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Umphreys’s McGee

Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Suggest New Bands and Artists
Forum Description: Suggest, create polls, and classify new bands you would like included on Prog Archives
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8435
Printed Date: December 09 2024 at 03:35
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Topic: Umphreys’s McGee
Posted By: Krigsman
Subject: Umphreys’s McGee
Date Posted: July 07 2005 at 10:46

Is anybody into Umphreys's McGee?

Why aren't they featured here? I find them very progressive!




Replies:
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: July 07 2005 at 10:55

Terrific band, in a (mostly) Canterbury vein.Thumbs Up

"Anchor Drops" is a fantastic disc, and yes, Umphrey's Magee should certainly be added to the Archives!Stern Smile

(BTW, stellar Archive reviewer Danbo is a fan too -- he introduced me to the band.Clap)



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"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.


Posted By: silversaw
Date Posted: July 07 2005 at 11:08
I'm a huge fan of Umphrey's and I'm quite glad they are filling the void left by bands like Phish and The Grateful Dead.  Even moe. could be added to this list!!!!  But once again, these bands are part of the jam scene and NOT the prog rock scene.  Certainly they have prog elements, possibly Umphrey's more than any, but not on here!!!!  If you want to hear these guys really do damage, pick up their New Year's 2004 show, or check out DiscLogic for hundreds of their live shows.....what an awesome band!!!!!!!


Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: July 07 2005 at 11:08
Originally posted by Krigsman Krigsman wrote:

Is anybody into Umphreys's McGee?

Why aren't they featured here? I find them very progressive!

Don't know of them , but the name is certainly intriguing .

It just jumped on my list of things to investigate!!!



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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword


Posted By: sonic wizard
Date Posted: July 07 2005 at 14:25
I love this band, I consider them to be half prog. They should be in the archives, they are more progressive than some of the crap already in the archives.

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Arguing on the internet is a lot like the special olympics - even if you win, you're still retarded.


Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: July 07 2005 at 18:51
Originally posted by Peter Peter wrote:

Terrific band, in a (mostly) Canterbury vein.Thumbs Up

"Anchor Drops" is a fantastic disc, and yes, Umphrey's Magee should certainly be added to the Archives!Stern Smile

(BTW, stellar Archive reviewer Danbo is a fan too -- he introduced me to the band.Clap)

Thanks Pete!

 

Umphrey's actually consider themselves to be prog, which really says something in a genre that is usually shunned by popular bands. Umphrey's music very eclectic and virtuosic. Very progressive and deserving of a place here in the Prog Archive.

Hughes... I may be able to help you out.



Posted By: MorgothSunshine
Date Posted: July 08 2005 at 06:17
Yes, they should be in the archives!

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For every truth even the contrary is true...


Posted By: Krigsman
Date Posted: July 08 2005 at 07:31
The History of Umphrey's McGee

Every day more and more people are tuning in and turning on to Umphrey’s McGee. And for good reason. Like true sons of the American Midwest, Umphrey's McGee has risen to the upper echelons of the improvisational-rock scene through their seamless compositing of diverse musical influences, from progressive-rock to metal to funk to folk to jazz-fusion to classic song-based rock-and roll, all woven together with infectious melodies, thought-provoking lyrics, pristine harmonies, blistering musicianship, and rollicking grooves that keep dem bones a-shaking throughout the course of their patented sonic sagas. Their latest studio release Anchor Drops demonstrates with undeniable conviction the band’s fluency in drawing from a wide variety of styles in the American popular music lexicon.

The band has solidified its reputation through a prolific national touring schedule and gripping performances at such high-profile gatherings as the Bonnaroo Music Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, and South By Southwest among others. True to their love of improvisation, Umphrey’s McGee provides a unique experience with each performance. Everywhere they play, heads turn and ears prick up at the virtuoso playing, the acrobatic tempo changes and rhythmic shifts, as well as the captivating songs themselves. It’s like a carnival of sound. “No one,” extols Village Voice critic Richard Gehr, “is doing anything else as ambitiously musical as Umphrey’s McGee.” The attention they command has also prompted Michael Deeds of the Washington Post to call Umphrey’s McGee “rock’s undisputed lord of sonic shape-shifting.”

This growing critical and popular esteem has led to the development of a fiercely loyal following. A burgeoning legion of fans, known alternately as “Umphreaks” and “McGeeks,” is distinguished by its rabid burning and trading of live shows via the internet and at various clubs and concert venues, where committed street teams get the word out about the band and keep on spreading the music. The result has been numerous occasions when Umphrey’s plays to sold-out houses in towns they’ve never visited before. The love of Umphrey’s McGee music has spawned a volunteer grassroots publicity campaign as successful as that of any national band out there touring.

Devotees of “all cool music,” the band identifies The Beatles and Led Zeppelin as primary influences with a reverence the members describe as “biblical.” They also share a love for the music of Yes, Gabriel-era Genesis, King Crimson, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, and Jaco Pastorius. Their own playing and writing reflects these influences, yet maintains its own contemporary originality through a diligent avoidance of clichés (both musical and lyrical) and a willing patience to wait for the freshest expression of an idea to emerge. Sometimes song ideas sit dormant for years before finding a place in the band’s vast repertoire. Using 8-bar segments and progressions (building blocks they have dubbed “legos”), primary songwriters Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss construct their songs piecemeal and with the active participation of their bandmates. All arrangements are collaborative. Lyrics, too, are collected over time and groomed to be thought-provoking and open to interpretation. This is a band that likes its audience to think while they’re dancing. Solid songcraft is the first crucial step in that process.

