That last few years of the 35 years moe. has been together haven’t been the easiest for the band. First there was bassist Rob Derhack’s cancer diagnosis which thankfully is in remission, guitarist Chuck Garvey’s stroke which he has almost totally recovered from and the untimely passing of Rob’s son. All of these setbacks could have easily crushed the collective spirit of the band and no doubt led to a hiatus or a full fledged breakup. Luckily, the band and its member’s found the courage to sojourn on each supporting one another as all tight knit families would. That in itself is quite the feat, but moe. has also channeled all that experience into a new album, Circle of Giants out now wherever you get music. In my opinion it’s one of their best studio records in a long time. I caught up with guitarist Al Schnier last week who was on tour with the band in Southern California. The conversation started when I asked Al how he took the news of Rob’s Derhak’a diagnosis and how he ultimately coped with it.

 

First song: Ups and Downs

Second song: Giants

 

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