Episode 45 – Joel Cummins and Andy Farag (Umphrey’s McGee)


Seth and Rob go backstage at Chastain Park Amphitheater where the hosts sat down with Andy Farag (percussion) and Joel Cummins (keyboards/vocals) of Umphrey’s McGee and discuss future Halloween’s and how sharing a five-bedroom Chicago apartment while recording their latest album (“it’s not us.” due out in January 2018) allowed the band to “live and breathe Umphrey’s music” while they recorded. We get a window into the creative process including how a piece of the song “Educated Guess” ended up on, “Similar Skin.” The musicians take us back to pre-Umphrey’s days, how they met, the significance of the band Stomper Bob and Andy’s Father. We learn about the near-demise of Umphrey’s when original drummer Mike Mirro informed the band he was leaving, and then about how the band was reenergized and refocused when drummer Kris Myers joined, and how Myers, in turn, influenced some of their arrangements. Joel discusses how key their attentive fan base is to the process of how certain sections of improv go from being “Repeated Stews” to becoming composed songs, and how he “found his way” in a guitar-heavy band, and “setlist probation.” Andy talks about how Giovanni Hidalgo and Eric Bobo inspired him and how he benefits from Jake’s percussive approach to guitar. Perhaps best of all we get window into the thought process behind “on the fly” setlist decisions and the story behind their collaboration with Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman and how explained his previous “some Umphrey’s McGee Bullshit” comment to the band. wTnS is Produced by Rob Turner and Engineered by Josh Thane of Wonder Dog Sounds Studio. www.joshthaneproductions.com www.wonderdogsounds.com Inside Out w/ Turner and Seth: insideoutwtns.com Twitter: @InsideoutWTNS Instagram: www.instagram.com/insideoutwtns Facebook: www.facebook.com/insideoutwTnS