moe. road diary::

East Bound & Down...

Hey Folks,

Just a quick note of shameless self promotion. The Transams will be hitting the road beginning on Halloween in Utica, NY @ the Electric Co. Also, if anyone is interested in ordering a copy of the brand new album from Al & The Transamericans, please visit the new website for Basemental Records - www.basementalrecords.com

thx,

elevation

hey!
big thx to our friends bob & jill @ elevationimaging.com in jackson hole for these great shots from our trip on the snake river. also, thx again to our brave captain, cathrine, for steering us right & guiding us well. a (much needed) great day was had by all.

thx,
al

james & del

cheers.
thanks to all for a great couple of shows the last few nights. thank goodness the heat finally broke. it's been days & days of playing in 100 degree heat w/o any respite & last night's show @ moonlight gardens felt great. the weather was gorgeous. WNKU was out in full force (thx guys!), the midwest moe.ron contingent was well represented - but most importantly, we welcomed the return of our friend & brother, jim loughlin. more than anything, that made it feel like a normal moe. show again. it's good to have him back.

also, wanted to say what a true honor it was to share the stage w. the del mccoury band in arkansas the night before. del is a living legend. there are few musicians, let alone american artists, out there today who represent an american legacy in the arts, as he does. his family is great & it was a pleasure to spend the day w. them. it was really humbling to perform w. them & something I'll long cherish. I hope that one day I'll be playing @ del's age w. the same style & grace.

animal rights...

tonight there is a cruel display of animal abuse & a violation of basic rights taking place in ft. collins, CO.

some carnies putting on a a show called "monkeys on ecstacy" are actually charging $ for this vile filth. I wholeheartedly support the ban of these & similar so called "family circuses" in which animals are subjected to what basically amounts to slavery, drug trade, prostitution & defamation of the american way.

viva la moe. republic!

let's go... high high high high high high woo hoo

man it is hot here (but it's a dry heat - yeah right). yesterday was mid 90s. today should hit 100.

ran on the boulder creek path yesterday (probably one of my top 5 favorite places to run while on tour - see also forest park portland, OR / ensign peak salt lake UT / the waterfront in vancouver BC). yesterday was brutal. I'm old (& sea level). when vinnie & I got back, we were so hot that it actually felt cool outside. weird science.

yet still, I love colorado. everytime I'm here I wonder why I don;t live here. sure, my family is in upstate NY, the band is mostly in the northeast, the adirondacks, my roots are deep, but really... this place is really majestic. I look forward to spending a lot more time here some day.

keep them doggies rollin'...

good morning.
just wanted to thank you all for making the summer east coast run so great. I'm not sure how many times I announced someone's 50th, strazza, or 100th show this summer, but it's... well frankly, it's crazy. you guys are awesome. I hope we're doing it some justice.

it seems to me like we've been playing really well. we've hit a nice stride of being a well oiled machine, w/o being burned out (which is hard to imagine considering how much we've been working since we began touring this year).

thx also to the folks of portland. it means a lot to us to receive that kind of acknowledgement from the mayor of the city (for those who missed the shows, we were presented w. a key to the city). we have such a great fan base - really great people - & it's great knowing that portland gets it.

it's always been important to us, that we leave a favorable impression on the venues where play. likewise, it's important that the towns & cities welcome us back year after year because our fans are so awesome. (so even though rob is keeping the key - it's really for all of us!).

take care,
al

2008? when did that happen?

jeez - you'd think we dropped off the earth (or went pioneer & cashed in our laptops for leatherstockings & a sod roof). thanks to teddy @ music.toyz for pointing out how incredibly lame we are about staying on top of the blog!

hope all you folks are doing well. as many of you know, we have been busy as ever. we've basically been on tour this entire year w. a few breaks here & there (I think there was some time off in may as I recall) & will tour thru early august.

this year will officially wind down w. moe.down 9. cannot tell you how psyched we are for this year's lineup. I actually got chills when I found out we confirmed levon helm. rob, chuck, & I saw the PUSA @ SXSW last year & LOVED it. just wait. & as many of you know, fishbone has long been one of our all time favorites. all that combined w. bela, yonder, the duo & more should make for a great year.

& then we get some time off!!!! this will be our 1st formal break in 18+ years. I'm actually looking fwd. to cleaning my basement.

"I think now that we're seniors, we owe it ourselves to start seeing other people..." brad hamilton

xoxo.
al

I believe in the promised land...

