In the world of jam bands, few names resonate as strongly as moe. With their signature blend of improvisation, intricate musicianship, and high-energy live performances, the band has been a staple in the scene for over three decades. At the heart of moe.’s rhythm section is Vinnie Amico, the drummer whose beats have helped propel the band’s distinctive sound.
A local to New York’s Capital Region, Amico has not only shaped moe.’s sound but also left a lasting impact on the area’s vibrant music community. In this interview, Vinnie and I discuss his musical journey, his experiences with moe., his connection to the fans, the new record Circle of Giants, and so much more. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the world of jam bands, there’s no better time to get to know the man behind the drum kit.
Vinnie: Hello, Pat?
Pat: Hey Vinnie, How’s it going man? How are you? I Appreciate you taking the time to talk today before your show tonight. You guys are in L.A. today, right?
VA: Yes, sir. Los Angeles.
PR: How is it out there right now, considering the tragedy of the wildfires. How is the air quality currently?
VA: Well, we are in downtown L.A. and we rolled into town in the middle of the night. Air quality seems ok, we can breathe. It’s a tragic thing man. What a mess. It’s unfortunate and it just seems like everyone, everywhere is getting hit with something. The fires in Los Angeles. Hurricanes down in the south.
PR: Yeah, the amount of tragic events happening all over. I was actually severely affected by hurricane Helene in Asheville, NC. That’s how my recent relocating to the Albany area happened.
VA: Oh, my god. Are you ok? I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine having to recover and start again from something like that.
PR: I appreciate that, thanks. Yeah, I’m ok. I’m not the only one. There are so many people down there in NC that are still in such desperate need, months after Helene. It’s going to be similar in California, with the wildfires. I am working on rebuilding my life, but the important thing is that I’m still here. That’s what is first and foremost, in the scale of what is important. Stuff, it can be replaced. A life can’t.
VA: True. Lives can’t be replaced.
PR: Generally when I do a band interview, I like to start off by doing a little word association, so readers will get a sense of who the person is behind the music. I’m going to call out some moe. songs or covers you guys do. Rattle off whatever emotion, thoughts, stories, whatever is the first thing that pops into your head.
VA: Wow, umm that is gonna be tough! My brain has never had to function that way. I will do my best (laughs).
PR: Ready?(laughs)
VA: Let’s go!
PR: Puebla
VA: Great song, great jam
PR: Ups and Downs
VA: Life. Love to play that one.
PR: Cover song, Godzilla.
VA: Buildings falling, King of the Monsters
PR: Plane Crash
VA: Tragic event. Fear.
PR: Cover song, Team America.
VA: (laughs) Oh God, Asbury Park, NJ.
PR: I was trying to bait you into finishing the chorus by saying “Fuck Yeah” (both laugh).
VA: Well played. You know, we played it, you already know that. The Mayor of Asbury Park, Haha, was on the 4th of July at the Stone Pony on their summer stage. The reactions (laughs), so as soon as you say Team America, immediately my mind goes there. Again, the mayor was like uh…yeah (laughs) but, yeah we played it haha.
PR: Speaking of Mayors, you are like the Mayor of interviews. You’ve done so many interviews and you’ve rehashed your joining the band tons of times, but before getting too far in, I do want to summarize to lend a little bit of perspective without spending all of our time discussing the Vinnie Amico / moe. origin story.
VA: That is perfect, thank you for that (laughs).
PR: Please correct, interject and fact check me along the way here.
VA: Will do.
PR: You father, Sal Amico was a Bebop/Jazz trumpet player. You were surrounded by music from a seriously young age. Is it safe to say that music is in your DNA?
VA: Absolutely.
PR: How am I doing so far?
VA: Great.
PR: Then somewhere around 10 years old you get your first drum kit and you are completely self taught?
VA: Yeah, I mean pretty much with the exception of 2 years in grade school where I took lessons. But that was it. Beyond that, I taught myself and trained my ear.
PR: Ok, perfect. What better way to keep me in line and make sure the facts are the facts, than doing it with the guy this history is about, huh? Let’s fast forward a little bit. You are familiar with moe. and some of the guys in the band. They know of you and etc. Basically, you are both on each other’s radars. You were offered a spot with them earlier on in the band, but due to timing, a baby on the way and financial stability, you turned it down?
VA: Yeah, My wife was pregnant and it just wasn’t something I could do at the time. Then when I finally did join, she was the biggest supporter and encouraged me to go for it. moe. had signed a record deal at that point, there was some money where it was a little less of a worry. She pretty much said this could be the last opportunity to really go for it and do what you love.
PR: At that point, it was Nov. of ‘96 you took on that first gig, in Washington DC, i believe?
