Mellow, Eclectic, Improvised Jams With Moe.

Self-described rock ‘n’ roll band moe. is set to play The Paramount on Friday.

By Jano Tantongco

jtantongco@longislandergroup.com

With the mellow vibes of upstate New York and the improvisational flare of extended jam sessions married to the grit of the bar band scene, some may call moe. a prog rock or jam band, but they consider themselves rock ‘n’ roll.

Founded in 1989, the band members grew to become their own establishment, with a discography spanning 24 albums, including their latest, 2014 album, “No Guts, No Glory.” And they’re set to play The Paramount this weekend.

“There’s this overlapping thing where we have these different influences. And, because we’re all from upstate New York, classic rock just is kind of an automatic,” Vinnie Amico, drummer, said.

As most of the band met while they were studying at University of Buffalo, the burgeoning scene gave way to a burst of creativity and original music, Amico said. But still, moe. carved its own niche.

“They were more into indie music, punk or harder stuff, and moe. was kind of playing more of a funky, some ska, just kind of melding influences a little more. These guys were jamming,” Amico, who joined the band in 1996, said.

Moe. also features both Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey on guitar and vocals, Rob Derhak on bass and Jim Loughlin as the percussionist and second drummer.

After all these years, Amico said, the band still brims with passion and a desire to create.

“It’s fueled by the fact that we all like playing together and still writing music. We’d probably all be miserable if we weren’t doing this,” he said.

He added that they were influenced by a myriad of artists including the Grateful Dead, Steely Dan and Frank Zappa.

Regarding their uniquely stylized name, Amico said it came from a slightly mischievous origin.

“I think it was just to mess with editors. You can’t really start a sentence in the editorial world with a small ‘m’ o-e, period. It just totally screws with everybody,” Amico said.

Moe. is headed downstate to Huntington village on Friday to play The Paramount. Amico added that the band rotates who writes the setlist for any given show, so the audience should be ready for a one-of-a-kind, improvised performance.

“We’ve never played The Paramount before and have heard it’s an awesome venue. It’s been a while since we’ve played on Long Island,” Amico said.

Tickets range from $35-$75. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show is slated to begin at 8 p.m.