Kris Myers shows off some unconventional drumming techniques backstage at Mayan Holidaze. Takes all kinds...
Who needs a new UM branded 
backpack & wants to have their face melted by Umphrey's McGee? Well, here's your chance...
We are teaming up with our friends at to bring you a umVIP facebook contest for our upcoming tour. Submit a photo & corresponding caption of your old, tattered pack and tell us why you most need a replacement. We encourage humor with both the photo & your corresponding caption. Make us laugh and improve your chances of victory. Winners will receive four (4) umVIP tickets plus a host of UM goodies including embroidered umVIP backpack, early entry, reserved seating and more totaling $676 large. Head over to our umVIP page for full details about each of the four show packages.
The details:
Where: Facebook
When: January 13th - 31st
How: Submit a photo of your worn out backpack, indicate which show you'd like to win tickets for in your post & tag both
@High Sierra Sport Company and
@Umphrey's McGee. (To tag pages on facebook, make sure you 'like' High Sierra Sport Company & UM, then insert the @ symbol before typing both names)
Fine Print: You may only win one of the four contests but are free to enter all four. No hotel packages are included in this offering (tickets, amenities & swag only). You may not resell any of the tickets. Anyone caught doing so will forfeit their victory.
Really Fine Print: Joel is old.
Kris Myers lights it up during '1348' at The Pageant, St. Louis, MO on 12/29/11
Ryan Stasik remembers a couple December shows of yesteryear that are now available for half off during the UMLive flash sale.
12/16/07 Carribean Holidaze, Runaway Bay, Jamaica
Playing on the beach is always awesome. Playing on the beach under the stars in Jamaica is particuarly awesome. And playing with Andrew Tosh & his giant spliff on that beach was most awesome. Keller Williams joined in on the fun for a great version of Partyin' Peeps as well. Good times people.
12/31/04 The Riviera, Chicago, IL
Hmmmm, Jugglers, trapeze, Jake on drums, horn with Ophelia and sledgehammer, Mini Kiss running around stage drunk on my tequila.....I'd say this is worthy of a listen!
And we are proud to feature Micah Gordon, Director of Production at Nugs.net/LiveDownloads.com, as a guest blogger reflecting on a few decemeber gems.
12/29/06 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
This was my first New Years run experience with Umphrey’s McGee. Unfortunately I was only able to go to the first night because I had to work on the 30th and 31st but as far as I was concerned the band played like it was New Years Eve. The Ocean Billy book ends were perfectly haunting for the reverberant Aragon Ballroom, the 2nd set All In Time opener was spectaculr, but the highlight of the show was the 17 minute August. Performed with soaring guitar solos this one is not to be missed.
12/31/07 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
I was back in Chicago for three full nights of Umphrey’s McGee at the Aragon. This venue was the site of my first concert ever as a 7th grader and many more shows throughout high school. I had never really heard good sound in this room but the Sound Caresser had the place dialed in. It was the first time that I had ever heard the pipe organ in use and also the first time that I'd seen the band perform with horns. The countdown is a moment that I will never forget. I knew that there was nowhere else in the world that I wanted to be at that moment.
12/30/08 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
The Auditorium Theatre is such a beautiful room that brings out the best in any artist. This show was my favorite of the three night run featuring Stanley Jordan and Joshua Redman. I had seen lots of sit-ins with lots of band in the past where the band played around the guest. Tonight, Redman became the 7th member of the band. It felt as if he was had playing with them since day one. And when you thought it couldn’t get any better, they brought out Stanley Jordan. The trio of guitars during 40’s Theme between Jake, Brendan and Stanley was over the top.
Joel Cummins reflects on a couple of old gems that are currently on sale at umlive.net. Head over and stock up on some new cheap tunes for the Holidays.
12/3/04 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta GA
The end of 2004 marked a turning point for the band as we sold out many of the shows in towns where we had never had a sell out before. The Variety was another sold out affair and also marked the 2nd night in a row that the fire marshall shut the show for a few minutes because it just got too darn crazy in there. Some fun improv inside the Haunt, FF & Much Obliged and a few rarities such as Pequod, Ahab, Kat's Tune, Metallica's "And Justice For All" highlight this show before it concludes with a wild version of Front Porch. Enjoy the energy of
this 2004 classic from one of our favorite early venues to throw down in the South!
