2004. Switching to Trekky Records, they followed with the concept album Antarctica: A Storybook Record, packaged as both a CD and a book illustrated by Smith, given national release on July 11, 2006. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi