Last month, we partnered up with moe., to offer three lucky (and skilled) fans the opportunity to join the band onstage during one of the three nights leading up to New Year’s Eve. Interested participants shared their musical prowess via YouTube video auditions. moe. then selected the the three musicians who joined them on stage. Now that a couple weeks have passed we asked the three winners to look back on how it came together and what they took away from the experience.

December 28 winner- Taylor FrederickContest Submission

Before you entered the contest, how long had you been listening to moe.? How would you characterize the state of your moe. fandom?

I have been listening to moe. since I was around 15. I had a good group of friends (who would later turn into my moe.ssena famoe.ly) show me them. I loved it. I’ve been to 31 shows now. (The 28th in Worcester was my 30th show)… As far as my “Fandom” goes, they are one of my favorite bands currently. I love going to see them live, its a treat everyone should experience.

What was your thought process in terms of your contest entry video?

I just wanted to do something I knew not only the band would dig, but also something that would show the fans watching it that I could “Run with the big dogs” sort of speak. I choose a backing track that was basically the chord changes from the vocal solo in “Great gig in the sky” by Pink Floyd, and tried using more soul than flash in my playing. I knew from the start there was going to be some amazing players. So in order to stand out from the crowd I knew I had to show them something that was more from the heart.

Can you describe your initial meeting and soundcheck with the band?

The band and the crew as well were all awesome/down to earth guys, and I couldn’t thank them enough for everything. They welcomed me with open arms from the moment I stepped in the Palladium…Soundcheck went very smoothly. We went over the song a couple times and that was it. I’m not sure if they thought it would take longer, but they seemed very pleased during the run through, and that confidence knowing I did ok took a lot of weight off the shoulders before the show.

What was the experience like taking the stage with moe? What if anything surprised you?

It was a high I couldn’t even begin to explain. The feeling you get when you are on a stage like that (with a band like moe.) is the feeling every musician chases, and is why we want to do what we do. When Al announced me, the roar from the crowd and all the smiling faces just makes you light up. I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time because I knew how much the crowd was getting into it. If anything surprised me it was that. I wasn’t expecting the fans to respond like they did, but by the cheers I heard from the stage they loved it. I got a lot of positive feedback by random people coming up to me in the audience after the show, and also after the song got done the pats on the back I got from the guys. Knowing that one of your favorite bands not only picked you to play one of their songs live with them, but also the fact that they thought you “killed it,” it’s priceless, and I’ll never forget it.December 29 winner- Joe BellantiContest submission

Before you entered the contest, how long had you been listening to moe.?

Since 1992. moe. comes from the Buffalo, NY jamband scene and I played in several bands during the same time period that moe. was forming and starting to play shows in the Buffalo area.

How would you characterize the state of your moe. fandom?

I have been a fan for a long time but I have not been in a position to be able to get to any shows for what feels like forever. I am probably in a different situation than a lot of folks that entered the contest – I am married (to a very understanding wife!) with 2 little girls and a very demanding day job. The kids are a little older now and getting into music themselves so it is a little easier but when they were little our lives were just complete family chaos. That has been about 10 years but it has gone by in a finger snap. Totally worth it in every way but it really left no time for getting to shows. So – my moe.fandom has involved listening on my iPod and staying in touch with friends that do get to the shows.

A nice side effect of being in the contest is that a lot of my friends and family are now checking out the band having heard the 2 songs that I played on. moe. is not the kind of band you can describe in words, you really have to take the time to listen to the music and this got them to listen.

What was your thought process in terms of your contest entry video?

That whole 2 week period was a riot. I saw the announcement of the contest on Facebook and I thought “… that would be a blast to do – I should make a video …” and then immediately got sidetracked doing laundry or taking out trash or something. I kind of thought about it for a couple more days and poked around with a couple tunes and then I happened to talk to my friend Corey Kertzie who is a very successful drummer and percussionist in Buffalo – he plays with Big Leg Emma out of Jamestown, NY right now. I asked him if he had seen the notice of the contest and we got talking about it and he got me all fired up about it.

So… I let another couple days go by being busy with life.

With about a week to go, Corey called me and said “… Ok, I uploaded my video, let me know when yours is done so I can check it out …”.

I hung up the phone and figured I couldn’t NOT do it now – Dang!

I got serious about it that night – I think that was Saturday night with a week to go in the contest. I thought about a bunch of different approaches. I knew I wanted to play piano as that is my main instrument but I had watched about a dozen of the videos that had already been posted and they were mostly some pretty awesome, inshredible guitar playing. In fact, Taylor Frederick and Matt Mahoney (the other 2 winners) were 2 of the videos that I watched and I figured "…no way … I can’t compete with that… ". And not just them – There were really a lot of great entries.

