Umphrey's McGee

Umphrey’s McGee, a band that was formed in 1997, has been receiving a lot of media coverage lately. The musical group is from Chicago, Illinois and the members include: Brendan Bayliss (guitar and vocals), Joell Cummings (keyboards and vocals), Andy Farag (percussions), Kris Myers (drums and vocals), and Ryan Stasik (bass). This band’s music has been called many things, but most categorize them as progressive rock or jam band. Umphrey’s McGee has been touring frequently and tickets can be bought online at ticketmaster.com.

The band began as a collaboration between two different bands. Tashi Station and Stomper Bob was meshed in order to form Umphrey’s McGee. The two bands performed together in Notre Dame and the rest, as they say, was history. Andy Farag, who was not a member of either of these bands, later joined the group. The group came up with the name of the band from a relative of Brendan Bayliss, guitarist, whose name was Humphries. They slightly altered this individual’s name and formed it into Umphrey,s McGee. However, Humphries and another member of the family with the same name may possibly be suing them. Even so, the name is catchy and is very characteristic of the band.

The band’s sound is greatly influenced by progressive rock and jam band music. Their live shows have been compared to that of Grateful Dead and Phish. In fact, Joell Cummings, the keyboardist and also a vocalist, is a huge fan of Phish and was greatly inspired by their music and performances. The band was even a favorite during the 2004 Next-Phish Sweepstakes. Their first album was called Greatest Hits Vol. III and they released it independently in 1998. After came Songs for Older Women and One Fat Sucka came next along with their first DVD. They began to receive quite a lot of attention after the release of next two albums and gained coverage from Rolling Stones and the Washington Post.

The member’s of Umphrey’s McGee have only one goal with their music: to have fun. They try to make their live shows crazy and interesting by daringly playing improvised music onstage. They were also featured on the third annual Jam Cruise, a cruise that features many artists over the course of the trip. This was a very good experience for the band because they got to work with and be around other big artists and producers.

Although the band is not popular on the radio yet, Umphrey’s McGee’s music is fun and upbeat and should be a must have on anyone's playlist. Recently they have begun touring so there are many shows that a fan can buy tickets too.

Songs to Download: Nemo, Intentions Clear