False Precision: Todd Vernon's Blog
Forget about Todd's deep experience with Technology and Successful Companies. All that matters is HE IS A HUGE RUSH FAN.
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False Precision: Todd Vernon's Blog
Forget about Todd's deep experience with Technology and Successful Companies. All that matters is HE IS A HUGE RUSH FAN.
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MicroMotives: Join Jeff Heuer for news and reflections on deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of human
reasoning.
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Of all the great artists making the rounds this year, none have been more ambitious than Umphrey's McGee. They released the follow-up album to Safety in Numbers called The Bottom Half; a risky two-disc endeavor of leftover studio gems and insightful audio fragments. The
band has also since embarked on a national tour that will take them all
across the nation, including stops at such top festivals as Summercamp, 10,000 Lakes, Camp Bisco, Mountain Jam, and more. As if that schedule were not daunting enough, the band has partnered with friends The Disco Biscuits to co-headline two inaugural events called the Trancegression Festival at Copper Mountain Colorado Jamaica One wonders how the band finds any time to breathe when the bowl is clearly overflowing. Luckily,
the Grateful Web had a chance to catch up with guitarist Jake Cinninger
between gigs to talk about their busy year, and shed some light on
their present and future projects. GW: Hey Jake, how are things going today? JC: It’s going great! We had a little time off after Summercamp to sort of cool the jets, and woke up in Buffalo , New York GW: Excellent, so you are in New York JC: Yeah, we are in Buffalo GW: That sounds like a fun week! JC: Yeah, a little in and out as we like to call it. A three day week is pretty cheese. GW: Right, nice. So hey, it has been two months since you released the Bottom Half. What have fans been telling you about the album, and are you still comfortable with that project? JC: Yeah, it was really nice to get it off our chests and really get it out in the mix. It’s a project that has been on the shelf for three or four years, since the beginning of Safety in Numbers. It is finally nice to birth all of these songs. You know, songs sitting on the shelf too long can have expiration dates on them. GW: Sure, I understand. JC: And
as far as fan feedback has been, well the packaging and the reason why
it was a double disc was kind of for the fans, especially our hardcore
fans. It dives into how we construct our songs and how they manifest out of nowhere. It
is kind of cool to just have the tape machines on all the time and sort
of capture that, and if they happen to sound good enough to where we
say, “This sounds great”, it is then the first glimpse into these songs. And this release shows a sample of that right there. GW: Yeah, I thought the second disc was a pretty transparent window into your recording process. JC: Cool, right. The
first disc was strictly the songs that we had done in the studio that
we did not feel were really appropriate for Safety in Numbers. And the second disc is kind of like our freebee, our “before it happened” thing. GW: Excellent. So
now that the release is behind you, the band is hitting the road hard
again, and you guys have sort of become BFF with the Disco Biscuits
boys. Tell me how this D.U.M.B tour came to light. JC: It really came out of a year’s worth of talk underground. You have to do this kind of business behind the fans’ backs, and then surprise them with it I guess. It takes a year or so for something like that to sort of unfurl. But
we have always thought it would be fun, because they have some really
good momentum going on, and we have some momentum going too in the live
field. So we figured we might as well team up together and make something like this work. It is kind of our first venture out in a festival atmosphere where we are just as responsible as they are. It is a first for us. It’s got our name on it, and there name on it. It really feels good to be taking a bigger step into the summer festival season. GW: What is it that you like about their sound? JC: What’s really nice about it is they sound completely different from what we are doing. We wouldn’t want two bands that have that sort of progressive, aggressive jam-rock thing that we have going. With them being the originators of the electronica, real-time rock I think it is a nice mesh. They
have this very danceable, pulsating thing going on throughout the night
and we have this sort of jagged, progressive rock with a little
jam-metal in there. GW: Yeah, it’s a good mix. JC: It’s a good balance. It’s got high energy rock throughout the whole night and makes you want to come out and have a good ole time. GW: Speaking
of a good time, I heard you guys have a high stakes poker game planned
near the end of the tour to see who will close out the performances. JC: I think it is actually a one-hand deal. I
think the best thing to do will be to take (Ryan) Stasik and “Barber”
