Tomorrow - UMPHREY'S MCGEE plus TAUK

HUKA Entertainment Presents UMPHREY'S MCGEE plus TAUK Thu, April 14, 2016 Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 7:45 pm Joy Theater New Orleans, LA This event is 18 and over Umphrey's McGee "Umphrey's McGee stand revealed as consummate musical alchemists, deftly reconfiguring sounds from rock's vast panoply of styles." (Entertainment Weekly). Fans who have followed Umphrey's McGee for any period of time know that there are only two guarantees: you never know what you're going to get, and Umphrey's always delivers. How else can a band be relentlessly innovative in both music AND fan relations for 13+ years? The latest expected twist arrives in the form of their newest studio album (and first with ATO Records) 'Death By Stereo' (9/13), the follow up to 2009's 'Mantis.' 'Mantis' surprised fans with a collection of music never before played, and surprised the music industry with an innovative marketing campaign that catapulted the album PAST the Heatseekers chart, debuting at #62 on Billboard's "Top 200" chart without any radio play or television appearances. 'Death By Stereo's concise melodic approach and accessible songwriting is everything fans had hoped for, but not what anyone expected. 'Death By Stereo' is disarmingly straightforward. Sure, you can dance to it, but the clever arrangements, meticulously crafted chordal interplay, and virtuoso instrumentation put Umphrey's McGee in a category all their own. "Our live show is malleable and every night is its own thing, where you never know where things are going to go," keyboardist Joel Cummins explains. "People aren't used to us playing three-and-a-half to four-minute songs back to back, so this album is a completely different experience than our live show, which is certainly something we were trying to do." Whereas this band's stellar reputation is based on marathon concerts that mix original, technically demanding tunes with complex epics and, playful covers (ranging from Toto to Metallica), it has chosen the same kind of attention to melody, songcraft, and musicianship that make those artists stand apart. Umphrey's chemistry, however, is something all its own, built upon a relentless live schedule of 100-plus shows a year, a solid base of musical training, and friendships that go back to when they walked in the shadows of the Golden Dome at the University of Notre Dame. "The thing we realized pretty quickly is that music is secondary to our relationships," guitarist/vocalist Brendan Bayliss points out. "If our relationships aren't strong, it heavily affects the music. Some bands don't speak to one another, they aren't friends, and I just don't know how that works." While competition was admittedly slim when they formed at Notre Dame in 1997, the band immediately became a campus favorite. When Umphrey's moved to Chicago, it brought its Fighting Irish bonafides with it, so its initial hometown Windy City shows were packed to the gills with South Bend alumni and friends. The underground network of tapers helped spread the word about the band, and the ND connection also served the guys on the road. "The first time we went out west it was crazy," Bayliss recalls. "It didn't matter what town it was -- we knew somebody. I didn't realize the reach of Notre Dame until after I graduated. I didn't appreciate Notre Dame when I was there. Back then, I wouldn't be caught dead in Notre Dame gear, but now I'm swimming in it and I wear it with pride." These days, the band plays for crowds from all over the US and beyond, and incorporates a sophisticated mix of cutting-edge technology, including a stellar light show. Its Stew Art concerts redefine live music as we know it, with fans texting to choose the direction of the band's set, while the four-quarter UMBowls (each quarter has a different interactive theme) have quickly become landmark events not to be missed. Umphrey's tight-knit relationship with its rabid fanbase includes the band making recordings available of every live show since 2006, monthly podcasts, an extremely active presence on Facebook and Twitter, and digital "Easter Egg" hunts. This has led to a strong following throughout the U.S. and to successful international tours of Europe, Australia and Japan, where fans screamed out song titles even though they couldn't speak a lick of English. To date, the band has sold more than nearly 2 million tracks online and 'Death by Stereo' will only increase their reach. The album is produced by sonic wizards Manny Sanchez (Smashing Pumpkins, Fall Out Boy) and Kevin Browning, whose deep knowledge of analog and digital gear has helped the band craft its sound for years. With the band members also assisting with production, 'DBS' was recorded at Sanchez's The IV Lab Studios in Chicago, with the exception of the raw Rolling Stones-y "Wellwishers," which was done at Cinninger's home-studio in Michigan. The band now makes it a habit to keep at least some material fresh for the album, and the powerful one-two punch of multi-layered "Miami Virtue" and hard-charging "Domino Theory" do so on 'DBS.' Umphrey's also offers a muscular studio version of "The Floor," which was an indisputable hit of 2009's