March 2009 - Posts
This clip harkens back to the original Snucka Shred posting from the Neighborhood Theater on 2/20/09. Conveniently, this one picks up right as Ryan puts his camera away and goes back to his day job.
Thanks to Hillary Molare for sending the clip along.
I bring you the first installment of our new series "Show Me Some Skills". Check back to find out what instrument or event will be next.
Backstage at Minglewood Hall in Memphis, Tennessee
As I blog this from Front of House tonight at the Pageant Theater in St. Louis while listening to the Uglysuit, my feelings are unchanged from last night. This sextet has the finest hair on the scene. You won't find a better collection of locks on 6 young lads on either side of the pond. And these cats know how to use it.
Deer in the headlights
Math Homework
Kenny Bloggins
Faster than the speed of sound
"Greenie"
RAWK
"Look, Mikey, He likes it!"
Bayliss checks his aperture and shutter speed before capturing a picture with this lucky fans camera
Yesterday in Lawrence the guys took a few minutes during sound check to do a radio interview for KTBG that turned out to be fairly humorous. I thought some of you would enjoy the classic midwestern humor that is UM (as well as the obscene amount of Beatles references). A rendition of Made to Measure follows the 10 minute interview.
In
November of 2007, we found ourselves deep into the Mantis recording process at
IV Lab in Chicago. Manny Sanchez, the owner and head engineer, was
working with me on keyboard parts for Mantis, the song. I believe we
recorded all of the organ parts for Mantis that day in the studio
(incidentally, through Brian Felix's Leslie 122 cabinet, which lives at the
studio there). We had wrapped things up and I asked Manny if I could hear
some other projects he was working on. Over the course of the next few
minutes, I found myself blown away by the sounds of the Uglysuit. The
Oklahoma-based band had come to Chicago for just 3 days to record their first
full album with Manny. When you listen to cuts from their album you'll
recognize a lot of tones you've heard on Umphrey's releases over the years,
from IV Lab's distinctive Wurlitzer upright piano (Memories of Home) to a
reamped Fender Rhodes (Red Tape). The band's sound seemed to be somewhere
between the lushness and ethereal sounds of Pink Floyd and perhaps what you
always wanted Coldplay to become, but never did. The melodies, the songs
and the arrangements all seemed to be there and I was intrigued, if not
impressed at that point.
Manny
was kind enough to reward my enthusiasm with a full promotional version of
their album, and I gladly threw it into my collection. Fast forward a
month later to Caribbean Holidaze in Jamaica. The album came up on my
itunes and became the soundtrack for my weekend, which also happened to be the
weekend that I met my fiancee. I couldn't get enough of the entire album
and felt like I had found my new favorite band. Occasionally, we find
music out there that moves us more than other music does, or simply connects
with us in deep places. This is what the Uglysuit did for me that weekend
in Jamaica and they were the perfect fit for the how my weekend there felt to
me.
We
couldn't be more excited to have them opening for Umphrey's McGee over the next
4 nights. So, do yourself a favor, and get to know the music of the
Uglysuit!
http://www.myspace.com/theuglysuit
Another standard day here in the world of UM with a 6:30am wake up call. We stay in top game shape with an all-bran breakfast at 6:45, a mile in the pool to warm up, and a cozy 6 mile jog to get the blood flowing. But we had to bypass our usual routine today to make a radio appearance on the Johnny B show at 97.9 The Loop. And while everyone sorely missed the workout, it was good times all around this morning. There was no shortage of funny moments both on and off air from the false start of Spires that was conveniently blamed on Vince to the "Hour erection, 25 minutes to live" jam.
We tried to capture some good video bits for you to join in on the fun as you know we love to share here at Umphrey's McGee. Additionally, there is an audio montage that follows with some of the more noteworthy "on air" highlights... (Video Disclaimer: Apologies in advance for the lack of transitions/fades between clips as the file type wouldn't agree with the editing software but in the interest of timeliness I am opting not to worry about it)
A few words about the audio clip as it should help complete the details that the video didn't cover: Ironically enough the Audio Producer at the station had the same name as our Manager Vince so when news went out that it was Vince's screw up, his blackberry appropriately blew up. We'd all like to thank you for joining us by continually blaming things on Vince. And one other piece of pertinent background info about the new smash hit single "Spider Bite", the track was inspired by a story about a deadly yet "perky" natured amazonian spider. Johnny B wanted to know if the boys could work up a theme song on the spot and naturally we were all too happy too oblige.
