Moops: Press

"The Moops—Great rock jam band from Columbus, Ohio. They often inject their humor into their music, and with these guys, there is never a dull moment."

the moops

"Smells Like the moops"

6 fun tracks of clever, swerving rock (including a pumped-up Robert Johnson re-creation) culminate in song 7's gripping and layered, long-form jam; feral guitar is loosed from its leash to rampage.

Recommended Tracks "Too Cool For You," " Dead Rabbit"

"...The Moops are actually quite competent as musicians. This new record is full of bar-band jams that far exceed the skills of your average happy-hour hacks."

The Moops rock out at Bernie's for concert, CD release tour

 by Ian Bostick

Imagine you're seeing a rock concert. Suddenly, one of the band members runs into the audience and leans against you while shredding riffs on their guitar. If this has happened to you before, it most likely occurred at a Moops concert.

Who are the Moops? The Moops are a Columbus-born rock 'n' roll band currently touring around the city, performing at underground music venues to promote their recent album, "Smells Like the Moops."

Their tour around Columbus included their recent short-but-sweet concert at Bernie's last Wednesday. Performing songs with such titles as "Book Learnin'" and "Football & Liquor," the Moops had feet tapping and heads bobbing within minutes of playing.

The Moops' in-your-face, fun-loving style quickly creates a laid-back atmosphere, allowing them to easily connect with their audience. This reduces any shock and tension that may result from any of the Moops randomly running through the audience mid-song, which happens more often than you'd think.

The Moops' music is very unique in that it isn't defined by a specific sub-genre of rock. Their unadulterated music is described as "adjective-free rock 'n' roll," a phrase coined by the band itself.

Fans of any genre of rock can easily find something to like about the Moops.

The Moops formed in 2001, and have since experienced a series of band member changes. Currently, the Moops' consist of longtime front man T.J. Hecker (guitar and vocals), "Sparky" (guitar and vocals), Jim Hutter (bass) and Rex Siebold (drums).

"This is a band of a bunch of friends coming together and rocking for the sake of rock," "Sparky" said.

The Moops are continuing their tour around Columbus, and plan to perform at The Thirsty Ear in Grandview at 9 p.m. on Feb. 19. For more information, visit the Moops' Web site at moopscrap.com.

WHO'S GOT THE MOOPS?

This week, a couple of Columbus bars do

By John Benson for MetroMix Columbus

There are a few things you should know about local rock act The Moops. This includes the fact the quartet—T.J. Hecker (vocals, guitar), Jim Hutter (bass), Sparky (guitar) and Rex Siebold (drums)—doesn’t include itself as part of the Columbus scene, but does take itself seriously and has a few new songs in the mix targeted for its next studio album, due to be recorded in early 2009.

In advance of shows Jan. 2 art Hot Spot Tavern on Sinclar Road and Jan. 8 at Bernie's on High Street, Metromix talked to The Moops’ visionary Hecker about his AC/DC-meets-The Ramones group.

 Let’s start by talking about the new album, which will act as the follow-up to this year’s EP release “Smells Like The Moops."

Yeah, we already have a few basic tracks in the can, and we’re just working on putting it all together. We’re now playing new songs “Let Me Be Your Rock Star” and “Loxahatchee.” This will be a full-length album, and it’ll take us all over the map. We’ll just try a bunch of different things. I even have preliminary plans of doing a hip-hop number on it. I think somebody once said if you’re not falling flat on your face every once in a while, you’re playing it safe.

Falling on your face in a slapstick fashion is what I’m hearing.

Yeah, mostly it’s pretty tongue in cheek, but there’s a lot of serious intent behind some of the humor I suppose. But I’d be more like the Wile E. Coyote of rock ’n’ roll if you looked at my career track. Some days you’re the Road Runner, some days you’re the Coyote. And often I’m the dust cloud at the bottom of the canyon. It’s been a long hard road is what I’m saying.

Is that why your Web site boasts “Gleefully obnoxious rock ’n’ roll?” 

Yeah, that’s us because we’re loud, abrasive and kind of in your face. We just have a lot of fun with it. We have that sort of Bon Scott mentality, where he just enjoys annoying people.

Does your set include any covers?

We do a lot of covers. Like we do The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” which I realize isn’t the most original choice of what you can do from them, but people like it. And then we do “Monkey Man” by The (Rolling) Stones and “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin, which again isn’t necessarily the most original choice, but what the hell—it’s a great tune if you can pull it off. We also do Lou Reed’s “Hangin’ Round” off “Transformer.”

