On Thursday, February 27, 2025, Buffalo, NY based band, moe. will perform at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. Then on Friday, February 28 and again on Saturday, March 1, moe. will head to Philadelphia, PA to perform two nights at Brooklyn Bowl. These shows are part of their winter tour celebrating the release of their new album, "Circle of Giants". I was able to speak with Al Schnier from moe. in anticipation of these shows.
Hi Al, how are you today?
Great!
Al, how would you describe moe. to someone not very familiar with the band?
Moe. is an improvisational rock band. We’ve been doing this for 35 years. We are lucky enough that our fans like short rock songs as well as epic jams. We’ve been able to exist in both spaces our entire career. It’s what we do.
What is your role in moe.?
I am one of two guitar players, one of several vocalists, one of the primary songwriters in the band, and one of six musicians.
You mentioned two guitars, the other guitarist being Chuck Garvey, can you discuss the dynamic that you and Chuck share in these roles?
It’s interesting, Chuck and I coexist as lead guitarists and tend to compliment each other in a really collaborative way. I don’t know if it was nature or nurture that allows us to exist in that space cooperatively, but it’s kind of perfect. He plays his way that I would never think of, I would never approach it that way. He puts together all these beautiful phrases and it’s never the thing that I would necessarily choose to do and it’s perfect in that regard because I will do all the things that he would not necessarily do. But we also find ways where we can come together and do it at the same time. It’s great! We have a very good working relationship.
How do you two divvy up the responsibilities such as lead guitar versus rhythm guitar?
It’s always been very fair and balanced, sometimes it’s just a matter of preference. Sometimes it will come down to whoever the chief songwriter is, they may have a preference, sometimes it comes down to Chuck and I decide which one of us may want to do something. It’s all so collaborative, it’s very easy.
Describe your process as a songwriter?
I’ve been writing songs for most of my life, and it always feels a little bit different, the process has evolved. The wonderful thing about our band is that I can bring in a song that is completely finished, all parts are done with, it’s fully arranged etc, I can send out a recording to everybody and we learn it, it’s up and running and we are good to go. Or it can be as simple as showing them an idea and talking about the concept I have for it and then everyone comes to the table, and we build it from the ground up together. It’s really sort of everything in between. The great thing is that everybody in the band is very creative, super talented, and always has something to bring to the table. That really is one of our greatest strengths and no matter what I do as a songwriter the songs always come out better after I put them in everyone else’s hands.
Who are the primary songwriters for moe.?
Rob Derhak (bassist) and I historically have written most of the songs, but everybody has contributed. These days, everybody has become a lot more involved. Jim Loughlin (percussionist) has become a very prolific songwriter in recent years. Our recent addition to the band Nate Wilson (keys), he is another strong writer. So, it’s great, there’s no shortage of talent or creativity when it comes to songwriting.
What is your favorite song you have written?
Actually, one of our new songs that is on our current release “Circle of Giants”, a song I wrote called “Band in the Sky”. It’s one of my favorites, it’s hard to have a favorite (laughs), but there’s something about the simplicity of that song and the way it turned out that I’m very happy with.
Speaking of “Circle of Giants”, I’ve noticed listening to it that it has a distinct 70’s classic rock sound and vibe. Am I hearing that correctly and where does that influence come from?
It’s what we all grew up on, it’s a big influence on all of us, we all grew up listening to that classic rock and it’s still very much a part of what we do. This record, we just treat it a little differently in terms of the production particularly with the vocals and the drum sounds. We wanted to have something that’s like a rich character. Part of it is being intentional in that regard and having that conversation. The other aspect that went into it was the engineer on the project, Ben Collette, who is the owner of Tank Recording in Burlington, VT who also worked on our last record was completely on board with it and helped us to define that sound.
It's great, it’s very Smoke on the Water. I think a big part of it is that the album was “creatively invigorated” by the addition of Nate on keys. What were some of his specific contributions to the album?
Oh yeah! His keyboard playing, first and foremost, is phenomenal. His vocals too have really elevated the entire sound of moe. Those two things, in combination alter and elevate our sound in a way that I did not anticipate but also felt really organic. A natural evolution from where we already were. He has been a great addition to the band.
Did he write any of the songs on the album?
Yes, he got three songs on the record. “In Stride”, “Yellow Tigers”, and “Giants”.
I also love that he plays the flute, the “Bat Country” introduction stands out. Can you talk about his overall contributions to the band since he joined?
His musicianship is the thing, there’s a quality to his musicianship that has been a great addition to our group. He is a great player and a great person to collaborate with. It lifts us in a way that has made all of us better players. In addition to that, he is a really good guy, nice guy to be on the road with and good person to hang out with. We’ve known him forever but now for him to be a part of this is just fantastic.
How has his addition affected your approach, things like pocket formation, deciding what notes each member is playing?
Adding the keyboards to be a full-time addition to our band, now you’re adding this range, a very large spectrum of instrumentation into the space where it’s not just Chuck and I occupying but Jim as well with all the mallet stuff he was doing. So now we’ve got four of us occupying that same range in terms of the harmonic spectrum (laughs), where those notes live. We kind of play the same range and notes so we must find a way not to clutter it and make space for one another, compliment one another and it actually ended up being easier than I thought it would be. I was worried that it would become too dense, too much somehow. But it has actually given us more freedom to play less, to just step back and the music has matured because of this in a really cool way.
I feel like Nate is playing notes that have always been there but haven’t been heard yet.
(Laughs) I like that.
On Nate’s keyboard rig, he has a painting of a wizard, does the wizard have a name?
I don’t know, that is a really good question…
Looking at the wizard, it really ties into the 70’s classic rock vibe. It reminds me of the classic 70’s van.
100%...
Does the wizard have any influence that 70’s vibe you guys are going for?