Rothbury Festival where the band had 40,000 fans captivated. Moving from the Zeppelin-like groove of "Conduit" to the soulful "Booth Love" and the panoramic "Deeper," 'DBS' reveals an incredibly broad range to the band's songwriting. Bringing it all back home for both fans and the band, the album closes with "Hajimemashite," a song that's title translates from Japanese as "nice to meet you" and whose origins can be traced all the way back to the band's earliest days. "Hajimemashite' is one that we've been playing since our first show," Cummins says. "It's morphed and we've given it a unique studio treatment that captures its essence, but isn't how we play it live. I think that will have some resonance with our fans. I like the idea of getting our fans excited with a mix of new and older material." One of the perks of Umphrey's McGee is that it allows the band members to be fans themselves, having shared the stage with heroes like Huey Lewis, guitarist Stanley Jordan, John Oates, and jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman, to name a few. Umphrey's has even backed Lewis, gospel legend Mavis Staples and Sinead O'Connor for a classic version of "I'll Take You There," and they are regularly joined onstage by their peers. "I can't believe that we are 13 and half years in," Bayliss points out with a mix of wonder and pride. "If someone told me that I would have been thinking: 'No way! But sign me up. I'll take it.'" TAUK Links TAUK TAUK is Heavy Instrumental Rock Fusion created by Matt Jalbert (guitar), Charlie Dolan (bass), Alric "A.C." Carter (keyboard-organ), and Isaac Teel (drums). The transcendent instrumental band seamlessly brings together genres as diverse as melodic rock, fusion, gritty funk, progressive rock, ambient, classic rock, hip hop and jazz. The Oyster Bay, New York-based quartet has received accolades from a number of tastemaking authorities, including an "On The Verge" feature in Relix Magazine and frequent rotation for the singles "Mindshift", "Dead Signal" and "In the Basement of the Alamo" on Sirius XM Jam On. Despite their years of experience as a musical unit, the quartet is a young promising band that Jambase calls "a guaranteed quickly- ascend band." The Washington Post describes the band by saying: "TAUK's instrumental music melds genres and styles, creating a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that – thanks to a penchant for improv – offers limitless possibilities" And The Deli Magazine singles out the band's compelling melodic sense through explaining: "the quartet has a rare ability to channel emotional melodic leads, and all without a lead singer." The band's latest album, Collisions, is a breakthrough in that it finally captures the essence of TAUK's entrancing live shows. It's a thoughtfully composed album with captivating hum-along melodies, but this time the band was able to road test the songs, allowing the recorded versions to reflect the group's adventurous improvisations. The 10-song album spans delicate ethereal textures, highly imaginatively funky drumming, labyrinthine arrangements, and fiery solos—often in the same song. "We called it 'Collisions' because it calls to mind how, when things come together, it is often explosive and leads to something completely different," bassist Charlie Dolan explains. Alric "A.C." Carter, keyboard-organ, adds: "It also evokes how we are very different as people, but within the band, we find a way to work together and compliment each other's musical ideas as an egoless unit." On Collisions the band worked with longtime collaborator Grammy-winning producer Robert Carranza (Mars Volta, Jack Johnson). Carranza helped the band find the optimum mix of song structure, breathing jam sections, and warm & clear fidelity. Also enhancing the experience of Collisions is the album's stunning puzzle- like cover art done by Jeff Jordan, graphic artist who previously worked with Mars Volta, among others. The album's deconstructed and post-modern abstractness perfectly reflect the sonic character of the music. Alric "AC" Carter explains: "In the artwork it's clear to see there are many parts that build the entire picture. It's like a band with some parts play supporting roles and other sections being more visible. However, the most important aspect is the bigger picture." TAUK has built a dedicated and loyal fanbase through tireless touring. Festival highlights include Bonnaroo, The Hangout Music Festival, Summer Camp, LOCKN', Hudson Project, FloydFest, Bear Creek, Art Outside and The Allman Brothers' Peach Fest. TAUK's broadly appealing musicality has allowed the band to be direct support to such diverse artists as The Funky Meters, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Papadosio, Lettuce, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, moe., Dopapod, Tim Reynolds & TR3, Toubab Krewe, The Revivalists and many more. It's been an astounding journey for the musicians, in terms of four very different personalities conceptually colliding until they merge through inventing a collective musical lexicon. Venue Information: Joy Theater 1200 Canal St New Orleans, LA, 70112 http://www.thejoytheater.com/ Photo credit to Kristine Condon Photography