By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
January 24, 2003
For Big Head Todd & the Monsters, 2002 was quite a year. Their indie release “Riviera” won favorable reviews, their tour sold out, and their frontman–Todd Park Mohr–found himself in a sex scandal, thanks to Cara from the Chicago cast of MTV’s “The Real World.”
“It was fun,” Mohr says during a phone conversation from outside Boulder, Colo. “I didn’t realize what a big deal a sex scandal was.” But more on that later.
The band, which formed when the trio attended Colorado’s Columbine High School, still has its original lineup of guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Mohr, drummer Brian Nevin and bassist Rob Squires. They’re back on the road, touring to support “Riviera” and will perform, fittingly, at the Riviera Theatre on Saturday night in what is being billed as an extra-long show with no opening act.
HERE’S WHAT ELSE MOHR HAD TO SAY:
Ever get confused with actor Jay Mohr? [Laughs.] No.
What it was like hearing Cara gush about him on “The Real World”: I was delighted by it in general. I didn’t sleep with her, though it appeared that way on the show.
They fuzzed out your face on the reality series because: When the show sent us a script, our managers didn’t like us being referred to as a “has-been” group. But when I saw the episode, they were very flattering about us. It kind of worked out to our advantage.
Followup dates with Cara: I never talked to her after that night.
Favorite movie: Right now I’m watching a documentary on [Akira] Kurosawa that’s very good.
Worst movie ever: “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Favorite book: The World As Will and Representation (Dover, $14.95) by Arthur Schopenhauer.
What’s in your CD player: I don’t really use CDs anymore. I listen to music on my iPod [digital audio player]. I really like [Badar] Ali Khan and the
new Bob Dylan record.
Best thing about not being on a major label: You’re not pressured to take the same hit song and duplicate it over and over again.
Favorite bands: I like groups like Radiohead that started in one place and end up in a totally different place. I think our fan base likes us for
similar reasons.
Best advice his band got: Find a good lawyer and accountant. We did.
Worst advice he ever got: To use a co-writer on our songs. They wanted me to use a big-name songwriter. I just said no.
Best thing about being him: The freedom of expression I have in my work and the fact that I can do this for a living. That’s a wonderful part of my
life.
Worst thing about being him: Boy, there aren’t really any bad things about being me.
Most humbling experience: When our record “Sister Sweetly” came out–which became our biggest record–there were a lot of challenges as far as dealing with the pressure of fame and relative fortune. I was in a really difficult time in my life.
How I overcame that period: I went into psychotherapy. Talking doesn’t hurt anybody.
Worst job: Laying sod. Wait, I was also a telephone solicitor. That was probably worse.
How I treat solicitors when they call me: I try to cut off the conversation as quickly as possible. I’m not the hang-up type.
Why people should come to your show: There aren’t too many bands that give you what we’ve got, which is sincerity, storytelling and old-school values in American songwriting.
Chicago fans: Tell them that I love them!
