They are influenced musically by progressive rock bands such as King Crimson, Yes, Dream Theater, and Genesis, as well as heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden. The band also identifies The Police, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin as primary influences. However, there really isn't a style of popular music that Umphrey's does not cover. Artists covered in concert by Umphrey's range from Lionel Richie to Metallica to Toto to Snoop Dogg to Paul Simon.
Formed at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana in December 1997 by guitarist/vocalist Brendan Bayliss, bassist Ryan Stasik, keyboardist Joel Cummins, and drummer Mike Mirro, Umphrey's McGee combined members of Tashi Station and Stomper Bob, two popular Notre Dame rock bands.
In mid-1998, the band released their debut album complete with a tongue-in-cheek title, Greatest Hits Vol. III. The group decided to record an album immediately because it was easier to get live gigs with an official CD. Long out of print, the album contains many of Umphrey's future concert warhorses, such as Divisions and All in Time.
Shortly after the release of the album, the band added a fifth member, percussionist Andy Farag. Farag's father became the band's agent, and a second pressing of Greatest Hits Vol. III featured Farag in the album's inner sleeve and credits. By the end of the year, Umphrey's McGee, along with peers Ali Baba's Tahini, were one of the most popular bands in the South Bend/Notre Dame area. They began performing outside of the area at colleges and house parties, allowing listeners to tape and trade their music freely. By 1999, the band had gained notoriety outside of Indiana, especially with the release of the live album Songs for Older Women, which featured live tracks recorded over a two-night stand in November 1998.
The addition of Jake Cinninger in September 2000 helped bring the band's musical dynamic to a new level. Cinninger, an accomplished guitarist, brought a distinct heaviness to the Umphrey's sound, as well as a large repertoire of original music, much of which comprised the bulk of the catalog from his previous band, Ali Baba's Tahini. The band also adopted several songs written by Ali Baba's Tahini frontman Karl Engelmann (who now fronts Asheville-based rock band Mother Vinegar). Another live album, One Fat Sucka, was released shortly after, containing live performances recorded in the summer and fall of 2000.
Around 2001, the band began practicing intense improvisational exercises. One of their first productive jam sessions took place in a hotel in the "Jimmy Stewart Ballroom" during the wedding of fan/website designer Jeremy Welsh. Therefore, the band began to call their onstage improvisational excursions "Jimmy Stewart." This form of improvisation differs in approach from the methods utilized by many of their jam band peers and has been extensively outlined by "McL" in the "Jimmy Stewart writeup" on the fan message board known as "The Bort" at www.umphreaks.com.
2002 saw the release of the band's first proper recording, Local Band Does OK. That summer, Umphrey's was invited to play the first annual Bonnaroo Music Festival which took place in rural Manchester, TN, and featured over 30 bands performing in front of nearly 100,000 people. Umphrey's played to their largest audience to date and ended up selling more CDs than any other artist on the bill including Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio, and Norah Jones.
In October 2002 drummer Mike Mirro announced he was leaving to attend medical school. After hundreds of tapes were reviewed by percussionist Andy Farag, the band settled on the first one they received, which was from Kick the Cat drummer Kris Myers, who has a masters degree in jazz drumming from DePaul University.
In 2004, the band released the critically-acclaimed album Anchor Drops, recorded in several different studios throughout the Chicago area. Shortly before the release of the album, the band scored a distribution deal for both Anchor Drops and Local Band Does OK, and for the first time, Umphrey's music was available in stores all over the country. Anchor Drops received rave reviews from several high-profile magazines. Umphrey's was booked to play the Bonnaroo Music Festival once again in June but unlike their 2002 performance, this time they would play a coveted late-night spot. The band performed to over 20,000 people, many of whom had never heard the band before. Shortly after in July, Umphrey's was declared by Rolling Stone Magazine to "have become odds-on favorites in the next-Phish sweepstakes."
