The Imagination Movers are an American children's band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2003. The line-up includes drummer and multi-instrumentalist Rich Collins, keyboardist and banjo/mandolin player Scott Durbin, bassist Dave Poche, and guitarist Scott "Smitty" Smith. Members of the group were longtime friends and neighbors. They started with the four members seeing a need to encourage creativity in children, provide positive male role models, and create music and content that "spoke to them, not down to them." Scott Durbin as the progenitor, worked in combination with his other Movers to create a live-action TV show that was a combination of shows like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Captain Kangaroo, The Monkees and The Wiggles, with the music they enjoyed, like Beastie Boys, The Police, and U2. The foursome worked every night after bedtime, from 9 PM to midnight, to write songs and develop TV show plot lines and finetune the concept.
Career
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 grassroots DVD Stir It Up have, combined, won fourteen national awards, from such groups as the National Association of Parenting Publications (NAPPA) and Parents' Choice. Moreover, Kids Place Live put many of the Movers early catalog into heavy rotation, further increasing the bands national audience.
In 2005, Disney took notice and initiated negotiations to add the Movers to the company's roster. Hurricane Katrina interrupted all plans 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.
A pilot episode was made in 2006 and music videos started populating The Disney Channel. Soon after, 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. Despite creating the show, the Movers were forced to settle for a placard stating the show was based on the music and format of the Imagination Movers.
The Movers wrote and performed all of the songs heard on their eponymous show. Moreover, the Imagination Movers have received critical kudos for their live concert performances. Indie Kids Rock reviewed the group, saying they were "the U2 of kids music with a big anthemic pop/rock sound, catchy lyrics, & of course, imagination."
In October 2009, the Imagination Movers started the Live from the Idea Warehouse Concert Tour 2009. Traveling from mid-October to mid-December 2009 their live performances include many of their favorite songs and dancing, as well as video appearances of Warehouse Mouse.
Beginning in early-February 2011 and wrapping up in late May 2011, the Imagination Movers presented their In a Big Warehouse Concert Tour, playing more than 100 shows in 50+ cities across North America.
From March to October 2012, the Imagination Movers toured North America on their post-Disney Rock-O-Matic tour. The show maintained several elements of the original TV concept, such as an on-stage "idea emergency" and several sets from their older catalog. The tour promoted the Imagination Movers' new album/DVD release, Rock-O-Matic, which featured all new music from the band. During the ROM tour, the Movers fired and sued their manager for promoting the interests of a rival group.
In the summer of 2013, Imagination Movers released a digital only release, marking their fourth album on Disney records, entitled Back in Blue. The album consists of 26 songs, covering most of the songs written for season three of the TV series as well as any other unreleased material penned by the Movers for the television show.