In 2004, Rolling Stone stated that Umphrey's McGee ""have become odds-on favorites in the next-Phish sweepstakes by challenging jam-band clichAcs."" Thoughout their nine years of existence, they have seven albums under their belt and plan on releasing a double album, The Bottom Half, this April. The Daily Cardinal had the opportunity to sit down with vocalist/guitarist Brendan Bayliss and get his take on everything from Notre Dame football to his love for Madison.
The Daily Cardinal: So I couldn't help but notice you guys are heading down to New Orleans in May for the first time since your alma mater took a little bit of a spanking during the Sugar Bowl.
Brendan Bayliss: OK, now if this is how this interview is going to go. I mean if we're going to talk about Notre Dame football. You're a Badger? We gave you Barry Alvarez.
DC: So I take it you guys aren't going to stop by and say hi to LSU then?
BB: No. Next question.
DC: The first time I remember hearing Umphrey's McGee was circa June 2001 at the Wells Street Art Festival in Chicago, and if I'm not mistaken, that same year was also the first time you guys played on the Terrace here at UW-Madison. Just this past year, you co-headlined Red Rocks with Moe, opened for the Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley, had Taj Mahal and Los Lobos open for you guys during a sold out New Year's Eve run at the Aragon Ballroom. I guess what I'm getting at is, what has it been like having this exponential explosion in popularity with your band?
BB: What's it feel like? It feels just about as cool as you think it does. Yeah, it's really exciting, I mean the way you just said it there, just puts it in perspective for me. We've been super blessed and super lucky. It's really nice to cash in on nine years of driving ourselves and sleeping on floors, you know, to finally be in a little comfortable spot. It's really cool.
DC: The emotion and heart that you guys display in Safety in Numbers is overwhelmingly apparent, as I'm sure it will be on The Bottom Half. Is it different recording a song when it means so much to you, than ones with less emotional attachment?
BB: It totally means way more because you have way more invested in it. Sometimes they're very hard to even get through and finish, you know? I mean if you don't even care about it, then it's just like, in and out, you know? It'd probably be nice if you didn't care, because it would be really quick and easy (laughs).
DC: With the amount of time you guys spend on the road, how do you find time to practice and write new songs?
BB: That's been the major road block for us, because, you know, we have to pay rent and everything, so we have to go out and travel. Any time we have a lot of time to be off to write, we've been really productive. Right now, we bring practice gear on the road, and we set it up backstage and just kind of practice backstage before the show. And every few months, we schedule like a two week off kind of thing, where we'll practice and write for a week.
DC: The Bottom Half, your double disc outtakes album, has a bunch of songs on it that have been in the band repertoire for some time now, ""Bright Lights Big City"" and ""Divisions"" definitely come to mind. I mean, ""Divisions"" was on your first album, Greatest Hits Vol. III, back in 1998.
BB: If you would call it an album. That was actually for us. We put it together as a demo because it was hard to get gigs with cassette tapes. I mean anyway, you were saying (laughs).
DC: What's the reason you decided to re-record ""Divisions,"" and why weren't the other tracks able to make it on Safety in Numbers?
BB: Well, it basically came to the point where we had all this stuff to choose from, and we were like, ""Well, we could put out two mediocre albums, or put it all together in a cohesive setting and have it just one be so much more efficient and conscious. I don't know why we recorded ""Divisions."" We were hanging out, we had a lot of time, and we said, ""Let's try it,"" and we did it once or twice and it worked. I guess that's kind of why we're using it, and we had been playing it for weeks and weeks.
DC: What can you tell me about this studio album you are working on with Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band?
BB: Well he and I just kind of became close, kind of going through the same things at the same time, and we just kind of hit it off and started writing. It's not going to be like bluegrass; it's kind of just songs. And the theme is pretty much ... it will be pretty apparent when you hear it (laughs). It's all about the same subject matter as Safety in Numbers, kind of.
DC: I remember at shows in Chicago, you used to announce the scores of the Cubs games as they were occurring. Being Cubs fans and living on the North Side of Chicago, how much were you chastised for playing before the New York Yankees / Chicago White Sox game last summer?
BB: Well, see some of the guys in the band are ... um well ... they're White Sox fans. There's a few here.
DC: Yeah I noticed the jerseys some of you were wearing.
BB: Yeah, well I did my part by ... well, they gave everybody jerseys to sing the national anthem, and I just wore a Notre Dame football jersey. I mean you can only do so much.
DC: How was the response that you guys got from that?
BB: It was pretty overwhelming. My parents would be at the grocery store, and someone would come up to them and say, ""I think I saw your son at the White Sox game."" I mean that was just kind of legitimate, making a little scant of legitimacy.
DC: Umphrey's McGee is celebrating their 10-year anniversary this December. Anything in the works to celebrate the occasion?
BB: Nope, honestly I haven't even thought about it. We're just trying to navigate the boat forward. But now that you mention it, we should probably do something. And I'll get to work on it right as soon as we get done talking here.
DC: Over the years Madison has been pretty good to you. Do you have anything in store to say thanks to the dedicated fans here? Perhaps bring a little more heat than normal to the show, and step it up a little bit?
BB: I mean, yeah, I could tell you, ""Here's the super sweet awesome thing we have planned for Madison."" No, of course not! Come to the show. We'll make it worth your while.
DC: Well thanks for talking. I know I'm speaking on behalf of many people in this town when I say it's really great to see you guys make something of yourselves.
BB: You know Madison has always been great to us man, from day one. Madison has always been the spot we could go to, where people cared, would show up and pay attention.
-Interview conducted by Brien Barrett