It was during December 1997, in South Bend, Indiana that a merger between two local bands gave birth to the group we now call Umphrey’s McGee. The original line-up was Joel Cummins (keyboards, vocals), Brendan Bayliss (guitar, vocals) and Ryan Stasik (bass), and Mike Mirro (drums, vocals). After their first studio release, Greatest Hits Volume III (1998), they invited percussionist Andy Farag to join. In 1998 the band completed and released their second CD, Songs For Older Women, with Andy on board. The next evolution in their sound came in September of 2000, when primo guitarist Jake Cinninger became available and began contributing his guitar chops and ace songwriting to the mix. With the addition of Cinninger’s vision, Umphrey’s McGee focused exclusively on national recognition for their singular style. Their third recorded outing came in 2000. One Fat Suckacullslive performances from the band’s Fall 2000 tour to showcase their skill and originality on stage. In 2002, the group’s fourth release, the critically lauded Local Band Does OK, spread the Umphrey’s name beyond the insulated confines of the jam scene and into a broader consciousness. Music that “fuses fusion, funk, and pop into a steamy psychedelic swirl,” music that is called “cerebral” and “mathematical,” yet “danceable and infectious” at the same time, music that “prog-rock nerds delight in discovering,” music that “threatens to blow speakers—and a few minds—,”music for the parched heads out there begging for some depth and complexity, this is the startling music Umphrey’s McGee delivered on LBDOK.

The year 2003 marked the departure of original drummer Mike Mirro, who headed off to medical school, and the addition of Chicago-area drummer Kris Myers, as well as the release of the first-ever Umphrey’s McGee video Live From The Lake Coast, enabling fans to experience the full-on Umphrey’s live presentation, light show and all.

And now, in 2004, the band has made good on its decision to record another great studio album. The effort is a conscious attempt to use the full capacity of the studio to function as an instrument itself. In doing so, Umphrey’s McGee has whelped a masterpiece destined for broad appeal.

On their new record Anchor Drops, the band realizes its full potential for wide acceptance by listeners well beyond the jam world. In no way a recreation of the Umphrey's live presentation, Anchor Drops is highlighted by dazzling songcraft, memorable hooks, philosophical lyrics that manage to be poetic yet earthy and accessible, anthemic guitar lines, rock-solid rhythms, ecstatic climaxes, haunting acoustic interludes, dramatic sound effects, and a thematic coherence that enables each song to function as part of an epic interconnected whole.

With Anchor Drops, Umphrey's McGee has unleashed a virtual joyride for the heart, body, mind, and soul.

Umphrey's McGee is Brendan Bayliss (guitar, vocals), Jake Cinninger (guitar, Moog, synthesizers, vocals), Joel Cummins (keyboards, vocals), Andy Farag (percussion), Kris Myers (drums, vocals), and Ryan Stasik (bass, no vocals). Also with the band are sound man Kevin Browning, monitor engineer Bob Ston, lighting designer Adam Budney, road manager Don Richards, and manager Vince Iwinski.


Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: July 08 2005 at 11:34

Hey mailto:M@X - M@X

Do you feel the pressure.

Umphrey's Needs Admittance.... & Nima and Merge too!



Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: July 08 2005 at 22:20
UMPHREYS McGEE


Posted By: diddy
Date Posted: July 09 2005 at 08:48
Originally posted by danbo danbo wrote:

Hey mailto:M@X - M@X

Do you feel the pressure.

Umphrey's Needs Admittance.... & Nima and Merge too!

 
 
 
Umphrey's McGee is a superb band and definitely prog...
 
Danbo, I still got no response on "Miasma and the carousel of headless horses" BTW...and I sent a bio, a picture and nealy every information about them   
Max, I really hate to annoy with asking again and again (I know your time is limited) but I wrote a bio and all, even a review, so 


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If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear...
George Orwell


Posted By: Krigsman
Date Posted: July 13 2005 at 17:33

What's happening?

Will they be added?



Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: July 14 2005 at 11:36
Originally posted by Krigsman Krigsman wrote:

What's happening?

Will they be added?

 

We certainly hope so.



Posted By: M@X
Date Posted: July 15 2005 at 09:20
We are taking notes of all the bands you guys suggest, thjanks

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Prog On !


Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: July 15 2005 at 11:33

Did you listen to it?

Great album M@X !



Posted By: elissDee
Date Posted: July 18 2005 at 16:25
I am getting into Progressive Rock through Umphrey's McGee.  Can anyone suggest where to go from here?  

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-My blood it boils with passions overflowing (Brendan Bayliss: Umphrey's Mcgee)


Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: July 18 2005 at 17:01

Originally posted by elissDee elissDee wrote:

I am getting into Progressive Rock through Umphrey's McGee.  Can anyone suggest where to go from here?  

 

There are two tracks, go back and research the bands Umphrey's found to be most influential, ie; King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, ELP.... OR you could look into the bands of this generation that have some similarities to Umphreys, such as; Echolyn, the Frogg Cafe, Mike Keneally, The Underground Railroad, Salem Hill... There are plenty of MP3s to check out.

 

Good to have you on board.



Posted By: Krigsman
Date Posted: August 06 2005 at 09:34

Those who want to hear what UM sounds like, visit http://www.archive.org - www.archive.org  where you can download 590 concerts!!

One of my favorites are 3/26/05

Don't tell me UM isn't prog, they're a jamming prog band much in the same vain as The Flower kings.

If you like TFK, then you'll love UM!




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