In April 2006, Umphrey's released their fourth studio effort, Safety in Numbers. They appeared on the late night TV program Jimmy Kimmel Live in May and were featured at many of the major U.S. festivals throughout the summer, playing 129 shows before a three-night stand in Chicago for New Year's Eve. The Bottom Half, an album of leftover tracks from the Safety in Numbers sessions, was released a year later in April, 2007. It was supported with tours of the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
A live double-album titled Live at the Murat was released in October, 2007. The album was recorded over 2 nights at the Egyptian Room in the Murat Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 6-7, 2007. It received a 4-star review from Rolling Stone Magazine. The album also won a Jammy for best live album. Another live double album release came in June 2008, when the band put out Jimmy Stewart 2007. The album consisted entirely of live, improvised "Jimmy Stewart" sessions recorded in 2007.
Umphrey's McGee completed work on their next studio album, Mantis, in late 2008. Recorded mainly in Manny Sanchez’s I.V. Lab Studios in Chicago, the band members began by presenting each other with CDs containing hundreds of musical ideas they’d composed over the past dozen years, which were then shifted and trimmed down to the concise tracks that appear on the album. The band’s longtime sound caresser, Kevin Browning, edited and mixed the album's material.
Mantis became available for pre-order on October 27, 2008. Along with the pre-order announcement came information that unique bonus content would be available and more content would unlock depending on how many pre-orders were placed. This unusual method of distribution has been hailed as the "perfect way to implement a pre-order campaign" by Reuters.com.
Mantis was released on January 20, 2009. The album marked Umphrey’s second decade together as a band and was the first Umphrey’s album to consist entirely of material never previously performed on the road.
Deeper
Umphrey's McGee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never see the light of day
Set it out, control your thoughts
Bet it all and be let out
Set the course for you life
All is fair on two fronts
Sliding deeper into hell
Come along drift your parts
If you could, I bet you'd wait
Never see the light of day
Set it out, control your thoughts
Bet it all and be let out
Set the course for you life
All is fair on two fronts
Now it's time
In Umphrey's McGee's song "Deeper", the lyrics convey a sense of voluntarily succumbing to negative thoughts and emotions that lead to the descent into darkness. The opening lines, "If you could, I bet you'd wait, never see the light of day," suggest that the character in the song would rather stay in the darkness than try to find a way out. The following line, "Set it out, control your thoughts," indicates that the character is purposefully maintaining a negative mindset. The lyrics then continue with the repetition of "bet it all and be let out, set the course for your life, all is fair on two fronts," emphasizing the idea that the character is taking a risk by allowing these negative thoughts to lead them, but also that they see it as a necessary step towards taking control of their life.
The repetition of the line "now it's time" could be seen as a call to action and a signal that the decision to fall deeper into negativity has been made. The lyrics "sliding deeper into hell" is a clear metaphor for the character's decline into despair, while "come along drift your parts" suggests that others may be following the same destructive path.
Overall, the lyrics of "Deeper" are painting a picture of mental and emotional turmoil, and the choice to embrace it as a way of reclaiming power and control over one's life, even if it means sacrificing happiness and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
If you could, I bet you'd wait
You desire to delay or postpone an event if it were possible
Never see the light of day
You are confined or held captive with no sign or possibility of rescue
Set it out, control your thoughts
Take command over your innermost feelings and emotions
Bet it all and be let out
Risk everything you have for the chance to be freed
Set the course for your life
Determine your own fate and direct your journey
All is fair on two fronts
In every situation, there are two viewpoints or arguments that must be regarded with fairness
Now it's time, time to wait
The current moment demands patience and a willingness to delay gratification
Sliding deeper into hell
You are spiraling down into an abyss of evil or despair
Come along drift your parts
Join the movement and allow yourself to become lost in the collective consciousness
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JACOB ALLEN CINNINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MEDAVAS
The guitar part at 3:18 reminds me of some other tune from somewhere. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I love these guys, I'm surprised these don't have more views.
akurtze
Hells yes! Thanks for the post. This song kicks!
Santiago Puyol
Glad you liked it :)
jack miller
MEDAVAS reminds me of "im never gonna dance again" or whatever that songs called!
Tower Tito
This is porn music. And I love it. Umphrees is the shit