So I stopped watching the other videos and went back to the basics. One of the lessons I have learned trying to be a piano player in a rock setting is that the only way to compete with rock guitars is to not compete with rock guitars. In other words, a piano can’t do what an electric guitar can do so don’t try to make it. Instead, focus on the music and try to make the music better – be a lead instrument when it’s appropriate and be a support instrument when it’s appropriate. Chuck said it best when we were rehearsing “Nebraska” during the sound check – we were working out (in a 30 second conversation) how to arrange his talk box solo and he said “…If I go high, you go low – If I go low, you go high …”. I just smiled because I knew I could do that without trying to make the piano something that it isn’t.

For the format of my video, I worked out this elaborate scheme where I would showcase all the styles I can allegedly play. That plan failed. Badly.

I decided to cut it back and just focus on a moe. song. I picked “New York City” because that is literally my favorite moe. song and it also lends itself really well to being played on a piano – It has a great melody that falls in a good spot on the keyboard and the chord progression gives you a lot of freedom.

I borrowed the intro from The Band off their Jericho CD – For years I have thought that Garth Hudson played that intro but since so many people have asked me about it over the last month I have been going back to my old notes and I think it was actually Richard Bell, who had previously played with Janis Joplin and played with the band many times in the years after Richard Manuel’s death. The ending section I tried to play in the style of Stan Szelest – a Buffalo based piano player that was one of my true music heroes.

In a further bit of both Buffalo and “The Band” related trivia, Richard Bell joined The Band in 1991 following the death of Stan Szelest who had joined The Band after the death of Richard Manuel. Stan was the leader of Stan and the Ravens, based in Buffalo – I probably saw him play about 200 times. Stan had played with Ronnie Hawkins and was an original member of The Hawks – the group that eventually became The Band. Stan had left The Hawks and was replaced by Richard Manuel in 1961. My audition video, though I did not intend it that way, was really a tribute to those piano players and the influence they have had on me.

This story is getting really long. Even I’m losing interest.

Trying to record the video and get it uploaded was hilarious as both of my daughters were sick that last week and the only time I really had to work on it was really late at night. At one point, after about 4 nights in a row being up until 2 or 3 in the morning working on it in my basement, my wife said “… Joe, what are you doing down there?…”.

My response was classic husband speak: “…Uhhhh … nothing? …”.

I think I finally got it uploaded with about 3 hours to spare before the deadline. I was really surprised, first by the very positive response I received, and second – I was just blown away to get picked to play – that was a great feeling.

Can you describe your initial meeting and soundcheck with the band?

I got to the Palladium at about 3:30, soundcheck was at 4 – I was not sure where to park or anything and I ran into Vinnie outside. After a couple dozen high 5’s and “I can’t believe I get to this’s”, he showed me where to head into the theater. moe. had played the night before so the whole stage was already set up – I walked up the ramp to the stage and looked out and it was a lot bigger than I had mentally prepared for!

Steve Young helped me get my piano set up and I had some fun playing it through the PA and right before 4 PM Al, Jim, Rob and Chuck got there. They are just a great bunch of guys and we got to tell some stories about the Buffalo scene from back in the day and they all remembered some dumb stuff I had done back then, which was tragic, but we had some pretty good laughs. I can’t say enough about the moe. crew too – I don’t want to start naming names because I will leave people out, but everyone really went out of their way to make me feel welcome.

The guys in the band had some great feedback for me on my audition video too. I still think one of my favorite moments of the whole experience was when we were getting ready to play NYC at the sound check and they looked at me and Al said ".. we were thinking you would do the intro and we’ll just blend in after a while … ". I was pretty amazed by that and that was how we did the song during the set. That definitely got my pulse racing – the response from the audience while I was playing that intro was one of those moments I just wish I could put in a box and take out when I’m having a bad day – just perfect.

What was the experience like taking the stage with moe?

Too much fun – I played the last 2 songs of the first set and the first part of that set was just awesome. I was waiting at the side of the stage and looking out at how many people were there and pretty much freaking out on the inside and trying to be cool on the outside. As I was walking out to the piano when it was time to play, I actually thought this thought:

“… Joe… this is a sponsored contest… video will be placed on Youtube when it’s over … you will not be able to delete the video because you did not put it there … so whatever you do … don’t suck.”

The next thing I remember hearing was Vinnie clicking off “Nebraska” and we were off and running.

What if anything surprised you?

How much my face hurt from smiling when I walked off the stage – From the support that the band and the crew showed, to the great feedback I got from the fans that night, it was just a priceless experience. That has really continued too – My daughters loved watching the video and my older daughter (9 years old) signed up to sing in the school talent show at her elementary school – she has talked to me a lot about how she thought it was great that I was nervous but I went out and did it anyway and (in her words) “did OK!”, so it is great to think that my being able to participate in the contest has maybe inspired her to go out and do something that she might not have otherwise done. Plus … my daughters have determined that I am the coolest dad at their elementary school – so I’ve got that going for me.

Any final thoughts?

I would like to say congratulations also to Taylor Frederick and Matt Mahoney for doing a great job on their nights to play – I got to hang out with Taylor on the night I was there and have talked with Matt through email – great guys and fantastic guitar players.