12/01/07 Borders, Ann Arbor, MI
The hilariousness of this set cannot be described in words. I can still remember being slightly hung over and walking into the first ever Borders book store that Saturday morning. And I thought to myself, these people have no idea what's about to happen. We laid down a rock show on our practice gear, including the wildly inappropriate set closer of Wizard Burial Ground. With lattes being shaken off of tables in the cafe, we knew the Borders cooking section where we had set up would never be the same. Also of note, enjoy my various comments and questions as I traverse around the crowd with the wireless microphone the kind people at Borders provided for us. And this one is less than $3!
Rocking out in the food & wine department
Joel fielding some Q&A during Kat's Tune
Rachel Lowen, our merchandise development guru, walks you through the the details of just how it all goes down. Head over to our ebay page and bid on any one of this year's mash up costumes, support The People's School of Music and help us get the next generation of kids musical education.
October is always a little weird around the office. Most days, the UM HQ chugs along to a healthy melody of tour planning, merchandising, coming up with fresh ideas to get the music out there- all the good stuff. While none of that slows down, there is certainly a pinch of pizazz added to the mix as the mash-up costume planning begins, and conference tables once covered in contracts and guitar strings becomes overrun with faux facial hair, spirit gum and character wigs.
For the last four years, since the boys adopted musical and costume mash-ups as a central theme to our Halloween shows, I've worked with the band to piece together their outfits for the big night. The process typically starts with a comical group email chain in mid-September with lists of "hilarious characters with first names for last names", and by October 1 the costume scouting is underway. The most fun characters to piece together, are those with an iconic era to their image, and familiar costume pieces recognizable with little explanation- see: Brendan's Richard Simmons short-shorts. We gather the images of the two characters being mashed-up, choose which piece from which character to wear, and then I hit local costume shops, thrift stores, and the interwebs to create the look.
Rachel & The Band backstage at the Tabernacle
Working in branding, my eyes have become trained to spot trends, and some interesting ones have emerged from year to year with the band's costume choices. Andy seems to go for sports legends and iconic American characters. Brendan and Jake have both stuck with eccentric guitarists from year to year, keeping in character for much of the show- often to a truly surreal level (see: Jake as Paul Stanley). Ryan has historically been the easiest, as no matter what the character, he's (hilariously) already owned much of his costume- "I'm doing Dr. Evil Knievel, and I'll just need the bald head, since I have a full Evil Knievel suit...I'm doing Brett Michael's Jackson, but I'll really just need the blond wig and Ed Hardy tee since I have the Michael Jackson outfit and red Thriller jacket at home." Kris has proven himself to be a character actor through and through, often choosing a mash-up for emphasis on the personality- Larry David Letterman's Top 10 Lists, and Pamela Anderson Cooper's reporting as examples. Joel has portrayed keyboardist mash-ups two of the four years we've done this, and total "big personality" wild cards the other two years. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next year.
We've learned some valuable lessons over the years- mainly, over all else, wear something you can play in! (see: Kris' Incredible Hulk Hogan in 2008).
Helping the guys create their mash-ups is one of the most fun parts of my job here at UM HQ. The creativity and spirit of the band never ceases to amaze.
Till next year,
Rachel
A photographic journey through some key scenes of the Booth Love video. Our goal was to feature the city of Chicago & our talented roller girls while plugging in band cameos that showcased each band member's personality. We hope you're enjoying the video as much as we enjoyed making it. Please keep sharing it with your grandparents, dentist, professor, uncle Steve and that funny yahoo who works at your local 7-11. Spread it!
