Ryan Stasik, bassist for Umphrey’s McGee
(photo by Abby Fox)
Umphrey’s McGee proves to be a timeless band, having headlined some of the biggest music and arts festivals in 2014. I have watched “die-hard” Umphrey’s McGee fans (many of them my friends) sport “Umph Love” stickers and shirts as they go crazy over the popular, experimental jam band. I was fortunate enough to experience the band at some of my favorite festivals this year such as Summer Camp Music Festival (Umphrey’s affiliated music festival), Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Wakarusa, Electric Forest and more. It seems it does not matter what type of music you like, Umphrey’s McGee finds a way to play something you most likely will enjoy. I finally got to sit down with Pittsburgh native (although he moved to Kalamazoo, Mich., at the age of 12) Ryan Stasik, bassist and co-founder of Umphrey’s McGee, and genuinely one of the nicest guys I have met.
After performing for 16 years with over 100 shows annually, and with the release of their eighth studio album, Similar Skin, paired with Reskinned: the Similar Skin Remix Album (their first for their own indie label, Nothing Too Fancy [N2F] Music), it is hard to believe a band today can stay so grounded and continue to rock sold-out shows across the world. There are very few bands I know of that can play such a vast array of music like Umphrey’s McGee’s diverse, dynamic mash-up of heavy metal, rock, electronic, funk and more.
Umphrey’s returned to Bear Creek 2014, making a heavy impact with multiple sets at the Buffalo’s Amphitheater Stage Friday and Saturday night with the perfect mixture of rock and some funk with sit-ins by Oteil Burbridge on bass, Eric Bloom and Ryan Zoidis from Lettuce on horns, Brandon Niederauer on guitar and other guests. Following an upcoming five-night run for New Years (Dec. 30, 2014–Jan. 3, 2015) at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Ga., the group embarks on a 26-show coast-to-coast 2015 tour including the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Feb. 6.
Murfreesboro Pulse: My friend wanted me ask you why you were wearing a tri-star Tennessee shirt on stage at Summer Camp [Music Festival] this year.
Stasik: My wife is from Knoxville [Tenn.], Stasik says, laughing.
I love Knoxville. What has been your favorite part of being at Bear Creek this year?
Having Oteil [Burbridge] sit in and play my bass. He is one of my favorite bass players and one of the nicest guys.
How do you guys know when other artists are going to play with you at festivals?
Oteil just came on our bus and was hanging out and I was like, ‘Dude, do you want to play?’ I think everybody knows that people are going to sit in. We are going to have Lettuce horns and that kid ‘Taz’ is playing.
Brandon Niederauer, aka “Taz,” is an 11-year-old child prodigy musician I cannot stop talking about. At Bear Creek he played with Dumpstajam, Dumpstaphunk and Umprey’s McGee throughout the weekend, shining on an almost-identical cover of Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog with Nikki Glaspie.
You guys are coming to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in February 2015, correct?
Yes, we are playing the Ryman. The Ryman is legendary. We have played there once already, and then we can go right outside to Tootsie’s. There is so much history at the Ryman. Nashville is a very special place.
You are also playing the Tabernacle in Atlanta for five nights, NYE, this year.
The Tabernacle is our favorite place in Atlanta. I am excited to do five nights there.
Are there any artists from your childhoods personally or as a group that originally sparked your interest in doing this type of jam-style music?
There are artists growing up that we never thought we would be able to collaborate with. Stanley Jordan is one. He has become a dear friend and collaborated with us a lot. Hall and Oates, too. We have become friends, and John Oates has played with us a couple times. I grew up spinning those records. There are so many artists. Bela Fleck and Jeff Coffin (The Flecktones, Dave Matthews Band) have become part of playing with us, too. Coffin has been our horns section the past five years for New Years Eve. Joshua Redman, sax player, has collaborated with us, too. They are idols and now we are lucky enough to call them friends.
Do you guys have a dream gig, festival, city or venue that is a solid goal?
Hawaii. We definitely want to play Hawaii. We heard there are festivals and gigs down there and I do not think too many people tour down there. This is our first year in Dominican Republic and then maybe Costa Rica.
