October 2008 - Posts
We have officially reached the final city of our October tour and we couldn't be more excited to be in San Francisco for this year's Halloween Monster Mash Up. The Warfield is a gorgeous venue and we expect it to be nothing short of a blowout this evening. There will be plenty of pictures coming at you in the next few days showing a wide variety of (ridiculous) costumes but I wanted to take a few minutes to recap a personal highlight from this past week.
Tuesday, we returned to the Crystal Bay Club in North Lake Tahoe which holds special meaning for me as it's home to one Jim Gamble. Gamble has been on the forefront of the latest in soundboard and audio technology for the last 40 years. The bands that he has mixed reads like a who's who of the all time greats in popular music. (Rolling Stones, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Beach Boys, Black Sabbath, Steve Miller, Alice Cooper, & the Pope to name a few) I have been blessed to be able to mix on his latest brainchild that combines the best elements of both the analog and digital worlds. In a time and place when most manufacturers are cutting corners to save pennies, Gamble has never compromised the integrity of his products for any reason. The bottom line has always been the best possible sound, period. His designs are not the lightest, the easiest, or the cheapest but they sound better than the rest, like warm butter.
So it's always nice to catch up with Jim and his right hand man Blake Beeman when we roll through Tahoe. Blake, who helped Gamble build my console by hand, has turned that club into one of the best small clubs in the nation with it's superior sound and it's high end light & visuals rig. We had a ball as usual and the band played great.
2 nights at 2 different House of Blues' then landed us in LA and San Diego. If you don't live near the beach in LA, I don't know why you'd live there. (Sorry to all our LA friends)
Enough rambling, enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for Halloween updates. It's already getting wild in here!
Jim Gamble performs a little preventative maintenance on my baby
Blake, Jim & Kevin
The Crystal Bay Club gets spooky
Catching Joel in the midst of his Harry Caray impersonation backstage
A symmetric masterpiece at the HOB in San Diego
Searchlights
We woke up to a beautiful fall day in Philadelphia this past Saturday. In addition to preparing for a rock show, Brendan, Ryan and I were preparing for our 1st ever football game against our good friends, The Disco Biscuits. Aron Magner, the Disco Biscuits keyboardist, dropped by and scooped us up, and we headed to South Philly to a park across the street from his house. When we arrived, we found that the Biscuits would be represented by Aron, guitarist Jon Gutwillig, bassist Mark Brownstein, tour manager Mike Polans, lighting designer Johnny Goode III and audio engineer Brian Hollroyd, a rag tag yet formidable crew. After some requisite stretching and route running, the teams were decided. Because we only had three of us there, we drafted promoter Jim Sutcliffe and a friend of theirs, Morgan, to join us. Our confidence was brimming, and as there were 11 players ready to go, we allowed the Biscuits to have a 6 on 5 advantage. Despite our disadvantage, Umphrey’s got on the board first, on a nice touchdown reception deep in the endzone by Brendan Bayliss. The score remained as such for awhile as both defenses tightened up. Just as it seemed the Biscuits would drive for a score, I found myself in the right place at the right time and picked off one of Brian’s passes. I think one of our best game plans was to rotate quarterbacks and keep our receivers fresh. Brendan, Jim, and I all have strong arms and were able to throw deep into their secondary, finding more open receivers as the game went on. Brendan made a great catch in the corner of the endzone on a “meet me at home plate” play as we drove down the side of the field that had a baseball diamond in play. The Biscuits did have some resilience, however, and by halftime, the score was a close 3 touchdowns to 2. Magner suffered what would have been a game ending ankle injury for most, but he showed some serious resolve and came back in to score a touchdown late. While we were all certainly winded, the Biscuits appeared to be more winded than us, and we intended to take advantage of that. During the 2nd half, when I wasn’t QB, I ran deep on every play, attempting to tire out Gutwillig. This set up a nice screen pass to Bayliss, who scampered into the endzone for our 4th score. Magner then scored his touchdown to keep it close at 4 to 3. We got the ball back and I stepped back into the QB role. Going deep right off the bat, I connected with Jim for the final game ending score and it was over. Umphrey’s McGee had been undermanned, on the road and at the end of tour, yet overcame all of this adversity to defeat the Disco Biscuits 5 touchdowns to 3. We all had a blast and this will certainly be something that will happen again, hopefully this time, on our home turf in Chicago!
