Interview with The Imagination Movers

The Imagination Movers Interview with the Talented and Talkative Mover Rich

 In 2003 four dads who had a love of music and an even bigger love for their kids got together and began brainstorming ideas for a new children’s show. Two years later they became one of the biggest sensations to grip parents and children alike with their catchy tunes and videos sending messages and dealing with day-to-day issues. Rich Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche and Scott “Smitty” Smith have been the Imagination Movers ever since. The road was bumpy at the beginning, when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the Imagination Movers and their families personally felt the blow. While they were picking through the debris of the hurricane their resolve became even stronger and that year the Imagination Movers hit American screens and became an instant success.

Expatwoman caught up with Mover Rich in New Orleans. I knew what the Imagination Movers looked and sounded like on the television screen and the voice on the other end of the telephone line was just as enthusiastic. “Oh I love your accent,” Rich says, before we even start the conversation, “I just spoke to a Scottish guy from Dubai, which was interesting, I love all of the different people that have been calling for interviews.” I ask him how he is and he informs me that he is currently pacing up and down the aisles at the grocery store, currently looking at the Zip Lock bags. I could not help but laugh at his enthusiasm and his situational location. Rich explains, “I had some time between interviews and I thought I’d just pop down to the grocery store, but someone called when I was at the checkout counter. Now I’m pacing up and down.”

Mover Rich is a father of five and originally from Washington DC. Before the Imagination Movers he was a journalist. He is the group’s drummer on the television shoe and his drum sticks double as ‘scribble sticks’ that he uses to write on the television screen. He is a multi-talented musician who plays the bass and the guitar as well, and was once in a band called Dubly.

I’ve seen some of your shows, you four seem to have so much energy where does that come from?

The other three movers drink a lot of coffee, I don’t drink any coffee but it seems like I have a caffeine producing organ in my body. You should see us on the tour bus, we just crash out. We have had bus drivers tell us that we are the most boring performers they had seen. We tend to use up all our energy on stage.

Have you had any embarrassing moments while touring?

Oh so many. We have had many injuries over the years and have fallen a lot on our faces during the show. One of the worst injuries I sustained was a broken finger. I broke it an hour before the show and we had a three month tour. I was performing with my finger in a cast. Dave once fell; face first, off the stage that was painful. We usually make a joke of it – but he couldn’t keep in character.

How do your kids see you?

They are proud of me. I am very proud. I was just a guy working in the news and one day we invented this whole new thing. You can invent a life for yourself and be creative and follow your own destiny. The concept of making your own destiny, that’s important. The kids are also very creative and musical.

Does that come from you?

Oh wow! Well I haven’t really thought about that … Well my oldest are fourteen and twelve and I enjoy watching their personality traits develop. I guess that I see a lot of myself and [my wife] in them. The older they get and the more their personality traits develop the more I see some of me … yeah.

What are you excited about seeing in Dubai?

Desert Safari! I want to go, it sounds eye-popping crazy interesting.

You were in a band before, what kind of music influences you?

I am a radio junkie, it’s my hobby. I love flipping the dials and finding stuff. All kinds of music influence me. Jack Johnson plays in the kitchen; you know who that is right? [Yes]
Yeah he’s really chilled; well he’s the soundtrack of our kitchen. I like everything, sometimes its Jay Z and Rage Against the Machine. I like the older stuff like U2 and The Police. I love anything that is catchy and solid.

What is your favourite song to perform on stage?

Oh that’s a hard one. No actually … there’s this song “Jump Up” that we perform at the end of every show. It’s for the encore and we build on the audience participation. Every person stands and learns the dance and there is a moment every time when I look out onto the audience and everyone is in sync and there is this energy. It’s the best.

All of a sudden my ten minutes are up and I tell Mover Rich how excited we are to see the Imagination Movers in Dubai.