Moe! Staiano founded the Moe!kestra! project back in the beginning of 1997. The idea came from a show he did in 1996 in Berkeley at a place called Beanbenders where he gathered some dozen or so musicians to do a simple instruction, playing a one sustained note from soft, quite, crescendoing into a loud frenzy before playing free and all totally out while Moe! destroys several television sets and lighting off Whistling Pete’s fireworks (a frantic and future Moe!kestra! player Bill Horvitz had to momentarily stop Moe! to save his guitar amp that was in harms way). At the end of the show o all the excitement and cheering, Brian Hall (from Ubzub) was shouting “Moechestra! Moechestra!” This gave Moe! the idea of working in a large orchestra format and started writing text instructional scores (Moe! has no music theory, so he needed to describe how the musicians play his scores though there are some notated parts, both traditional and graphically) and wrote Piece No.1: Death of A Piano, which was loosely based on the 1996 performance and literally requires the actual destruction of a piano, which has been performed in about six times total.




Moe! Staiano likes the use of multiples of the same instrument to give it a larger, big sound. Some shows has present and many as eight drummers (drum sets and assorted percussion) mixed in with massive amounts of guitars, reeds, strings, etc. He has aimed at making music with destruction (destroying pianos, breaking dishes), sound (dropping kitchen utensils, using sirens, wine glasses) and unconventional instrumentation (wine glasses, u-bolts and prepared guitar treatments). Visually, Moe! runs frantically like a madman, cuing musicians and storming around, arms flailing about, being very visual and very into his work.



There are two types of Moe!kestra! conduction. The first is a written score, filled with instructional text, notations and graphics, which he has written eight pieces. The other is a conducted improvisation where Moe! uses a glossary of hand cues he uses on the musicians to create on the spot compositions. Generally he uses some written notations that are handed out before hand and cued in when desired, giving unexpected results that are pleasing and intense, but always presents an element of surprise.



When he finds the time, he will continue to write scores for future performances and quotes that doing the Moe!kestra! is a lifetime project. Moe!kestra! performances has been played in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and New York and is aiming to play Europe in the coming year.



“It’s a pounding, moving experience that surrounds the audience (literally; there are dozens of musicians taking up the room). When it’s over you feel as if you’ve heard a whole new form of music.” –Brian Turner/New York Times




Scores:

Piece No.1: Death of a Piano; for large orchestra, 1997

Piece No.2: Death by Dildo; for prepared guitar ensemble, bass and percussion, 1997

Piece No.3 (untitled); for large orchestra, 1997

Piece No.4: Darkness, Lights....Colour Spots!; for
large orchestra, 1998

Piece No.5 (untitled), for large orchestra, 1998

Piece No.6: And They Swore They All Slept Soundly, for large orchestra,
1999

Piece No.7: An Inescapable Siren Within Earshot of Hearing Distance Therein and Other Whereabouts, for strings, percussion, guitars, u-bolts, wine glasses and sirens, 2001-2003

Piece No.8 for Strings, Percussion and Prepared guitar, 2005