Final UM stats:
Ryan Stasik, 1 lay out of Mike Polans, 1 INT, 6 receptions for 59 yards
Brendan Bayliss, 3 TD receptions, 1 INT, 4-7 passing for 42 yards
Joel Cummins, 1 passing TD, 2 INTs, 3-6 passing for 66 yards
All players: 3 days of unwalkable quad/hamstring pain!
...and at once I am leveled by the grandeur of Northern California. The windshield of the bus is a rolling mural of the West and just like that, coffee hour has taken a panoramic turn for the better. I am reminded right now that no matter how consuming this job, or any of our jobs are, you can not be enveloped by any one thing in your life. You have to have the ability to take a minute, take a deep breath, and smell the proverbial roses. This morning, the roses came in the form of 12 guys whom I am proud to call my friends watching the beauty of California drift toward us, a buzz with talk of the new album and our upcoming event at The Warfield. More often than not, mornings on tour are forgettable at best, but today felt right. California is a planet.
ps: Jefferson just won 268.50 at Wheel of Fortune. Sick, brah
Wade Wilby
In all the years we've been playing shows on Saturdays in the Fall, we've never managed to line up a gig with a Notre Dame away game. So finally we quit trying and voila.
Pike Public Market, a Seattle staple
The famed fish throwers were kind enough to spare me a salmon to the side of the head while I snapped a picture
Were it called for, we would have rode unicycles
And the fall color tour rolls on on the University of Washington's picturesque campus
Embracing the upcoming holiday, Stasik harnesses the power of the dark side to procure tickets
"I see your schwartz is as big as mine"
The potent Notre Dame offense left Huskies head coach Tyrone Willingham questioning his recruiting strategery (or lack thereof)
Jake samples the local special, an italian sausage topped with a BBQ chicken *** (not a typo)
ND quarterback Jimmy Clausen enjoys a solitary moment on the field of battle
Lord Vadar ponders the merits of cover two pass protection
IRISH IMPACT
"Wait, your left of my left?"
A caption eludes me
Final Score
Irish 33
Washington 7
Tonight we find ourselves in the historic space that is the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR. Originally built in 1914, this place has seen it all from dance revivals during the Great Depression to decades of square dancing to some of the most epic R&B and rock 'n roll of the last 40 years. The venue has one of those "if these walls could talk" vibe with history oozing from the inside out. A spring loaded dance floor always leads to interesting evenings as the place literally bobs up and down as the energy builds. Despite the asymmetrical stage and slightly goofy layout, it is always a joy putting on a show here at the Crystal. Off we go...
The view from the stage while sound checking "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
The boys rehearsing for a Halloween blowout
"Threatened by the shadows at night"
Showtime
Landmark Living with our esteemed tour guide Don Richards
Richards at Richards on Richards
Vancouver, BC, Canada
A retrospective look at our time in New York from 6 perspectives
Five days in
NYC. You'd think it would be enough time to take in the city in all its glory,
but the more I explore... the bigger she gets.
I actually
didn't get in ‘till 2:30 Monday morning as the omega moos played CT on Sunday,
so I had less time to work with then some of the other guys. Moog Fest
was a very different way to start the run, but a welcome change. The room was
very spacious and inviting, especially at the end of our set when James Guitar
Shields brought us home with his one-of-a-kind Moog thrashings. Before the
show, I had dinner with my oldest friend Jason just before at Frankie and
Johnny's ( I think its 37th and 6th)....highly recommended if you have
$250 to drop on wine and red meat.
We played the next three nights at the Gramercy ... it was great for the
team to set up shop and have a home in the city, especially the crew. Actually,
it was Crew year's eve. On Wednesday I had a few hours to myself and walked
through Central Park. Here’s a pic of the Dakota building. (I shouldn't have to
remind some of you, but that's where John Lennon lived.) Before the show,
Kevin blessed me with a ticket to see one of America's greatest heroes, Steven
Colbert. Other than a Notre Dame victory, there's no better way to get pumped
up for a rock show.
