Columbus, Ohio pop band Moviola is made up of Ted Hattemer, Scotty Tabachnick, Jake Housh, Greg Bonnell and Jerry Dannemiller. Their latest CD is called Rumors of the Faithful on Spirit of Orr. They play the Raven in Hamilton on October 4 and Ted's Wrecking Yard in Toronto on October 5.
Current fixations:
(Jerry) The Fruitbats record on Perishable, all old Jackie Mattoo (reggae organ player) records, Wallace Stegner book "The Big Rock Candy Mountain." On TV, I mostly just watch Charlie Rose (PBS talk show) and Cleveland Indians baseball games, Oxford American magazine is about the only magazine worth getting, and watching flowers in my front yard wilt in the Ohio August heat is my lifestyle trend.
Mind-altering work of art:
(Jerry) Farnsworth House, in Plano, Illinois, outside Chicago, by Mies van der Rohe. Great architecture can really rearrange your world view.
Most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
(Jerry) Willie Nelson, the Ohio State Fair, 1997. There isn't another even close, mostly because of the sign-language interpreter on the big screen TV describing "Whiskey River."
What has been your career high and low?
(Jerry) High: getting married to my wife last year, who has the best soul of anyone I've ever met. Low: being trapped in 110 degrees of Tupelo, Mississippi in the summer of 1984. No wonder Elvis left.
What should everyone shut up about?
(Jake) Julia Roberts.
I would drop everything to play a benefit for:
(Jake) I think Habitat for Humanity is a worthy organisation.
What trait do you like and dislike most about yourself?
(Jake) I feel pretty good about having some tenacity and don't feel very good about times when I forget to shut up and listen.
What would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed, and have you?
(Jake) Being a self-absorbed asshole. Yes, I have.
When I think of Canada I think:
(Scotty) I have loads of great memories of Canada, most of them from fishing trips with my father out on the Georgian Bay. As a kid I remember driving something like 15 hours from Ohio, and then getting on a boat for a few more. About half as long ago, I drove to all the way to Kenai, Alaska with some friends. The rest stop at Liard Hot Springs stands out as my only moment of cleanliness on the entire 90 hour ride. So when I think of Canada, I guess I think of driving, and Robert Service, of course.
What is your vital daily ritual?
(Scotty) Most nights before we eat dinner, my wife, children and I tell each other what makes us thankful and happy. I guess that might be the only real ritual in my life, besides the old morning constitutional.
How do you spoil yourself?
(Scotty) I buy a record, or a T-bone, or a nice six pack.
What was your most memorable day job?
(Scotty) I currently have the best part-time job ever. I am teaching nine kids to play the piano. My past is cluttered with a long and diverse list of shitty jobs, so I deserve a break. Thinking back, the lowest I ever hit may have been a two week stint as the "grinder boy" my first year at the salmon plant. It was charming.
If I wasn't playing music I would be:
(Ted) Working in a diaper cleaning service, I guess.
What is your greatest fear?
(Ted) That the republicans will be in power for a long time. That's U.S. politics, just in case you don't follow our goings-on.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
(Ted) I would have the power of ZAP. I talked with by brother about this one when we were kids and it is definitely THE power to have. ZAP is the ability to get anywhere you want by simply snapping your fingers or just wishing it.
What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
(Ted) My midwestern value system prevents me from having a good time if I am naked in public. I know that it is really petty, but that was how I was raised. Here in Ohio you either take it off in private, or you are too drunk to remember you took it off.
Music and sex: Is there a difference? Why?
(Greg) Well, music I definitely want to share with everybody.
Strangest brush with celebrity:
(Greg) A college professor of mine told me he once peed next to James Brown in an airport restroom. My own personal weirdest one was seeing Liza Minelli peering out of a limo window in San Francisco. She looked scared.
Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
(Greg) My son says he'd invite Steve Jobs and serve him apples. My choice would be Harry Partch (composer who made up his own scales, built his own instruments to play them, and also spent time as a hobo). I guess I'd serve him rice and beans, or maybe that tofu cassoulet.
