moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1990. The
band members are: Rob Derhak (bass, vocals), Al Schnier (guitar, vocals, keyboard), Chuck
Garvey (guitar, vocals), Vinnie Amico (drums), and Jim Loughlin (percussion).
The band's first record, Fatboy (1992), established the band as a favorite of
the 1990s jam band and improvisational rock scene that grew in popularity with bands such as
Phish, the Dave Matthews Band, and Widespread Panic. Just as Grateful Dead followers were coined
"Dead Heads", avid moe. fans embrace the term "moe.rons." moe. toured with the 1997 Furthur Festival, appeared at
Woodstock '99, played in Central Park, opened for
The Allman Brothers and The Who, performed at
Radio City Music Hall on New Year's Eve
2006 and will return there for New Year's Eve 2007.
During an interview, guitarist Al Schnier was asked to describe moe. for those who have never heard their music: "It's an
amalgamation of a wide variety of the history of rock, all regurgitated and recycled through the eyes, ears, hands, whatever of
the guys in our band and all of that with a sense of adventure, a sense of humor, also a constant desire to push the envelope.
All in this arena of taking chances, improvising live, and making things up on the spot." [1]
The 1990s
The origin of the band goes back as far as 1989, when Chuck Garvey, Rob Derhak, and Ray Schwartz got together to play a
Halloween show at a friends behest. The band's first true form began in the Winter of 1990. Chuck was joined by Dave Kessler on
guitar and Steve Hunter joined on saxophone and vocals. They called themselves Five Guys named Moe, the name of a
Louis Jordan song. They opened for a band named Monkey Wrench at Broadway Joe's in Buffalo,
NY. Monkey Wrench would later be mentioned in moe.'s song Y.O.Y., where Garvey sings "I wish I could suck like Monkey
Wrench."
In the Fall of 1990, Hunter exited. Also, the bands name evolved first into Haggis (for one week) before settling to be
simply moe, noticeably without the period. Derhak pushed for the "m" to be capitalized, but a Brooklyn band had that name
already. Al Schnier sat in with the band for a show in 1991 in Buffalo when Kessler was absent. After this show, Schnier was a
frequent guest. They became known as the moe guitar army because of the three guitarists. The band also officially adopted
the period at the end of moe. Schnier joined the band full-time in early 1992 and in the Spring, Kessler left due to a lack of
interest.
In June of 1993, the band recorded Fatboy, after which Schwartz left the band to go to
graduate school. Jim Loughlin joined the band in September on drums. During the Summer of 1993, Chuck left the band due to
personal issues, but returned two months later and "beg[ged] for re-admittance and more abuse."[2] In the Spring of 1994, the band recorded Headseed, officially quitting their day jobs, and all moved to Albany,
NY. Loughlin left the band in June of 1995 to pursue another band named Yolk, from Binghamton, NY. After Loughlin left,
Mike Strazza joined the band on drums, but only from July until the end of 1995, though he officially quit in September. During
their two nights over Thanksgiving weekend at the Wetlands in New York City, the band recorded Loaf, their first official live release.
Chris Mazur joined the band on drums near the end of 1995 through November of 1996. That same month, Vinnie Amico started
playing for the band on drums and has continued in that position since. In early 1999, Loughlin returned to the lineup on
percussion, flute, backup bass, acoustic guitar, and washboard. Since January 23, 1999, the band moe. has officially been
Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey, Rob Derhak, Vinnie Amico, and Jim Loughlin.[2]
Fundraising
The band has taken part in a number of fundraising efforts. moe. held a Tsunami Benefit
concert at the Roseland Ballroom in New York
City on February 10, 2005. Sharing the stage with moe. were Sam Bush, John Medeski of
Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Trey
Anastasio, and Anastasio collaborator Jennifer Hartswick. All proceeds from
the event were matched by the Dave Matthews Band and his Bama Works Village Recovery
Fund to assist rebuilding an east coast sea town in Sri Lanka. Bama Works, Dave's
philanthropic brainchild, recorded a final tally of a whopping $155,000. Waves of Sound
- The performance garnered moe. an award for Live Performance of the Year at the 6th Annual
Jammy Awards.
On January 22, 2006, moe. performed at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, NY. This
concert raised $35,000 in support of the Kelberman Center - a comprehensive community resource for individuals with autism spectrum
disorder and their families. The evenings proceeds brought moe.'s charitable contributions to over $200,000 between January of
2005 and January of 2006.[3]
- Al Schnier on the Kelberman Center:[4]
| “ |
The Promise School is one of the leading resources for autistic preschoolers in the
country. I was amazed, and grateful, to learn that one of the most highly regarded programs was right here in our community. As
we learn more about autism, and as our kids grow older, we are finding that we as parents and our children need that same high
quality and progressive resource beyond the Promise Program's objective. The Kelberman Center is fulfilling that need. |
” |
On April 11th, 2006, the band donated $38,000 to the Kelberman Center as part of The Face of Autism telethon.[5]
Festivals
moe.down
moe. host the annual festival moe.down at Snow Ridge Ski Area in Turin, NY.
