Al Schnier

Al Schnier (born January 9, 1968) is a musician most noted for being one of two guitarists for the American jam band moe.

History

Schnier was born on January 9, 1968 in Utica, New York. He attended New Hartford Central High School in Oneida County, New York before going to college at State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY) in 1990. He graduated from SUNY with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Arts.

Music career

As found at his website, Schnier wrote his first original piece of music in 1978, of which a part would later appear on his solo musical release al.one. His first band was in 1982 during eighth grade and was named "Cuttin' Loose." It was a Neil Young and Rush tribute band that played only two shows. During high school and college he performed in various cover bands. In 1990, Schnier was playing in a psychedelic rock band in Oneonta, New York called Unclaimed Freight, when he discovered the first original recordings by moe (period absent until 1992), a band based in Buffalo, New York. “I heard that tape,” Al recalled, “and I thought, ‘This is the kind of band I want to play in.’ ... Of course, I never thought I’d be playing with moe., but six months later I ended up moving to Buffalo, and my next introduction to the band was actually sitting in with them." In early 1991, Schnier filled in for Dave Kessler in moe, playing electric guitar and congas at Chicklets House in Buffalo, New York. After this time, Schnier would occasionally play with the band, adding a third guitar to Kessler and Chuck Garvey's mix. Schnier officially joined the band in January 1992 and Kessler left several months later due to lack of interest. To this day, Schnier is with the band moe. fulltime, adding instruments such as mandolin, acoustic guitar, keyboards, and Moog to his contributions.