July 2008 - Posts
I have talented friends. I never cease to be amazed at what can transpire when one of these characters pick up an instrument. Jake and I were chatting in the back of the bus as he strummed about on his acoustic. I grabbed my pocket recorder, turned off the air conditioner (noise pollution), and told him "GO". This clip is just what happened to be floating through his mind at that moment, not bad for a white guy.
Jake shits out music like Kobayashi after a Nathan's hot dog eating contest.
As it seems just about every devices has a camera built into it, we are constantly snapping photos of the various odds and ends of our daily experiences on the road. Some get sent off to our families and friends, some make there way to the "The Floor" and some never seem to find the light of day. So I figured we'd share some of the recent pictures that have fallen through the cracks.
These three pics were from a segue way tour in downtown Indianapolis last weekend.
The stoic Farag cruises under blue skies.
Ryan and Adam check in on their Facebook tanning club.
Kris wishes he was "this tall"
Kenny Bloggins: Joel is too cool for school backstage in Boston holding a Becker axe.
Kris's usual sunday afternoon routine on the bus includes hands free eating, vodka curls, and vacuuming.
And here is the final installment in this three part series. This is the version as it was performed last night at Pier 6 in Baltimore. It was sandwiched in Phil's Farm which was also performed with both Jake and Brendan on Babicz acoustic guitars. Hope everyone enjoyed hearing this piece come together as much as we enjoyed creating it.
The view of soundcheck from Front of House. Take note of the Cubs stellar comeback victory streaming on my laptop.
This is the "Final" backstage version. Stay tuned for the actual show version after the set tonight.
This is what happens when there's an hour to kill before a sound check. With Joel's inability to stay away from the harpsichord patch, the sound was destined to make its way into a written stewart at some point. That point is tonight. Jake and Joel hammered out the basic structure to this arrangement here in backstage lounge at Baltimore's Pier 6.
(These tracks are yours to freely download. Just click on the title 'Hip Hop Bach' to access)
This first clip is the work in progress.
For those of you who may not have a first edition copy of our critically acclaimed first record "Greatest Hits Vol. III" you may not know that the original pressings had our name misspelled on the spine. (Umprey's McGee) While that was the first 'official' errant spelling of our name, there have been far too many variations ever since. Today was yet another brilliant example on display for all 39,928 in attendance at the BoSox Yankees game at historic Fenway. Our ever resourceful agent Jonathan Levine was kind enough not only to get us tickets but also to see to it that many Bostonians never learn the proper spelling of our band's name.
On a side note, before we get started here I wanted to let you guys know that both Brendan and Jake are trying out 2 new Becker guitars tonight. All handmade here in the Boston area, if these sound half as good as they look we might all be in for a treat. (Check 'em out at beckerguitars.com)
Here's a pic of the guys trying out a few of them backstage just a couple minutes ago.
It was a typical, cold day in Boston in February '03 as we headed from our hotel, the Colonnade, to Harper's Ferry. A legendary Boston venue, Harper's was incidentally also our first Boston play back in '99. So we were familiar with the venue, but as many of know, getting around Boston can be a bit of a navigational challenge. Thankfully, we had Brendan Bayliss, who spent many years of his youth nearby in Wellesley, and claimed to know Boston and its nuances better than the rest of us. Andy, our stalwart driver, took the helm of the van, and Mr. Boston, Brendan Bayliss, took shotgun for the 4 mile trek to the venue. We noticed that the venue was on the same street as the hotel, but Brendan promised us he knew a better way to get to Allston. We started getting suspicious when we went through the same toll not once, not twice, but three times. A true European Vacation Big Ben/Parliament moment. As much as this frustrated Andy behind the wheel, the peanut gallery in the back of the van grew increasingly slap-happy as we circled about the city, hopelessly attempting to find the place. An hour after our departure, we rolled up to Harper's Ferry with a new understanding of many obscure Boston neighborhoods. For all of the times Ryan Stasik has fallen asleep in shotgun (61 at last count), we just might have gotten there a little bit quicker had we chosen a sleeping Stasik over a conscious Mr. Boston for shotgun. Brendan, we love you. And so does the state of Massachusetts for all of those extra donations.
