moe. is celebrating an impressive 35 years in the biz. They’re coming to the Flynn in Burlington on April 19; tickets are still on sale. This is their first time back there in 20 years.
They’ll be performing some of their greatest hits and songs from their new album, Circle of Giants, which was released in January.
moe. debuted in the mid-90s, in the wake of the Grateful Dead. They’ve stayed strong in the ever-changing jam scene. In the past five years, they’ve shown resiliency with bass player Rob Derhak’s recovery from cancer, the pandemic, co-founder and other guitarist Chuck Garvey’s remarkable recovery from a life-altering stroke, and then, sadly, last May, Derhak lost one of his son’s Eddie, to suicide. Many bands paid them a tribute. Dogs in a Pile covered one of their songs. Andy Frasco and the U.N. began their set at Northlands with moe.’s “Happy Hour Hero.” Frasco stepped in at Northlands when moe. had to step down.
“That was awesome to see, but you can imagine that was so hard for us,” said moe. guitarist Al Schnier. “That really rocked our worlds. It’s still hard to conceive of. You can’t go around it; you have to go through it. It’s not something you get over; we just have to learn to live with it. That
weekend there was all this stuff coming from the stage, from all of our peers. It was awesome, and to get that love back goes a long way.”
In conversation, Schnier discussed many things, including his love of the Buffalo Bills and skiing. Schnier and his wife bought a place in Stowe a few years ago.
“I love the town, love the mountain, and the skiing is some of the best in the Northeast. I skied a ton. This winter has been a banner year; it’s been spectacular. The people are great; we’ve met so many awesome people in town,” said Schnier.
This year, Schnier was a ski patrol volunteer at Stowe, the birthplace of Ski Patrol.
“I’ve been patrolling for about 10 years now, but first there. It’s a little different from the Mom and Pop places in the Adirondacks, where I learned to patrol and came up doing it. Stowe is legit patrolling. It’s busy, and there’s a lot of incidents. There’s so much history. It’s a legendary
ski patrol, and it’s cool to be a part of it,” said Schnier.
Looking back at moe.’s impressive 35-year span, Schnier felt fortunate for the longevity.
“It’s crazy; we never planned for this to be a career. We started playing music together because it was something we enjoyed doing. We got together and did it all the time. I equate it to being in a bowling league with your buddies. We never thought we’d be professional bowlers. We just bowled because it’s what we liked to do in our free time, or like skiing, you did it in your free time. You didn’t think you’d compete or be on the U.S. Ski Team. Then that career happened. We went from playing house parties to playing bars, and we were doing really well and started traveling around. It started encroaching on our lives, and we thought maybe we should do this. Taking that leap of faith when you’re 25 years old, to forgo everything to quote, unquote, make it your career, and to count on it for your income, your future, and all that is a little bit scary, but also the best time of your life to do something like that. We bought a van, moved into a house together, and started playing 300 shows a year. Here we are 35 years later, and it’s awesome. These guys are like my brothers. We’ve been through so much shit together, good, bad, and otherwise. Our kids all grew up together, and we still really enjoy what we do. We have a great time on the road with each other. I can sit up with these guys at 2 a.m., enjoying a nightcap and laughing till it hurts.”
The band’s enjoyment is evident on their faces when they play. And they’ve passed that joy and their musical genes down to their kids. Schnier’s son Ben is a multi-instrumentalist and plays in several bands in Burlington, with his main band being “Blueberry Betty.” Derhak’s daughter Emma is also pursuing music with a band in Portland, NH.
“She’s sat in with us a bunch of times,” said Schnier. “She’s a great singer.”
To say Schnier loves all of this is an understatement.
“Our music brings so many people together, and it does some good in the world. It’s something positive, and we’re just bringing people together. Our fans are forming bonds with one another, creating families, falling in love, and getting married. Long after the band goes away, and nobody gives a shit about us anymore, those things will carry on, and that’s the most amazing thing.”
This tour has moe. going back to their roots, playing many places they played years ago. Schnier said moe. plans to dig into the archives of songs they played years ago.
“We figured why not? You only get one 35th Anniversary.”
