Umphrey’s Mcgee is an eclectic improv-rock band originally from South Bend, IN. This year, Umphrey’s is celebrating its 25th anniversary with an active tour schedule and release of their album, “Asking for a Friend”. Umphrey’s Mcgee members include Brendan Bayliss (guitar), Jake Cinniger (guitar), Joel Cummings (keyboard instrument), Andy Farag (percussions), Kris Meyers (drum kit), and Ryan Stasik (bass guitar). On Thursday, August 17, 2023, Umphrey’s Mcgee will return to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. This performance has become an annual tradition for the band, and I had the opportunity to speak with Ryan Stasik in anticipation of the rocking event.
Ryan, thank you for your time today, I really appreciate you talking with me. How is your summer going?
One of the best ever! I’ve had a little of that bounce back of balancing post-Covid and touring and being able to be with my kids and family as much as possible too. So, it’s just been excellent from a balance standpoint.
That sounds great, when you are not touring what are some of the activities that you enjoy doing during the summer?
Well, I live at a beach, and we have little baby waves here so taking the kids out and just being on the beach surfing. There’s a lot of water activities with the ocean whether it’s out on a boat or just being with the kids outside swimming all day.
Where do you live?
I’m in Charleston, South Carolina. As most of us have families now we have gravitated to different regions of the country, so Umphrey’s is coast to coast now.
So, for our readers not too familiar with Umphrey’s how would you describe its music?
Well we’ve been a band for 25 years and I think we have survived most on is really setting ourselves free to improvisation. That improvisation isn’t limited to any genre. It can go from heavy metal to dub to blues, so I think that being able to know that anything’s on the table from where we’re going to take it, I think our fans have been very excited to see which angle we are going to take each night and how things are going to different.
What are some of the highlights this summer touring with Umphrey’s?
We kind of got thrown a curveball this time. Our most excellent drummer, Kris Meyers, is having shoulder surgery in 5 days, so we are going to have some guest drummers touring and playing with us for a limited amount of shows through the fall while he rehabs his shoulder. That’s going to be excellent. As a bass player, locking in with drummers is my role and it will be a fun challenge and a fun time playing with new drummers and playing some of our original music with them as well.
What about some highlights from earlier this summer?
We did Red Rocks, we had Bonnaroo, I think that was all in the same weekend so the travel for that was pretty crazy. It reminded me how we used to do it back in the day like 20 years ago. Summertime is great because you’re outside and there’s nothing beats Red Rocks! I wish I could even remember January/February, but I’m such an in the moment guy it feels like years ago already.
Can you talk a little about this year’s Summer Camp?
Yes, absolutely, it was the last Summer Camp. I was fortunate enough to have all 3 of my bands play with Doom Flamingo, Depth Kings, and Umphrey’s McGee. Mastodon brought the heavy side of it, and you had 90-year-old Willie Nelson hold it down. Such an eclectic lineup, such a place that feels like a home away from home. We just wanted to give it all that we had to say thank you to the Goldbergs and Ian (Goldberg) for putting on such a great festival and see what the future brings.
For you, what is the difference between performing in a club/venue setting compared to performing at a music festival?
To me it’s the intimacy, at a music festival you are going to see a myriad of bands. When you come see us in a rock club, you know you are going to get a solid 3 hours of in-your-face rock and roll right up close and personal.
Do you have a preference?
I like the up close and personal. I want people to; I want to smell the sweat. I want it to get intimate and nasty and see what kind of energy we’ll throw back towards each other and kind of feed off that.
Awesome! Besides what you mentioned are there additional highlights for Umphrey’s this summer, releases or anything you want to share?
Yes, Umphrey’s has released a few new things. We have a new app with all the stems for “Asking for a Friend” where people can go in and loop each individual part and make their own music from it. You can get clever with it. This was a fun idea that we are pushing out there for the fans. We’ve released several live videos from concerts this summer. We have released three films from our vault starting with the “Tennessee Tapes” from the 2019 run at the historic Ryman Auditorium on the Amazon Prime “The Coda Collection” video channel.
How does it feel celebrating 25 years with Umphrey’s Mcgee?
