From the Star Newspaper June 23, 2005
Moe music making the rounds in the area
By Nina Gougis
Moe-heads, Moe-robics, moe-ology all refer to one group of popular musicians.
Five Guys Named Moe continue to grow in popularity throughout the region. Their musicianship, fun-loving nature and laid back attitude belie their success in the midwest.
As leader Big Moe said, "We've embarked on a world-wide, three state grand tour through Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana."
From meeting "Stonecold" Steve Austin and the Rock to opening for Santana and the Guess Who, the band members live a musical life many performers could only dream of.
Despite their success, founder and manager José Rivera (he's Big Moe) said the band has maintained its humility.
"We don't think we're stars, and we don't think we're better than everyone else," Rivera said. The Moes leave the stage during breaks to greet audience members and thank them for coming.
Rivera said band members stay away from big egos, a major problem in the music business, and focus on giving the audience what it wants.
"It's (music) business first and artwork second," he said.
"If you can check your ego at the door and keep that in mind, you'll be successful."
The band always starts on time, often plays for hours without breaks and does everything possible not cancel a show, Rivera said.
He jokingly referred to a time when their drummer threw out his back, pinched a nerve and fainted while loading sound equipment before a show.
After asking the drummer if he could still play, the band members asked two drummers from the audience to perform.
The members' determination comes from their desire to please their fans, Rivera said.
"It wouldn't mean anything without the fans," Rivera said. "We want to give fans their money's worth and more."
What also makes the band special are its upbeat and fast-paced performances, Rivera said.
The band's energy keeps fans coming back after more than 1,870 shows, Rivera said. The band, which began 1988 in Oak Forest, won the 2001 Star Newspapers/Daily Southtown Reader's Choice Awards for best party band.
Band members include original member Bob Muraida (Slow-Moe), Jack Inglis (Am-Moe), Frank Capek (Franken-Moe) and Chuck Acosta (Wham-Moe).
The band's performances consist of a variety of music genres, including classic rock and country. The shows also include some of their original work, choreography and rehearsed dialogue.
Rehearsing the shows, Rivera said, does not take away from the spontaneity during the show, but helps prevent "dead time" in between songs, Rivera said.
"We like to call it Moe-robics," Rivera said. The band plays upbeat music continuously to keep fans "dancing 'til they drop."
The band will make several performances from the end of June through August (see if you go box).
More information is available on the band's Web site, www.fiveguysnamedmoe.com or on the Moe hotline at (708) 532-7318.
IF YOU GO ...
WHAT: Five Guys Named Moe
WHERE: 8 p.m. Friday, Peotone Days, Will County Fairgrounds, Route 50 and
Wilmington Road; 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Crestwood Summer Festival; 9 p.m. June 30,
Oakfest, 159th Street and Central.
WEB SITE: www.fiveguysnamedmoe.com
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From the Northwest Indiana Times May 30, 2003
Five Guys' want some 'Moe' success
BY TIM SHELLBERGSome veteran bands measure their long-term success by how many fans turn out for their shows. Others measure it by how many CDs they sell. Others look to critical acclaim as their yardstick.
But the perennial south suburban party band Five Guys Named Moe has found a unique way to view the success of its decade-and-a-half together.
"Every year we've had different T-shirts that have the theme of Moe behind it," said band singer and multi-instrumentalist Jose "Big-Moe" Rivera. "There's been 'Gimme Moe,' 'Moe-Ology,' 'Just Say Moe,' 'I Want Moe.' At some concerts, we can spot T-shirts that sometimes date back years."
Rivera along with fellow original member Bob "Slo-Moe" Muraida from Burbank on the bass, formed Five Guys on a fluke in 1988.
At their first show, the musicians had only 12 rock, blues, and jazz songs under their belt, and wound up playing them over and over again to an enthusiastic crowd.
According to Rivera, the band had no long-term plans. At least not until the end of their first-ever Moe-show, which took place in front of a packed house in a club in south suburban Oak Lawn.
"To be honest, we really didn't think anything about it," Riviera said. "We just wanted to play and have a good time. Then we had this tremendous response (from the crowd) and I said 'boys, I think we're on to something here.'"
Five Guys, which will perform a fund-raising concert at Chicago's Hard Rock Cafe Saturday for the Y-Me Breast Cancer Foundation, has become a club and festival favorite throughout the south suburbs, mixing up classic rock and rock-blues favorites with a handful of originals thrown in for good measure. In Northwest Indiana, Leroy's Hot Stuff in Porter, where the band last performed on May 17, is a regular stomping ground.
While both the band's shows and creed - "the more you drink, the less we stink" - encourage that a good time be had by all, Five Guys are dead serious when it comes to their work ethic.
A total 29 musicians have made their way in and out the Moe doors, Rivera said, over the course of the band's 15 years, a number which he blames on the band's performing schedule. The group averages more than 120 shows per year, both as headliners and sharing the stage with the likes of Santana, Kansas, Survivor and Foghat, to name just a few.
"This whole thing just doesn't happen; it takes a lot of hard work and dedication and everybody pulling together as a team to make it work," Rivera said. "A lot of musicians have to check their egos at the door, and this is also a business. It's not how good you are. Sometimes it just comes down to how many butts you put in the seats."
The band is currently rounded out by keyboardist Jack "Am-Moe" Inglis and newcomers Frank "Franken-Moe" Capek from Chicago on guitar and Markham drummer Chuck "Wham-Moe" Acosta.
Despite their 15-year history, the Moes have just recently gotten around to releasing their first-ever CD, "Mt. Rush-Moe. The band's previous release was a cassette-only collection of cover songs released more than a decade ago. Consisting of seven all-original rock and blues-based rock songs, a lot of "Mt. Rush-Moe" was already old news to fans of Moe in the know upon its release, as the songs found their way into their shows before the disc made its way to the fans.
Yet the band, Rivera says, is still in no hurry to become studio creatures or industry players at this juncture in their career.
"I think another reason why we're successful is that we have no aspirations to be in the big time or touring or picking up a record contract," he said.
"We're here to have fun. If it happens, it happens. No big deal."
"Mt. Rush-Moe" can be purchased at Five Guys Named Moe concerts. The band is scheduled to play Leroy's next on July 19.
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From the Northwest Indiana Times May 18, 2003
FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE
"Mt. Rush-Moe"
BY TIM SHELLBERG
Times Correspondent
For a decade and a half now, Five Guys Named Moe has been one of the region's finest and most fun party bands, mixing classic rock favorites with its own brand of rock and blues-based rock. Unfortunately, their originals get lost in the shuffle of the crowd-pleasers, which hopefully will be remedied with "Mt. Rush-Moe." They're not out to reinvent the wheel with this seven-song platter, but the Moes certainly can hold their own against many of those they cover with the gritty "Seven Eight (Do you Believe)," the blues jam "PH," and the ballad "Out of the Blue," which already has become a favorite among the Moe faithful. A recent lineup change, which now features Glen "Su-Moe" Sierzega on drums and Frank "Frank-N-Moe" Capek, who has shared the stage and recording space with the likes of Buddy Guy and Jimmy Rogers, hasn't hurt the band in concert one bit (Five Guys Named Moe is scheduled to perform at Chicago's Hard Rock Cafe', 63 W. Ontario St., May 31).
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From the Daily Southtown, June 28, 2000
