moe.’s Rob Derhak on His Health Scare, Return and Tuning In from Home
Paul Citone
moe. bassist Rob Derhak learned of his nasopharyngeal cancer during a band conference call in mid-July. He clicked over to speak with his doctor, who was reporting test results after a lymph node had been removed from his neck, and received the startling news.
“I got off the phone with her and I went back to the band call, and I just sat there listening to them talk,” Derhak recalls. “I was in shock. It was an hour of me sitting there listening and just being out of it. I went through the whole meeting and then I was like, ‘Look guys…’”
At the end of July, moe. announced that other than three upcoming dates, “We will be closing our doors until further notice.”
In short order, the Maine resident began traveling to Boston for chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Three months later, on November 29, Derhak reported on Facebook that “Although I’ll need to continue the Dr.’s visits for the next five years, they’ve given me a clean bill of health and declared me cancer-free, with only a minimal chance that it will return.”
However, Derhak is still on the mend. “Due to the chemo, I’ve lost part of my hearing,” he explains. “I also get ringing that hasn’t gone away. Hopefully, it’ll clear, but it doesn’t always.”
Though the cancer was located at the base of his nose rather than his larynx, as the doctors initially suspected, there was some concern as to whether the medical procedure might impact his voice. “You’re talking about a centimeter away from where it would be,” the bassist says. “So the treatment was all in my throat and the face area. It still beat
Derhak is slated to rejoin moe. when they end their brief hiatus with shows at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., on February 2 and 3.
Outside of the moe. world, you’re something of a private person. Was it diffcult for you to make this announcement about your health?
I have my music persona, but I’m a different person at home. I have a life here in Maine and I have other friends who aren’t in the world of music at all. The thing that I struggled with the most, when I was about to announce it, was that it’s not just the moe. fans who are gonna know. It was going to affect my kids. I just felt really feeble. In a way, I was almost embarrassed, but I knew that I had to say something because I had no choice about doing it.
But then the response that I got about it—I couldn’t believe it. It was a rough year for me, starting with my mom passing away in January, and just seeing how people came together made me feel really good. So many people were generous in a way that not only helped me, but I think might have helped them.
Despite your relative anonymity, looking back over the years, can you talk about a particular moment when someone realized your secret identity?
I was a lacrosse player in high school and then I picked it up again, maybe like nine or 10 years ago. I started playing with a men’s league, and I was at a tournament in Lake Placid one time. I had a moe. sticker on the back of my helmet and the defensemen that was on me said, “Hey, cool sticker, I love that band. They’re my favorite. Anyone ever tell you that you kind of look like the bass player?” And I was like, “Yeah, ‘cause I am him.” Then he started flipping out. Their team was beating the shit out of us, so he said, “Look, I’ll let you shoot. If you get the ball I’ll stay off you and let you take the shot.” I told him, “I don’t need any help, dude,” but when I did get the ball he wouldn’t play me—he just stepped off of me. So I just ripped a shot from way far away. It was kind of funny.
Before a recent New York show, you took to Facebook and had some strong words for fans about not buying tickets on the secondary market. [Derhak wrote: “I implore you guys to not buy those tickets. Fuck those guys! If you missed out, just catch us the next time around.”] Had that been on your mind for a while?
I just reacted without giving it much thought. I was pissed that the tickets were gone and that these people were sort of capitalizing on that. I thought it was absurd, and it still pisses me off. I don’t think there should be an industry based on scamming tickets. It was a frustrating thing to see; I didn’t like it and I spoke my piece.
When moe. performed with Phil lesh at Lockn’, you watched from home. What was that experience like?
When we had to cancel a bunch of stuff, it was a struggle for me personally because we have employees and the guys in the band have families to take care of. I had told them: “You may want to consider keeping a couple of these shows, and I’ll talk to some other bass players who will come in and cover for me.” But nobody felt right about that. I was like, “At the very least, still do the show with Phil” because I wasn’t planning on playing anyhow.
The way we originally planned it out, I was going to play the moe. set beforehand, but then, it didn’t make sense to have two bass players. So I thought it would be really cool to go out in the audience and watch moe. play. It would be like this dream I’ve had of seeing the band play live, which is impossible because I’m in the band. This was going to be the closest that I would ever get to doing that.
As it turned out, I watched it in my basement on the widescreen while it was happening, which was still pretty freaking cool.
Did you know that Bobby [Weir] was going to wear a “rob.” shirt?
I had no idea. I ended up texting him and thanking him. He was really supportive, really worried about me, and he kept in touch. I knew he was a nice guy, but I didn’t know he was that nice.
This article originally appeared in the January-February 2018 issue of Relix.
