moe.: Biography

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• Doctor Stan Lobitz

• Rob Derhak
• Al Schnier
• Chuck Garvey

Formed:

Jan 1, 1991 in Buffalo, NY

Genres:

90s Music, Rock Music, Adult Alternative

Decades Active:

1990's|2000's

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

Rising from dingy college bars in upstate New York, Moe carved a niche for themselves with a distinct blend of Americana, playful melodic turns, exceptional songwriting, and diverse arrangements. While their improvisations were never as experimental as some of their contemporaries, they still managed to earn a devoted following through endless touring.

Though all members of the band were born and raised in and around Utica, it took matriculation at the University of Buffalo for Moe to finally coalesce. Founded by bassist/vocalist Rob Derhak and guitarist/vocalist Chuck Garvey along with original drummer Ray Schwartz in 1990, the band played the party circuit under the name Five Guys Named Moe with several rotating members, covering both contemporary pop and classic rock songs and recording two demo tapes, Codename: Weaselshark and Spine of a Dog in 1991. Guitarist Al Schnier was also added in 1991.

At Buffalo bars like

-Broadway Joe's, they refined their cartoonishly offbeat sound, a slaphappy mix of Primus-like dementia and more focused rhythms. By the time of Fatboy (1992), improvisation had begun to creep into the band's sets. Schwartz was soon replaced by Jim Loughlin.

As Schnier began to develop his trademark psychedelic oscillating guitar sound, the quartet recorded HeadSeed in Buffalo just before migrating south to Albany, where they would be based for the next three years. In early 1995, the band began to tour nationally. By mid-July, Loughlin had left to join Yolk and was replaced by Mike Strazza, a meticulously precise player. The band recorded Loaf over a two-night stand at New York's ~Wetlands Preserve. By December, Strazza, too, was gone, replaced by Chris Mazur.

Mazur's playing, infinitely looser than Strazza's, opened the band up to wider improvisation, though it was a step back in terms of musical maturity. In the spring of 1996, the band signed to Sony-550, for whom they recorded No Doy in the summer. For their first single release, they chose a 46-minute cut of "Meat," recorded in the studio over the summer. In November, Mazur was fired, replaced by Vinnie Amico of Buffalo's Sonic Garden.

Following an opening slot on ~the Furthur Tour in summer of 1997 and (surprise) more touring, the band recorded Tin Cans and Car Tires, as they placed increasing importance on the traditional song form. In early 1999, Loughlin rejoined the band as an auxiliary percussionist and the band was dropped from Sony. In the fall, the expanded lineup recorded and released the double-live album L on their own Fatboy Records, showcasing the new textures of the quintet. This was followed in early 2000 with the experimental Dither, co-produced with John Siket.

Three years later, Moe highlighted their studio and live brilliance with the release of Wormwood.

~ Jesse Jarnow, All Music Guide