This year Umphrey’s McGee headlines Dominican Holidaze Dec. 3–7, 2014, an all-inclusive, electronic/rock concert vacation showcasing popular bands STS9, The Disco Biscuits and more.
What are your favorite artists at Bear Creek that you are excited to see?
Oteil Burbridge; bass players, of course. I am excited to see Nth power and Budos Band. They’re great. They have their style, and they have got their sound. They just put out a new record, too, and they always do the late nights here at Bear Creek.
Are you releasing any new music soon?
We just released a new record, Similar Skin, which was straight rock and roll, and we are releasing some other things that are a secret I am not allowed to tell anyone [laughs].
We have some new music with some recordings of different versions of older songs, so that is in the future. We work heavily with TourGigs, so all of our stuff is live online and we have our own app which you can subscribe to and get every show right after.
What do you do personally or as a group to keep you on your toes as time goes on?
Just being an improvisational bass band is always pushing the boundaries. We have been doing this for so long, so it is just natural to try and keep challenging each other and keep the creativity juices flowing to make everything different each night. We try not to fall into the habit of playing the go-to stuff and same riffs we may have done just to be safe unless we need to. It is just a part of it.
Do you guys do different things to cater to different show or festivals?
Sometimes we do. Festivals like Electric Forest, where it is very DJ- and EDM-oriented, we played rock ’n’ roll because there were not many people there doing it. Here, there is a lot of funk, so we figured we would do a lot of progressive metal, progressive rock, to showcase that. We did do a little taste of everything, like honky-tonk, some horns and funk. It is not so specific because a lot of it is improv, so whatever we are feeling, that is what we want to do. To make the people dance you have to feel the crowd and what is coming back to them. Jam Cruise and festivals like this are overloaded with funk, which is fine, it is a good thing, but it is good for us to cater out to more of the loud distortion, guitar attack, and give people a flavor of rock ’n’ roll. It is a great lineup here.
I really enjoyed that STS9/Umphrey’s McGee tour that hit Nashville in August 2014. STS9 is one of my favorite bands. How does something like that happen?
It comes from just hanging out like this. ‘Why don’t we do a tour together?’ We have similar styles [with STS9], so why not collaborate and bring fans from across the country? They [STS9] pull a good crowd from the West Coast and Colorado, and we pull a great crowd from the Midwest. It is a good mix. It was fun and profitable, so there is no reason why we would not do it again.
What was your favorite show you have done so far this year?
Kalamazoo [Mich.]. We just played in Kalamazoo, and the energy was a hardcore rock show. I went to high school there and have been seeing concerts there since I was 16 years old. It was sold-out, and people were ready. I wrote the set list; we went from really heavy metal, heavy stuff, and then on purpose to something very pretty, or beautiful, or light, or dancey, or bluegrass. We went to something completely different, opposite, kind of a mind-fuck, which was perfect for the night. I thought we pulled it off pretty well.
Umphrey’s McGee onstage in Kalamazoo.
Photo by Abby Fox.
In the future and down the road, what do you want to be the main thing people say when they look back at Umphrey’s McGee?
I want people to know that in a world now where everything is so accessible and there is not the mystery of . . . you cannot meet them or you do not know about them, like your typical rock ’n’ roll people, we are accessible. I want people to know that we are genuinely good people that genuinely want to make challenging and creative music to share with all the people that are out there. It becomes like a family, so we want that family to grow and feel like it was really special to be a part of it. Hopefully the music will be timeless and speak for itself. You never know. The future is bright.
And admittedly, Stasik’s ingenuity and admirable personality makes me even more of an Umphrey’s fan than before. It goes to show that modesty and kindness goes a long way. I have no doubt I will be seeing them again during my 2015 festival shenanigans. So far they truly have proven to be a timeless band!
For Umphrey’s Fall 2104 Couch Tour with TourGigs, visit tourgigs.com/show/umphreysmcgee_falltour2014_live. For more information on the band, find them on Facebook, Twitter and umphreys.com.
