The band moe., left to right, Jim Loughlin, Nate Wilson, Chuck Garvey, Rob Derhak, Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico. Photo by Jamie Howard.
By John W. Barry
The band moe. two days after Christmas will return to a city in upstate New York for a homecoming performance and banner way to close out the ensemble’s 35th year of making music together as an improvisational collective of inquisitive, creative and funny guys.
Asked about that which lies at the heart of moe.’s endurance, drummer Vinnie Amico fired back with a hilarious quip and a laugh.
“Stupidity,” he said.
“No,” he continued, bringing the conversation back on track. “We really enjoy making music, playing it, playing together, being together, continuing to write good tunes. And at this point, we don’t know how to do anything else anyway, so what else can we do? It’s a little bit of all those things.”
Vinnie said he and his band mates remain close friends after three-and-a-half decades, and that, in ways that really can’t be quantified, shapes the music moe. makes and will continue to make for who knows how many more decades.
“We’re all friends, so once we get off the road for a while and away from each other, when we get back together, we all hang out together and we all do everything together,” he said. “It’s interesting that after all this time, that’s kind of where we’re still at.”
You can see for yourself on Saturday, Dec. 27, how Amico, bass player Rob Derhak, guitarist Al Schnier, guitarist Chuck Garvey, percussionist Jim Loughlin and keyboard player Nate Wilson celebrate their friendship by indulging their passion for making music.
The Palace Theatre in Albany, an anchor of upstate New York’s music scene, will host moe. as they close out a milestone year. Giving the band momentum, as they always do, with purpose, determination, love and gratitude will be moe.’s diehard fans, their fiercely loyal “Famoe.ly,” who can bring as much to a moe. gig as the musicians themselves.
The location of this gig holds special meaning for the guys from moe., whose ties to upstate New York run deep. They formed the band in 1990 at the University of Buffalo. And the City of Albany has recognized moe.’s long history at the Palace with declarations of “moe.day;” and the temporary renaming of North Pearl Street, home to the Palace, to moe.street.
Amico in a special way is looking forward to playing Saturday’s show because, as a Saratoga Springs resident, it’s a hometown gig. And, he said, the Palace is a beautiful venue with a lot to offer the musicians who grace its stage.
“We’ve sold it out many times and we continue to sell well there,” Amico said. “That venue is one of the nicest venues we get to play and one of the greatest gigs we get to do.”
For all of the shows that moe. has played over 35 years, and all the fun the guys have had before and after Wilson signed on to play keyboards, their bonds on stage and off have been strengthened by trials as well as good times.
According to a press release, “The band was just regaining steam after Rob Derhak’s battle with cancer when the pandemic shut everything down. Not long after, co-founder Chuck Garvey suffered a near-fatal stroke. Against the odds, Chuck returned to the stage in full form—and in 2025, the band released ‘Circle of Giants’ on ATO Records, a deeply personal album shaped by recovery, loss, and perseverance.”
Amico spoke with great emotion about all of this.
“We’re like a family, as much as just friends,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot of shit over the last eight years. That’s a pretty strong bond. And the fact that we did that and we work together and we make music and we’re in the trenches, playing night after night, and improvising music night after night, and conversing musically on stage, it all kind of goes together.”
Speaking of the trials faced by the band, Amico said, “In a lot of ways, our relationships have become stronger because of all these things.”
moe., with opening act Eastbound Jesus, plays The Palace Theatre in Albany, NY, on Saturday, Dec. 27. Show time is 7 p.m. Visit palacealbany.org for information and to purchase tickets. Visit moe.org to learn about the band.
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