VA: Yup. It was actually supposed to be New Year’s, but they couldn’t really deal with the other drummer any longer, so DC it was and the rest is history.
PR: Indeed. Now that we have gotten some context, what an incredible life it is that you have carved out for yourself. You get to do what you love, which is a goal so many have. It’s the childhood dream that so many have, to be a rockstar. Beyond that though, do you ever just stop to think and realize that more comes with that territory? I mean you are also a therapist of sorts to your fans and an escape room for their realities. How is it knowing that something like the music you have created has changed lives on that kind of level?
VA: It blows my mind everyday and we are kind of seeing it more and more now. I guess we have always kind of seen it during the length of our whole career, but more so now. You see and hear people that we have put together, like matchmakers, we have been told that we have healed people, saved people or whatever the case may be, it is so crazy to us to know the impact that our music has had and that it still has. It’s so prevalent and relevant now too because we are doing these shows and we’re on the road. We are doing these VIP things now and talking to people and taking questions and we hear these types of stories everyday. How we have saved this person, how this person met their wife and how they have families now because of us. It’s surreal.
PR: I can only imagine. That has got to be really moving.
VA: Also you know we are in this shitty political environment or like we talked about earlier with the fires out here or the hurricanes from last year. People want to talk about it or go to a show to forget about it for a few hours. It’s incredible to know that somehow we can make some kind of a difference in that for them.
PR: Wait, hold on for a minute, we are in a shitty political environment right now (sarcastically, both of us laugh for a couple moments)?
VA: That is where the beauty is in music, Pat. We can feed a positive energy to them through our music. They are feeding it back to us. It’s all in the listening and responding and that need for an escape is just so in the forefront of what we all seem to be dealing with these days.
PR: Right before you guys hit the road for this tour, I caught you at Lark Hall in downtown Albany, for the “Old TP’s (Tom Pirozzi) Birthday Bash. You sat in on Raisinhead’s set. It was quite the party and quite the night!
VA: That’s awesome, that you were there. Tom is a great musician and an even better guy.
PR: I covered it for NYS Music. I had some pretty great shots of you on stage with them, on the kit and the crazy reflections off of the mirror ball. Then less than a week later, on Jan 17th and 18th moe. is playing a couple of album release shows at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. I was there for night one on the 17th.
VA: Yeah, I love Bearsville.
PR: For anyone who hasn’t been there before, it’s a small room compared to a lot of places you play, an intimate feel there. Essentially, it’s pretty much a hometown gig when you play there. How much does that change the dynamic of a show? In the sense that it’s home, it is an intimate room and it is just down right personal.
VA: Oh, man it is so great. I mean I can see everyone’s faces, from behind the drums!
PR: It’s around 400 people max capacity?
VA: Actually, I think it is 500 people. It’s very comfortable for us. We know everyone there in the crowd, well probably about ¾ of everyone there.
PR: Comfortable for you guys maybe. I don’t think I would be comfortable in front of even a few hundred. I’d have a panic attack or be self-conscious about screwing something up in front of that many people. It’s a skill in its own right just having the ability to be in public view like that. But putting my irrational fears aside, it was all about being at home and playing for the home team and releasing a new album, right? Especially when it is for people that have followed you for decades. Is there a different sense of gratitude?
VA: Yeah, we are putting out a new album, Circle of Giants and it’s great just to be in front of people there and to be playing some new music for them. Friends, fans and family type of thing.
PR: Speaking of the new album and getting more into that, I heard the story behind the title, Circle of Giants. How it came to Rob in a dream, right? There is an emotional weight and connection to the record’s title and his son. How did stepping into the studio feel this time, compared to when moe. recorded previous times?
VA: Well, we had done I wanna say close to 8 songs before all that happened. We were on like the tail end of recording everything, when that went down. So we just went into the studio, did the work, where there was a great workflow. You know everything was great. We were really cruising along great. We had worked with Ben and that studio before. The recording process was going great cruising and then that happened and then we decided to stop for a bit. We all were like oh, shit and needed to step back. I think Ben, our producer, kept working on the album, so it was still kinda moving forward. Then, you know a little bit of air had gotten between the tragedy and Rob wanted, well first Nate (Nate Wilson, the newest addition to the band) had this song called “Giants” and we are going to be putting this album out, called Circle of Giants. It would be cool to have that song on there.
PR: Ok, so Nate aided a little bit in getting the recording moving again?
VA: Yeah, so we reconvened at Rob’s house. He has this beautiful barn and we set up in there, not knowing how it would sound or anything like that and recorded 3 or 4 more songs and it became a part of the healing process. I don’t know, maybe it was meant to be a part of the process for healing, so we recorded the additional songs and that part of it was very cathartic.
