MANSFIELD, Ohio — About four years ago, Paris Bihari was moved by music. He went to Hag Fest, a festival in Perrysville designed to showcase local musicians and bands.
There, he met James Amos, frontman for TV Movie, a band that hails from Austin, Texas. After eight years in the Lone Star state, Amos had recently relocated to the Mansfield area. Listening to the band’s unique sounds intrigued the life-long music enthusiast.
“It opened my eyes, man,” said Bihari as he remembered that moment he heard the band’s tunes. “There are bands that still have it.”
The “it” he referred to is the gritty drive of a creative musician, the stamina to withstand the splinters of an innate impulse to live against the grain.
TV Movie was originally just an Amos production. It was born from his curious nature — a side project that piqued his interest. He began by producing beats through software on his computer and gradually transitioned to adding guitars and vocals. He sifted through lyrics written long before and added them in as inspiration struck. The idea grew into a project.
Then his grandparents fell ill in Mansfield.
“I was in-between jobs at the time and I wanted to take care of them,” Amos said. “So I moved.”
That was in 2008. But like most dreams and ideas, TV Movie did not die. In fact, it evolved into a nearly full-time endeavor.
He introduced the idea of TV Movie to his musician friends upon arrival in Mansfield. Soon enough, he welcomed three members: Tim Ball (bassist), Hugo Nida (keyboardist) and Matt Kempf (drummer). Nida has since left the band and was replaced by his son, Jacob Nida, the band’s current lead/rhythm guitarist.
The band has used different members through recent years as they gigged Mansfield and surrounding areas. They released an E.P. in October 2013 and a full-length album in June 2015.
Amos eventually developed a desire to breathe life into a seemingly dying culture.
“It’s a challenge being a musician in Mansfield. Most aren’t used to hearing original music, and they want covers,” Amos said. “And nobody wants to buy music anymore.”
Enter Bihari.
The night Bihari met Amos in Perrysville a friendship and partnership began. Together they run Clash at Events, a local concert venue with a mission to edify Mansfield’s original music scene. Bihari now co-produces all of TV Movie’s music. He also documents the movement with his camera, as Pics by Paris.
TV Movie’s latest album, Reel1, was slotted for independent release in January. But the band further honed their sound and released it in June. Part of that process was sending it for mastering to Gordon Bahary, a musician and producer in New York who’s career included producing songs for Stevie Wonder in the 1980s.
“It (Reel1) sounds perfect,” Amos said.
The concept album, complete with TV Movie’s dance-punk, indie-alt rock hip-hop sound, takes its listeners on a journey.
“Starting off with a break-up, his journey takes him from a stagnate and mundane cycle into learning to view life in a new light, whether it be real or fantasy,” reads the band’s Bandcamp page.
Amos collaborated with artists Tazjin and Candy Apple Blue to complete the album. The goal is to form a connection with listeners.
“I definitely think making that connection is key (to making music). Just to have someone listen to the tracks and they can relate to different things,” Amos said. “To be able to form some kind of bond between the music and them is really the ultimate gratification you can get in giving someone music.”
And will there be a Reel2?
“Possibly,” said Amos with a knowing smile.
