Vinnie Amico – moe.

By: Lori Smerilson Carson

Music is and has been a source of relaxation, but combined with nature, it’s totally Zen. Fortunately for Floridians, rock band moe. will be bringing their over thirty-five years of outstanding, distinctive multi-genre jamming music to the state with their Born To Fly Tour 2026. Fans can experience this new show on March 25^th in Gainesville at the Heartwood Soundstage, March 26^th in Ponte Vedra Beach at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, March 27^th in St. Petersburg at Jannus Live and March 28^th in Miami Beach at the Miami Beach Bandshell.

Catching up with Drummer Vinnie Amico, he revealed some details about the show that he and bandmates Guitarists/Vocalists Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey, Bassist/Vocalist Rob Derhak, Percussionist Jim Loughlin, and keyboardist Nate Wilson will be performing, a bit about their music, band history, and what fans can look forward to.

SFL Music Magazine: What can fans look forward to with the new show on the Born to Fly Tour 2026, playing four in Florida?

Vinnie Amico: Well, we got a new lighting rig which looks amazing. We’re currently working a few new songs which I think everybody is always interested to hear. We played a couple last night. I think it went over pretty well. We’re playing very well, so you’re going to see good shows all around. Plus, once we get to Florida the weather is nicer. It’s freezing cold and there’s twenty inches of snow up here (he laughed). So, once we all get into warmer weather, we cheer up. Plus, the venues are great down there. We love playing in Jannus. We love playing the Bandshell. All those things we look forward to doing.

SFL Music Magazine: moe. plays benefit concerts and does fundraising at your shows. You  have auctions for Rock The Pink and to benefit the American Cancer Society?

Amico: Yeah. Al’s wife works for Cancer Society so that’s kind of always doing. We do Rock The Pink in October because that’s the month that they really focus on it, but we kind of keep that thing open all the time. There’s always auctions, whether it be something we’re auctioning off at the merch table or auctioning each other off (he laughed) like to do lessons, whatever it is, skiing. So, there’s always that kind of thing open and happening. We’re currently putting a dollar each ticket toward Eddie’s Hugs which is an organization that Rob, our bass player and his wife started after the passing of their son (Eddie Derhak) just to bring awareness to mental health issues. Things like that. We like to use our platform as best we can to try and help people out.

SFL Music Magazine: Yes, I’m glad you mentioned the ticket sales. I was just going to ask you about that. With Eddie’s Hugs, it looks like there is a whole organization to help people with mental health issues, correct?

Amico: Correct. I mean, I think it’s kind of to hopefully make people comfortable with reaching out if they’re having issues. Eddie was a big hugger, so whether it be finding someone and giving a hug or just reaching out to someone, or if you’re hurting really bad or whatever, don’t be silent. Please reach out whether it be professionally or just to friends or whatever. We want to just make sure people are aware that there’s people out there and people care, and not to stay silent.

SFL Music Magazine: Last time I interviewed Rob when CIRCLE OF GIANTS had just come out and he said the writing for the album was really a band collaboration. What would you say inspires moe.’s music?

Amico: Some if it’s what we’re listening to at the time. Some of it is what’s going on around people and some of it’s random. Some of it’s like, “hey, I’ve got this riff.” Then someone will be like, “oh, I’ve got these words or let’s just start jamming.” A lot of times we’ll just be playing something and then it turns into something whether it’s live, and there’s a reoccurring theme that we keep hitting that ends up becoming a song, or whether it’s in the studio and something like that happens.

SFL Music Magazine: He did say it’s a definite collaboration that he felt contributed to the band’s longevity. You all originally got together at the University of Buffalo, and now it’s been over thirty-fifth years. What would you say contributes to the longevity and success that moe. has had?

Amico: Well, a few things. We’re all buddies so we actually like being together and hanging out. We like our time apart too, but once we come back together on the road it’s like we’ve never really been apart very long. We’re really enjoying each other onstage. The band’s playing well. Plus, we’ve been through a lot, so it’s kind of healing for us to get together when we’ve gone through the things that we’ve gone through. I think we all find comfort being with each other.

SFL Music Magazine: What would you say inspired you to become a drummer, a musician?

Amico: My father was a musician, a jazz trumpet player, so I had been around it since I was little. As far back as I can remember it’s really all I wanted to do other than be like a professional baseball player (he laughed). That doesn’t usually pan out, but I had been around my father and his bands watching the drummers since I was little. Then I had a friend when I was probably eight or nine who started playing drums, so I kind of picked it up with him and then kept going. You know, one of the lucky few that get to do it for a living.

SFL Music Magazine: What would you recommend to a new musician, a new band?

Amico: Play as much as you can.  Practice. Play with other people, other musicians. Don’t get stuck in one place as far as the music goes. Listen to everything. Learn everything you can because the more stuff you have in your bag, the better shot you have of playing with people and knowing what they want and having good ideas and being able to get in a band and stay in one.

SFL Music Magazine: Moe has played festivals like snoe.down and moe.down. Is there anything new that fans can look forward to?

Amico: We’re bringing back moe.down. That’s a big thing for people to look forward to. We’re doing it July 16th through 18^th, a new location in Pennsylvania. We’ve got a bunch of our old friends. We’ve got the band back (he laughed)! No, we got a bunch of old friends. Bands that we’ve toured with in the nineties and beyond all coming to the festival along with some bands that we’ve played with a long time since. Like Umphrey’s McGee, and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country. So, it’s just going to be a blast! It’s going to have some new, some old. Just bringing back that family vibe that we’ve had going for years that we took a break doing. So, we’re looking forward to that.

SFL Music Magazine: What inspired that?

Amico: Well, we’ve been trying to figure out how to get it back going for a couple years. Rob in particular had been kind of pushing for it. We have some new management and they were onboard. They were really like, “yes! This is what we want to do. We want to get this happening.” So, it’s kind of collaborative between band and management. It’s like, now is the time to get it back happening.

SFL Music Magazine: You mentioned the warmer weather in Florida, but is there anything else you are looking forward to with playing those shows?

Amico: Playing outdoors is amazing! Jannus, we just love that venue. We always play well. There’s a lot of people. Great vibes and we love going back there. Bandshell’s awesome! It’s right on the beach. Ponte Vedra is a really cool little venue. We have a couple golfers in the crew. Being right next to TPC either they try to get on there, which not usually because it’s expensive, but they go golfing around there and things. So, there’s just a lot of things, multiple things to do when we get down to Florida. I just like being warm and sitting in the sun personally.

SFL Music Magazine: So, you will be on the beach, right?

Amico: Right, exactly! Every chance I get.

SFL Music Magazine: Is there anything else fans should know about the Florida shows?

Amico: We just hope to see everybody. All our friends and new fans, and anybody looking for some good live music to come to our shows in Florida.