Thursday, I was lucky enough to get a tourist day and get to the top of
the Empire State building with my buddy Dave. After the show Jake, Dave
and I closed the night off with some quality Jameson inspired acoustic
singing along backstage. Hopefully KB has a clip for you. Musically speaking, I
feel like each show got progressively better, but last night was easily the
best of all three. (maybe that's just cause Al Di Meola was hangin’ out
and watching.) Thanks again, NYC.....you're always so good to us.
Brendan
After reflecting on my week in New York City, despite big city crowds, crazy
cab rides, and an endless amount of Starbucks and Duane Reade stores to
raid, I found it to be a surprisingly relaxing week in the Big Apple.
Luckily the weather was warm and partly sunny most of the week, making
it much easier to get around. The first show on the schedule, which
was the Moog Festival, commemorating the legacy of the Moog
synthesizer, turned out to bring a cast of players I never thought I’d
meet. One of which stands out to me is famous keyboardist and
bandleader of the David Letterman show, Paul Shaffer! Paul is a
television icon to some degree, and to meet him in person is quite
surreal. He is truly a professional in every aspect…. so patient and
attentive to everyone….and dressed like a smooth criminal mind you! I
also met Bernie Worrell, past keyboardist and collaborator with Parliament
Funkadelic, who seemed to be in good spirits. Later that evening, my
artist relations manager Marco Soccoli showed up with a little gift for
me. He designed a pair of size 2B sticks with LED lights
constructed in the tips of the stick. The stick is set to 6 different
solid colors, 1 setting for changing colors, and 1 setting for strobe like
colors. It was a nice surprise for sure!
Another highlight of the trip was my lesson with Medeski, Martin & Wood’s
Billy Martin. I have always admired his playing both live and on
recordings, and was looking for a little inspiration from the lesson.
After taking a train and a bus to his home in Englewood, NJ, I found myself at
his doorstep ready to play. We walked around his backyard a bit, catching
up and talking about our touring schedules and experiences. Billy has
these 2 shed like wooden houses in his backyard; one for his drumming studio
and the other, a traditional Japanese Tea House! He also has a bamboo
garden, filled with huge stems of bamboo, which can be a wild spreading and
ever growing tree…or is it a plant? I recommend anyone who is near a huge
bamboo plantation to stand in the middle of bamboo when the wind blows.
It is quite a soothing sound! Anyways, Billy spoke with me primarily
about improvising. He reminds me to explore myself through focusing on
sound, and to creatively explore through and within yourself; to completely
leave your preconceived notions of the solo with technical rudiments or
patterns; to just be in the moment. In starting this, like starting any
storyline, one should start with just a feeling; as if the curtains open on
a play, and the landscapes are set to the senses. Billy reiterates the
question, “What’s the flow?” Once the flow is established, one
should ponder the sounds of that flow, and how it’s creating that flow.
There is also the thought to create a second part of the solo, of which would
be a drastic contrast from the previous idea, which comes well after the 1st part is established.
Two main contrasting subjects makes for a strong basis of the whole
solo/improvisation, or a story for that matter. One thing that he really
reminded me of was the use of SPACE! No, not the cosmic infinite darkness
in the sky at night...he is referring to the thing that most musicians tend to
not think about when they’re burnin’ the house down with all their “hot
licks”. It is the space between the notes or phrases that are
played. Leaving some space between each phrase helps the player and the
listener get the weightiest ideas of the solo, if that makes sense. Keep
in mind that one should still be continuing to strive for a limitless amount of
knowledge and technique about their instrument, and its role with music
history and styles. With this particular subject of improvising, you can
start with nothing from nowhere, but you have to something to leave behind to
do that, if that makes sense. I believe it was Miles Davis who also
said, “If you wanna play out, then you gotta know how to play in first”.
This may be referring more to chord changes, and playing in or out of the
changes, but I also take it as someone who wants to play way out of their
comfort zone, and reach out; but you need a basis to reach out from, so to
speak. With this improv concept, I’m hoping to take the listener on a
voyage a little further out into the stratosphere instead of just down the
block. I thank Billy Martin for his drum wisdom, and hope to continue to
work with him in the future. I also thank the fans of this New York run
who managed to see us during their work week. Y’all never cease to amaze
me!
Kris
Sun:
Watched the Bears lose in a horribly managed game in the end by the
coaching staff. Spent the rest of my night in the hotel.
