Gimme some moe.

As of 7 p.m. Thursday, UB alumni and jam band icons moe. are hall of famers. They were inducted in a ceremony at the Tralf Music Hall along with others, including master kids' musician Glenn Colton and self-proclaimed best party band Hit 'n' Run.

Starting off just as a couple of guys that played music together, the band has come a long way – from playing its first show at a friend's Halloween party to being inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.

Because the band formed in Buffalo, most of the band's members lived here for seven or eight years. The group has a strong connection to the city and is honored by the award.

'It's pretty cool, man,' said Chuck Garvey, moe.'s guitarist. 'It seems like a really long time ago that we lived there, but Buffalo… we kind of consider home.'

Even though moe. is known for having a sound of its own, Garvey does consider Buffalo band and Buffalo Music Hall of Famers Spyro Gyra to be an influence on his music.

Many moe. fans would have expected the group to have already been members of the hall, but the group is not bitter about having to wait.

'As far as these things go, you can never really expect or demand anything like that … But it's awesome when it does [happen],' Garvey said.

Having been a staple in the jam band festival scene for years now, the group enjoyed returning to play the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival again this summer for fans, hoping to turn listeners who had never heard the group into 'moe.rons.'

'Obviously that's one of the benefits of playing a festival like that. There's such a big mix of indie rock and jam bands and all different kinds of music, so all different kinds of fan bases are going to mix,' Garvey said. 'It's a lot of fun and you're going to see something you've never seen before.'

Although some of his best memories at UB involved skipping class, Garvey enjoyed his years here and has some great memories of the band's beginnings.

Though his initial career path involved architecture, Garvey changed his major a couple times and ended up with a degree in illustration, art and computer art. Of the professors he had, the guitarist remembers one in particular having an influence on his life.

'I can't remember his name. He was an art professor who was really grumpy and anti-establishment, just a real anti-social dude,' Garvey said.

The professor's attitude had the most effect, Garvey said.

'He's the one who even if you weren't . . . spectacular students, as long as you had a slightly dangerous idea or thought a little different than everyone else, he applauded that,' Garvey said. 'He'd give good grades for it. I was lucky to have a guy like that who kind of doctored different thinking.'

The professor may not have made up Garvey's mind on becoming a musician, but the guitarist believes he did affect other aspects of his life.

Garvey considers a show the group played at Broadway Joe's – where a customer brought out a gun and punched Garvey in the face – one of his favorites.

'Broadway Joe's had this earlier crowd of bikers and career drinkers and he was one of them,' Garvey said, describing the man, who got thrown out for starting a fight. 'He left and came back with a gun. … He kind of walked through and for some reason or another he decided to punch me in the face as he was on his way out.'

Going from playing at a bar down the street from South Campus to headlining its own festivals, moe. is a rags-to-riches story.

The band is looking forward to returning to the Queen City not only for Thursday's induction ceremony and the show it will be playing Friday at 7p.m. at the Town Ballroom, but also for just being able to come back.

'We still have a bunch of friends who live in Buffalo. We're always looking forward to the food, the bars and the people. There are a lot of different things we miss about Buffalo,' Garvey said. 'It's always good to go back. There's a lot to revisit every time we go back.'

E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com