Still going strong 22 years after its founding, moe. — one of the most popular jam bands of the 1990s — has managed to cultivate a mix of ingredients that keeps fans coming back year after year.
With the release of its new studio album What Happened To The La Las in January and the summer festival season coming up fast, moe. is already deep into its rigorous and seemingly endless touring schedule. On Saturday, moe. will bring its distinct brand of funk, southern rock and dueling guitars to Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore.
Though legendary in the jam band community for its epically long sets and tireless touring schedule, the band has found ways to balance life outside the job.
“We had been touring without a substantial break in 15 years,” guitarist and founding member Chuck Garvey said. “At a certain point you just get burned out, even if you like the job — even if you’re having fun. You basically have to learn how to moderate things, especially since a bunch of the guys have kids.”
Other responsibilities aside, when the band members step out on stage they understand the expectations of the crowd. The band is known for its long-form improvs — which Garvey admits is a part of what keeps the stage show so fresh — but understands the crowd will contain everything from diehard fans to uninitiated newcomers, so the group tries to play songs new, old, rare, long and short to please everyone.
Garvey describes these diverse setlists as just one aspect of what has helped moe. work consistently for so long. Even more important is the band’s easily recognizable sound — as one of two guitarists, Garvey has had to play his part in helping make moe.’s tone dynamic and balanced.
“It has to do with keeping your ears open on a song-by-song basis,” Garvey said. “What [guitarist] Al [Schnier] and I do has developed under the pressure of playing these songs live. With two guitars you have to work around each other to a certain degree. It’s not fighting — you’d probably hear it in the music if everyone was fighting for territory. What we try to do is fill in the gaps and play in a complimentary way.”
Seeking an objective listener that could help guide the band toward a crisper, cleaner sound, moe. brought in a producer to help record the new album, something the group hadn’t done since 1998.
“He pushed us to, saying we could do better with this or that,” Garvey said. “We wanted to get the most out of the songs that we have and wanted someone from outside our bubble to help us do that.”
Garvey portrays moe. as a quirky little democracy where everyone’s opinions count, whether they’re related to the music or to social issues. As a band with such a large following going on tour in an election year, Garvey recognizes moe. is in a place to directly affect people’s decisions, something many other bands tried to do mercilessly four years ago.
“We might not agree on everything, so we don’t want to shove things down people’s throats,” Garvey said. “When it’s all said and done we try to do things by example — we pick charities and events where we can be active, and hopefully people will follow us. I think that’s our role in a time like this. It’s about people being responsible, that’s our message.”
moe. will perform at Ram’s Head Live on Saturday. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25.
berman@umdbk.com