(Jon Gutwillig) and just deal the cards to see who will win in one hand. What’s the use of drawing it out; let’s save that for behind the scenes. GW: Are there some card sharks in the band? JC: Oh yeah, there are some definite card sharks in the band. The thing is I can’t tell you who because that will wreck everyone’s fantasy. GW: That’s true! Do you think you stand a chance of winning the game? JC: I’m a pacifist, so I “yes” and “no”. GW: Tell me more about the Trancegression Festival this summer. Where did the idea come to have this festival at Copper Mountain Colorado JC: We thought we would take a risk by doing this out in Colorado GW: Did you have much involvement in choosing who would be the accompanying acts at this festival? JC: Yeah,
we kind of all put our heads together and collectively tried to feel
out who was going to work for this, and what would work the best. And of course who was going to be available, which is always a big issue. We then just kind of put our two cents in saying, “well I like this band”, or “I like this band”. Then we molded it into a package to see who would bite. GW: This week you guys also just announced the Riverview Music Festival in Chicago JC: Well, earlier in the day there will be a lot of local, Chicago-based acts. Then towards the evening we will be bringing in a little bit of the nationals artists. Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago GW: It gives you a short break from travelling, huh? JC: What we do is travel, so when there are those shows that don’t include travelling it is kind of like a freebee. GW: I understand this festival will be benefiting the Chicago Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club. What do you guys get out of doing benefit shows? JC: The older we get and the more we start to travel, the more things start to happen. After awhile you want to start to give back, otherwise it starts to seem selfish. GW: You guys have yet another festival in the works this winter called Caribbean Holidaze. Was this just an excuse to spend a week in Jamaica JC: Well we wanted to something a little different than Jam Cruise this year, since we have been doing that since its conception. Every New Years we had to play our asses off and then jump on a boat. So why don’t we try something else in December? It just happened to work out; we had some friends down there that just got something going and presented us with a package. And it really seemed to work out for both bands, so we said let’s do it! I am really gassed to do it because I get to spend my birthday down there. I have never been able to be off shore and enjoy a birthday party, so I am going to have a blast. GW: You will! I spent a month in Jamaica JC: Oh wow! GW: Yeah, I wouldn’t really have called it studying much. Our homework almost every night was to go see a local reggae band and write a paper on it. It is such an amazing place; it was great to just absorb the culture. And it was so cool to learn about reggae music; we pretty much saw Bob Marley’s life from beginning to end. It was truly inspirational for me! JC: Man, I bet it was! GW: Would you consider yourself a reggae fan? JC: Oh, of course. I mean even my grandmother’s favorite artist is Bob Marley…go figure. She is always putting that stuff on. But that beat, that vibe…even in blue collar Michigan GW: I understand that folks who are going to these Jamaica JC: Oh definitely Hedonism. It’s the name of it, right. I would think if you are eighteen to thirty-five, Hedonism is your joint. Thirty-five plus might be better off at Breezes. The whole idea that you can swim up to your room, or swim up to the bars, is just….yeah! GW: Yeah is right! It sounds fucking cool. Well getting back to festivals this summer, how did Summercamp go for you guys? JC: Summercamp is always a great spot. It is good to be in a festival that has sort of worked out their bugs. After six or seven years it is kind of a well-oiled machine. It is really one of the best festivals out there. The area, the land, and the geography are just perfect. There are great camping spots and lots of shade; it has all the amenities. And it is really a festival that has room to grow. There is just a ton of land out there. They could turn it into a Bonnaroo-sized festival. GW: You guys have a lot more festivals lined up this year like 10,000 Lakes and Camp Bisco JC: Yes…10,000 Lakes is going to be a big one. I am really gassed to play the main stage. It is kind of humbling over the years because I don’t think any of us have really changed much since we started. We still look the same, act the same, and still play the same. It
is just weird because five years ago we were saying, “I really hope
people come out and see us”, or “I hope we have enough gas to get home”. It has really come full circle to now walk into these types of shows and be co-headlining with some of our favorite acts. GW: Well the sound of the band is really derived from many different styles of music, which is why I think you stay so fresh. What kinds of music or artists are you into now that might be shaping some of your songwriting? JC: As far as newer stuff goes, maybe bands like Modest Mouse. But really I don’t get into a lot of newer stuff; I’m a vinyl collector. I pretty much hit the dusty record bins and find all this stuff that no one has ever heard of, or probably thought was extinct. For example, last week I bought one hundred fifty albums. I will go through them and pull out what I think is gem, which could be twenty-five or thirty. And these are risky albums, I am talking about Bing Crosby live from 1963 or Elvis (Presley) live in ’72. You know, whatever, just go through the gamut of history. I will buy a bunch of crap and find a few gems in it. There
