''Robert Derhak'', also known simply as Rob, is the

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

player and a founding member of the American

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

moe. Moe (stylized as moe.) is an American jam rock band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are Rob Derhak ( bass, vocals), Al Schnier (guitar, vocals, keyboard), Chuck Garvey (guitar, vocals), Vinnie Amico (drums), and J ...

History

Derhak's earliest known time performing as a member of a band was on Halloween 1989, playing at a party with guitarist Chuck Garvey and a drummer named Ray Schwartz. He officially formed a band with Garvey, Schwartz, and others, in the Winter of 1990, calling themselves "Five Guys Named Moe", after the

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

song. They played several shows in the

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

area. By the fall of 1990 the band was officially called

, with the full stop being added the following year. Derhak went to college at State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY) where the band moe. was solidified. Derhak was diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer in July 2017, prompting moe. to go on indefinite hiatus to allow time for his treatment. Derhak was declared cancer-free in December 2017 which coincided with moe. announcing a 2018 return to live performance. Moe returned to the stage at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester NY on February 2, 2018 and have since resumed a regular touring schedule.

Side projects

Besides his full-time job in moe., Derhak was also a member of Ha Ha the Moose, a band with fellow moe. members Garvey and Jim Loughlin (drums). The band's name comes from a saying of Derhak's son, Eddie, about a toy

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

. The band has only played a handful of shows between 2000 and 2008, most of which were in the Northeastern part of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Ha Ha The Moose has also played at Summercamp and most recently at moe.down IX, where they briefly sat in with The PMG and played an unannounced late night set after moe.'s third set on Saturday, August 30 (actually the early hours of Sunday, August 31). In 2003 Derhak teamed up with several members of Assembly of Dust, including Andy Herrick (drums), Adam Terrell (guitar) and Nate Wilson (keyboards). The group called themselves "Swampdonkey" and performed also exclusively in the Northeastern United States, playing several shows at the Alehouse in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metro ...

, at moe.down IV, and finally at the Revolution Hall in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

References

moe.Links FAQOfficial moe. webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derhak, Rob American rock musicians 1969 births Living people People from Whitestown, New York Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American bass guitarists