Mon: Headed
down to Moogfest . Had dinner at Chipotle with Joel, Bob, and Mike Adams
president of Moog. Played Moog fest.
Tues: Had
lunch at one of the many glorious delis in the city. Headed down to Blender for
sound check. Played Blender.
Wed: Went to
the gym and got buff. Had lunch at one of the many glorious delis in the
city. Went to dinner at a place called NYC Burger Co. Not bad, not great.
Played blender.
Thurs: Had
lunch at on the many glorious delis in the city. Had dinner at an Irish pub
called Molly's right by the Blender. Awesome Burger! Way better than NYC Burger
Co. Played Blender. Slithered into my bunk for a long nap.
Andy
Our final
show at the Blender Theatre in New York City was my personal favorite of the
NYC foursome. The composed Jimmy Stewart section we played during Wappy
Sprayberry was hashed out backstage minutes before the beginning of the 1st
set. We created an A section that featured some nice chords and voicings
based on an idea from Jake, then constructed a B section with a little more
space for some contrast. The B section chords were related to the A
section but played with more of a rigid staccato feel. The C section of
this part of the night was more improvisatory in that the only guideline we had
was that we were starting with an F# major 7 chord. After developing all
three of these sections and exploring some varied dynamics across the forms, we
returned to the vocal section of Wappy Sprayberry. Another highlight for
me was our return to All In Time on Thursday night after starting it on
Wednesday. As curfew approached the previous evening, we realized that we
had too many songs started that we had left unfinished. Following
Prowler, which ends on a sustained E major chord (the same key as All In Time),
we launched back into the 2nd verse of All In Time and finished the tune.
It was a lot of fun to see the surprised look on the audience's faces as
Brendan started singing the 2nd verse. To close things out, we played Al
Dimeola's arrangement of Chick Corea's "Senor Mouse." While
we've done this before, we've never performed it with Al Dimeola hanging out
next to Bob at our monitor console. To say it was an honor to have Al
there taking in the show with us would be an extreme understatement.
Thanks NYC for another great run of shows that won't soon be forgotten.
Joel
NYC...CITY
THAT DOESN'T SLEEP
DAILY
GRIND:
Mon:
(Everyday tends to feel like Friday to me in NYC)
We
played Moogfest with Umphrey's and I was part of an all improv set with Prison
Shank with Joe Russo on drums, Aaron Magner and Jamie Shields on keys and
Jake on his Moog guitar. It was our first gig and it went rather
well. It is always great to get out and play with some of your best
friends and fellow musicians whenever possible.
Tues:
(Friday part 2)
We set
up shop at the Blender Theatre for the next three days. I’m sure everyone
else has written enough about how great it is to play one place for three
nights and not have to worry about moving gear or loading a truck. It
ROCKS!!!
Wed:
(Friday part 3)
It was
a beautiful fall day in NYC and I took a stroll across the Brooklyn
Bridge.
Thurs:
(Friday part 4)
Al Di Meola came out and we played Senor Mouse for him. Overall a great run in
NYC, good energy from the crowd, a rippin' light show, slow and patient
improvs, and some sick Hall n Oates' dance parties to end the late night.
Friday:
(really)
Left
NYC....tear drop
Pone Loc
All systems go…NYC has this expectation for no slouch, no
nonsense finicky listeners. York has always been a hard city to convince.
Walking into a three night residency at the Blender seemed like a great way for
us to get comfortable in a quite uncomfortable spot, there wasn’t any rush or
reason for leaving. We really
wanted to stretch out and take our time developing strong improvs, patient
ideas, and a relaxed, open thought process. When our whole production world can sit in one place for 3
nights our work days are shorter, so more time can be focused on the show, not
fixing things. Tone, gear, new
effects, new songs, practice, setlists, chord progressions etc… all benefit from
multiple night runs. Thus resulting in a better overall performance for our
beloved NYC fan base.
Jake
The irony of Wall Street undergoing massive repairs was as poignant as ever on Monday as the Dow had its single biggest gain in the history of the stock market (followed Tuesday by a huge loss)
As I stood on the steps of Federal Hall and stared at the New York Stock Exchange I couldn't help but wonder what George Washington would think of the mess we've gotten ourselves into. Things look slightly different on Wall St. than they did when the GW occupied our nation's first Capitol.