What does your mom wish you were doing instead?
(Greg) I think my mom's pretty happy with me, but she probably wishes I would mow her lawn.
Current fixations:
(Jerry) The Fruitbats record on Perishable, all old Jackie Mattoo (reggae organ player) records, Wallace Stegner book "The Big Rock Candy Mountain." On TV, I mostly just watch Charlie Rose (PBS talk show) and Cleveland Indians baseball games, Oxford American magazine is about the only magazine worth getting, and watching flowers in my front yard wilt in the Ohio August heat is my lifestyle trend.
Mind-altering work of art:
(Jerry) Farnsworth House, in Plano, Illinois, outside Chicago, by Mies van der Rohe. Great architecture can really rearrange your world view.
Most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
(Jerry) Willie Nelson, the Ohio State Fair, 1997. There isn't another even close, mostly because of the sign-language interpreter on the big screen TV describing "Whiskey River."
What has been your career high and low?
(Jerry) High: getting married to my wife last year, who has the best soul of anyone I've ever met. Low: being trapped in 110 degrees of Tupelo, Mississippi in the summer of 1984. No wonder Elvis left.
What should everyone shut up about?
(Jake) Julia Roberts.
I would drop everything to play a benefit for:
(Jake) I think Habitat for Humanity is a worthy organisation.
What trait do you like and dislike most about yourself?
(Jake) I feel pretty good about having some tenacity and don't feel very good about times when I forget to shut up and listen.
What would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed, and have you?
(Jake) Being a self-absorbed asshole. Yes, I have.
When I think of Canada I think:
(Scotty) I have loads of great memories of Canada, most of them from fishing trips with my father out on the Georgian Bay. As a kid I remember driving something like 15 hours from Ohio, and then getting on a boat for a few more. About half as long ago, I drove to all the way to Kenai, Alaska with some friends. The rest stop at Liard Hot Springs stands out as my only moment of cleanliness on the entire 90 hour ride. So when I think of Canada, I guess I think of driving, and Robert Service, of course.
What is your vital daily ritual?
(Scotty) Most nights before we eat dinner, my wife, children and I tell each other what makes us thankful and happy. I guess that might be the only real ritual in my life, besides the old morning constitutional.
How do you spoil yourself?
(Scotty) I buy a record, or a T-bone, or a nice six pack.
What was your most memorable day job?
(Scotty) I currently have the best part-time job ever. I am teaching nine kids to play the piano. My past is cluttered with a long and diverse list of shitty jobs, so I deserve a break. Thinking back, the lowest I ever hit may have been a two week stint as the "grinder boy" my first year at the salmon plant. It was charming.
If I wasn't playing music I would be:
(Ted) Working in a diaper cleaning service, I guess.
What is your greatest fear?
(Ted) That the republicans will be in power for a long time. That's U.S. politics, just in case you don't follow our goings-on.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
(Ted) I would have the power of ZAP. I talked with by brother about this one when we were kids and it is definitely THE power to have. ZAP is the ability to get anywhere you want by simply snapping your fingers or just wishing it.
What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
(Ted) My midwestern value system prevents me from having a good time if I am naked in public. I know that it is really petty, but that was how I was raised. Here in Ohio you either take it off in private, or you are too drunk to remember you took it off.
Music and sex: Is there a difference? Why?
(Greg) Well, music I definitely want to share with everybody.
Strangest brush with celebrity:
(Greg) A college professor of mine told me he once peed next to James Brown in an airport restroom. My own personal weirdest one was seeing Liza Minelli peering out of a limo window in San Francisco. She looked scared.
Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
(Greg) My son says he'd invite Steve Jobs and serve him apples. My choice would be Harry Partch (composer who made up his own scales, built his own instruments to play them, and also spent time as a hobo). I guess I'd serve him rice and beans, or maybe that tofu cassoulet.
What does your mom wish you were doing instead?
(Greg) I think my mom's pretty happy with me, but she probably wishes I would mow her lawn.