"We all left the stage like, 'Holy shit. We need to do that again,'" says moe. guitarist Al Schnier, adding that "the emails have been flying" with requests for something similar at Red Rocks.
"Pretty much anytime something comes up in our bands and we're talking to one another about doing a thing, the answer is always yes," says Schnier. "It's just a matter of whether or not we can work out the details."
Umphrey's McGee bassist Ryan Stasik, who is Schnier's neighbor in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, confirms that the bands will "absolutely" share the stage at some point during the run. They both have a similar fan base, he notes.
"It's just basically the deep roots of the jam-band scene: people who enjoy going to see musicians take risks and take them on an unexpected journey," Stasik says. "You don't know what songs are going to be played. You don't know how they're going to be performed. You don't know what kind of mood or energy the bandmembers are in and how that's going to equate with what energy the audience is bringing. I think that's a little different than going to other style shows, where you know what the songs and set list are going to be. So we both kind of grew up on that and made our careers on that."
The bands' connections go way back — so far back, in fact, that they started with a cassette tape.
"The origin story is when Brendan [Bayless, Umphrey's vocalist/guitarist] came to a moe. show," Schnier recalls. "After the show, he gave me a cassette tape of Umphrey's McGee covering 'Rebubula' and passed it off to me and said, 'Oh, here's this great band from Indiana — you should check them out. They cover one of your songs; maybe you'll like that.' Not at all owning up to the fact that he was in the band, totally on the sly. And so he gave me the tape, and at the time, we actually had a cassette deck in the RV that we were touring in. And this is even before Jake [Cinninger, Umphrey's guitar wizard] was in the band, but they did such a great job with it and stayed on our radar ever since that time. I actually still have the cassette tape!"
Umphrey's and moe. really connected at Summer Camp in the early 2000s; twenty years later, people still go to that festival primarily for performances by the two acts. "When they started playing Summer Camp, that was the beginning of our bands getting connected, and we've been fast friends ever since," Schnier continues. "They're great guys! We always have a good time together."
Stasik agrees: "It was easy being with each other for me, because it felt like friends who have been on this long journey together having fun. I could see in that set at Summer Camp that we mash together: Every single musician was smiling, bobbing their head, grooving and laughing and having a good time. It was just natural. It was beautiful. It was fun."
The six-piece Umphrey's McGee has made Red Rocks an annual tradition, and added Dillon to the docket last year.
Courtesy Umphrey's McGee
"First and foremost, it's amazing that we've been the same six-piece. And you know, relationships are tough no matter what type of relationship you have," Stasik reflects. "For us to keep our communication and brotherhood in an open and honest relationship is probably what has defined success to me the most. We're fortunate enough to make art and music with our friends for a living. And being able to do that and have my family and be able to watch my kids grow up and be with my wife and create this music together — it's just been a blessing. I feel very fortunate."
The band just completed a tour playing the smaller venues where it performed at the beginning, such as the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.; the band also played a small beachside venue near Stasik's home. "The Windjammer's right in between where Al and I live. There's nothing like driving a golf cart to a gig," Stasik says. "We've never played there before, and that was fun. Because you know, it sold out — it was a tough ticket because it's a smaller venue. But I'm all about the intimacy. There's large rooms like the Beacon, which are pretty majestic and fun to play, but I'm a fan of people being really up close and in a packed, sweaty room."
Perhaps that's why Stasik has also dedicated time to his other band, Doom Flamingo, which he created with local musicians in Charleston, South Carolina. That absolutely addictive band with an ’80s flair just dropped the full-length album Peaches & Bobbi, with a vinyl edition coming this month.
Still, Stasik definitely appreciates that he's part of one of the jam scene's best bands, which is about to play one of the world's best venues. "When it comes to outdoor venues, I mean Red Rocks is iconic. It's legendary. There's a magic that's there that never gets old," he says. "The view, the vibe when [Umphrey's lighting master] Ben Factor puts the lights up on the rocks, when the energy is swirling — it's insane. Dillon I've only played once, which was last year, and that is obviously a much smaller venue, but it's beautiful. It's got the outdoor amphitheater, the lake, the view, the mountains. It's gorgeous. So it's a perfect setup to Red Rocks for a one-two punch."
Red Rocks is Schnier's favorite place on tour, and he can't even recall how many times moe. has played the venue since the band first took the stage during the famous ’99 Summer Sessions tour with Phil Lesh & Friends, Galactic, Gov't Mule and String Cheese Incident. Almost 25 years later, he says it's still an unreal experience — and one moe. loves to share with friends like Umphrey's. This will also be moe.'s first tour with founding member Chuck Garvey back in action after the guitarist suffered a stroke a few years ago, and with a new EP and album on top of 33 years' worth of songs, there's no shortage of music to play.
"It feels amazing. This is the best tour we've had in years. It feels great not only to have Chuck back in the band — we're so grateful that he has pulled through his stroke and is playing guitar with us; we have our brother — but also, we have Nate Wilson with us playing keyboards now and adding vocals to the group. It's a really great team on the road," Schnier reveals. "And we're back on tour, we're back in a bus, and we're playing a lot of markets we haven't been to in many years. Everybody's having such a good time on the road right now. The playing has been spectacular, the shows have been really fun. And I think over the course of this whole year, we're gonna play the entire country, and it's something we haven't done in a long time, between Chuck's stroke and the pandemic before that, and then [bassist Rob Derhak's] cancer before that. We've just been through so many obstacles that we've just been doing the best that we can and trying to stay active as best as we can.
"Moe. has been pretty good about persevering and enduring. But now it really feels like we're all here," he adds. "Everybody wants to work, we all want to play. Everybody's spirits are top-notch right now. It's great."
Stasik and the rest of the Umphrey's McGee members are in high spirits as well, and ready to rock out with friends. "We've got a few things lined up, and I'm sure there will be a few things that just happen in the moment," Stasik says of the upcoming sets. "That's the beauty of the scene, right?"
He references a lyric from the Umphrey's song "Slacker": In the end here I must confess, we've yet to ever give you our best.
"I think the best is still yet to come," Stasik says. "I think we have a lot more creative potential to let out, whether it's through performance or through recordings, or through more of who knows what the future holds, technology-wise. But there's a lot more art buried in us, and the potential, I feel, is great."
Umphrey's McGee and moe., 5 p.m. Thursday, June 15, Dillon Amphitheater, 135 West Lodgepole Street, Dillon; 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets to the Dillon show are $59.95; tickets to Red Rocks are $55-$500.
