Summary: Umphrey's McGee 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, stage manager Robbie Williams, lighting designer Adam Budney, road manager Don Richards, and manager Vince Iwinski. “You can’t choose what happens, only how you react to it,” says Brendan Bayliss, guitarist and vocalist of the musically muscular and spontaneous band of merrymen Umphrey’s McGee. “We had kind of a crazy year and it all came out on this record,” elaborates guitarist and vocalist Jake Cinninger, referring to the band’s third studio offering, Safety In Numbers. “Though it’s not all obviously dark, there’s kind of a theme that runs through it,” he says. Following their New Year’s Eve 2004 gig, Umphrey’s McGee (its name is taken from a relative of Bayliss’) lost a close ally when their friend and fan, Brian Schultz, was killed by a drunk driver. In addition to the band’s collective loss, Bayliss was living through a personally emotional period of his own. A few weeks later, they were in the studio composing new songs. “It wasn’t a conscious effort to spill my guts,” says Bayliss, “But life and its circumstances are a balancing act, and it’s all on the record.” The musicians concur that the personal chaos provided plenty of fuel for an explosion of collaborative and creative energy. “Some people tend to turn inward when they hit hard times. But a bunch of us were going through this tough stuff together, and you can feel that in the recording,” says keyboardist and vocalist Joel Cummins. “That’s where the title comes from.” .... to read more, visit www.umphreys.com All content © Umphrey's McGee. All Songs Recorded and Caressed Live to Two Track Masters by Kevin Browning
