Moe (band)

History

The origin of the band goes back as far as October 1989, when Chuck Garvey, Rob Derhak, and Ray Schwartz got together to play a Halloween show at a friend's 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, New York. 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 band's 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 its name. Schnier joined the band full-time in early 1992 and in the spring, Kessler left due to a lack of interest.

In June 1992, 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."

In the spring of 1994, the band recorded Headseed, officially quitting their day jobs, and all moved to Albany, New York. Loughlin left the band in June 1995 to pursue a band named Yolk, from Binghamton, New York. 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 from late 1995 through November 1996. That same month, Vinnie Amico started playing for the band on drums and has continued in that position since. In 1998 the band really hit their stride as a four-piece. In early 1999, Loughlin returned to the lineup on percussion, vibraphone, xylophone, 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.

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 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 $155,000. 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, New York. 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 2005 and January 2006. Al Schnier said about the Kelberman Center:

On April 11, 2006, the band donated $38,000 to the Kelberman Center as part of The Face of Autism telethon.

On January 22, 2010, moe. held another benefit concert at Roseland Ballroom in New York, raising funds for WHY (World Hunger Year). This show was also their first of 2010, and of the tour. Guests included Danny Barnes (banjo), Marco Benevento (keyboards), Jeff Austin (mandolin), Butch Trucks (drums), and David Sanborn (saxophone).

moe.lennium

moe. rang in the new millennium with three nights at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York, December 29–31, 1999.

moe.down

moe. hosts the annual festival "moe.down" at Snow Ridge Ski Area in Turin, New York. Started in 2000, the 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 Perry Farrell. Each year, the amount of moe.down attendees has steadily increased: moe.down I drew around 3,000 people while moe.down VI in 2005 had close to 7,000, and 12,000 at moe.down 9.

After ten years in Turin, moe.down moved to the Gelston Castle Estate in Mohawk, New York for two years. In 2012 the event moved back to Turin, with the dates changing to August 10–12. On January 19, 2015, moe. announced that after 15 years moe.down would be postponed indefinitely.

In 2017, the band announced the return of moe.down, paired down into a less-bloated, "return to roots" format.

snoe.down

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, and at nearby Whiteface. During the concerts (though not during moe.'s sets) fans had the option of ice skating while listening to the show. Bands included Soulive, Everyone Orchestra, Assembly of Dust, and Tea Leaf Green. Chuck said about snoe.down II:

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 1980s 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!!

Summer Camp Music Festival

The first Summer Camp Music Festival was held in 2001 at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois. About 1,000 attended that year, and enjoyed over 20 bands on 2 stages over the course of 2 days. Since then, the festival has grown to more than 15,000 attendees, hosting more than 100 bands on 7 stages over 3 days. Almost tripling the population of Chillicothe for the weekend, Summer Camp creates a city within a city, and greatly impacts the local business economy. Past performers include moe., Umphrey’s McGee, The Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson, Bassnectar, Widespread Panic, Les Claypool, Keller Williams, Pretty Lights, Skrillex, The Roots, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Family Groove Company.

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, the Norwegian Sun visited Jamaica, The Cayman Islands, Costa Maya, and Cozumel before returning 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 Lounge were acoustic sets featuring questions and answer sessions 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 the Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas).

Other festivals

moe. has also played at a number of established festivals, including;

They received a Jammy for their Bonnaroo performance on June 23, 2002.

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Promotional releases

Limited edition releases

Video and DVD releases

Current members

Former members

Audio