You may have hinted at some of it right there in talking about that group dynamic‚ but what has been your favorite part in the success story of Umphrey's McGee thus far?
Musically‚ it's the continued evolution and conversation of how we improvise together‚ and how we treat the songs in the live fashion. The other side of that… man‚ that's an impossible question for me -- there are different highlights with working in the studio‚ and working on the songwriting‚ the musical part of the live show… it's so amazing to have a really dedicated fanbase that will travel around the country that wants to be involved at every possible turn. So I mean‚ that part is pretty amazing‚ day in‚ day out. I love the fact that I'm great friends with all the people I'm in the band with.
And that's very transparent.
Yeah‚ I feel really fortunate that's the case. I mean‚ obviously‚ we've worked on it‚ and communicating musically is one thing and communicating as people to one another is just as important. I think that's one thing that maybe bands don't necessarily pay as much attention to. It's like‚ look‚ you guys aren't going to be a band if you don't all get along‚ it's not going to be any fun‚ and‚ it's a lot more fun to be on the road with people you get along with than people that you don't.
There's chatter from a number of circles that Umphrey's McGee has really hit its stride‚ that you guys are riding a huge wave of momentum at the moment. Is that something that the band is conscious of‚ or is that more fan-derived?
We can certainly feel the energy at a show when it's going well. As to overall momentum… to us‚ we've had a great 2011 and have had a tremendous start to 2012‚ so it seems like things are definitely headed in the right direction. We were all pretty blown away that a show at Georgia Theatre in Athens sold out in about ten minutes‚ and the show isn't even until mid-April. I don't think we've ever had that happen for a non-special event show. To me it seems the excitement from the fans is happening because we've been putting together a nice string of well-played shows and we're having a great time up on stage doing it. Each night we're up there I think we still have a new appreciation for how lucky we are to be playing for so many excited people. It is truly a privilege.
Where do you see Umphrey's‚ in sort of speaking collectively for the band‚ five years down the road?
We're incredibly happy with where we are and how things are going 2012. In five years‚ I hope we'll be doing something very similar to what we're doing now: engaging in creative events with our fans‚ continuing to push the collective envelope of the band while still challenging each other musically and of course‚ having a great time on the road touring together. We're also definitely looking forward to working on this next batch of original material we have in the studio‚ and I think our studio work will continue to be a rewarding creative outlet for us. I feel the band's voice will be stronger and better defined in 2017 than it is even in 2012. Right now we're really focused on the moment and everything that is happening right before us. There is a lot of music we want to make together right now in 2012.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't ask -- seeing as we're sitting in the shadow of Theo's former workplace -- any chance the Cubs are able to break the curse in the next few years?
[Laughter] Well‚ first of all‚ we've created this "curse‚" ok. You know‚ much like the Red Sox were under the Curse of the Bambino… that's just something to create a story with‚ that's not real. But‚ yes‚ I do think‚ without a doubt‚ I'm a huge Cubs fan so I've been following -- obviously Theo has gotten a lot of personnel in place‚ Jed Hoyer‚ couple of the other people we stole from the Red Sox. I like all the moves that have been made so far‚ getting rid of the elephant in the clubhouse‚ Carlos Zambrano‚ he and Ozzie Guillen will get to have an interesting season in Florida‚ I can't wait to see how that turns out! We were so hoping in 2004 it was going to be the Cubs and the Red Sox in the World Series‚ how cool would that have been?
Yeah‚ but then one of us would have been devastated. I don't know if I could've enjoyed it.
Yup‚ that's probably how it would've gone! [Laughter] But‚ yeah‚ it's gonna be an interesting time to be a Cubs fan; I think we can do this. It'll be a lot of fun this next decade.
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