Not all days are created equal. Last night I climbed on the bus in the Windy City and this morning I rolled out of my bunk well rested in the Big Apple. No day in NYC is complete for me without a run or bike through Central Park. So off I went to put in some miles in Frederick Law Olmstead's masterpiece. For any of you who have not had the chance to wander through this park, use those vacation days. Lose yourself in 'The Ramble' and you'll have to remind yourself that your in a city of 8 million plus. There really is nothing quite like Central Park.
Next a bunch of us were off to meet UM Project Manager extraordinaire Rachel Lowen for some classic New York pie. She insisted that New York pizza reigns supreme over Chicago style but fortunately they are both outstanding so everybody wins. Ryan demonstrates for us the proper technique for knocking back a slice.
Our first sound check at the historic Roseland Ballroom followed. Following rehearsal, Brendan, Jake, Ryan & I had the honor of the attending a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This is something I have wanted to for the last 4 years and today it finally happened. Many thanks to Teri at The Daily Show for hooking it up. It was a true joy to watch Jon Stewart in action, his wit and sharp mind are all the more apparent live. I found myself reading along in the teleprompter noting with what ease he causally varies and alters the script ever so slightly to ensure the fluidity of the moment. (And yes he is as short as he always jokes about)
We enjoyed a delicious pre-show Cuban meal with our good friend Syd Schwartz talking shop. Andy got bored with his skirt steak and opted to sit in with the ripping trio that serenaded us during our meal.
And now I find myself sitting at Front of House listening to Sts9 tear it up. Ryan Knutson, sound tribe's golden eared sound engineer, has the place sounding tight & thick while their LD Saxton visually waxes the crowd.
Well, it's about that time and as Germaine says, "It's business time". Today I am reminded of just how truly blessed I am to have the opportunity to mix a band that I love and travel all over this land of ours with my boys. We'll try to provide you some updates tomorrow from Philly but that's all for now. For those of you scoring at home, if I told you JaJunk was going to be the opener, would you believe me?
A nice day at Six Flags New England turned sour for UM Co Lighting Designer Wade Wilby. As Wade was passing by Toon Town, Foghorn Leghorn wrote a check his costume couldn't cash and picked a fight with Wilby. Bugs Bunny ran to officiate but by then it was too late. The excruciating donnybrook spawned quite a crowd and lasted a brutal 12 rounds before Tweety Bird realized Leghorn had been picking on him his whole life and ended the fight with a 2x4 across Leghorn's back, offically ending the theme park scuffle. We here at UM apologize to the families who had to witness such a display of violence and wish Foghorn Leghorn a speedy recovery.
Hometown shows are always a mixture of emotions. Both exciting and nerve racking, fun and full of pressure, pleasurable to have all our family and friends there to enjoy it with us, and a lot to deal with at the same time. I spent the majority of the day at Charter One Pavilion, watching the radar on Don’s laptop – praying that the precipitation steer clear of the area formerly known as Meigs Field. It would dump buckets of rain, the storm clouds coming in cells across the screen, and then clear up, throughout the day. As the sky cleared and a strange fog rolled over parts of the skyline, I took a moment to climb to the highest point of the venue’s bleachers to look over the empty pavilion to the South, Soldier Field to the West, the city skyline and Navy Pier veiled in fog to the North, and our dear Lake Michigan and nearby beach to the East. It was indeed the quiet after the storm, and before the rock show that would ensue. As the fans started to line up at the gates as early as 1:30 in the afternoon, and the PA pumped some Steely Dan to get nice and warmed up, I had a feeling that we were in for a good night. With over 5000 folks in attendance, this was truly one of my proudest nights as manager of Umphrey’s McGee. Thanks to all of you who shared it with us.