The vacancy at Ground Zero remains
But from the ashes a Phoenix rises
A simple & chilling reminder of the lives lost
Jake learning the ropes of his new moog guitar before our set at Moogfest
Paul Shaffer and Bernie Worrell tickle the ivories
Jeff Waful paints a picture
Andy shows his patriotism with an ice cold Sam Adams following Monday's gig
The Blender Theater on Tuesday night from the soundboard
A glorious green oasis in this concrete jungle as seen from the top of Rockefeller Plaza
The Mall & Literary Walk in Central Park as the fall color tour continues. For some reason, I always feel like I'm in a movie when I stroll down this stretch of the park.
WTF? Such haters
Riding Joel's bike over the famed Brooklyn Bridge
The Blender, Round 2
Rawk
Joel Cummins, Jeremy Welsh, & Richard Gehr (not to be confused with Richard Gear)
Thanks New York!
Andy and I hurried to bed after last nights show so we could greet the crisp morning air of Shelbourne, VT for some more leaf peeping. And we decided that since we were up we'd go ahead and run a 10K through the rural roads of northern Vermont.
Lake Champlain near the starting line of the Art Tudhope 10K
Pre race stretching
And nothing spells fall like a trip to the apple orchard for some post race hydration
mmmm....apples
It's rudimentary my dear Watson
#5: The 1st set closer from Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
The first date of our lengthy fall color tour has come and gone. There really is nothing like a venue in a strip mall. Northern Lights is tucked back in next to such classic establishments as Dollar General. The stage leaves a bit to be desired but the crew managed to fit the proverbial round peg into a square hole once again. I had to set the soundboard up in what felt like the next room as I had to ensure that I wasn't blocking the main thoroughfare between the bar and ladies room. A club has to have priorities. I spent the better part of the night mixing with headphones on as I was pretty much out of the throw of the PA. But life is best lived making lemonade out of lemons. (Right Bayliss?)
Our good friends Vinnie & Deb Amico were kind enough to host us at their house for some Malbec, spicy BBQ meatballs, & Vinnie's own pasta du jour. There really is nothing like a home cooked meal while you're out on the road. A small piece of normalcy is always welcomed. Conspirator/Electron joined us to celebrate the holiday of Yom Kippur in an ever pious fashion. Would you expect anything different from Brownstein and Magner?
Despite the leaky air conditioner that poured water onto Andy and Ryan's gear at the beginning of the 2nd set, it was a fairly successful evening. We are glad to be in Burlington today where it is as nice as fall days get.
The Fall color tour has begun
Ryan tries out a new Lakland bass for the evening
Kris is well armed in Vinnie's trunk to protect himself from those frisky Amico cats
The (distant) view from FOH
Sorry for the long delay between posts. We've all taken these last few weeks to
rest up and charge the batteries for this busy October run that is now
officially upon us. Our days have
been occupied with a variety of activities from side projects and album work to
good old R&R. Kris and Jake
both found themselves in the studio working on separate projects with old
friends and former band mates. Brendan and Ryan hit the road for a few days for
a couple of Omega Moos shows. Joel
(and Kris for that matter) spent some time in sunny California, mainly at
Muscle Beach wailing on their pecs.
And Andy was busy biting his nails watching his beloved White Sox nudge
their way into the post season.
I have been plugging away in the studio trying to put the
finishing touches on our upcoming studio release. There will be a ton of info forthcoming shortly but we are
very excited about our latest effort.
It has been a long time coming as we've allocated chunks of time to work
on it between our hectic touring schedule. But we feel confidant that this one will have been worth the
wait. Stay tuned for all the album
banter you could possibly want coming soon!
Tonight we are finally back in Kalamazoo, MI after a long
hiatus. And while you can be sure
that Ryan Stasik will be on his game tonight as he returns to his beloved
hometown, I suspect another Stasik will be stealing the show. Marsha Stasik, Ryan's mother, will be
warming up the crowd tonight with a little stand up comedy to kick things
off. I can assure you that if it's
anything like her usual hysteric (and often quite naughty) antics, we are all
in for a treat. Not everyday does
your mom get the chance to open for the band.
Looking forward to seeing all of you good peeps on both
coasts...
It's on.
This definitely the closest we've ever ‘been to fine'
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