November 2010 - Posts
For those of you who are just now awakening from a weekend long turkey induced coma, we wanted to let you know that ALL full shows on umlive.net are now 25% off through Wednesday. So go grab that last show you attended or take a chance with one of the top 10 bestsellers. Or give one of our favorites a spin...here are a few of our recent (and not so recent) picks.
06/05/08 The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
Michigan shows are always special, with some of the most excited crowds we see around the country. This show featured one of the longest and best Intentions Clear improvisations that we have ever performed; I believe it clocks in at over 20 minutes. Radiohead's Meeting In the Aisle also appears in the middle of a 40's Theme sandwich, another rare treat. Overall, this show had immense energy and a lot of risk taking, which always keeps things fresh for band and fans alike. - Joel Cummins
10/24/10 The Bluebird, Bloomington, IN
Who doesn't like the Dirty Bird? We do, with its tiny backstage and PA equipment unable to hold the pure power of the lowend, this oldschool watering hole in Bloomington, IN is a favorite of mine and always has been. The show was packed with sweaty, ready to party Umphfreaks and the band delivered. It is really fun to rock out on such a small stage in such a grimy intimate location. Rock on Bluebird, see you next time! -Ryan Stasik
07/08/10
Party in the Park, Rochester, NY
Lots of interesting segues are featured at this free show from Rochester, NY, along with an appearance of the rare Visions of Parin. Cornmeal's Allie Kral joins us on the fiddle for a rousing rendition of Baba O'Riley and brings the house down. The 2nd set features a good deal of improvisation, including a Jimmy Stewart with improvised lyrics from Brendan. Classic adventurous and unpredictable set list from yours truly. -Joel Cummins
11/13/10 Bear Creak, Live Oak, FL
This was our last show of the regular season, so to speak. And although i haven't heard the tapes, I'd venture a guess that they sound very inspired. We started just before midnight, so it was a birthday party for Pony (he turned 24 at midnight during the set). I think everyone played with confidence and passion that night, as we all knew we were headed home after a long year and we wanted to end on a high note. - Brendan Bayliss
03/10/06 Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
Some nights it just feels like everything seamlessly fits together. In arguably the best venue in Chicago, this was one of those nights for me. Legendary sound board maker & engineer Jim Gamble came to town to watch the show while I mixed on the flagship of his fleet, the Gamble DCX. A couple of acoustic songs kicked off the evening but with Stasik sporting a blue mohawk, it didn't take long for the rock to kick in. If memory serves, this was also the first time Liquid was performed. -Kevin Browning
12/21/07 Border's Books, Ann Arbor, MI
Awesome and absurd in every way. Until you've heard Wizard Burial Ground performed on a practice drum kit & mini amps as performed in the food & wine section of a bookstore, you really can't grasp the true essence of the song (rich & full bodied with a l o n g finish). This one is full of great banter as well, including Joel venturing into the audience with a wireless microphone for some Q&A. - Kevin Browning
Part I: The sun sets on festival season
Summer and festival season go hand-in-hand, yet there are a few exceptions to the rule out there. One of them is Florida's Bear Creek Music Festival, taking place each year in mid-November, as the rest of the country hunkers down for winter. The gorgeous sunny days of upper 70's give way to chilly nights, yet for music fans who want one last stand outside, there's no better place to be. This year's installment was Umphrey's 3rd time visiting the idyllic site known as Spirit of Suwanee Music Park. Bear Creek made this it's home in 2007, our first year performing at the festival, and hasn't looked back since. This year we ended our fall tour here, and what better place to do it than with so many of our friends both on stage and off. We arrived on Thursday morning alongside many of the fans who were just showing up as well. After tossing the football around with Ryan, Andy and promoter Paul Levine, we got down to the sounds of the London Souls, Toubab Krewe and the Macpodz as things got underway. It was also a beautiful day for some washers, which is an outdoor game of skill similar to bags that we carry around the bus for our competitive urges. While Ryan and Kevin took an afternoon canoe trip on the Spanish moss-laden river, I made a few last minute honeymoon plans online from my bunk and rested up for the first of our two shows, a late night two set performance. After a little rest, I meandered around the site trying to find our "backstage," a cabin in the camping area. The site has some really nice basic cabins, and for this event, we were given a space to shower and rehearse. Unfortunately, the hot water heaters don't last very long when there are 12 guys showering, and as I was pretty far down the line, got a very brief and extremely cold post-sundown rinse in. Robbie couldn't help but laugh as he heard my terse and frustrated reactions from the other room where he was giving his socks the old last day of tour hand wash. I was freezing, but clean. I'll take it.
After dinner, some very good catering, Don and I got the last of the practice keyboard rig over to the space for us to set up for rehearsal. We planned on giving our Tears for Fears / Michael Jackson mashup of Everybody Wants to Rule the World and The Way You Make Me Feel a few run throughs before dusting it off again. Brendan's setlist featured some strong original tunes and a few rarities for the kids, including Bad Poker, with references to North Florida's Molly Hatchet and Mobile, Alabama, just down I-10 from Live Oak. The Ringo > Much Obliged > Ringo segment was probably my favorite section of the night as the deep grooves kept the fans warm and dancing. I should mention that both of our sets this year were under a large Bonnaroo-style tent, which was about 15-20 degrees warmer than the outside temp at the times of our performances. As the keyboard player who relies on having dexterity in the hands, it was a welcome stage for us. We chose Shine On You Crazy Diamond to close the first set, and it went off as well as we had hoped. As a long-ish and adventurous 2nd set was about to come to a close, I launched into the opening notes of Cemetery Walk II before the rest of the band could walk off the stage. There aren't too many songs that I start, so having that one to throw out there one last time on fall tour was a blast. I had a feeling that everyone wanted a little more dance party, and we threw down before finishing it with some solo piano work. Closing with one of our oldies but goodies, All in Time, we left the stage feeling good about rocking the opening night of the festival. We looked around for some late night action, but ended up back on the bus where we could hang out without seeing our breath. I told you it got cold down there!
