Fourteen months ago, on Halloween, Umphrey's McGee played one of the most impressive shows I'd ever seen. The buzz surrounding the event was undeniable and the actual show was religious. At the time the band was on the precipice of some major changes. Light design artist Jefferson Waful was ...view article
“Happy birthday America!” exclaims Brendan Bayliss, lead singer and co-lead guitarist of all-American proggy tonk boys Umphrey’s McGee after a captivating, full band a cappella rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ at the Denver (area) Gothic Theatre on Independence Day 2010. Yes, the ...view article
Cas Haley, the runner up from the 2007 season of America's Got Talent, just released his second album, and his first from Easy Star Records. The album, Connection, is a cool mix of reggae, rock and pop, and puts Cas squarely in the spotlight and out of the shadow of Terry Fator, the ventriloquist. ...view article
With the epidemic-like spread of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games, Rock and Roll music has been packaged neatly into five little buttons as mind numbing, modified studio versions of classic hits are practically put on repeat in households throughout the world. Perhaps to counterbalance this ...view article
A good friend of mine tells me that he has always experienced any troubles getting to a show as a good omen that said show is going to be a barn burner. This could all be in his mind, but the adage has rung true for me over this past week while following around Umphrey’s McGee. I’m a bit ...view article
After three days of being showered with rain, covered by clouds and fog, Oregon bid us a sweet, sunny farewell as we crossed back into the promised land of California to take part in day four in a row of the Umphrey's McGee 2009 West Coast Tour. The entire journey was a dramatic, mountainous blanket ...view article
For no other reason than seeming regional proximity, San Diego is sometimes overshadowed by the Los Angeles/Orange County megalopolis; that seemingly unending, 150 mile slab of asphalt and concrete that stretches from the dusty San Fernando Valley in the north to quaint San Clemente to the south. ...view article