History Music / UmphreysMcgee

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Glory is a 1, Wizard Burial Ground is a 7, their other songs are in between.

** "Jajunk" is a good example: it starts in 7/4, then goes to 4/4, then to 9/4.

Umphrey's [=McGee=] is a jamband, just like the Music/GratefulDead and Music/{{Phish}}, but where the Dead jammed [[{{FolkMusic}} Folk]] and [[{{CountryMusic}} Country]] and Phish jams {{Jazz}}, {{Funk}} and [[ProgressiveRock Prog]], Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, [[Music/{{WolfgangAmadeusMozart}} Mozart]] and whatever else enters their mind.

->''"Fuck this band."''
--> user UMFree on the bort

Umphrey's [=McGee=] is a jamband, just like the Music/GratefulDead and Music/{{Phish}}, but where the Dead jammed [[{{FolkMusic}} Folk]] and [[{{CountryMusic}} Country]] and Phish jams {{Jazz}}, {{Funk}} and [[ProgressiveRock Prog]], Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, [[{{WolfgangAmadeusMozart}} Mozart]] and whatever else enters their mind.

Being a jamband with almost no mainstream recognition, Umphrey's has developed a close relationship with its fanbase, the core of which, the umfreaks, is intensly devoted, but also highly critical, and forms a tightly knit community and is one of the main reasons to keep attending concerts. The main online incarnation of this community is [[http://www.thebort.com/index.php the bort]]. The band goes to lengths to solidify the connection to its fans, as evidenced by the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWWflNS8zHY UMBowls]], where they let the fans decide in real time which music to play.

* EpicRocking: Songs perfomed in under ten minutes might be considered short. Some of the longer crack the 30min mark.

* LocationSong: The tourism bureau of Chicago solicited them, together with {{BuddyGuy}} and {{Chicago}} to record an ode to the city. The result was... [[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/umphreys-mcgees-chicago-w_n_1456750.html?guccounter=1 unsatisfying]]. The band never talks about it, although [[{{NeverLiveItDown}} certain elements of the fandom make sure they won't forget]].

** Jefferson Waful is responsible for their lighing, which is an important visual element of their shows. He talks about his job [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV05iFbRiDw here]].
* ThankingTheViewer: One of their albums is titled "It's not Us". Shortly after it was released it recieved a companion: "It's You".

Umphrey's [=McGee=] is a jamband, just like the Grateful Dead and Phish, but where the Dead jammed [[{{FolkMusic}} Folk]] and [[{{CountryMusic}} Country]] and Phish jams {{Jazz}}, {{Funk}} and [[ProgressiveRock Prog]], Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, [[{{WolfgangAmadeusMozart}} Mozart]] and whatever else enters their mind.

Umphrey's McGee is a jamband, just like the Grateful Dead and Phish, but where the Dead jammed [[{{FolkMusic}} Folk]] and [[{{CountryMusic}} Country]] and Phish jams {{Jazz}} and {{Funk}}, Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, [[{{WolfgangAmadeusMozart}} Mozart]] and whatever else enters their mind.

Umphrey's McGee has a unique approach to improvisation, based on intense visual communication during songs. So for instance there are special handsigns for when someone should take the lead or hold back, or when it is time for a transition between different parts of a given song. They also had improvisational sequences called Jimmy Stewarts that were somewhat more planned out than others, in that for instance a specific order of time signatures or genres was agreed on beforehand. In recent years however they developed a more purely ad hoc approach.

!!Umphrey's McGee provides examples of:

Umphrey's Mcgee is a jamband, just like the Grateful Dead and Phish, but where the Dead jammed [[{{FolkMusic}} Folk]] and [[{{CountryMusic}} Country]] and Phish jams {{Jazz}} and {{Funk}}, Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, [[{{WolfgangAmadeusMozart}} Mozart]] and whatever else enters their mind.

Umphrey's Mcgee has a unique approach to improvisation, based on intense visual communication during songs. So for instance there are special handsigns for when someone should take the lead or hold back, or when it is time for a transition between different parts of a given song. They also had improvisational sequences called Jimmy Stewarts that were somewhat more planned out than others, in that for instance a specific order of time signatures or genres was agreed on beforehand. In recent years however they developed a more purely ad hoc approach.

!!Umphrey's Mcgee provides examples of:

[[caption-width-right:350:Left to right and up to down: Andy Farag, Kris Meyers, Ryan Stasik, Jake Cinniger, Brendan Bayliss and Joel Cummins]]

The band came together in 1998 at Notre Dame university, where Brendan Bayliss, one of their two guitarists, met Joel Cummins, their keyboard player in a class on music theory, Ryan Stasik, their bassist, and Mike Mirro, their first drummer. Later Jake Cinniger and Andy Farag joined as second guitarist and percussionist and when Mike Mirro amicably quit the band Kris Meyers took over as a drummer, a formation that proved stable for the years to come.

* LocationSong: The tourism bureau of Chicago solicited them, together with {{BuddyGuy}} and {{Chicago}} to record an ode to the city. The result was... [[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/umphreys-mcgees-chicago-w_n_1456750.html?guccounter=1 unsatisfying]]. The band never talks about it, although [[{{NeverLiveItDown}} certain elements of the fandom make sure they don't forget about it]].

The band came together in 1998 at Notre Dame university, where Brendan Bayliss, one of their two guitarists, met Joel Cummins, their keyboard player in a class on music theory, Ryan Stasik, their bassist, and Mike Mirro, their first drummer. Later Jake Cinniger and Andy Farag as second guitarist and percussionist joined and when Mike Mirro amicably quit the band Kris Meyers took over as a drummer, a formation that proved stable for the years to come.

Umphrey's Mcgee has a unique approach to improvisation, based on intense visual communication during songs. So for instance there are special handsigns for when someone should take the lead or hold back, or when it is time for a transition between different parts of a given song. They also had improvisational sequences called Jimmy Stewards that were somewhat more planned out than others, in that for instance a specific order of time signatures or genres was agreed on beforehand. In recent years however they developed a more purely ad hoc approach.

Being a jamband with almost no mainstream recognition, Umphrey's has developed a close relationship with its fanbase, the core of which, the umfreaks, is intensly devoted, but also highly critical, and forms a tightly knit community and is one of the main reasons to keep attending concerts. The main online incarnation of this community is [[http://www.thebort.com/index.php the bort]].

** "JaJunk" is a good example: it starts in 7/4, then goes to 4/4, then to 9/4.

Umphrey's Mcgee is a jamband, just like the Grateful Dead and Phish, but where the Dead jammed [[{{FolkMusic}} Folk]] and [[{{CountryMusic}} Country]] and Phish jams {{Jazz}} and {{Funk}}, Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, {{Mozart}} and whatever else interests them at the moment.

Umphrey's Mcgee is a jamband, just like the Grateful Dead and Phish, but where the Dead jammed {{FolkMusic Folk}} and {{CountryMusic Country}} and Phish jams {{Jazz}} and {{Funk}}, Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, {{Mozart}} and whatever else interests them at the moment.

Umphrey's Mcgee is a jamband, just like the Grateful Dead and Phish, but where the Dead jammed {{Folk}} and {{Country}} and Phish jams {{Jazz}} and {{Funk}}, Umphrey's jams everything. The main focus of their music might be described as "improg" (a term their bassist, Ryan Stasik, coined), but there are almost no genres they have not ventured in: they play {{Metal}}, {{Funk}}, {{Reggae}}, {{Mozart}} and whatever else interests them at the moment.

* SillyLoveSong: "You and you alone"