If I like something, I really, really like it. But don’t let that Pollyanna-ish habit of mine dull my loudly ringing bells-and-whistles endorsement of the new Playhouse Disney show, Imagination Movers. Check out the first part of our Q&A with the guys (three-fourths of whom are dads to young kids) as well as a clip of the show after the jump. 

 – Posted by Stephanie Booth

Click here to jump to the video.

How and where did you guys meet?
There is a one degree of separation when it comes to the Movers: Scott and Smitty went to the same high school where they were best buds. Scott and Smitty also knew Dave & Rich’s respective wives during those high school years. Smitty and Rich shared an apartment together post-college. Dave knew Scott’s wife in college. Scott played in a band that played on the same bills as Dave’s brother. Dave and Rich’s wives grew up together since they were knee high. The examples go on and on. In short, we’ve known each other for a long time. And we lived in the same neighborhood to boot.

Before we became full time Movers, Rich was a journalist, Scott a teacher, Dave an architect and Smitty a firefighter.

It was surprising to hear that you conceived the show first, and the music second. What happened?

Scott pitched an initial notion (a broad concept that Movers work in the other-worldly land of imagination and it’s the job of the Movers to bring people good ideas when they have idea emergencies) to the guys at a party. Everyone’s in. We start writing a treatment/script together in the attic of Dave’s house that we plan to pitch to a local PBS station. As the show concept evolves, music becomes a cornerstone. Since the first script is about ‘healthy snacks’, most of the songs are in that vein. Well, we start writing songs and sometimes play them at get-togethers. People love the songs. Really love the songs. Rich decides to invest in a home studio and we begin recording the music we wrote for the show.

What was your inspiration?
As for inspiration, anything from Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers to the Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers to the Three Stooges and Buster Keaton to Scottish indie-bands (Big Country in particular) to Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences to Japanese kamishibai [a form of storytelling that relies on pictures to teach a moral] found its way into our collective thinking.

As residents of New Orleans, how did Hurricane Katrina affect each you?
Katrina, without question, was a reminder of just how fragile we are; how life can turn on a dime with very little warning. Its effects were truly devastating, but with destruction there comes new life and so it was with our families personally and the Movers professionally. First off, Katrina destroyed three Mover homes and most (if not all) possessions. The Mover office was also trashed. Countless CDs, coloring books, musical instruments were ruined.

Luckily, Smitty lived on the West Bank, so although his home experienced minor wind damage, it escaped the destruction. The material things naturally hold memories, but not life and our thoughts focused on the well being of him and others like him soon after Kat hit. Smitty was and is a New Orleans firefighter and spent the aftermath of Katrina participating in search/rescue missions throughout the Greater New Orleans area.

Now, keep in mind, when the levees broke, most of the water stayed around for weeks. Sadly enough, photographs, videos of a child’s birth — you name it — met a watery and moldy grave. Actually, it went further than that — it destroyed our immediate neighborhood. The places you went to have coffee, ‘make’ groceries, the church you attended or the school you dropped your kids off were gone. In the blink of a wink, everything you saw for miles became ghost-like. Even today — close to three years after — you still see empty houses, seemingly lonely streets, recovering neighborhoods yearning to return to their former selves.

Right after the disaster, everyone was reeling from the new reality we were forced into and for all intent and purpose had not processed the extent to which our lives would change, but we knew at the very least we did have the Movers. In particular, the Movers had two shows booked in Texas… With the exception of Smitty (who was knee deep in search and rescue), we all rallied and went to fulfill our obligation. Quite honestly, no one knew about their jobs or future income or anything. All we could see in front of us was a small payday and so we went with quite honestly the clothes on our back. We had no instruments, no Mover suits — nothing, but we went. And we played.

Life afterwards was surreal. We no longer had a place to live. We spent time in line for food stamps and wondered what queer curiosity tomorrow would bring. All the while we were still dads and husbands and the well-being of our families was paramount to everything we did.

Our families received help from people we knew and didn’t know. Friends sent us checks or gift cards to buy necessities. Other friends and people we didn’t even know sent assistance of clothing and toys and hope. Churches helped. Companies helped. People helped us restore the basics. The Movers too received emails of support and even a guitar was sent. The emails, for the Movers sake, really kept the project going. The simple act of someone somewhere taking the time to share with us how important what we did — musically speaking — meant in the lives of their children (many whom were going through the same situation as us) humbled us. Buckled our knees. We knew. We knew we had to continue despite the overwhelming sense of powerlessness we all felt.

So how’d the Movers go from rebuilding their homes (and lives) to being Disney’s Next Big Thing? (This is like a made-for-TV movie, right?) We’ll post the rest of the interview tomorrow. Meanwhile, set your TiVo or DVR to catch the premiere of the show this Saturday, Sept. 6, on the Disney Channel.

Filed under Show and Tell, Six and Under

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