Rockin' Local Business Owner Has Song In Major Motion Picture

The first time owner played in front of a live audience was 40 years ago when he was in the sixth grade.

Now, one of Piunti's songs can be heard in the new movie Jeff Who Lives at Home starring Jason Segel, Ed Helms and Susan Sarandon.

Piunti remembers the exact date his love for music went from practicing with his friends to the stage.

"It was May 22, 1972," Piunti said. "All the girls were screaming, while I was trying to ignore being shocked by the microphone. We played 'Be My Lover' by Alice Cooper."

Piunti has come a long way since the sixth grade. After changing the name of the band a few times, Piunti and fellow band mates, Joe Gaydos and Donn Deniston, have two albums and a song on the soundtrack of a movie that is quickly picking up speed in the independent film circuit.

The name of the song picked for the movie is "Chemically Changed" on the appropriately named album Sibley Gardens. The song can be heard in the background of a scene that takes place in a Hooters restaurant featuring Jason Segel's character Jeff.

"If you see it in the theater, try to find a speaker to sit close to if you really want to hear it," Piunti joked. "We're thrilled to be in it, but it's definitely background music."

Piunti said the biggest "kick" came when he saw his band's name, The Respectables, in the credits at the end of the movie.

He added the use of the song in the film "legitimized what we've been doing all these years."

The movie Jeff Who Lives at Home is the creation of young directors Jay and Mark Duplass and follows Segel's character Jeff as he tries to find his destiny as explained in a Paramount press release:

"On his way to the store to buy wood glue, Jeff looks for signs from the universe to determine his path. However, a series of comedic and unexpected events leads him to cross paths with his family in the strangest of locations and circumstances. Jeff just may find the meaning of his life... and if he's lucky, pick up the wood glue as well."

The Respectables have sold records to music lovers around the world. Recently, the band has sold records in France in Spain.

Both albums by The Respectables, including Sibley Gardens, can be found on websites such as iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon.

Piunti is currently working on a solo project with Michiganders Donny Brown from the intensely popular 1990s band The Verve Pipe and Ryan Allen from the band Destroy This Place.

Piunti said though the band is on hiatus, he anticipates plugging in and playing a local show sometime in the near future.