is so much music that has been left behind; I feel like it is my duty
as a musician to go back and find the things that have been left behind. GW: I have heard rumors that the band might be working on a new album, and possibly even a live release. JC: Yes, both are true. We actually just finished recording at the Egyptian Room in Indianapolis GW: Right, it is not as organic as just listening to tapes and picking a good night out. JC: Yeah, when everyone is loose as a goose. Ideally that is what you want to capture. GW: Exactly! JC: But as far as the studio stuff goes, we just did four weeks in February and two weeks recently in Chicago GW: Speaking with fans after some of your shows this year many seem to agree that your singing has significantly improved. Have you been using any specific techniques or coaching to improve your vocals? JC: No I haven’t. My big issue is that I haven’t been a really confident singer. I think over the last year or so I have been trying to become more confident. It is really a nightmare for me to be a good guitar player and an OK singer. While (Brendan) Bayliss, on the other hand, is like the better singer and the OK guitar player. I think it is a nice balance. But sometimes I will step up vocally, and he will step up with the guitar playing. We are human and we are just trying to balance out the things that we are uncomfortable with and try to make them better. GW: You
know I recently had the opportunity to interview Ron Johnson from New
Monsoon, and while speaking with him he mentioned to me that he thought
you were one of the best drummers he had ever played with. JC: I love Ron, that is awesome! GW: I had no idea you were into drums. What do you like about drumming? JC: Drums were my first instrument that I picked up when I was three. And my parents were nice enough to let me play along with their record collection. I was instantly able to keep time at four years old. By the time I was six through thirteen I was into hard-core jazz and drums. On some points I am probably a better drummer than I am a guitar player because of more education. I can kind of mimic drummers pretty well. When I was playing with Ron at the USTORM benefit, we were kind of swapping around and playing merry-go-round drummers. I had a Rolling Stones tune to play, and a Talking Heads tune to play. So I wanted to emulate these drummers as closely as possible. And Ron just couldn’t help the fact that I could play Charlie Watts to a tee. After listening to these guys all these years, I can pretty much emulate their style. So as far as drums go, that is like the core of my being. I sort of play the guitar like a drummer. So
when you hear that sort of percussive “di-di-di-di-di-a”…those
consecutive sixteenth notes, that is kind of my drummer mentality
popping out. GW: Why haven’t you gotten behind the set at more of your shows? JC: Because Kris is too damn good! GW: You are right, he is too damn good. Jake, thanks for the time today man and good luck with the rest of the tour! JC: Anytime buddy, thanks. The Grateful Web
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The buzz from the excited crowd anticipating two of the jam band’s scene’s most up and coming bands was fresh and impulsive. These are bands that have mostly broken through by their tediousness in touring and their successful musical appearances at major festivals such as Bonnaroo and Wakarusa.
Tea Leaf Green opened the show with a terrific set. This quartet from San Francisco improves greatly every time I see them. They opened with the upbeat example of good songwriting, “One Reason.” Trevor Garrod demonstrates the ability to sing with soul while playing an elegant piano. Garrod writes most of these beautiful songs for TLG. “If It Wasn’t For the Money” was next. This song showed off the talents of guitarist Josh Clark. The two of these guys are the driving force of this band and they work together well while trading solos throughout their songs. Then the band played “Red Ribbons > The Garden (Part II),” which was a surprise prelude to the end of the set. “Make a Connection” and “Faced With Love” are two songs about a broken love connection that are featured on TLG’s live album Rock n’ Roll Band. “Faced With Love” featured Garrod on the harmonica wailing to the large in coming crowd. “Sex in the 70’s” is an older song featured on Midnight on the Reservoir. Tonight, TLG included teases of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” during the song. The one hour opening set concluded with “The Invasion,” “The Garden (Part III) > Death Cake,” leaving the crowd begging for more. This young band has a big future in music. They’ve opened for Trey Anastasio, Govt’ Mule, and now Umphrey’s McGee. They are building popularity, and I expect that very soon they will be headlining shows at the Electric Factory themselves.
