When I was younger, I was into musical theater. My mom started me off with soundtracks to various musicals. She showed me all the ups and downs of Broadway and for a while I wanted to be a star. Through the stages of my life, when I was figuring out what I wanted to do as a career, music was always present. I wanted to be a dancer, and then I wanted to be a music therapist, but for the longest time I wanted to be on Broadway. One of my favorite Broadway musicals was “Rock of Ages,” which is a musical that has all rock music in it from rock stars from Bon Jovi to Whitesnake. I remember seeing the movie in theaters. My friends and I were the only ones in the theater, so I was able to express all my emotions about the movie in the volume that I fancied. There started my love for some good and hearty rock and roll. So even before my “wook” days, I still could get down and dirty with some Def Leopard. Rock and roll is probably my favorite genre of music, but I will listen to literally anything.
I was raised on the album “Brother in Arms” by Dire Straits and the album “Tapestry” from Carole King. I was more partial to Carole King because that was an artist shown to me by my mom. My mom knows all the words to every song and thanks to her, now so do I. She has a funky, milky voice that I just couldn’t get enough of. I didn’t completely appreciate Dire Straits and many other artists and bands until I turned twenty. I knew the songs that I grew up with as a child, but I never bothered to investigate further than just the hits. Honestly, Umphrey’s has opened my eyes to more artists. They cover a lot of different songs and upon hearing them I am super interested in researching that artist. Then I can further explore the artist and its all thanks to UM. Sometimes I will beat Umphrey’s to the punch and get into a song or an artist and then at their next concert they will debut that song or a song by that artist. Just a little example of Umphrey’s magic for you phreaks. This happened to me when they debuted “Hold me Now” by the Thompson Twins at the Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago, IL. I had recently been getting into the eighties pop era because of a station that was constantly playing at my work at the time. There have even been some instances where I do not particularly care for a song and then I hear Umphrey’s cover of it and suddenly, I’m a fan. I am not proud of that statement!
Even though rock and roll is my favorite genre, I have a deep respect for all music. I can sit down and enjoy just about anything. I really enjoy dissecting a song or an album with one of my very best friends, Uncle Wally. I love to pick his brain about his opinions on music and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. He is the person I go to about anything music related. He taught me a lot (and still is teaching me) about music. He has sculpted his own opinion out of the bands he listens to. Although he and I have very similar tastes in music, we also differ in some areas. For example, his favorite band is Phish. I don’t dislike Phish, but I don’t go out of my way to listen to them. My opinion of Phish was established when I was living with Wally. He listened to them alllllllllll the time. Which was fine because I listened to UM all the time so there was a nice balance. I will never judge a person for the music that they listen to. If you love something, and have a reason to love it, don’t feel ashamed. You should be proud of the music you listen to because it helps define your character. I always say that Ween is my “guilty-pleasure” music but on the real I do not feel one ounce of guilt while jamming “Voodoo Lady.” In finding myself, I have come to embrace all music, especially the music that I love.
When people say, “what kind of music do you listen to?” my answer is always “everything!” I am constantly looking for new music to engage in and to discover. For as long as I can remember, music has been my whole life. I used to play and sing, now I mostly listen. But if there is any way I can incorporate music into my life, I will abuse it to it’s full potential. It’s how I generally connect with people. Now-a-days politics are a big conversation starter. My ice breaking topic is always “What’s your favorite kind of music?” and no matter what the answer is I will always be able to engage in a conversation. Music is such a powerful tool that we have in our everyday lives and some people don’t realize that. It is so baffling to me when I get the answer “I don’t really listen to music.” ……. What? How is that even humanly possible? Music has helped me in so many places of my life. Someone who doesn’t listen to music has an interesting soul. I believe that they are not in touch with their self and their heart. What I really want to say is “maybe you should listen to Umphrey’s McGee.”
In my experience, Umphrey’s tends to attract a wounded soul. We can all relate to Bayliss’ beautiful and cryptic lyrics. But why is that? Because we know what he’s talking about, we know how he’s feeling when he’s singing “but it’s so hard to swallow every time I know I’m wrong.” It’s no secret that Bayliss is a straight poet when it comes to writing music and lyrics. He’s kind of an asshole and he owns that persona. But because of his personality he has encountered many hard ships in his life, and due to that, his moving lyrics are born. I interpret from my own experiences and thoughts that we are all like Bayliss in some way shape or form. We can see through his eyes when listening to his songs. His words are not for the faint of heart. Most of his lyrics make sense to me and my own life. The same with Jakes lyrics. Jake is brilliant at writing a “feel-good” song. “Memories from Home” strikes a nice glow inside me. Jakes songs make me feel warm and you can always find me smiling during one. Bayliss’, however make you think. He knows how to craft a verse that will leave his audience trying to find the meaning. This is not to say that Jakes lyrics are not complex. They just are very different from one another and that is a good thing. They keep each other on their toes and encourage each other to become better musicians. That all being said, lyrics are not the only part of a song that makes it great. Every instrument or sound brings its own elements to the table. That’s what makes collaboration hard in a band. But the collaboration between the members of Umphrey’s is what makes them thrive. They are excellent at working with one another to make a song sound superb. It is very important to understand all the hard work that goes into creating music. They’ve been doing it successfully for twenty years, so they must be doing something right.
The next show I will be going to will be Umphrey’s in Charleston, SC at the end of this month! Perpetual Groove is opening for them and then Doom Flamingo, a band featuring UM’s own Ryan Stasik, will be playing the after party! Feel free to reach out to me if you are going. I love to meet new partyin’ peeps! Make sure you bring you’re a-game, were going to be getting down bird style.
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