Photos by Jeremy Jackson ("normal") & Kevin Browning (Hipstamatic + 'the squeeze' photo)
Grillmaster Farag hanging on the set with his family. Interesting tidbit about "mom"
The BBQ sauce pretty much says it all
Looking good Myers, looking good
Street view as the girls skate up Sheffield Ave. just outside the beloved Wrigley Field
Crankstrap director Travis Rime Brooks checks out footage of Jake's Red, White & Blue
Stasik dons the headcam
Stasik, Brooks, Browning & the girls talk through the impending face plant
Flashmob Cinematogrphy: Many thanks to all the fans who helped us film this scene on 3+ dozen cell phones. The quick edits in this scene are a result of your footage
Kevin Browning takes a dip to capture Ryan's lake entry. There was some concern the rollerblades would drag him to the bottom but alas, all worked out & he didn't drown
Kri$$ & AIJA get a customized T from Pony & his rattail
Fun Fact: The stars of the show have all spent time as the Chicago Blackhawks ice girls
B-roll shot for the opening 'lo-fi' sequence
Moral of the story here is don't ever play chess with Joel
A huge thank you to Travis Rime Brooks & Ashley Loquercio at Crankstrap Prodocutions for helping us craft this great video.
filmed in our beloved chicago
travis rime brooks, director
kevin browning, executive producer
ashley loquercio, producer
ryan stasik, concept
jeremy jackson, director of photography
matthew rice, assistant camera
ashley loquercio, production manager
christina colosimo, production assistant
travis rime brooks, editor/post-production
our awesome fans, cell phone cameras
kelly bush, hair
meghan pilronen, hair
danielle tinebro, make-up
cast:
christe bottigliero, rollergirl blue
laura walker, rollergirl pink
paige winkeles, rollergirl green
brendan bayliss, damn
jake cinninger, red white & blue
joel cummins, cheater
andy farag, grillmaster
kris myers, buckets
ryan stasik, faceplant
danielle day, bbq mom
emma ryan, bbq child 1
caite ryan, bbq child 2
murphy browning, bbq baby
A remix contest has been a point of discussion for years in the UM camp. We are thrilled that we've finally been able to realize that vision with Death By Stereo. With the help of our friends over at Indaba Music, we've created a remix contest for four album tracks with the opportunity to win $4000 in prize money plus a spot on our remix EP. Booth Love, Deeper, Miami Virtue & Domino Theory are all proving to be great vehicles to remix and the entires thus far have truly run the musical gamut. But don't take our word for it, check out the contest and see what tickles your fancy.
Digital Tape Machine's own Dan Rucinski's Booth Love remix
As part of the contest, we are offering a basic set of downloadable stems for free. Stems are essentially sub mixes of the key ingredients of the song...all the drums, all the keyboard tracks, so forth and so on. On top of that, we are offering an advanced stem pack for each song which contains every individual element from these tracks. For only $7, you can have every piece of the puzzle. You'll be able to dissect every snare hit, guitar lick, bass line and vocal harmony isolated from the rest. Additionally, they are all full resolution WAV files so the quality is pristine. We have never offered more intimate access inside the inner workings of any UM songs. Get them while you can.
A snippet of Jake's solo Booth Love vocal stem
A snippet of Jake's Domino Theory guitar stem
We wanted to share a few of the submissions thus far and encourage any and all of you to take a crack at a remix of your own. The opportunities are endless and there are no rules. Add your own solos, vocals, your dog barking...whatever. Get outisde of the box and see what you come up. And would someone mash two of these songs up already?
MRCLKs Deeper Remix
The Tabernacle: 1911
The Tabernacle: 2011
Night one taking shape
You're starting to catch on
iClips Mission Control
Through the curtain
Jake's notes
Mashup rehearsal
Costume table booty
The Right Rod Laver
\mm/
"I believe in you"
From L to R: Karate Kid Rock, Keith Richard Simmons, Pamela Anderson Cooper, Dimebag Daryl Hall, Raggedy Andy Rooney, Vince Neil Armstrong
Addicted to Love
Nice cans
All photos by Kevin Browning
@soundcaresser
We wanted to thank all of you who pre ordered Death By Stereo by granting access to a live in studio webcast this past Monday. Thanks for tuning in or catching it on the archive. The evening was full of great music and hilarious banter. Set II was almost entirely acoustic including a great rendition of Orfeo (solo Cummins) and only the 2nd performance of The Weight Around (solo Bayliss).
