Defining Umphrey's McGee

The Rolling Stones say Umphrey's McGee sounds like Phish.\nUmphrey's McGee has been named by some as the jam band of the Midwest. They relate their style to the legendary Frank Zappa. But if you take Jimmy Page, Jim Morrison and Miles Davis and send them to Jamaica to have a threesome — that's the sound of Umphrey's McGee.\n"Every other band was just kind of flowing along. We like making sections difficult for difficulty's sake — because you can," said Jake Cinninger (guitar, Moog, synthesizers, vocals). "But when it's time to jam, that's when the magic happens."\nJamming and improvisations are the variable that keeps Umphrey's McGee's fans coming back for more. Every concert is guaranteed to be different. As soon as the hand signals come out, the music is purely a reflection of Umphrey's soul.\n"Depending on what's happening, the music is progressive rock," said keyboardist/vocalist Joel Cummins. "Hopefully our transitions are fluid."\nIt was in December 1997, that two bands came together at the University of Notre Dame to form Umphrey's McGee. This past June, the grassroots band that got its start on the road released its first national CD, Anchor Drops.\n"We're all ready to put out another one," said Cinninger. "We want to be known as a great studio band and a great live band."\n"It's emotional usually as you mature as a magician," said bassist Ryan Stasik. \nThe band said it never stops in its search to find a new sound or test themselves by adding another layer to the already complex combinations. It could try a death metal song one day and decide to pull out folk and country the next.\nThe band's Web site says that each song is a collaborative effort between all the band members and is produced by using eight-bar segments and progressions. The primary songwriters are Cinninger and vocalist/guitarist Brendan Bayliss. And no matter what classic band or artist Umphrey's finds inspiration from, the band is determined to avoid cliches and produce a sound that can only be classified as Umphrey's McGee.\n"It's weeding out the bad ideas, and finding the diamonds," said Cinninger.\n"The diamond in the rough," said Stasik.\nUmphrey's performed at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater last Thursday to a sold-out crowd. The band members said they can't remember how many times they have played in Bloomington — maybe 50 times. They consider Bloomington a home away from home. Plus, as drummer Kris Meyers pointed out, Bloomington is a little warmer than Chicago. And the Buskirk-Chumley is one of the few places that has a real piano for Cummins.\nThe band was also willing to help a friend, Abby Cooley, raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. Abby's older brother is a friend of Umphrey's piano player Cummins. At Thursday's concert, they asked everyone to donate to Abby's cause, and Abby stood by the merchandise table with her can and greeted "Umphreaks" and "McGeeks," asking each person to donate. \nAbby will be running in a marathon hosted by Team in Training in San Francisco October 24. The race is sponsored by Nike.\nWhile Umphrey's is helping some fans with its charitable causes, it is issuing warnings to others. Take glowsticks, for example. The band appreciates the fans' enthusiasm, but the tossing of glowsticks onto the stage became a real problem for Umphrey's McGee. Glowsticks interfered with their performances, becoming such a problem that fans are no longer allowed to have glowsticks at concerts. At the end of the band's online plea for fans not to throw glowsticks, it says, "Folks, the glowsticks are no longer clever. Please keep that in mind."\nWith its silly stories, jokes and passion for trying to find that new chord, Umphrey's McGee is relishing its popularity. Changing a band's sound as often as Umphrey's tries does isn't easy. \n"It takes guts to change it," said Cinninger. And it's those guts that are taking Umphrey's all across the nation to perform. \nIf you missed the show last Thursday, Umphrey's will be back in Indiana\nNovember 12. They will perform at the Murat Center in Indianapolis. For information, visit www.umphreysmcgee.com.