Check out this classic clip from the archives as Andy Farag prepares to move to South Bend, IN and officially join in on the UM reindeer games. His enthusiasm can hardly be maintained on this tiny screen and the certainty of his new career choice is steadfast. Andy clearly had no doubts about his pending "life decisions".
This footage was captured by his dad Henry in August of 1998 and has only recently surfaced from the depths of Crown Point, IN. Andy would like to publicly apologize to his father for his generally dickish behavior.
It being one of the favorite holidays around the UM camp, we thought we'd share some pictures of our last few St. Patrick's celebrations.
Overjoyed at finding my beloved New Balance 990s in green the day before we flew to Europe for St. Patrick's Day 2006, I couldn't help but snap pictures of it all over town.
Admiring the architecture on the Herengracht canal
2007 found us in the band's original birthplace of the South Bend, IN at the Morris Performing Arts Center
Tough Vince with the "opener"
Ryan Stasik, Adrian Belew & Kevin Browning reflect on the finer things in life after the gig
2008 found us back in Europe for "Jam in the Dam" but we conveniently had the day off on 3/17/08
We started our morning outside a classic Amsterdam cafe, fueling up to stay warm
Across the street, Vince wonders why he's the odd man out
Stasik sneaks in a breakfast hotdog
Brendan holds down the fort until the party arrives
Vince & Don get sideways
Hope to see some of you tonight at Schubas!
In honor of the great St. Patrick's Holiday, we are celebrating with the release of 4 more bonus tracks available for free with your copy of Mantis. Just insert the CD in you computer and head here to grab the tracks. In the interest of making sure our fans are eternally satisfied. we opted to release a few nuggets that have yet to see the light of day. It's a diverse mix of material with a slew of our favorite "special guests" sprinkled throughout. Grab the tracks, a frothy Guiness, and enjoy this glorious Tuesday.
1. Intentions Clear (With Bela Fleck & Jeff Coffin) - This version is from the first show of the Acoustic Planet tour that we did with Bela Fleck & The Flecktones at Wolf Trap Ampitheater in Vienna, VA (8/13/06). These shows have yet to be released but this track insisted it be let out of the archives and who are we to deny?
2. 40's Theme - Yet another track from the mythic "taper appreciation night" at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, WI (5/27/04). The choruses are a healthy combination of hilarious and bizarre while Ryan's bass line established during the breakdown will get even the squarest listener bobbing their head.
3. 1348 : Umphrey's McNES - This one-of-a-kind version of the Mantis album closer is truly something special. Transcribed and sequenced by Scott Hannay, he uses only the original sounds available on the classic 8-bit Nintendo gaming console to craft this version. Check out the myspace page to hear a handful of other Umphrey's songs done in this unique style.
4. Thela Hun Ginjeet (With Adrian Belew) - And finally as a tip of the cap to the St. Patrick's Holiday, here is a version of the King Crimson staple performed with the great Adrian Belew in South Bend City, IN (3/17/07).
Many thanks once again to all those who joined us for our weekend stand in Indy. No shortage of good times around.
Here is the Women, Wine & Song from Friday hand picked for the Farag drum feature towards the end.
FRIDAY:
Lampanelli & UM (I'd post the jokes she made but our mothers read this)
The sold out crowd goes wild during a stirring rendition of Mantis
(or maybe that was from the WTTS radio show Friday after sound check)
Late night sing alongs never get old
SATURDAY:
Patience young Padawans
Taken from Joel's arm pit cam
Insert own sound effects here
Paint by number
The Marquee at the Royal Oak Theater
Joel attempts to decipher the schematic as he works on his Moog Voyager
"It's all ball bearings"
The view from the sound board during Believe The Lie
The view from the balcony
Tour guide extraordinaire Don Richards sits in on sound
(Hey, somebody had to take the pictures)
This is what happens in those slumbering late nights, waiting to get picked up in South Bend City at 4AM for tour... A few green teas later I have a nice little solo piece assembled for the ears and/or sleeping. In my mind this is where I felt I wanted to be at 2AM.... Asleep...
- Jake
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