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Moe.
Biography
Rising from the dingy college bars of upstate New York, moe. carved a niche for itself with a distinct blend of Americana, melodic turns, clever songwriting, and jam band ethics. The bandmates were born and raised in the industrial town of Utica, but it took matriculation at the University of Buffalo for moe. to finally coalesce. Founded in 1990 by bassist/vocalist Rob Derhak, guitarist/vocalist Chuck Garvey, and original drummer Ray Schwartz, the band toured the University's party circuit under the name Five Guys Named Moe with several rotating members. Although they covered both contemporary pop and classic rock songs in concert, the group also recorded two demo tapes of original material -- Codename: Weaselshark and Spine of a Dog -- in 1991. Guitarist Al Schnier was added that same year.

While playing Buffalo bars like Broadway Joe's, they refined their cartoonishly offbeat sound, a slaphappy mix of Primus-like dementia and focused rhythms. By the time Fatboy was released in 1992), improvisation had begun to creep into the band's sets. Schwartz was soon replaced by Jim Loughlin. As Schnier began to develop his trademark psychedelic oscillating guitar sound, the quartet recorded HeadSeed in Buffalo and migrated east to Albany, which served as their homebase for the next three years.
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