"Before"
"Soldier Field"
"To the North"
"After"
I wanted to post some of Brett Saul's pictures up here as I think they are quite awesome. Brett has been taking high quality pictures and video for (of) us for a handful of years now and they're getting better all the time. Charter One is such a scenic venue that it lends itself well to the lens.
As Stone Fury once said, "Chicago... City of big shoulders, big dreams, it's my town, Chitown"
"Take That"
"Where is the damn button for the Sears Tower?"
Just trying to make sure I don't hit the "suck button"
Bayliss pleads with Robbie to throw some grapes in his expectant mouth
Rock Show
Thursday, July
9th
Willow
Island, Madison, Wisconsin
After a
couple of days off from a previous weekend in steamy Minneapolis, we found
ourselves yearning for pants and jackets as our visit to Madison was a bit
crisp to say the least.... except for the heat and sweat coming off the psyched
Wisconsin crowd keeping us warm and properly pumped! I find Madison to be
one of my favorite places to play, mainly because the crowd has the hunger to
"expel that senseless rage!!"
Ahh,
yes...the pride of the Midwest for sure. Even though most in the band
was feeling relaxed and at home, I was a bit nervous before the show...until
I went to Front of House to hear the mix. Our PA system is being provided
by Ryan Knutson, engineer for Sound Tribe Sector Nine. I've been
looking forward to this tour, working with such a cutting edge group in our
scene that has it together both sonically and visually. This was
evident when I heard the killin' mix up front....so pristine and carefully caressed
by ours and STS9's hard working sound crew.
I guess
the main reason for the nervousness, for what it's worth, was only because
after touring relentlessly for the last 5 years, one can find themselves
feeling a bit rusty and repetitive...maybe even without knowing it. I should've
known that the crowd keeps me feeling charged again and again, so, why the
nervousness? I think sometimes you have your days when your playing isn't
quite up to snuff. As a drummer, it is all about motion, how you move
dictates how you sound. It really seems, however, that
no matter how you work on your motion the song dictates how you play.
Honestly, I have my days where I'm not feeling confident in how I'm playing the
songs. You can play all your rudiments, groove exercises, play along
CD's and DVD's you want, but if your not playin' the song, none of that means
a thing. Luckily, though, I was in Madison, where the crowd makes you
feel like a million bucks.....and...your back in the song! Everybody in the
band starts to feel and breathe through the music together almost
effortlessly...like you knew what you were going to play before you played
it. Even nights where you all might not be on the same page, the crowd
truly gets you elevated. It is nights like these where you realize
that you are nothing without your fellow listeners, who are there for exact
reasons you are...to rock that ***! We are off to a great start this tour
for sure.
We were finally able to post a piece titled "Serenading the Animals" that was supposed to go up last week. Scroll down to view the hilarity that was Jake & Joel at the zoo.
Call me nostalgic but there is some intangible that always
makes me smile when I venture out in the American Midwest. Today I found myself running through
the rolling hills of rural Council Bluffs, IA (speed work and hill intervals for
those of you scoring at home). As
more and more of the US succumbs to strip malls and chain mania, it has become
harder and harder to distinguish just exactly where you are. But some internal
compass always alerts me to my presence in Middle America. I'm hard pressed to
hide my affinity for the vast rural interior of these United States.
In an ever more hurried and technology centered world, the
allure of slowing down and getting back to basics is attractive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready to
quit producing audio and milk cattle just yet but I admire how folks live out
here. The simplicity of a hard
days work turning the earth is to be appreciated. Majestic sunrises over dew
laden soybeans and seemingly endless star gazing is serene and inspiring for
even the most jaded of city dwellers. There is something to be said you see
more wild turkeys than human beings on a six mile run.
At it's core, life is probably not that much easier out here
as farmers fret over the same high oil prices and unforeseen consequences of
globalization that most do. But
the way of life just seems like an honest way to spend your days while
contributing to the good of the whole.
We bounce around this great land of ours and are fortunate enough to see
all that this country has to offer.
And I just can't help but smile every time I find myself running in the
Midwest in the middle of nowhere.
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