PR: Yeah, I’m sure it was. Now you guys, meaning the entire moe. Family has navigated some pretty rough situations over the course of the last few years. Thinking about it, between The tragedy with Rob’s son, Rob had cancer, Chuck had a stroke and then the after effects of coming out of a pandemic with Covid. In light of all of the heartaches, health scares and whatever other traumas life likes to throw at people, you guys for lack of a better phrase, soldier on.
VA: Yeah, with some of those things you didn’t know at the time if it could have been the end or at least a catalyst towards the end.
PR: Which brings me to my next thought, on how songwriting is very introspective and can be deeply personal. Throughout your career are there any songs that as a band you have been hesitant to release or even play live because the subject matter is just too much?
VA: Well some of that stuff has or had happened to be released in the songs and then you kind of come back to it and you’re like oh, shit and so some other things will be shelved, due to interpersonal situations or things that are just happening in the world. Like we talked about the song “Plane Crash” earlier. We’re touring now and it is definitely a classic and a staple to our sets. As you’ve seen there have been a couple of tragic plane crashes in the last couple of weeks. It’s just too heavy to play right now. Also after the tragedy we experienced at our New Year’s Eve show last year, you know we have a song that has words about somebody getting hit by a car and we can’t bring ourselves to play that one again because that actually occurred after a show. It’s hard and so we try to stay self aware in those situations with songs and setlists etc.
PR: I can only imagine. Keeping on song titles and backtracking just a little bit, you mentioned earlier the song “Giants”, which to me is a little bit Pink Floyd adjacent. Then there is “Yellow Tigers” that runs in a Led Zeppelin vein. There has always been that classic rock type feel to a lot of your songs. I have got to say that “Bat Country” has a Santana feel. It is by far, my favorite track on the record. It’s crazy. Everyone who listens to jam bands and even the bands themselves talk about how you can’t catch that live lightning in a bottle from a jam band and trap it on a recording. If it has ever happened, it is on “Bat Country”. You, Nate and Jim just kind of freaking go off! It is incredible. Then the guitar work, my god.
VA: (Laughs) Thank you. It’s funny because it is definitely my favorite as well and yeah there is definitely a Santana influence and vibe to it. Santana is one of my favorite bands and so I enjoy the song very much and I enjoy playing it very much. I mean the whole album is so good, in my opinion. There isn’t a song on it that I don’t want to play live or that I don’t like to listen to. Then there are some songs that I didn’t expect to enjoy so much, like “Living Again”. We have really honed it in and it’s a blast to play it live. “Band in the Sky” is another one. It really is a simple song and so you can really dig into it well and move on it, as far as a jam and expanding it.
PR: With jamming and expanding the music, bands like you guys and I suppose bands in general, success comes down to confidence and trust within the band. For the fans, a live show is almost a sanctuary and a safe space to completely let go. It’s an important dynamic when it all comes together between the energy and the music. With that kind of laid out, what is more crucial in those jam moments? Is it focusing more on the beats and notes that you play or is it the ones you don’t play, by giving it the breathing room and space for the jam to grow?
VA: You know, it’s almost like you are feeling communication without talking. You start a song and then that song starts to really feel good and then the band is communicating and the shit just happens on its own without really thinking about it. There are lots of times where it doesn’t happen and it feels bad. Then you overthink it and you start trying way too hard and you focus on the notes and that stuff way too much. When it feels good and everybody in the band is listening and all ears are open, that is when it really happens.
PR: Wow. there you have it (laughs). That’s the blueprint and that comes with time and it is what makes for a great show. Can we talk about great shows for a few minutes?
VA: Definitely.
PR: What were some impactful shows for you either as a fan or playing in moe.?
VA: Man, I have a lot of them. There are so many. Like you know early on I remember seeing the Grateful Dead a bunch of times. It was in 1986, at Rich Stadium, where the Bills played. It was my first stadium show, in fact. I don’t think it was the best Dead show ever for me, but it was the vibe and just being there and all the people and the LSD (laughs). It was just such a good experience. Then I saw the Dead again, I think it was like in 1989. They were so freaking good. I mean it was amazing. Oh, or the first time I saw the Allman Brothers. It was when they were just getting back into it with Warren (Haynes). That show was also in ‘89, I think and it just rocked my socks off! There are just so many I can go on and on about.
PR: Yeah, me too. I have had so many incredible experiences. You left out and didn’t bring up any moe. shows, so I am going to do that for you and unfortunately I wasn’t at this show, but I’ve been told the stories. I guess it was within your first year in the band, in Santa Barbara, CA. I’m told that you guys were partially into the first set, the power goes out. It doesn’t end the show though. It turns into an acoustic performance, in the dark and you used a cardboard box for a drumkit.