Jake debuts the acoustic demo version of Search 4
Cornelius J. Tunester (aka Death By Stereo Boombox) sitting in on the session
Audio downloads of the entire in studio performance are now available. Many of you have expressed interest in video downloads so we're looking into that as well. Who could deny that pull?
Manny Sanchez & Kevin Browning at the API Console in the IV Lab Control Room
Puppet String (make sure to check out the following banter track "birds & the bees" - some sage advice from Stasik's mom)
NOTE: If you didn't receive your access code but pre-ordered the album from our pre-order page, please forward your receipt or order number to dbswebcast@gmail.com to receive a code. iTunes pre orders were not included as part of this offer (it's a whole different eco system over there in Cupertino folks)
We all knew that stealth Groupon show at Lincoln Hall was going to be memorable. We just didn't realize how memorable it was going to be.
The Poster
About 15 minutes before the show was scheduled to start, I found myself milling about in the lobby when I heard the power fizzle. The entire city block went dark as the back up generators kicked on, keeping the venue illuminated. Blowing a fuse is one thing, an entire grid outage is something else entirely. I headed upstairs to inform the band of our predicament and start plotting a plan B. Waiting on the power company to fix things in a timely manner is like waiting on the rapture, it just ain't gonna happen.
We determined that we could muster enough juice from the generators to power 4 amps on stage allowing all 6 guys to at least play something...no PA, no monitors, no vocal microphones, and 4 lights (soon to be 3). My thoughts immediatley turned to the recording as we certainly couldn't afford to miss this. We back lined (rented) all the gear so all of the usual tools weren't at gig which left us with few options. So Chris Mitchell grabbed our FOH microphones and I roped in the Groupon camera guy to give up his battery powered recorder and help us out (THANK YOU). I dropped the microhpones at the down stage edge and off we went - recording the band exactly as they sounded off the stage, no mixing.
Day Nurse - One of my personal highlights from the evening
Ryan's bass amp was fried in the outage so Jake, Brendan & Andy kicked things off with some trio material. After a back up amp was snagged from our office, all 6 guys made their way onto the dimly lit stage to play the hand they were dealt. The set list was scrapped and replaced with an impromptu set of instrumental material.
The Original Plan
The power decided to join us around encore time so the guys took a brief break while the crew hurried to put the stage back together. The monitor board was also fried during the outage so the band could not hear themselves or each other for the entire encore. At that point, the recording switches back to a direct sound board mix with zero ambient microphones...one extreme to the other. It was one for the books and we're glad that we we're able to capture it at all. The easy thing to do would have been to shelve it as it's far from perfect but what fun would that have been? It's a once in a lifetime (god willing) experience that was too crazy not to share. It's not your usual UMLive but certainly a gem for the collection.
On that tip, we are making the entire show available for only $4 by extenidng the Groupon Now! deal today. Yea, we know we're crazy but we love you. GO GET IT NOW before it's regular price.
I'd personally like to give everyone involved a tip of the cap for rising above and just making it happen. Our crew was phenomnal (as usual) and both the Groupon & Lincoln Hall peeps kept on plugging away. What a night!
-Kevin
POWER
P.S. Did I mention that The Haunt was slated to be the original version? :)
In a continued effort to give you more of what you want, we are pleased to bring you another way to bask in some UM glory.
We filmed all 4 nights of our Brooklyn Bowl run this September and like mom says, it's nice to share. You can now stream any of the 4 shows for only $2.99 each or $10.99 for all 4. Purchase all 4 and you'll also get exclusive video of our Stew Art Series from Thursday, September 8th. This is the first time we've ever released an S2 in its entirety, let alone with video. All 4 shows are packed with highlights, from Bob Weir and Biz Markie sit ins to debuts of the new album songs Miami Virtue and Domino Theory. There is something for everybody in here.
Watch each video-on-demand purchase for 48 hours. The videos are 720p HD with high quality audio.
We hope you enjoy these shows as much as we did. Thanks for the continued support.
\mm/
Night One
Night Two
Night Three
Night Four
More Posts
Next page »