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The Band From 'That Thing You Do!' Reunited At The Roxy
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In a tournament bracket of Best Fictional Bands, who wins the trophy? Spinal Tap might be a front runner, though in some respects they are a real band, so maybe they're out of the tourney altogether. Perhaps The Be Sharps? That group from the Mos Eisley cantina?
Certainly, The Wonders (or The Oneders, if you will) would go deep in the bracket. Featured in that 1996 sleeper hit, the Tom Hanks-directed That Thing You Do!, the band is responsible for one of the catchiest in-movie singles ever written—also called "That Thing You Do!" Sadly, the band was short-lived. Plagued by a disruptive romance, the all-encompassing "creative differences," and one member's desire to join the military, the group would vanish as quickly as they'd appeared on the scene.
On Tuesday, however, we got a brief taste of the sugared hooks of The Wonders, as the band reunited for a quick spell at The Roxy:
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When we reunion, we reunion hard. pic.twitter.com/qv9yM9vCt9
— Ethan Embry (@EmbryEthan) April 26, 2017
@TheGDComedyJam @JoshAdamMeyers & co, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. All time fave. Put the GnR reunion to shame 🤘🏼#TheWonders pic.twitter.com/YuwEPWZjno
— Piers Moreton (@FestivelyPlump) April 26, 2017
As noted at Billboard, the event was part of the monthly Goddamn Comedy Jam event at the Roxy. Actors Tom Everett Scott (who played drums in the movie), Ethan Embry (bass), and Johnathon Schaech (vocals and general douchebaggery), took the stage to play their chart-topping hit. There were some modifications however, with Schaech switching over to rhythm guitar, handing over the frontman duties to some other dude.
Notably absent were Steve Zahn (guitars) and manager Tom Hanks. Zahn's character, who was said to work as a casino manager after the breakup, was there in spirit (at least he wasn't replaced by Buckethead):
Ive had a smile on my face all day because of how many people telling me how important That Thing You Do was to them. Last Night was magic pic.twitter.com/9PjgzeHXBu
— Josh Adam Meyers (@JoshAdamMeyers) April 26, 2017
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Giovanni Ribisi, who played the original drummer (he broke his arm and missed out on the chance of a lifetime), was also absent, though it seems like no one really missed him. Every band has its own Pete Best, it seems.
Will we be seeing The Wonders at Coachella 2018? This would be the biggest news, one that could only be dwarfed by the reunion of, I don't know, the damn Smiths. In the meanwhile, we'll bask in the honeyed tones of a perfectly crafted pop song:
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