VA: (laughs) Oh, my God, yeah. It was either Santa Barbara or Sacramento. It may have been Santa Barbara. Either way, that happened. It was an interesting time for sure. We definitely made the best of it. It’s a situation of making lemonade when life gives you a lemon type of thing.
PR: I wish I was there for that one. I really do. What prompted you to be like, I am going to find something, anything to drum on and then you come back with a cardboard box? That is bananas (laughs). That’s dedication Vinnie.
VA: I mean the thing is that the power goes down and it isn’t coming back. It’s not happening and there is a whole bunch of people and it’s our first fucking play in CA., we should probably make something happen. We just all went down on the floor and sat around with everyone and we had a flashlight or whatever on us.
PR: Oh my God.
VA: Yeah, we just played.
PR: That is definitely something pretty special and it just shows how much you care about your fans and putting on a show man.
VA: I can not believe you brought that up. I mean I had actually forgotten about that show until you mentioned it. Yeah, that was a cool, but weird kinda situation that turned out to be a fun thing. You really look into stuff (laughs)
PR: Yeah, I do that, like how I was looking at your Instagram feed. Kind of snooping around (both laughing) checking out your pics. Care to give me context on a few of them?
VA: (laughing) Of the cats?
PR: Yeah, the cats. I’m looking at this shot right now, as we are speaking. It is you and your family, matching red sweaters, it’s Christmas and all you all have a floating cat head above you. (both laughing)
VA: Well my family and I do stuff for Christmas every year. We put some kind of picture together. My daughter was like, hey let’s do this! We all agreed and said yeah that’s a great idea. I’m not sure how the hell to beat it next year because it’s kind of iconic and classic.
PR: Nice. What I really want to know though is what determines who got what cat’s head floating above them? Was it matched by personality or random?
VA: You know, I’m not really sure. I’d have to ask my daughter. She is the one behind it all.
PR: Vinnie Amico Dub Allstars. What is the story?
VA: So you live in the Albany area now, do you know Roger Sharp?
PR: No, I don’t, no.
VA: He has High Peaks Productions, it’s a big production company in the area. Well in August or whatever, he and his wife were opening a weed store, a cannabis store in the area Roger called me and asked if I had a band or something available to play at the grand opening party. I didn’t, but I told him I would put something together and since it was for a weed store, I figured Reggae is fitting. I called up some people I know that are great at that kind of music and I never really get to play Reggae. I called them up and asked them about the gig. It was a one off, where we can get to play some music that we all love. For me in particular I never get to play it, so selfishly I wanted to do it. That is where that came about, it was a great time.
PR: Here’s my last social media inquiry. Vinny’s Kitchen? What happened, where are the new episodes? It has been quite a while since the last one.
VA: We are going to get back to it.
PR: Is that going to be a Summer Camp Music Festival exclusive Vinny’s Kitchen type deal this year?
VA: Do you know Mirth Films or Frankie?
PR: No, I’ve only been in Albany for a few months now, ever since Hurricane Helene and that whole situation down in Asheville.
VA: Frankie and I used to do the kitchen with Paul Citone. The thing about me is I am not tech savvy. I would always have to have someone help me film them and then we would put them out in long form. Paul lives out in Vegas so it kinda became a thing where it was few and far between when we could do it, but Frankie he lives in Albany and has his production company so we are gonna bring it back and start to do more Vinny’s Kitchen once I get a little bit of time off.
PR: Nice. It’s always fun when you can see public figures in a different light. Doing things that you don’t know them for.
VA: It’s a blast, I love doing those. Maybe we film a bunch in a row or something, we’ll see. Then we can put them out on social media and stuff.
PR: Last couple of things, I know you have a show tonight. Then the rest of this tour and some festivals have been announced, but beyond that what else is on deck? Are there any surprises that you would like to leak for the moe.rons or my readers here at NYS Music?
VA: You know, we are still putting things together for the fall. We want to hit markets that we haven’t been to and go back to the ones that we have and really we just want to play the new stuff live and get the album into people’s hands.
PR: It’s the 35th Anniversary for moe. That’s a huge milestone. Working 35 years doing anything is such an accomplishment, so congratulations on that. After 35 years, what is left to accomplish? What does the Vinnie Amico bucket list read like?
VA: Well, it’s not much of a list. I’d like to just keep doing this until I can’t do it anymore and keep it at a level of success to where we can live out our lives comfortably. I want to ride out into that sunset playing music.
PR: That sounds like the perfect ending man. Vinnie, again I appreciate you taking some time to talk today. I’m gonna try and catch you guys again at the end of the month when you get back on the east coast, get another photo pass and shoot another show, perhaps in NJ.
VA: That sounds great, sounds awesome. Yeah, just let me know and I’ll get you on.
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