It’s pretty crazy man, approaching 50 and for more than half my life I have been doing this. I feel incredibly blessed to be doing this with my best friends and I love that people want to come out and see us put our experimental twist on improvisational music. I think the best is yet to come. Once Kris heals, we are going to get back into the studio and make another record. We love making records and keep developing that sound that makes us challenge ourselves. Which avenues can we take live and which avenues we can take in the studio.
Did you ever imagine you’d be celebrating 25 years when Umphrey’s began?
I think I did; it was always the plan. The plan was always to be successful and happy with each other and just make great music. I feel like we have been doing that and accomplishing that and hopefully much more.
How does the band sustain its energy and keep the music and the experience fresh night after night?
Listening back and having honest criticism and being able to take a punch so you can have self-improvement. I think we’ll listen back and be like hey what were you thinking here? That doesn't work, let’s take some chances here, what page were you on? It’s just a lot of, I guess when athletes go back a watch film, you look at the playbook and even though improvisational music doesn’t have a plays, you still come up with ideas of trying to think of ideas how other musicians were thinking and improving by that, paying attention.
What are some of the things you do to sustain your energy and performance level while touring?
As I get older now it’s all about what I eat and enough sleep (laughs) and trying to get a good workout or some activity while I’m on the road. I think all of that is huge part of my mental game being prepared to see what curveballs or ideas the guys are going to throw at me musically and it feels like my body, paying attention to my physical health helps my mental health and creativity be on point.
Great, can we discuss the creative structure and process for the band? As far as song writing goes, how are songs written? Are there specific band members writing songs or is this a collaborative process?
It’s all the above. The lyricists, Brendan (Bayliess) and Jake (Cinninger), have been known to bring in full songs or demos with their vocals. There have been collaborative songs written as well. There’s also been just the 2 of us getting together, whether its Jake and Joel (Cummings) or me and Brendan. With Covid and being locked down we were able to get our acts in gear for recording at home and doing stuff from our home studios. That helps us keep the creativity, even though we were on lockdown in isolation, flowing. We can do that so, a lot more riffs were coming from each other for collaborative ideas, and I don’t know, who know what the next few years are going to be? Maybe a lot of it will just be made up on the spot. We will have to wait and see.
Are there defined roles for each band member in the song writing process?
No and I wouldn’t want to limit anyone to that either. Everyone, I think our rule is you have to try it if it is suggested, so at least everyone can hear it. And then if you hear it, we are allowed to make adult constructive decisions on whether we think it is appropriate or works or if we should just move on. Everybody has the right to write stuff, but I would say for lyrics and vocals is definitely Brendan spearheading all of that. I don’t write any lyrics.
How does Umphrey’s go about writing setlists?
We are kind of manacle about that. We have a website that’s called All Things Umphrey’s, so we pay attention to of the songs that we played in the last, shit, sometimes decade, but especially our last visit, so if people are coming to see us again say in Richmond, VA we make sure that we are not repeating a ton of songs and what songs we played off a new record verses old school tunes. We pay attention to tempo, key, so we don’t end up… we don’t like to play a lot of things in the same tempo back-to-back, we like to move it around. We want to make sure everything is not in the same key. We’re paying attention to a ton of different factors before we put the setlist down. They listen, Joel and I tend to do most of the setlists writing, but again nothing is written in stone, if you’re feeling something live and tends to go that way everyone is definitely very open to gravitating towards what is making sense in the moment.
Who determines what covers the band plays?
You know it’s in agreement, but a lot of it is regional depending on what city we are in. If I’m in Pittsburgh, that’s where I’m from, or Kalamazoo or Charleston I’ll definitely have more of a say. I’ve actually written I think, almost all of the Stone Pony setlists for some reason. You know, Brendan, his hometown is South Bend and in Chicago he takes the lead. So, a lot of it is regional and a lot of times it is collaborative and sometimes it’s even based on what is happening in the music industry. Robbie Roberts just died so if we were touring right now, we play something from the Band. So, sometimes it’s a tribute to someone who has passed or if someone local is from that area we might bust out a tip of the hat or a cover that he or she might have played from that region. It’s a lot of ideas all coming out at once.
Speaking of the Stone Pony, according to setlists.fm Umphrey’s has performed 21 concerts in New Jersey. New Jersey is the 32nd most visited state by the band. 12 of those shows have occurred at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. What does it mean for you to perform at the Stone Pony?
