For more than three and a half decades, moe. has thrived on chemistry, patience, and a genuine love for making music together. In this conversation, guitarist Al Schnier reflects on what it takes to keep a band together for 35 years, from lessons learned early in their career to the family-like bond that defines moe. both on and off the stage. Touching on everything from guitar gear and festival memories to the band’s new album Circle of Giants and their upcoming tour, Schnier offers a thoughtful, candid look at longevity, collaboration, and why moe. continues to evolve while staying true to its roots.
Filip Zalewski – What does it take to play in a band together for 35 years?
Al Schnier – It takes a certain amount of patience and a willingness to want to work with other people. Fortunately, we actually like each other. We work together pretty well so it’s it makes those other two things pretty pretty easy for us.
FZ- I’m sure it helps if you’re spending so much time with these people and working on some collaboratively just liking each other personally definitely helps.
FZ- Looking back at the beginning of your musical journey as moe., is there anything you wish you did differently? What advice can you give to musicians and bands who are just starting.
AS- We did two records with a major record label. We put out two records with Sony and I remember being so, after the fact, sort of so disillusioned about what that process is going to be like. In hindsight that we sort of had a better understanding of what we were getting into and how those relationships, you know could work better. I feel like there was there was a missed opportunity there . Not that we did anything wrong or that Sony necessarily did anything wrong or nefarious it was just never a situation where moe. became a priority and then signing this label became an advantage anyway.
I mean, I would tell them to play all the time, how to work all of the time. One thing that we are kind of mindful of I guess is to be to be easy to work with because you want to get invited back. We have relationship with promoters and bands and other people in this industry that go back almost 35 years at this point and it’s really a thing that is really important to us.
FZ- I think as a community we were all obviously very sad to see the passing of the great Bob Weir. Is there a favorite memory you have with Bob Weir?
AS- Oh God there are there are so many it’s hard to pick one. Honestly I guess one of my favorites goes back to one of the very first times that I got to play with him. We were playing “Truckin'” and he got that deer in the headlights look he sometimes gets and he’s looking up at the lights the ceiling and then he comes over to me. He said, “What’s the next line?” And I said, “You wrote the song!” And I didn’t have it, I was so freaked out. I could sing that song in my sleep all day long but in that moment I couldn’t come up with it. But then then I wrote it down on a piece of gaff tape and I put it on the top of my guitar. I kinda had like the first line of every verse on my guitar for the rest of the tour in case that ever came up.
FZ- As a guitarist, is there a particular brand of guitar you like to play? I often see you playing with a Gibson.
AS- I own a wide variety of guitars you know I’m a big fan of old things like Rickenbacker and Martin. So they’re all kind of unique and they have their own voice.
FZ- Do you have any advice for guitarists?
AS- Same thing I would just say play as much as you can and listen to other musicians.
FZ- Is there any new guitar gear that you’re excited about recently?
AS- I have to think no, I mean there’s nothing new. I have a new old guitar that I’m very excited about that. I’m having some work done on so I’m excited to kind of get that up and running. It’s an old guild, hollow body electric called the aristocrat. It’s a Les Paul-sized guitar, but it has single coil pick ups and it’s fully hollow and they’re really cool guitars and this one from the 1950s. Are you familiar with the company called Circle Strings or Iris guitars? They are the ones restoring my guitar, they also have a shop in Vermont. They are working with Paul Languedoc right now, bringing all of the new Languedocs. They have their own Circle Strings and Iris guitars, really nice handmade instruments just fantastic luthiers. They did some work on and old acoustic of mine, it was a game changer for that guitar.
FZ- What’s your favorite music festival memory?
AS- I think one of my favorite music festival memories is when we had the Flaming Lips play moe.down and I got to be one of the fuzzy animals. It was pretty fun.
FZ- I had always heard about moe.down and people always spoke highly of the authentic, laid back vibe as opposed to how corporate and restricted some other festivals can feel. What does moe.down mean to you?
