Moops: News

We've been announcing it for the past year, so now is the time to make good on our threats, er, we mean promises.  The Moops' third CD, "Recess in Purgatory," is due out by September 1, 2010.

This 12-track collection includes studio takes of such live favorites as "Loxahatchee," "Let Me Be Your Rock Star," "Pizza Guy," "A Christmas Song," "My Jalopy," and of course, "Joan of Arkansas."

If you wish to pre-order a copy, please go to our "Buy Crap" webpage and use PayPal or send a check or money order to the address at the bottom of the page.

"Recess in Purgatory" will also be available through paid downloads.  It will be on iTunes and DiskFaktory via the following address:  http://www.diskfaktoryjams.com/the_Moops/.  You can purchase the whole album or pick and choose individual tracks.

This album is dedicated to the memory of Andyman Davis, 1968 - 2010.

The Columbus music scene lost it's best friend on Sunday, July 18, 2010 with the tragic and untimely passing of CD 101 disc jockey Andyman Davis.  He drowned while vacationing in Michigan with his family.

Born John Andrew Davis in 1968, Andyman had worked for CD 101 since 1991.  His warm and friendly style, complimented by his passionate love for rock music, made him an instant hit with listeners.  He was also an avid fan of local bands and gave precious airtime and emotional support to numerous Central Ohio musicians.

During the holiday season of 1992, Davis founded an event that has since become a local institution, The Andyman-A-Thon.  Each December, the radio host would remain on the air for 48 hours straight to raise donations for various children's charities.  Listeners would make pledges to request special songs and many local musicians would perform live on the air.  The Andyman-A-Thon was always a very festive and generous event that brought out the best in our community.

By 1998, Andyman had become program director of CD 101.  Under his loving guidance, the station returned to it's edgier roots just in time for the 2002 to 2006 "garage rock" explosion that happened in the wake of The Strokes.

More recently, Andyman had become a loving and dedicated family man.  He and his wife Molly had three sons, Johnny, Oliver, and Sammy.  Our hearts and prayers go out to them in this time of tragedy.

The Moops wish to offer our condolences to our stage manager and lighting director James Caldwell on the passing of his brother-in-law, Danny Chance.

Danny fought a brave battle against brain cancer, which he ultimately lost on June 18.  He was 32.

Our hearts go out to James and his wife Tammy in this time of grief.  Our love and prayers go to you.

If you have followed the Moops, you probably know that they are more than happy to lend their music to charitible fundraisers.

 On Thursday, June 10, the Moops will be part of Night of 1000 Watts, a seven-band bill playing Circus, 1227 North High Street in Columbus, to help raise money for the construction of WCBE's new transmitter.

 The show starts at 7:00 PM with an appearance by The Fabulous Johnson Brothers.  Also on the bill are Anna and the Consequences, Mount Carmel, Burglar, the Town Monster, and Tommy Gun.  The order has not been finalized, but expect the Moops to play second or third, around 8:00 or 9:00 PM.

For this night only, singer-guitarist Liz Hecker will rejoin the Moops for a special semi-acoustic performance.  Expect to hear some of her songs from the Moops' 2006 debut, "Dressed For Failure."

Cover is $7.00, a buck a band, but it goes to a good cause.  Be there and support local music and WCBE 90.5 FM.

The Moops wish to thank all of our friends who came out to the Thursday night rock jam at The Dolphin Lounge on March 11.  We had a great time jamming with three fine lead guitarists, Glen Anderson, Jeff Kendall and Ron from the band In 3-D.

We eagerly look forward to our next installment on Thursday, March 25 at 8:00 PM.

The Moops hosted their second monthly Rock Jam at The Dolphin Lounge on Thursday, February 25, 2010.  This encore performance proved considerably more successful than the first with several additional guests taking the stage.  They included the members of Sonic Roach Destruction Unit and mutual friend Glen Anderson.

The Moops kicked off the night with a short-but-sweet set that featured some bluesy favorites and a brace of seldom-heard original tunes; "Let's Party" and "God's Gift To Women."  Bassist Jim took a moment to remember former Beatle George Harrison on what would have been his 67th birthday before the band launched into a very raw version of the Merseybeat classic, "Slow Down."  Being good hosts, the Moops then turned the stage over to good friends, Sonic Roach Destruction Unit.

SRDU, a trio consisting of guitarist Doug Leed and LaRosa brothers Jim and Dave on drums and bass respectively, was in incredibly good form.  They benefitted from the clear fidelity of the sound system at The Dolphin.  Amid their joyful noise, the performance revealed many musical subtleties and enjoyably snarky lyrics that are often obscured by the sound equipment in campus clubs.  Moop Jim commented, "I love these guys.  They sound like Frank Zappa filtered through The Pixies."

The third set was a chance for local studio engineer/producer Glen Anderson to show off his chops.  Wielding a gorgeous white 1966 Stratocaster and tiny Fender amp, Glen took the stage with the Moops and accentuated several songs with his airy and vaguely psychedelic picking.  Highlights included a take on the Hendrix classic, "Red House" and a bizarre segue of Pink Floyd's "Time" into "Brand New Cadillac" by The Clash.  Though self-deprecating about his playing, Anderson's spot was appreciated by all in attendance.

