moe. is a band (and, yes, that’s how the band name is spelled). Their songs are clever and catchy and courageous, much like the five band members themselves. This has made moe. very popular among smart folks who like to dance and smile, like our super friend Jenn Ritchie who is great at both dancing and smiling (among other things).
As followers of the Trans-Americas Journey know, we miss the live music scene we left behind when we left NYC in 2006. Out here on the road we get a fix of our favorites by listening to the Jam On channel on XM Satellite Radio. That’s where we heard one of moe.’s latest songs which is called Puebla. As we listened to the song we started wondering: is this a song about Puebla the actual city or does the band mean pueblo as in the Spanish word for any old village?
Our friend Jenn took our question straight to the band and here’s what moe. guitarist Al Schnier had to say:
“Puebla the song is about the victory in the town of Puebla in 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War. It was a small, but significant, battle in which the outnumbered Mexicans gained some much needed momentum over French invaders and it took place in the town of Puebla on May 5th. In the US we drink Coronas after work and have taco day at school to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but I was reading about Cinco De Mayo and I was intrigued by the real story of Puebla.”
As we leave the city of Puebla after nine days of sampling mole and crunching on grasshoppers and enjoying chiles en nogada and seeing awesome hotels (inluding Casona de la China Poblana, La Purificadora, and Casa Reyna), going to cooking school at Mesón Sacristía de la Compañía, touring museums, seeing tons of Talavera tile, catching fleeting glimpses of the nearly 18,000 foot (5,500 meter) high still-active Popocatepetl volcano (David, we need more of your pronunciation lessons!) and tasting some very special Mexican wines it seems like an appropriate time to share moe.’s take on the town and the seminal battle in Puebla.
Listen to moe. Puebla – Live at Summer Camp Music Festival on 2011-05-27
This is not the first time moe. has sung the praises of Mexico. Here’s another infectious moe. ditty about Al’s real-life 21st birthday adventure in Mexico. Which leads us to one “moe.” question for the band: Isn’t it time for a south of the border tour?
Listen to: moe. – Mexico – Live at moe.down 8, Snow Ridge Ski Area on 2007-09-01
moe.rocks, the new songs are excellent! Go see moe.!