Again, I can say that I have all these homes away from home. That’s another one where you grew up and you’re like man, I’ve been coming here for decades. It’s just, you know, you’ve got the beach right there, there’s a vibe. Everyone who works there, I still got my member’s only crew jacket. It just feels old school. Like you’re coming back home and to me it’s rock and roll. Like every time we go in there, we’re ready to… just put your helmet on cause we are ready to rock!
I totally agree, you have played both indoors and outdoors at the Stone Pony, do you have a preference?
I don’t really have a preference. I mean indoors, it’s fucking hot (laughs). I don’t like to wear shorts on stage, but I do like the inside with people being very up close and personal that kind of punk rock we can feel each other sweat on each other. But I also love being outside. I’m an old man too, man, being done at like 9:30 is awesome. Just being by the beach so they’re both great, both are going to rock. I think we are inside this time, right?
Yes, because it’s a Thursday night show. Some more Stone Pony fun facts, since 2012, Umphrey’s has performed on the Stone Pony Summer Stage consistently each year up to 2022. The only years you did not perform was 2013 and 2020 due to Covid. How has performing at the Stone Pony been an overall part of your summers?
Well, it’s going to be unique. Usually, it’s coming off the end of summertime, school’s about to start up again, we’re going to get to the crisp fall, so we always enjoy that summertime run up at the Stone Pony. But this time it’s going to be different because we have a brand-new drummer. So, there is going to be a lot of excitement, a lot of anxiousness. We are all excited to see how it goes, what were going to play, what it is going to be like. I think it is going to be a special show because of its uniqueness.
When you think about summers, do you think about the Stone Pony automatically as part of summer tour?
Yes, I do, Summer Camp was always the end of spring, and then I felt going into Red Rocks and summer festivals and going to the Stone Pony were always on top of my list to what my summer was going to be filled with.
That’s great because I also define my summer by Umphrey’s appearance at the Stone Pony. A trend I have noticed with these shows is the setlists is peppered more with classic rock, rock, punk, metal and industrial covers. According to you, you mostly write the setlist for Stone Pony shows, so I take it this is not a coincidence?
No that is definitely on purpose, I know we’ve done Misfits, Pantera, Tool… I don’t know what it is, Jake and I grew up on the heavier side, the heavy metal and our love for heavy rock and roll. Maybe because my nick-name is Pony and the Stone Pony just felt like home to me that I just started, hey I got this and there has definitely been an energy in the crowd that has been receptive to when we played songs by Pantera or Misfits or rock and roll, so hopefully the band lets me tend to this one again we’ll bring some other heavy stuff, we’ll see.
The only Stone Pony show when Umphrey’s did not play a cover was last year, do you know why?
I think last year might have been a pretty solid run where we didn’t play a cover for maybe 10-20 shows even. We could have been in that collaborative groove just playing songs of our newer record, Asking for a Friend, and trying to give everyone just originals. We go through phases where we do little things like that. No covers, just originals, I enjoy covers because anytime I am going to see a band, I love see their interpretation or just hear something I definitely know the words to. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there that see Umphrey’s who are like, is this the same song still for 25 minutes or do they sing? It’s nice to hear a cover and be like, I know this, and I’m going to sing and rock out and have that memory when I leave the venue.
What is your favorite song or artists to cover?
Oh that’s too hard, there are too many…
How about your top 3?
Let’s see, Tool is my favorite band so anytime we take an attempt to cover them is always fun. It’s always a challenge. I’d say heavier stuff. It is a joy to do Pantera at least once and anything heavy, anything that’s classic heavy rock and roll, I’ll go with that.
The 2 cover repeats over the years at the Stone Pony have been “War Pigs” (Black Sabbath) and “The Song Remains the Same” (Led Zeppelin).
Well we’ll see, we are playing with Jason Bonham (son of Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham) later this tour so we will probably hold off on the Zeppelin until we play with him.
With Kris out for the remainder of 2023 how does that affect the band?