The night reached a climax when the Moops, Sonic Roach, and Anderson joined forces as a sextet, sarcastically dubbed "Sonic Moops Destruction Unit."  Drummer Rex Seibold and bassist Dave LaRosa underscored a guitar legion consisting of Hecker, Hutter, Leed and Anderson.  They proceeded to whip through a couple of Sonic Roach originals, "Beer" and "The Plan," before putting their collective stamp on versions of "Take The Skinheads Bowling" and "The KKK Took My Baby Away."  Over the top of the punchy rhythm section, the four guitars created a naturally chorused and jangly wall-of-sound vaguely reminiscent of indie bands of old.  Pleased with the results, the collective plans to to it again.

The biggest compliment of the night came from the staff of The Dolphin Lounge, who informed the Moops that the Thursday Rock Jams will be increased to twice a month.  Stay tuned to this site for upcoming dates.

The Moops' first monthly rock jam at The Dolphin Lounge on January 28 was a qualified success.  Although lightly attended, those present were incredibly passionate, making for a very successful evening.

Thanks go to our good friend Ms. Chris Rummel for adding backing vocals on a number of our songs and for taking the lead on a very nice version of "The First Cut Is The Deepest."  The most valuable player of the evening was veteran guitarist Rocko Reedy, known for his work with Rocko and the Devils and as U2's stage manager.  He is a fantastic guitarist who lit up the stage with every note he played.

Check out this video clip of Rocko and the Devils performing The Beatles' classic, "Eleanor Rigby."

We ended the night with Chris and Rocko duetting on the Badfinger classic, "No Matter What."  Now there's a great song that always sounds awesome, no matter who does it.

T.J., Jim, Sparky, and Rex are looking forward to the next installment of the rock jam series on Thursday, February 25 at 8:00 PM.  Be there and bring your axe.

As hinted for the past several months, a new Moops album is on the way.  While the title is still up in the air, we do know that it should be out some time in 2010.  The earlier the better.

(Here's a music business secret:  having more folks at our shows will help speed up the release.  It takes a little bit of extra $$$$ to press CD's and print inserts.)

Currently, T.J. is in the studio with our good friend Glen Anderson twiddling the knobs and fine-tuning the mix.  The track list includes "Loxahatchee," "Let Me Be Your Rock Star," "Pizza Guy," "Party Line," "Power Ballad #3468" and "Joan of Arkansas," just to name a few. 

Expect a slightly more serious effort than "Smells like the Moops," but not too serious.  After all, it's only rock 'n' roll.

Marion-based online fanzine "Out Of The Blue" has given "Smells like the Moops" a rather favorable review.

http://www.ootb646.com/local_albrev/themoops.html

Thank you, Neil and company!

The ever-controversial John Petric gave the Moops a vaguely favorable passing mention in the April 30, 2009 edition of "The Other Paper."

http://www.theotherpaper.com/articles/2009/04/29/music/doc49f8b3fa544ef467799530.txt

Thanks for the backhanded compliment, John!

Bassist Jim Hutter received the following review of "Smells like the Moops" in a recent letter from his brother, former local music journalist John Hutter.

"In the truest spirit of the first season of Saturday Night Live, 'Smells Like The Moops' certainly lives and breathes the credo of 'nothing is sacred' "Don't let the 'Lo-Fi' audio engineering fool you (tho' I suspect it was done intentionally), the sentiments expressed in each of these 'caustic' tracks contain enough 'smack-downs' to humble the most pompous of the pomp. "It matters not of the intended 'victim's' social class; The Moops certainly do practice 'equal opportunity' in all of their character lampoons. "I mean, it doesn't take too long to figure out that the icon deflating observations found in John Wayne could just as be as applicable to a certain lame-duck president.

"On the other end of the social strata, the 'proud' papa of the Bluegrass/Rockabilly inspired ditty Book Learnin' is in total celebration of his disdain for any form of education for his kids and/or of any funding of such.

"Unfortunately (depending upon your point of view), the one tune which may endear itself to the very people it sets out to parody is the 'rebel-rousing' (the only lyrics of the song) Football & Liquor. "In fact, this so-called innocent football chant is actually a negative tribute to all of the drunken and rowdy throngs who frequently gather at sporting events, sports bars, and after game couch burnings. "In conclusion, The Moops' musicianship is always sharp as a knife and just as impactful, regardless of the various styles incorporated (Punk, Cow Punk, Hard Rock, Blues or any other fringy genre)"

American society is full of rites of passage. For individuals, these important milestones include first love, graduation, marriage, and first child. Musical groups also go through rites of passage too, albeit in a much different form. The Moops finally earned their rock 'n' roll badge of honor the evening of Saturday, June 10, 2006; They finally had the police called on them for playing too loud.

As The Moops performed at a private party in Upper Arlington, a highly affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio, the homeowner interrupted their set to inform them that Johnny Law was on the way. Within minutes, two members of Upper Arlington's finest knocked on the door, and informed the homeowner of the neighbor's complaint. Here's the kicker--the officers allowed the band to play four more songs until 9:00 PM, the time that the city's noise ordnance takes effect. At that time, the policemen left without incident.

Funny thing, the Moops all take a strange sense of pride in this incident. Then again, doesn't this sort of thing happen to most musicians when they are still in high school?  The Moops are all over 35. Maybe they really are terminal adolescents!