Dereck Higgins: Remembering Al Moss at Omaha’s Offbeat | NE Music Memories

words by Michael Todd | photos and interview by Chevy Anderson

Dereck Higgins remembers Omaha's Offbeat well.

In the late '60s — before he was old enough to go to shows — Higgins would sneak in to the club next to Carver Bank. His parents were both musicians, and he knew of the Offbeat through his dad's concerts at the venue.

One night, Higgins sneaked in to see Al Moss: "He could play the hell out of that guitar," says Higgins, a longtime Omaha musician who has played in bands from Digital Sex to InDreama. "Al Moss was amazing, and that was the first time that I saw a black person live do rock ‘n’ roll like that.”

This is Higgins' most significant, first Nebraska music memory. Listen to his full interview on Offbeat, and see more photos by Chevy Anderson in a slideshow further below. Higgins' most recent musical output includes his solo album Sonospheres II, which was pressed onto vinyl: 150 in emerald green and 150 in red vinyl. Buy the record here.

INTERVIEW

LOCATION

PHOTOS

Chevy Anderson is a Hear Nebraska intern, and Michael Todd is Hear Nebraska's managing editor. Reach them at chevya@hearnebraska.org and michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org respectively.