Head over to umlive.net and download the Bad Poker for free and check out a few more of the highlights while you're there. Part II coming soon.
-Joel
During our post summer break, I was asked to go to a middle school in Hammond, IN and give a brief history of the drum set. Some of the kids did not seem too interested but there were a few that were into it. In this video it shows me demontrating by far the EASIEST drum beat known to mankind! This was the first drum beat my drum teacher taught me. Also shown is the James Brown stock beat that even get's these middle school kids in the dancin' mood.
Remember people! You don't wanna have sloppy beats!!
-Andy
Huey Lewis first met Umphrey's McGee in the spring of 2005, when they began rehearsing for an appearance at the Jammys in New York City (a collaboration that also included Mavis Staples, Sinead O'Connor and Jeff Coffin). After rehearsal, Huey joined a few of the band members for drinks at a local watering hole and wound up hitting it off particularly well with Brendan Bayliss.
"Drinks turned into multiple drinks," recalls Bayliss. "You know when you wake up the next day after a night of drinking and you can't really remember what happened, but you know something stupid happened? You're swimming in remorse and then it hits you. Apparently I had fallen and hit my head and Huey picked me up and carried me to bed and tucked me in. I woke up the next morning with a knot on my head and said to myself 'wait, did Huey Lewis tuck me in last night?' I was that guy."
Needless to say, a friendship was formed that night - not to mention quite a bruise - and Huey and Umphrey's have stayed in touch over the years. Lewis appeared on the album version of "Women, Wine and Song", which led to an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live with Umphrey's. Bayliss also sat in with Huey Lewis and the News in July of 2005 and August of 2008.
Lighting designer Jefferson Waful recently interviewed Lewis for the new issue of Relix Magazine (on newsstands November 23) and the topic of Umphrey's inevitably came up on more than one occasion.
Here is an audio excerpt:
Case in point. Check out this fan documentary put together by Keith Blomberg outside of the 9:30 Club last weekend in DC. Thanks for all you do. You keep spreadin' the word, we'll keep rockin'. Deal?
Where better to wrap up the S2 series of 2010 than our Nation's Capitol at the incredible 9:30 Club? One of the best yet... (With a little bonus audio to boot 'cause I hosed you last time)
Thanks to Brian Spady for the pic
From Booty Wax Commercial > Evil Scary Clowns
Improv #1
Songs For Older Men
Presidential Carnival
Disco in Zion
Death Metal Glory
Muzak Eat
Hats vs. No Hats
Booty Wax Commercial
Evil Scary Clowns
Ragtime Entertainer
From Grateful McGee > Too Much Red Bull > Jamaican Busride
Improv #2
Open Bar Jam
November Rain Man
Cemetery Funk
Grateful McGee
Too Much Red Bull
Jamaican Busride
Implied Van Halen Stew
Becker Killswitch Solo
The New Frontier
From Irony Of The Tiger
Improv #3
One Handed Drum Solo
Irony Of The Tiger
Waful vs. Jake
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Rejected Halloween Mashup
Pony vs. Joel Moog Battle
Must Have My Mustache Ride Freestyle
Umph/Haynes Xmas jam Preview
Funk You Joel
Umphrey's 2012 NYE
When my sister asked me to be the mystery guest reader for my niece Julia's class last tuesday, I have to admit I was a bit nervous. She asked me to bring my guitar so we could sing her happy birthday after I read the book to the class, and that gave me enough confidence to overcome my fear of big words and public speaking. When we arrived at the school my nephew Gabriel was on the soccer field with his kindergarten class. I ran out on the field and stole the ball and he looked at me like I was an idiot... not the suprised reaction I was expecting.
After a quick visit to my niece Alex's class (the very same Alex from our song "Alex's House") we were off to read for Julia. I walked in the class and there were 20 kids sitting in the front of the room with their hands over their eyes. When she opened her eyes I got a much better reaction than I did on the soccer field. Because of that, I managed to overcome my doubt and read a book about a pidgeon who wanted a pet dog.
On the way out we stopped by Gabriel's class and I was asked to play a song. I froze. I couldn't think of anything and didn't know any Sponge Bob tunes. Luckily, we all knew "Puff the Magic Dragon". It rocked, and I thought we were done. When they asked for another song, panic began to set it. I thought "Old MacDonald" would be a quick fix, but soon realized that every student in the class had an animal to suggest for each verse. Eleven minutes and 20 animals later, we were done.
I felt really lucky to be able to make it up, considering the fact that I was only home for 48 hours between Halloween and Burlington. Below is a photo of Gabriel's class. See how intimidating those kids are?
-brendan
For your viewing pleasure....the iClips webcast of the 1901/Jump/ You Halloween mash up.