I just got back from seeing bruce w. the e street band @ the garden & I'm a fan all over again. I never stopped liking bruce. I also haven;t seen them play since the 'born in the usa' tour.

everyone knows that the e street band is a great live band. what really struck me was that there was never a moment when I made any concessions for them being old. they were awesome. bruce's voice, energy, & delivery give me hope. I can only hope I have that much stamina when I'm his age. and the band totally delivered - song after song. there was never a dull moment. the new songs were even some of the high points in the show.

springsteen fans are awesome. there is a deep knowledge of lyrics, that goes beyond memorizing words. not only were they there for all of the staple anthems (ie. 'badlands', 'jungleland', etc.), but also the new tracks ('radio nowhere'), & really deep tracks ('thundercrack').

to put it mildly, I was blown away. if you can find a ticket, go.

m-m-m-m-monkey on my back back back...

hey folks,
just wanted to apologize for my premature hint re: 3 nights in NYC. I simply spoke out of turn. the info was not confirmed. I apologize for any confusion & for misrepresenting "the org". from now on, all pertinent show info will be released when it is confirmed, as it should be. again, my apologies. look fwd. to seeing you all this fall.

thx,
al.

Holy Studio, Batman.

We are installing ourselves in a secret church/lair at this very moment with the intent to do some friggin' art.
The place is great, Topper bought some steaks ..... and John Siket is on the hunt for the perfect studio chair from which to pilot.
Stay tuned for updates on our Lord of the Flies existence.......

Cheers!

chuck.

OMG!!!!!!

Look at the forecast!!!!!!!!!

moe.down weather

see you in a few days...

al.

summertime & the livin' is easy

wow. I didn't realize how long it had been since I last wrote. clearly a busy summer. thank you all so much for your love & support this summer (special thanks to andrea - your picture should be in the dictionary next to the word moe.ron).

very much looking fwd. to moe.down. this year's lineup is awesome (meat puppets!!!!) & we're psyched to see you all.

immediately following moe.down, we will be sequestered in an undisclosed sanctuary in new england to begin work on a new body of music. more details to come. we only plan to do about 10 shows total this fall. the rest of that time will be devoted to this new material.

this year will wind down in NYC w. a moe. new year's eve party @ radio city music hall. last year's show happens to be one of my favorite moe. memories ever & I truly look fwd. to being w. you all again. thank you all so much for your encouragement, enthusiasm & goodness. while we are not announcing any add'l shows as of yet, if you are making travel plans for NYE (& I know you want to) plan to be in NYC for 3 nts. (you didn;t hear that from me ; )

take care,
al.

ps - I am still working on the okemah album (kirk's band). it should be mixed by the end of august & avail. later this year. come see the transams in NYC & boston in a few wks.

summer pix:

vinnie hard @ work

derhaks hard @ work

allgood fans hard @ work

yours truly !@#$% off @ work

live long & prosper...

peace & long life.

ohayoo gozaimas

it is very good to be back home. we had a fantastic time in japan. many thanks to those of you who came along. many thanks to our japanese friends & fans who really made this a great trip. we look forward to returning again someday. (fyi - the japanese music industry is a bit diff. than the states. it is likely that we would return sometime in 18-24 mos. any sooner would be considered overplaying to the japanese music business).

really looking fwd. to this 5 day run in NYC. our production manager, chris burrows has seen the venue & gave us a favorable preview. after that we head to louisville for a radio conference & then summercamp - as always, a great way to kick off the summer.

meanwhile, I have a transams show coming up on may 11th w. before cowboys in utica. please check out this link for details:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=174806222

arigato gozaimas

team moe. !

we are pleased to announce the inaugural season of the team moe. girls' basketball team. The school is Wood Rd. Elementary School in Ballston Spa Central School District.
The Leauge is BARC - Ballston Area Recreation Commission, Grades - 4 - 6. Vinnie is Asst. Coach, & his daughter Marley, is on the team (she could not be present for the team pic, as she was otherwise occupied on a luxurious cruise of the carribean @ that time).

good luck team moe.

The Conch Hits The Effing Road.

Hey everybody......
We have been fortunate to have received some great critical praise on The Conch and hearty participation at the Acoustic In-Store shows, as well as our nighttime Rock & Roll Parties. Thanks to all of you who have brought the ROCK. ( Or is it the Conk? )
After working on the album for so long, it's rewarding to actually have it "out there", in addition to being able to play the newer tracks - MacIntyre Range and Another One Gone. The latter of these two actually ruled at the acoustic In-store shows.....I had no idea they would come off as well as they did. Cool!
I hope you all enjoy "The Conch" and come out to say hi on the road!

chuck