Listen To Vinnie Amico’s First Show With moe. From This Date In 1996

There was a period where the drum seat in moe. was similar to the keyboard spot in the band from the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. In the movie Spinal Tap famously went through over six keyboardists in a two-year period. While moe.’s drummer situation wasn’t quite so bad, they did move between four drummers over a 17-month period in 1995 and 1996. Thankfully, Vinnie Amico was the last of those four drummers and he’s been in the band ever since.

Amico went to school at S.U.N.Y. Buffalo, the same college that birthed moe. Vinnie played in many local bands including Sonic Garden, Acoustic Forum and Outer Circle Orchestra, while moe. was growing to become a nationally touring act. The drummer made his moe. debut 20 years ago today on November 21, 1996 at The Bayou in Washington, D.C. He ended a run that saw moe. enlist 19-year-old prodigy Mike Strazza following Jim Loughlin’s departure in June of 1995 (Jim would return in 1999 as percussionist) and Chris Mazur step in on New Year’s Eve ’95 – ’96 when Strazza parted ways with the group.

Vinnie quickly fit in and 20 years later it’s hard to remember a time when he wasn’t moe.’s drummer. Amico showed off his ridiculous talents that first night in our nation’s capitol as he played some of the band’s most complex compositions with ease. The addition of Vinnie gave moe. a chance to re-work many of their originals as tunes such as “Buster,” “Timmy Tucker” and “Rebubula” thrived from Amico’s contributions. Listen to a soundboard recording of Vinnie Amico’s first night behind the kit for moe.:

moe. 11/21/96 Setlist

Set: Threw It All Away, Mexico, St. Augustine, Defrost > Akimbo, Jimmy Jazz, Bring You Down, 32 Things, Four, Rebubula, She Sends Me, Time Again, Moth, Timmy Tucker, Seat Of My Pants