Sticks and Stones (moe. album)
Encyclopedia
Sticks and Stones is the ninth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

, moe.
Moe.
moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....

 It was released on January 22, 2008 by Fatboy Records, almost one year to the day after the release of their last studio album The Conch. It is the only moe. album to also be released on vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

.

History

In the fall of 2007, moe. rented an old church/cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 in the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 area where they could record new material at their leisure. This is a departure for the band since on their last two previous studio albums, The Conch (2007) and Wormwood (2003), the band had performed their new songs for a live audience extensively and even used audio recordings from the shows to mix with the studio recordings. The seven songs not previously displayed for the album were "wrote and recorded ... in about three weeks" according to guitarist Al Schnier
Al Schnier
Al Schnier 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...

.

Allaire Studios provided final mixing while the mastering was done by Bob Ludwig
Bob Ludwig
Bob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....

. Guest appearances by Allie Kral
Cornmeal
Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour. However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the...

, Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....

, Swampadelica's Nadine LaFond and others were included on Sticks and Stones.

Reception

The album received mostly positive reviews. Rolling Stone, Allmusic, and Glide magazine all rated the album 3.5 stars out of 5. The album also received a very positive review at Jambase, which states that "...the result is moe.'s most concise and well-written album to date," and, "The ten tunes on Sticks And Stones are short and to the point, with the focus on moe's skill as songwriters rather than their collective and considerable musical prowess"

Based on 16 customer reviews at Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

, 10 people gave it 4 stars or better. Most common criticisms of the album included the lack of extended solos, and that the songs could have used some better development by testing them out on the road more (only "Conviction Song" and "All Roads Lead to Home" had been previously performed live).

Overall, the album fared about the same as their previous studio album, The Conch
The Conch
The Conch is the eighth studio album by the American rock band moe. It was released on January 23, 2007 by Fatboy Records. The Conch was moe.'s first studio release in four years.- History :...

, on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Music charts.

Track listing

  1. Cathedral
  2. Sticks and Stones
  3. Darkness
  4. Conviction Song
  5. ZOZ (Zed Nought Z)
  6. Deep This Time
  7. All Roads Lead to Home
  8. September
  9. Queen of Everything
  10. Raise a Glass

Personnel

  • Chuck Garvey
    Chuck Garvey
    Chuck Garvey is one of two guitarists for the American rock band moe.. His playing has been influenced by Frank Zappa, Mick Ronson, David Bowie, Pete Townshend, Andy Summers, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He currently lives in the Cincinnati, Ohio area....

     - vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

  • Rob Derhak
    Rob Derhak
    Robert Derhak, also known simply as Rob, is the bass guitarist and a founding member of the American jam band moe..- 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...

     - vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

  • Vinnie Amico - drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

  • Al Schnier
    Al Schnier
    Al Schnier 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...

     - guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

  • Jim Loughlin - percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

    , acoustic guitar
    Steel-string acoustic guitar
    A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...


Album

Chart Provider(s) Peak
position
Certification Sales/
shipments
Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 (U.S.)
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

119 Not certified N/A
Billboard Top Independent Albums (U.S.) 16
Billboard Heatseekers (U.S.) 2
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