Imagination Movers
| The Imagination Movers | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres | Children's music |
| Years active | January 5, 2003–present |
| Labels | Walt Disney, Rec Room, Razor & Tie |
| Website | http://www.imaginationmovers.com |
| Members |
Rich Collins Scott Durbin Dave Poche Scott "Smitty" Smith |
Imagination Movers is a band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2003. The line-up includes Rich Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche, and Scott "Smitty" Smith. Members of the group were longtime friends and neighbors. It all started out with the four members seeing a need for children to have music that "spoke to them, not down on them". With Scott Durbin's vision of a live action TV show that was a cross between Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Captain Kangaroo, the foursome worked every night after bedtime, from 9 pm to midnight, to write songs and develop TV show plotlines.
Created by four friends in New Orleans, the Imagination Movers began as a television/music concept that was pitched to local PBS affiliates.WLAE-TV was the first to take an interest in the group and later introduced them to Beth Courtney, the President & Chief Executive Officer at Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Soon after, LPB began airing one-minute videos produced by the Imagination Movers themselves.
The Movers built a sizable regional following by setting educational songs for kids to melodies and rhythms that adults appreciate as well. They sold more than 100,000 copies of their self-produced CDs and DVDs. Their three indie CDs: "Good Ideas," "Calling All Movers," and "Eight Feet" along with their grass roots DVD "Stir It Up" have, combined, won fourteen national awards, from such groups as the National Association of Parenting Publications (NAPPA) and Parents' Choice.
In early 2005, Disney took notice, and initiated negotiations to add the Movers to the company's roster. These were interrupted in August when the flood protection designed and built by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect New Orleans failed. The resulting floodwater claimed the band's office, as well as the homes and jobs of Collins, Durbin and Poche – but the deal was signed in the spring of 2006.
In 2008, Walt Disney Records introduced the Imagination Movers' music to the nation with the release of the Movers' first nationally-released CD, "Juice Box Heroes."
In September 2008, a 22-minute show featuring the group began airing on the Disney Channel's preschool programming block known as Playhouse Disney, and eventually airing on Playhouse Disney's replacement, Disney Junior. The Movers starred and were also co-executive producers of the show.
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