Home Music Kris Myers Talks Umphrey’s McGee On ‘Inside Out With Turner & Seth’

Kris Myers Talks Umphrey’s McGee On ‘Inside Out With Turner & Seth’

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For the latest installment of Inside Out With Turner & Seth, Umphrey’s McGee drummer Kris Myers and lighting crew chief Aaron “Louie” Meyette serve as special guests. The episode — which comes on the heels of JamBase’s new partnership with the Osiris Media podcast network — finds hosts Seth Weiner and Rob Turner interviewing the duo during Umphrey’s McGee’s 2019 New Year’s Eve run at The Tabernacle in Atlanta.

The interview with Myers starts around the 16-minute mark, with the trio first discussing Myers development and education as a drummer and moving through his training as a classical and jazz drummer and his influences within the grunge scene. After outlining his inspirations within the jazz-fusion world, Myers talks about his “big band” aspirations and how that format could be translated to Umphrey’s McGee’s music.

Next, the conversation transitions to Brian Abraham, who helped connect Myers to Umphrey’s McGee earlier in his career. Described as “one of the weirdest people I know,” Myers speaks about their joint publishing company and working with him to compose songs for the six-piece progressive rock ensemble. Next, the trio speaks about Umphrey’s McGee’s former drummer, the late Mike Mirro, discussing Myers’ transition into the group and their first shows played together. As the conversation continues, they shift to speak about Myers’ impact on the band’s sound, citing how he specifically influenced live performances of older tracks, such as “Plunger” and “Believe The Lie.”

After speaking about the thought process behind last year’s duo of albums, it’s not us and it’s you, the drummer compares the differing intentions of live performances and studio sessions. Closing out the interview, Myers talks about a number of inspirational musicians he’s met, including Smashing Pumpkins’ Jimmy Chamberlin, Frank Zappa’s Mike Keneally and famed multi-instrumentalist and past collaborator Adrian Belew.

At the hour mark, Turner and Weiner revisit an interview with Aaron “Louie” Meyette, who worked his way from a fan of the band to a full-time staff member for Umphrey’s McGee. First, the interview touches on how Meyette earned his nickname, “Louie,” then shifts to how he got introduced to the band while Phish was on hiatus in 2001. Meyette talks about founding Midwest Peeps in 2005, which was a way of connecting music lovers in the region, though he discloses with a laugh that he primarily used the online forum to expose new fans to Umphrey’s McGee. The crew member then recalls his past work with a non-profit geared toward music awareness and children’s programs, United Still Together Our Reach Multiplies (USTORM), which facilitated his first real connections with the band while manning a booth at Summer Camp.

From there, Meyette talks about transitioning into a full-time position with Umphrey’s McGee, outlining the process of graduating from college, quitting a day job as a mechanical engineer that made him unhappy and serendipitously getting an offer from UM as a merch guy a few days later. He reveals how he made the leap to lighting crew, first offering a hand while loading in and then using his background in engineering to help set up before shows. After sharing his inspiring progression up the ladder, he finishes out with a discussion of his current responsibilities as lighting crew chief and his next moves, including running lights for opening bands.

Listen to the 72nd episode of Inside Out With Turner & Seth below:

https://insideoutwtns.simplecast.fm/krislouie