The contest has also inspired me to follow through with some projects I have been poking at. If anyone wants to check them out they can follow along at www.joebellanti.com or they can find me on Facebook

Finally, I would just to take one more opportunity to say “Thank you” to Jim, Vinnie, Chuck, Rob, Al and the whole moe. crew for really making me feel like part of the fam.moe.ly for a day. And thank you to Relix and Jambands.com for sponsoring the contest along with moe. – the whole experience, from deciding to do it all the way through to being able to share it with my daughters was something I will never forget.
December 30 winner- Matt Mahoney_Contest submissionBefore you entered the contest, how long had you been listening to moe.? How would you characterize the state of your moe. fandom?*

I first heard moe. When I was a sophomore in high school. (about 10 years ago) I became obsessed soon thereafter. I saw them many times when they would play around the Midwest, including the Summer Camp and Bonnaroo festivals. As a guitar player, I enjoy how Chuck and Al harmonize and play together so well. They have very different tones and styles but it melds together really well in my opinion. I would characterize my moe. Fandom as being very strong. My Stratocaster and car boasted moe. Stickers all through high school. Anytime moe. Is in my area I will always go see them play. I enjoy playing along with their music on guitar as well.

What was your thought process in terms of your contest entry video?

My friend and former college bandmate told me about the contest the day he went to see them in Colorado. I submitted my video that afternoon. I had made the video about a week before for fun but jumped at this opportunity. I have played live music for several years but playing with moe. would be the ultimate opportunity for me. I am looking to further my music career as well, so this was an ideal situation. After submitting my video (the first video submitted), I sat back and watched while over 100 other contestants’ videos poured online. After a few days, I had pretty much assumed that someone else would win. There were a lot of really talented musicians in the contest which was discouraging at the time. The biggest thing that I took from this experience was the encouraging fact that at least I can play along with guys of moe.‘s experience. My video was submitted mostly as a shot in the dark to be able to play with moe. Needless to say, when I saw that Jim had emailed me telling me I’d won a spot, I was extremely excited. Throughout the contest, my family and friends watched as all of the other videos poured in. I am very encouraged as a musician having come into the contest with no real idea of where I stood. This experience shows that people who play at home and enjoy music on their own should be encouraged.

Can you describe your initial meeting and soundcheck with the band?

When I arrived at the State Theater for soundcheck, the crew was setting up the band’s equipment. I met up with Chuck and Al and they showed me the green room and told me to make myself at home. They were really nice guys. We plugged in once the crew was ready and ran through “Rebubula” twice. Once we were a minute into the first rehearsal, I realized how lucky I was. I have been a huge fan of the band and all of a sudden I’m standing onstage with them. It is hard to describe the feeling that came along with all of it. I was ecstatic. It was hard to contain myself considering that I am a big fan of theirs. Al offered to let me play his solo in the middle of the song, which was also a nice opportunity to have. The band was really nice and funny. They were very helpful and hospitable. Soundcheck was really fun for me because I got a chance to hear what it sounds like playing onstage with moe.. You can feel Rob’s bass in your chest and the band truly plays like a well oiled machine. All of the guys are spot on which is really interesting to experience. All of the guys were excited for me which was really nice of them. It was simply incredible to be able to jam with the guys considering that I’d only been on the outside of the barricade in front of the stage. We ran through the song and decided on who would do what during the harmony parts. It really hit me when we started running through the song that this was actually happening. The sound was awesome and it is really loud so you could really feel it. It was exhilarating to be able to play with such talented musicians. It was a unique opportunity also because in my experience, bands don’t let people sit in all too often. I have been a guitarist in bands for a few years and this was a great opportunity for me and my career.

What was the experience like taking the stage with moe? What if anything surprised you?

Taking the stage with moe. Was absolutely exhilarating. The crowd was loud and intense and I was simply trying to focus on not messing up. Looking back, I wish I’d have played a little less conservatively. I was surprised at how much positive energy came from the crowd during and after the performance. Also, the band members are simply nice guys. I was surprised at how much work goes into putting on their show. Every person I encountered that was involved with the production was really nice. Walking onstage was wild to me because I could feel the energy of the crowd. I’ve played live many times and nothing could compare to the energy of the moe. crowd. After I played, I talked to 100’s of people who were all very supportive and happy for me. It was unbelievable how positive the experience was for me. The fans were very excited and I received a lot of encouragement before and after the performance. Overall, Relix and moe. holding this competition was a great thing for an everyday musician like myself. Musicians of all types should be encouraged by this because if you simply work hard and get yourself out there, anything can happen. This experience gave me a lot of encouragement. I had no idea where I stood in the world of guitarists and it feels good to have been able to just play along with those guys. The band, their families, the crew and the fans were all incredible to me. Thanks to Relix and moe. for hosting the contest and for allowing me to participate! I hope this helps!