At the very least, The Moops appear to be quite different from most other acts in the Columbus music scene.

I don’t know if we’re necessarily in the scene, per se. That’s the thing, we’re kind of just trying to appeal to whoever wants to listen to us. We don’t really have that kind of scenester mentality. But I have no idea. That’s really for other people to judge. We’re just kind of like old vaudevillians, we love that old, simple 1-4-5 rock ’n’ roll style. We just don’t want to see it die, so we’re doing the best we can to keep it alive.

 

BANDS 

ON BANDWIDTH

 

by John Ross

 

Local pop-rock outfit The Moops will host a party this Saturday, October 13, at Campus bar Bernie’s Distillery for the re-release of their 2006 debut CD, the punchy, gleefully simple Dressed for Failure.

 

Except this time, there won’t be a CD.

 

Joining a wave of unsigned artists and bands looking to cut costs and increase exposure, the band opted this time around to release the 14 songs through several paid digital download services, including iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, Sony Connect and E-Mu­sic.com.

 

Bassist Jim Hutter said that after work­ing with a company affiliated with Musi­cian’s Friend, a popular music-equipment retailer, the band was contacted by iTunes through the company’s mailing list.

 

“Musician’s Friend linked you up to pretty much every [download service],” he added.

 

For The Moops, who work day jobs and make music for fun on the side, the chance to upload and sell songs online made sense financially. Producing and sending out even a limited run of CDs or vinyl LPs can cost hundreds.

 

“Nowadays, that nominal fee you pay to get the stuff on [these sites] is nothing com­pared to a shipment of CDs,” Hutter said.

 

While some decry the MP3, Hutter said the benefits outweigh any decrease in sound quality.

 

“To me the downside of the CD is, because it can hold more music, bands feel compelled to put more music on it,” he said. “I see the MP3 as the new 45 rpm single. It’s a good way to sample bands without making too much of a commitment”

 

Online retailers such as Musician’s Friend and CD Baby can expedite the process of getting accepted to larger down­load services, and many offer simple online applications and small or no storage fees.

 

Of the six million songs in the iTunes catalog, Apple spokesman Jason Roth said that many are posted by unsigned bands and artists. Locally, songs by unsigned rap­per Cridie Mac are available on iTunes, as are those by Church of the Red Museum, which signed to a small Columbus label last year.

 

“It’s done with great frequency, and it’s a relatively straightforward process,” Roth said.

 

 

Band: The Moops  

Album:  Dressed For Failure

Label: Blowing Bush Records

Genre: Rock

Track Picks: "Let's Party"   "Bribe Me"  "Foolish Circle"   "Satellite" 

 

Lowdown:  Sitting at the dinner table the rebellious educated youth brings up topics  making mom's jaw drop, then politely asks her to pass the potatoes.  This Columbus, Ohio garage rock foursome never hesitates to bring religion, politics, and relationships to the forefront.  The man behind some of the profoundly crafty sometimes humorous lyrics is T.J. Hecker.  Mixing blues, sophisticated guitar solo breaks with never straying drums and a harmonious combo of vocals between T.J. and wife Liz, these veteran rockers know how to construct original hand-clapping sing-along hits with a modern edge.  Packaging a wide array of music from every generation into one box requires a lot of postage, but these guys have managed to mail it out. 

I'm with Shakespeare on there being nothing new under the sun, and - yeah - I understand the thing about art being the novel repackaging of dull, commonplace insights (at least, from the perspective of us the jaded). The MOOPS CD might not be, by various criterions, on the "cutting edge," but I found it delightful.

 

T.J. Hecker is a working man's poet. His lyrics are direct and subtly confrontational to those who need and deserve it. He doesn't attempt profundity; rather, he highlights absurdities the rest of us often overlook.

 

To this often overly cerebral "son of the 60s," Liz's "girl songs" are a breath of fresh air.  Now, I don't claim that Liz is another Mama Cass or Linda Rondstadt, but her songs definitely took me to that neighborhood. Maybe that's bad, but I was pleased to be there.

This ("Dressed For Failure") is the sickest album that has ever been made.  EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD should own a copy of this.

Columbus TV institution Flippo the Clown may have moved on last month to the great big top in the sky, but the Moops are making sure his memory lives on. The Columbus rock band is dedicating its Sunday show at the High Five Bar and Grill, 1227 N. High St., to the longtime performer. The 'Early Show' will start at 9 p.m. and will also feature the Blue Eyed Gunslingers, All Day Holiday, Electric Grandmother, and Rosehips.