I think the largest part is the out-pouring of support from the scene and other drummers and people willing to fill in his shows. There is a lot of respect there and it is going to be fun. Kris understood too, he didn’t want us to take 6 months off so we are making lemonade and we are excited for the challenge and for the fun and to support Kris as he gets better and Duane Trucks (drummer from Widespread Panic) and all these guys, Jeremy Salken (drummer from Big Gigantic) are playing with us and they are all our friends and we know them and there is a comfortableness there. It’s just another chapter that we look forward to that brotherhood we have supporting each other and making great music.
Have you started the rehearsal process with those drummers?
No, I haven’t, I sent some texts to be like, hey man, if you have any questions or want to talk about it, let’s do it, but I feel like they are all professionals. They are going through the catalog and feeling what is comfortable for them and we will just roll the dice when we get there, see what’s cooking.
What will it be like performing with Duane Trucks at the Stone Pony show next week?
He’s an old school friend of mine, we have been wanting to collaborate and play together forever. We actual rehearsed at a sound check in Austin, TX. He was going to sit-in with us because Panic had the night off, but we ended up having lightning and our show got cancelled. He was not able to perform with us, so this will technically be our first performance with him at the Pony. His playing, his pocket, his vibe, everything is an A+ in my opinion so I just look forward to that. Not nervous at all, super comfortable and excited to have him back there.
Is there room in the plan for him to bring something to the table that is not Umphrey’s specific content?
Absolutely man, everything is out on the open. He is going to be on the bus with us for 4 nights and I think he is doing 7 shows total so I am sure over that span there’ll be what’s comfortable, what he’s digging. When you’re in the bus there’s a lot of talking and communicating about what works, what is fun and all of us have a lengthy list of covers we know and vocabulary so it will be interesting to see which songs have different style improv and which covers we end up selecting, just what the overall shows are going to be. I’m just looking forward to having fun with him!
That sounds great, once you are in person with Duane what is that rehearsal process going to be like incorporating guests?
Well, we have gear backstage so I’m sure that during this stretch of tour we will be spending a lot of time in the rehearsal room running through sections and parts and having discussions. Sound check might be a little longer and then even after the show having those discussions, like the metaphor I said about watching film with tapes, saying hey what is working here, what are you thinking? Umphrey’s uses talk-back mics so we will probably using these in a little more detail where we might be more specific and be like, hey drums and bass out here, let the guitar start something and that opens up a little side of conducting while the show is happening and it’s really easy to direct everybody and to see what unfolds from that type of improvisation as well.
How will sharing of the Umphrey’s catalog affect the structure of the shows?
There is going to be some variation for sure, obviously Kris isn’t there. Jake and Andy (Farag) are fantastic drummers so we will see what they are most comfortable with, but it’s not going to be 4 nights of the same songs in a row, that’s for sure. We’re going to spread it out. I’m guessing that there might be more jamming and just really taking those risks and going outside our comfort zone and outside the box to see where we end up and how we naturally get there. It’s definitely not going to be the same because it's a brand-new drummer playing our songs for the first time, which is exciting.
Does the absence of Kris change the roles for other band members?
I think that goes without saying, there is going to be more making sure the drummers are comfortable, making sure they feel the flow is going in a good way, so I think everyone is going to step up and be more communitive. Saying this is good, oh keep doing this or stay away from there. I just think the communication steps up.
Any chance band members will be playing the drums too?
You don’t want me on the drums, maybe for sound check (laughs). Yeah, Jake is going to play, Andy is going to play. I’m not allowed to say, but we have a lot of our friends who happen to be in these locations who happen to pop by for a tune or 2 outside of the guys who are listed. Being in the scene for 25 years and making these friendships with other musicians we know a lot of drummers and if they happen to be in town and want to come out, coming up and jamming is a nice nod to supporting Kris and just a great chance for us to make some rock jams together, you know?
Awesome, last question, is there anything you want to say to the fans attending the Stone Pony show next week?
I want to say thank you! I love that people are coming and are being understanding and supportive of Kris and are being understanding of Umphrey’s to keep coming out and playing music. Just come out, keep giving me that smile and we’ll give it back and have a fucking good time!
More information about Umphrey’s McGee is available on their website - https://www.umphreys.com/. More information about their upcoming show at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park Thursday August 17, 2023 is available here - https://www.stoneponyonline.com/calendar/.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS PAUL