Started in 2000, festival runs for three days and occurs every Labor Day weekend. The festival has attracted a wide variety of musical talent. Acts range
from newer bands just emerging onto the scene (such as Tea Leaf Green, Nellie McKay and Raq) to big name acts and jam rock staples, such as
Les Claypool, Blues Traveler, and Mike Gordon (of Phish fame), to pop rock icons, such as Leo Kottke, The Flaming Lips, The
Violent Femmes, and most recently, Perry Farrell. Each year, the amount of moe.down
attendees has steadily increased. moe.down I attracted around 3,000 people while moe.down VI in 2005, had attracted close to
7,000.
snoe.down
Rob bundled up, the band playing outside during snoe.down II
(Photos by Rob Clarke)
moe. hosted Snoe.down II March 17, 2006 through
March 19, 2006. This event, which kicked off the week long
Adirondack Almost Springfest celebration, took place at the Olympic Center in
Lake Placid, New York, home of the 1932 Winter
Olympics and 1980 Winter Olympics, and at nearby Whiteface. During the concerts (not moe.'s sets) fans even had the option of ice skating
while listening to the show. Bands included Soulive, Everyone Orchestra, Assembly of Dust, Tea Leaf Green, and others. [6]
- Chuck on snoe.down II:[7]
Our set outdoors (that's right, outdoors on a ski slope in 10 - 15 degree weather) was brisk and inspired by hot coffee and a
touch of whiskey. The gloves that I cut up to "protect" my hands from the cold ended up looking like something from
Pat Benatar's 80's video wardrobe when I was done making field alterations onstage to
accommodate playing with my slide........hmmmmm. A bad sign, usually, but a crowd of 2,000+ made it their business not to budge
the whole time. Kudos all around! Completely worth it - especially if you get to ski right up to your workplace!!
moe. Cruise
From March 7, 2004 until March
14, 2004, moe. embarked on their first musical cruise aboard the Norwegian Sun through Les
and Lynn Berger of Rhythms at Sea Cruises (formerly Rock the Boat Cruises). Setting out from Miami, FL, the Norwegian Sun visited Jamaica, The Cayman Islands, Costa
Maya, and Cozumel before returning back to Florida. The
band performed each day except for the 12th on the pool deck, Stardust Lounge, and the Observation Lounge. The shows on the 10th
in the Observation were acoustic sets and featured questions and answers with the band.
In January 2007, the band returned for its second cruise, again through Les and Lynn Berger of Rhythms at Sea Cruises. The
cruise took place January 7, 2007 through January 14, 2007 on the Norwegian
Jewel. Fans were treated to a different itinerary this time: the ship headed east out of Miami and hit the ports of San Juan (Puerto Rico), St. John's (Antigua), and St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands). Unfortunately due to rough seas, the ship did not port at
Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas).
Other Festivals
moe. has also played at a number of already established festivals, including;
- The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA
- 2002
- Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
- Vegoose Festival, Las Vegas, NV - 2005
- Summer Camp, Chillicothe, IL - 2001 - 2007
- Woodstock 1999, Rome, NY
- Beale Street Music Festival, Memphis, TN - 1999, 2002
- Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI - 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006
- Riverbend Festival, Chattanooga, TN - 2007
- All Good Music Festival, Masontown, WV - 2007
- The Echo Project, Fairburn, GA - 2007(duki)
They received a Jammy for their Bonnaroo performance on June 23, 2002.
Discography
Video and DVD releases:
Singles:
- 1996: meat. - 550 Music
- Out of print. 10,000 made. The song clocks in at a little over 45 minutes.
- 1997: She Sends Me - 550 Music
- Promotional release for radio stations to support the band on the 1997 Furthur Festival tour. Out of print. 10,000 made. The
"flip side" of the single is the meat. single.
- 1998: Stranger Than Fiction - 550 Music
- 2000: New York City - Fatboy Records
- Promotional release for radio stations to support Dither. Out of print.
- 2001: Tambourine - Fatboy Records
- Promotional release for radio stations to support Dither. Out of print.
Self-releases:
- 1991: Codename: Weasleshark a 4-track independent release
- 1991: Spine Of A Dog a 4-track independent cassette release.
- 1991: Real Live, Nearly Free an independent cassette release.
Audio
See also
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Articles
- Taking chances is part of moe. by Will Stewart of the Ann
Arbor News, January 29, 2006
- It's moe. with a period, but don't let that stop you by Daniel Durchholz of the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, February 2, 2006.
- moe.'s Voyage To The Bottom of
Sound by Jack Krolick of Jambase.com, February 3, 2006.
- moe. & Bisco Storm the
Windy City by Brian Heisler of Jambase.com, February 16, 2006.
- Q&A with Al Schnier of moe. by Taylor Hill of thecornernews.com, February 15,
2006.
- Caught in a Jam by
Clayton Collins of The Christian Science Monitor, September 9, 2005.
- Taking on
Topper by Jambands.com & fans, November 11, 2005.
- Glide's 3rd Annual Best of
2005: From The Artists Perspective by Rob Derhak, Glide Magazine.com, December 20, 2005.
- moe. to Host Autism
Benefit by the band, moe.org, December 29, 2005.
- Mighty, Mighty moe. Plays Asheville Shows by Jedd Ferris of Citizen-Times, December 23, 2005.
- Genres Unlimited by Marc Shapiro of Diamondbackonline.com, July 14, 2005.
- moe. at Lakewood Theater, Matt Weitz, Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News, February
24, 2006.
- Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey
Interview with Brian D. Holland, for Modern Guitars Magazine, May 16, 2007.
References
- ^ Q&A with Al Schnier of moe..
- ^ a b moe.links' Band history at moe.links.com.
- ^ moe. Raises $35,000.
- ^ moe. to Host Autism Benefit.
- ^ Al
Schnier's blog entry for April 12th, 2006.
- ^ snoe.down 2 Official Information.
- ^ Chuck Garvey comments on snoe.down II..
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