Umphrey’s McGee is a band that formed on the other side of the country in Indiana at and around the University of Notre Dame. They’ve built a huge mid-west following that helped spawn their fast climb to success. This spring Umphrey’s put out a double disc album including many of their unreleased songs with intriguing cover art by the famous Storm Thorgerson, called “The Bottom Half.” Thorgerson has designed many popular album covers, but he is most famous for making one of the greatest of all time…Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
The show opened with “Jazz Odyssey” which featured Jake Cinninger on keyboards. This song is made most famous to fans because of the band’s communication on stage. During “Jazz Odyssey” and “Jimmy Stewart,” which was also played in the second set, the band uses a series of visual language symbols onstage to determine the arrangement of the song. For example, in the aforementioned songs a happy face symbolizes a major key, while a sad face represents a minor one. The following song “Der Kluten Kat” a rock anthem with several parts was the bread in the “Alex’s Song” sandwich tonight. They played, “Der Kluten Kat > Alex’s House > Der Kluten Kat > Alex’s House > Der Kluten Kat.” Guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger rocked in almost heavy metal fashion while the rest of the band took turns with progressive improvisational clinics. The crowd was going wild already.
The jazzy Zappa sounding tune called “Mail Package” calmed things down a bit until the deep prog rock sounds of the synthesizer electrified the venue again with “Atmosfarag,” featured on the new album. “Out of Order” was next and acted as the perfect vehicle to the awesome set closer cover of the Genesis song “Abacab.” With the announcement of the Genesis tour, this was a welcomed surprise.
The second set opened mellow with “Believe the Lie” and “Hangover.” But, “Hangover” went into a forty minute “Nothing Too Fancy” sandwich with “Jimmy Stewart” and “FF” in the middle. “Nothing Too Fancy” was written by Cinninger and had an intro that sounded like a Van Halen song into an electronic dance beat. Umphrey’s brought up the hometown favorite drummer of the Disco Biscuits Allen Aucoin on his birthday to play during this run of songs. Lately, the two bands have been appearing and touring together very often.
After, Umphrey’s kept the crowd on their toes by going into “Young Lust” by Pink Floyd. The appreciative crowd loved it, and then the guitar driven “Prowler” crept up. When “Prowler” ended the band sensed the energy of the crowd and tried some crowd participation. They said, “It’s Friday night. It’s really easy. I don’t care how much you’ve had to drink. You cannot fuck this up. Left side, right side, left side break out the booty wax (crowd replies ‘It’s Friday night). “Thank you let’s do it.” The crowd continued to play along. “Act like you want some ass!” The band then thanked the crowd and went back into “Hangover.” The band walked off stage, and the crowd clapped in unison for their return. Umphrey’s came back on and played “Pay the Snucka” to a very happy audience.
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06.01.07 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [^top] Set One Jazz Odyssey^ > Der Bluten Kat > Alex's House > Der Bluten Kat > Alex's House > Der Bluten Kat, Mail Package, Atmosfarag > Out of Order > Abacab Set Two Believe the Lie, Hangover > Nothing Too Fancy > "Jimmy Stewart"^ > FF > Nothing Too Fancy > Young Lust > Prowler > Hangover Encore Pay the Snucka Notes Tea Leaf Green opened ^ with Jake on keys ^^ with Allen Aucoin (Disco Biscuits) replacing Kris on drums UMLive.net
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Their remaining tour schedule for the summer/fall is as follows:
Friday, 10 August 2007 3145 North Sheffield Wednesday, 15 August 2007 McCarren Park Pool 900 Lorimer at Bayard Friday, 17 August 2007 12880 East 146th Street Saturday, 18 August 2007 12880 East 146th Street Thursday, 23 August 2007 129 Main Street Sunday, 26 August 2007 3300 North Campbell (Roscoe & Western Avenues), DeVry University Tuesday, 28 August 2007 633 North 130th Street Thursday, 30 August 2007 1060 West Addison Street Friday, 31 August 2007 Robert J. Fischgrund Center for Performing Arts St. Patrick's County Park, 50651 Laurel Road Thursday, 13 September 2007 216 State Street Friday, 14 September 2007 708 South Goodwin Avenue Saturday, 15 September 2007 317 East 5th Street Thursday, 4 October 2007 644 Massachusetts Friday, 5 October 2007 3524 Greenville Avenue Saturday, 6 October 2007 801 Red River Street Sunday, 28 October 2007 Las Vegas, Nevada Tuesday, 18 March 2008 The Melkweg Wednesday, 19 March 2008 The Melkweg
Non-Umphrey's Show - Jerry Garcia Tribute
