He’s an artist, an avid skateboarder, a musician who makes his own synthesizers -- and a 14-year-old freshman at the United Nations International School. His name is Louis Chance Marcel Henri Shannon, and he's a lot more than just a descendent of Matisse: He’s an original. The New York native has big ideas, and, seemingly, even bigger pockets. Here, he discusses life-as-Louis, during his lunch break:

Tell us a little about yourself.
“I have a younger brother who's taller than me, and I’ve been a vegetarian since 3rd grade.”

What’s your favorite pair of jeans?
“My Levi’s 501's, in brown. I do everything in them, ‘cause I wear them all the time. I love my brown jeans.”

How did you get that hole on your knee?
“I fell down a set of stairs. I was trying a jump on my skateboard.”

What’s the craziest thing you've ever done in them?
“One time I fell into hot tarmac on the street. I was completely stuck, and covered in it. It was pretty funny, I guess.”

Where did you get them?
“Dave’s.”

What do you wear them with?
“A T-shirt, underwear…usually. No, just kidding, always. I wear the jeans all the time, so basically with everything else I own.”

What are your favorite brands?
“Well, usually I wear shirts made my people in the skateboarding culture. One of my favorite shirts is made by this guy Bobby Puleo. He’s a pro-skater and the creator of a brand called Victim.”

Who are some of your idols?
“There’s a great band called Whirlwind Heat – they’re awesome. Jack White, my brother Jack Shannon, and Andy Kaufman. He’s just so cool.”

What do you want to do when you’re older?
“Oh man, that’s a question. I hate sounding cliché, but I guess I just did by saying that. It’s all about second-guessing yourself -- that’s the problem. But anyway, I just wanna be my own boss. I don’t want to work for anyone. I want to do something involving interactive art, electronics, and mainly music, whether it be electronic or straightforward rock-and-roll with my band. Something eclectic. As long as I’m doing something myself, and running my own life, I’ll be happy.”

Do you have a job?
“Yeah, I do, actually. I work at a poster store downtown called Tom Morris, which is really cool. It’s not just one of those stores that have reprints. I actually just saw a map there from before the 1700s, and they had California as a separate place, a separate little island. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen.”

What instruments do you play?
“Well that’s a good question, because what do you mean by that? Do you mean what instruments do you study, or what do you play? Officially, I play guitar, drums, Moog -- which is a synthesizer -- and home-built circuit bent instruments, but unofficially, I play a lot more.”

What’s the name of your band?
“I’m in two bands. The first is The Fart Doctors, and my other band is Kolin and The Kosmic Klams.”

What kind of music is it?
“The Fart Doctors could be classified as a kind of spaz-rock revolution, and Kolin and The Kosmic Klams is...("awesome music," as fellow bandmate Collin chimes in)...I don’t know, I really don’t believe in genres. I hate when I’m hanging out with those hipsters who try to classify our music, and music in general. Not all things need titles, some things just are.”

What are your musical influences?
“Whirlwind Heat, Beck, Brainiac, The White Stripes, and everything coming out of the Detroit area from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, from Iggy Pop to Dirt Bombs.”

“Yeah, I do, actually. I work at a poster store downtown called Tom Morris, which is really cool. It’s not just one of those stores that have reprints. I actually just saw a map there from before the 1700s, and they had California as a separate place, a separate little island. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen.”

What do your parents do?
“My dad’s an inventor, artist, sculptor. It’s hard to explain what he does, but it deals mostly with levitation. He can make things float, but it’s not just 'magic' -- it’s a kind of formula that deals with the relation of the earth to the cosmos. He’s really into the cosmos. My mom is a clothing designer. She has her own company called Caty New York.”

Where are your parents from?
“My dad’s a Norwegian from Wisconsin, and my mom was born and raised in Paris.”

What’s in your pockets right now?
“My Game Boy, a bus pass for the Pennsylvania Transit System, change, pieces of paper, which -- by the way -- I always pick up, and you should too. If you ever see a scrap of paper on the ground you should always look at it because it usually has something written on it, and a lot of the time you really discover something either about the person who left it, or about yourself. It’s so cool. I also have a circuit diagram – I’m building my own synthesizer right now. I have a crap-load of business cards, receipts, permission slips (more than one of each, because I usually forget to hand them in, so I keep getting new ones), an invitation to a show at Tisch, a French train stub, and my wallet. My wallet was made by this kid Beau when I was in 5th grade. I have even more business cards in there because when people ask me for the address of a place, I like to give them the card. It makes them think I work there. Kinda freaks them out. Plus, I always forget where everything is and it helps me remember. I also have my school ID (this pro-skateboarder drew all over it), a homemade Team Zissou ID card, an adaptor for 45 to regular record players, and 25 or more MetroCards. Oh, and once I was at this free concert and Debbie Harry and her band showed up and were standing next to me. I didn’t even ask or anything, but they thought I was waiting for them, or wanted their autograph. I had my wallet out, so Debbie Harry grabbed it and signed it. So, I have her autograph on my duct-tape wallet. Kinda cool.”

~Andrea Kristinsdottir

Get Them:

Brown Levi’s 501s, $35, Dave’s, 581 Ave. of the Americas, NYC; 800.543.8558; davesnewyork.com

Watch Louis and his friends in the short film UN High, shot by Andrea Kristinsdottir psychopedia.com