AS- It’s really like a big family reunion for us. That was our intent. We wanted to host a big campout weekend where we could invite all of our friends and hang ut for the weekend, and we tried to maintain that vibe.
FZ- 35 years is a long time filled with change. How are you guys handling aging together? It must be special to have a sense of support and camaraderie that has been together for so long
AS- Haha, it’s uh, it’s something we’re actually settling into nicely. We’ve actually gotten more patient and forgiving with each other. And so much more familiar with each other. We’re so much like brothers at this point. It’s fine. Everything is not as important as it used to be. There’s something about being twenty something and everything seems like it matters so much. We’ve taken a little wisdom over the last 35 years in the notion that everything doesn’t need to matter so much.
FZ- What is your fondest memory as a band?
AS- God, that’s tough to say. After 35 years, we have so many memories. It’s really hard to say.
FZ- The new album Circle of Giants sounds amazing. How has the recording and writing process changed over the 35 years of moe. as a band?
AS- More of that same thing, it’s gotten easier for us. It’s gotten more relaxed and in it that makes it easier to collaborate and makes it easier to get the work done. It’s been great.
FZ- What is the inspiration behind the new album? It seems like the song titles suggest ides of perseverance and overcoming life’s obstacles.
AS- It’s definitely a lot of that there’s kind of kind of a common theme of all of that stuff, although the songs were not written with that intention necessarily, to pull them all together. We just happened to find this collection of songs that all did fit together, thematically, musically, etc.
FZ- Is there any song on the new album that you really like or found very difficult to record/play?
AS- I think that song “Ups and Downs”, the song that that Rob wrote is maybe the best song he’s ever written. I absolutely love that and I think the recording of it came out great. I’m just so in love with that song and I think it deserves a lot more attention.
FZ- You have a stacked tour coming up ranging from Burlington to Buffalo, along with a show with Goose at SPAC, Rooster Walk, & moe. down. How different is it preparing for a show at Higher Ground than moe. down or another festival?
AS- A lot of it is honestly the same. The difference being that you know maybe in those festival situations we might anticipating having a lot of guests or maybe some different songs that we’re doing so they might you know it might be a little bit more in the mix that way. The other thing is if we’re playing at a place like higher ground, we’re gonna get our sound dialed in and we have time to sound check. It’s a little more of a relaxed vibe. When you get a festival I mean, not necessarily moe.down because we’ll take the time to soundcheck because it’s our festival. But a lot of festivals you just show up and set up all your gear you start playing, and it was never a sound check and there was never any preparation, and you just literally walk out of the stage and start going. So much of what we do in those situations relies on what a great job our crew does.
FZ- Do you enjoy playing those more intimate rooms in hometown territory like Town Ballroom in Buffalo or outdoors music festivals in new places?
AS- They’re all great. They’re like apples and oranges. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.
FZ- What has changed the most since you first started touring to now?
AS- The Internet. There wasn’t one when we started. We did everything organically literally by word. We did everything by hand. So that has changed a lot. It’s made everything so readily accessible; information readily accessible changes everything. It changes the timeline of everything and also how long stuff last. Things used to last a lot longer. People were more precious about that. Now everything is just so dialed up that you know stuff comes and goes very quickly.
FZ- What’s next for moe.?
AS- Next for moe. is this tour. We start at Higher Ground in Vermont in just about a week.
As moe. gears up to hit the road once again, it’s clear that the heart of the band remains as strong as ever—grounded in friendship, curiosity, and a deep appreciation for the community that’s grown alongside them. With Circle of Giants marking a new chapter and a packed tour ahead, moe. continues to prove that longevity isn’t just about endurance, but about evolving together. After 35 years, the music, the memories, and the connection are still very much alive.
Photos by Filip Zalewski (Essence Photography) of Al Schnier of moe. at MAYO 9/5/25, The Wellmont Theatre 1/21/23, The Capitol Theatre 12/10/21, Summer Camp 2019 (with Jeremy of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong & with Blues Traveler), and LOCK’N 2017 (with Phil Lesh & Bob Weir)
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