The group chose to work with an outside producer for the first time since 1998's Tin Cans & Car Tires, with John Travis (Kid Rock, Social Distortion, No Doubt) getting the call.
“For most of our career we’ve done everything on our own in a very cottage industry, home-y kind of way,” notes Chuck Garvey, moe. singer and guitarist. Other band members are Vinnie Amico (drums), Rob Derhak (bass, vocals), Jim Loughlin (percussion, Malletkat) and Al Schnier (guitar, vocals, keyboards, mandolin). “With most of our recordings, we’ve gotten the equipment together, we’ve paid for everything ourselves, we’ve produced it ourselves and we’ve had complete control over it. For this album we actually made the leap of putting ourselves in someone else’s hands to help us come out with something different.”
Most of the material on What Happened To The LA LAs has been road-tested at moe.’s concerts. “Bones of Lazarus” has been part of the moe. repertoire for more than 10 years, says Rob Derhak, though it went through a major transformation in the studio. Chuck Garvey’s “Suck A Lemon” was written for moe.’s fan-inspired psychedelic Halloween show.
“Downward Facing Dog” is a newer moe. song, written by Al Schnier. It came together rather organically when Schnier realized what had been several different songs actually flowed together into one composition. Lyrically, the song addresses a time when Schnier was dealing with his father’s poor health.
“I had a lot of big issues on my mind,” Schnier recalls. “Being a dad, and being in this situation with my own dad, just makes you look at the big picture. I wanted the song to be something where I could express a passion for life and have it be something that people could relate to.”
moe. 2011 Tour Dates
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