Chicago, Illinois 60657
773.472.0449
- doors: 7:00 pm
- show: 8:00 pm
- Jack Straw's Third Annual Jerry Garcia Tribute, featuring Jake Cinninger
- 18 and over
- The Super American Happy Fun Good-Time Jamband will be opening
- tickets are $12.00 and can be purchased at The Vic box office with no service charges or through Ticketmaster.com
Brooklyn, New York
347.392.0903
- doors: 5:00 pm
- show: 6:00 pm
- co-headline with The Disco Biscuits
- All Ages
- tickets are $35.00 in advance, $40.00 day of show, and are available through Ticketmaster.com
Noblesville, Indiana 46060
- show: 7:00 pm
- opening for the Dave Matthews Band
- tickets are $40.00 for the lawn and $65.00 for reserved
Noblesville, Indiana
- show: 7:00 pm
- opening for the Dave Matthews Band
- tickets are $40.00 for the lawn and $65.00 for reserved
Non-Umphrey's Show - Drop Q
Davenport, Iowa 52801
563.326.1333
- doors: 8:00 pm
- show: 9:00 pm
- Kris will be playing with Drop Q
- a River Roots Festival pre-party
Chicago, Illinois
- doors: 1:00 pm
- show: 8:00 pm
- presented by the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club
- with Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Brothers Past, Tea Leaf Green, and Banyan (featuring Steve Kimock, Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction, Willie Waldman, & Tony Franklin)
- single-day tickets are available for $20; two-day passes are $35 until July 31st, after which tickets will be $40; tickets are available through riverviewfestival.tickets.musictoday.com and through UM Ticketing
- two hundred VIP passes are available for $150 by calling 773.463.4161 or in person at the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club (2501 West Irving Park Road, Chicago); cash or credit cards only, please
- the VIP package includes: two-day pass, VIP Tent, VIP Viewing Area, VIP Hostesses, free VIP Parking, VIP Beer Vendor, light refreshments, a Riverview 2007 Tee Shirt, a free Kick-Off Party Ticket (Thursday, August 23), a VIP Goody Bag with Lots of Great Stuff!
Bonner Springs, Kansas 66012
- show: 7:00 pm
- opening for the Dave Matthews Band
- tickets are $40.00 for the lawn and $65.00 for reserved
Umphrey's to Sing the National Anthem
Chicago, Illinois 60613
- show: 7:05 pm
- Umphrey's will sing the National Anthem before the Chicago Cubs take on the Milwaukee Brewers
South Bend, Indiana 46637
- show: 7:00 pm
- with Half-Pint Jones (previously known as Hoodoo Groove) to open
- tickets are $25.00 and are available through Umphrey's Ticketing; there will be a $4.00 parking fee
- Train to Rock N Roll City Productions
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
608.255.6005
- tickets will be $25.00; there will be a pre-sale through Umphrey's Ticketing on July 25 at 12:00 pm local; regular on-sale will be August 1 at 12:00 pm
Urbana, Illinois 61801
217.344.BAND
- tickets will be $23.00 in advance and $25.00 day of show; there will be a pre-sale through Umphrey's Ticketing on July 25 at 12:00 pm local; regular on-sale will be August 1 at 12:00 pm
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
513.721.8883
- tickets will be $22.50 in advance and $25.00 day of show; there will be a pre-sale through Umphrey's Ticketing on July 25 at 12:00 pm local; regular on-sale will be August 1 at 12:00 pm
Lawrence, Kansas 66044
785.749.1912
- with special guests Outformation
- tickets are $18.00 in advance, $20.00 day of show, and are available through Umphrey's Ticketing on July 25 at 12:00 pm local; regular on-sale will be August 1 at 12:00 pm
Dallas, Texas 75206
214.824.9933
- with special guests Outformation
- tickets are $20.00 in advance, $22.00 day of show, and are available through Umphrey's Ticketing on July 25 at 12:00 pm local; regular on-sale will be August 1 at 12:00 pm
Austin, Texas 78701
512.480.8341
- with special guests Outformation
- tickets are $20.00 in advance, $22.00 day of show, and are available through Umphrey's Ticketing on July 25 at 12:00 pm local; regular on-sale will be August 1 at 12:00 pm
- two-day general admission and VIP ticket packages for the shows at Sam Boyd Stadium and Star Nursery Field will go on-sale Saturday, July 28, 2007 at 10:00 am PDT at www.vegoose.com; tickets will also be available through UNLV Ticketing
- for the complete line-up and more information, please visit www.vegoose.com
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- show: 9:00 pm
- The Max
- following the Disco Biscuits; also playing will be Tea Leaf Green, Lotus, and Perpetual Groove
- please visit JamInTheDam.com for more information
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- doors: 9:00 pm
- show: 12:00 am
- The Max
- with the Disco Biscuits to open this closing night
- please visit JamInTheDam.com for more information
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