moe

The moe. frontline from left: Chuck Garvey (guitar), Rob Derhak (bass), Al Schnier (guitar), and Nate Wilson (keyboards). In the mist behind them is Jim Loughlin (percussion) and Vinnie Amico (drums).

Photo by Paul Citone

The two guitarists are known for their sympathetic 6-string interplay. They remain as tight as ever, despite setbacks, as they deliver the buoyant, vibrant Circle of Giants, the long-running jam band’s 14th studio record.

Thirty-five years ago, a group of University of Buffalo students gathered in a basement, drank a lot of beer, and played some tunes. They had no goal other than to have fun and party. But it wasn’t long before they headed into a studio housed in an apartment above local guitar shop Top Shelf Music to record the debut moe. album, Fatboy. Slowly, the band built a devoted fan base, crisscrossing the country in a van. As they persevered, the band and their audience grew up together, and now it’s the fans’ children who are discovering the group.

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The jam-band vets show us their boutique pedals, rad amps, and silver-finished instruments built to commemorate their 25th anniversary.

Al Schnier’s main guitar for the current moe. tour is a silver-finished Les Paul that he commissioned from Gibson Custom to use in place of his ’56 goldtop during the 25th-anniversary dates. It’s essentially an R7 ’57 reissue with Seymour Duncan Antiquities humbuckers—which he also uses in his goldtop. Schnier’s other main guitar is a cherry-finished ’58 Gibson Les Paul Junior that still has a wraparound bridge and its stock “dog-ear” P-90.

Premier Guitar’s Perry Bean met with moe.’s Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey, and Rob Derhak before the band’s March 7, 2015, show at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. Among other things, the jam-band vets showed off their selection of silver-adorned instruments built to commemorate their current tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band.

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Jam-band vets Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier of moe. discuss the art of twin guitars, their lust-inducing gear collections, and how switching up their MOs led to the tonal extravaganza on their new LP, What Happened to the La Las.

Photo by James Paddock

Listen to "Bones of Lazarus" from What Happened to the La Las:

Whether the term “jam band” makes you think fondly of your dresser full of tie-dyed shirts, wool socks, and hacky sacks, or it conjures painful images of endless/aimless improvs at gigs swarming with hordes of tripping hippies, 2012 has brought you a ripping, stereotype-busting new album that’s a master class in the art of dual guitars. Formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1989, veteran jammers moe. just released What Happened to the La Las—a catchy set of 10 rocking tunes that finds guitarists Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey trading foot-stomping riffs, crystalline harmonic arpeggiations, wailing wah- and rotary-speaker-powered leads, bristling slide duels, and warm echo excursions.

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