100%, that is a van wizard all day long.
What are the differences for you performing live compared to recording in the studio?
That’s a really good question; the difference is when we are playing live the focus is on that shared experience in the room. The combination of what we are performing on stage, but also what everyone else is experiencing in the room in the moment. It’s very transient and a very visceral experience. The difference with a recording is you are kind of making that forever version of that thing, but it can also be a very intimate thing because you could be making it for one person and not for multiple people all at once. Ultimately, we want lots of people to hear it but it’s for a listener. For their experience to go through the life cycle of that song. There is a lot resting on that recording put down in time to leave there versus the one we are putting out on stage which is there just for the moment.
Moe. has been touring for over 30 years and averages 100 shows per year. How do you and the band maintain the energy for this?
That’s a really good question too, part of it is knowing when to put our foot on the gas and when to not. We’ve gotten really good at touring. We have so much experience with it, and we know when building our tours what works and what doesn’t. We want to set ourselves up for the most optimal runs, the best situations etc. The other part of it is we have the greatest team on the road. I love our crew so much and they do such a good job of giving us the opportunity to do that show night after night. Without them, we could not do this.
Rooted in improvisation, how do you and moe. bring something fresh to the stage each night?
Ideally you come into it with your presence and listening. It’s so easy to fall away from that and that is usually all that is takes. Just to be present and listen.
How has the recent “Circles of Giants” tour been going? Are there any tour highlights for you so far?
So far it has been great. The turnouts have been outstanding, the playing has been very good. The highlight for me is that we go back to some of these places where we haven’t seen our friends in a year or more and we are getting to see them all again, which I love. That’s one of my favorite things in the world to do.
Can you talk about the influence of the light show? Your light guy is relatively new, how does that influence what moe. does on stage?
It’s so cool. I was literally having this conversation with him (Cy Lagrassa) last night. How it makes such a difference because he is a musician, and he is musical in his approach to the lights, so it is a visual component to the sonic one we are already putting out. If you are not paying attention to it, you may not know, but it elevates the sonic portion of it so much because of the timing. Because of the choices he is making, stick the landing and the lights just punch up everything up a little bit more. It just makes the show, in terms of your sensory experience, much richer. Cy is so thoughtful about every song, every choice, everything that goes into it. He is very passionate about the work that he does, and he is very good at executing it. Again, a wonderful person to have on the road with us.
At the end of each show, you are known for your thank you announcements to the fans, things like show attendance celebrations, happy birthday announcements, etc. Where did that tradition come from?
I stole it from “Prairie Home Companion”, I thought it was so cool that they did that, that they recognized anniversaries and birthdays of the audience members. I was fortunate enough to go see that live years ago and I suggested that we bring that to the band. There was a little push back at first, but how cool would it be to have that thing, to have your favorite band recognize your birthday. I feel like it’s the least we can do to acknowledge our fans and the fact that we would not be here if it were not for them. I’m happy to do that.
Why is that important to you?
It’s important to me because our shows are a shared experience and that’s just another way for us to all connect between the stage and the floor.
With all the accomplishments of moe. thus far, what is next? What hasn’t the band done and where would you like to see moe. in ten years?
Some of the things we have been talking about are touring because we always want to improve the model, we always want to make it better. We try to find that sweet spot, not just for us, but for our fans. So, part of the question is to figure out what works best for all of us, so we get to continue doing this. We don’t have any plans to stop or to slow down, but we always want to improve the experience for everybody. We still need to get to Alaska and Hawaii (laughs), those are the two states we’ve never been to. That’s definitely on our radar. We’ve talked about going back to Japan which is some place we used to tour regularly. We want to go to Europe and to do some more destination type events. Those are all the things that are in the foreseeable future for us.
Since it is again Super Bowl time, I want to ask about your 2014 composition for the Puppy Bowl. How did you get that gig, and will you ever be writing for the Puppy Bowl again?
Oh my gosh, I would love to, that was a great experience! I was fortunate enough to get the job because someone involved in production was a moe. fan who knew it would be something I would be interested in doing it. That was super fun, and I’d love to do it again.
What was your process like?
Some of it was just listening to the fight songs, there are a lot that are out there. In recent years I’ve become a big college football fan, so I’m listening to the marching bands who play this stuff. The highlight of that whole thing was the half-time show. There was a Bruno Mars song that I had to recreate for the show. They had “Keyboard Cat” officially perform for the half-time show (laughs), the challenge to recreate a Bruno Mars song is probably one of the most difficult things you can put in the hands of anybody who is doing a recording. To get it to that point where it sounds good enough or passable enough to sound like a Bruno Mars production took a lot of work. When I submitted this thing to them, this instrumental version of this song, the producers came back, “okay this is great, except it’s too good, it needs to sound more like a cat is playing poorly with its paws, not like Bruno Mars’ band.” I resubmitted it again, and they were like, “no you need to make it worse somehow.”
Time to play it with mittens on…
Something like that, I literally had to keep going back and dumbing it down and making the key portion of it sound like I was playing with paws.
What is special about returning to the east coast at the end of month to perform in NJ and Philadelphia, PA?
We have so many fans in that tri-state area and the energy is always, always a little bit elevated when we come to these areas which I love. I always look forward to it!
Is there anything you would like to say to the fans coming out to these shows and for the rest of your winter tour?
Thank you, we are so grateful for the ongoing support we have had from our fanbase for 35 years, with many of our fans being there for the better part of that. We are forever grateful for that, and we look forward to the next 35.
Moe. consists of Al, Rob, Chuck, Jim, Nate, and Vinnie Amico (drums). More information about their recent release, “Circle of Giants” is available on moe.org along with information about 2025 winter tour dates.
ALL PHOTOS BY CHRIS PAUL
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