Umphrey’s McGee Members Hint At Surprise Kris Myers Appearance & Talk Next Studio Album

Umphrey’s McGee keyboardist Joel Cummins and bassist Ryan Stasik appeared on the latest episode of the All That Jam podcast. Cummins and Stasik previewed the band’s upcoming New Year’s Eve run, discussed UM drummer Kris Myers‘ recovery from shoulder surgery and talked about the potential for putting out a new studio album in 2024.

While Umphrey’s 2023 was a celebratory year as it marked the band’s 25th anniversary, it was also an unusual year as Myers has been out of action since August. All That Jam hosts Kevin Hogan and Amanda Cadran started the conversation by asking how Kris Myers is doing. “He’s on the road to recovery. I think we’re going to have a nice surprise on our New Year’s Run,” Cummins said in hinting the drummer may return to the kit at some point during Umphrey’s McGee’s 2023 New Year’s Run at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago December 29 – 31 (New Year’s Eve). “We’re planning on him being back full-time come tour in January,” Joel added.

Ryan Stasik noted the rotator cuff procedure should pay lasting dividends. “Last time I spoke with him, he said his shoulder is better than it was before,” the bassist said of Kris Myers. “It’s like Robocop. He’s got the new Robocop shoulder.”

The Umphrey’s McGee bandmates went on to discuss how performing with a variety of different drummers over the past four months went. “There was a lot of extra rehearsal, as you can imagine,” said Cummins. “It was cool, the experience of going back and practicing songs otherwise we’d have no other reason to be in the rehearsal room working on things,” the keyboardist continued pointing out “All In Time” as a specific example.

Bringing substitute drummers into the mix had an effect on Umphrey’s improvisation. “For the most part, it kind of opened things up for us to be more creative,” Cummins explained. “Everybody did their homework and everybody was really into pushing boundaries and taking improvisation in some cases further than we have previously. I think our song ‘Staircase,’ for instance, we hit the 20-minute mark a couple times with Ben [Atkind] with that and that was a song that hadn’t been longer than 12 or 13 minutes live previously.”

Ryan Stasik brought up the role talkback mics play in Umphrey’s improvisation and how the guest drummers wouldn’t come in and force a direction. “When you’re missing one person [Myers] who usually helps direct things, it came down to more Joel, [UM guitarist] Jake [Cinninger], [UM guitarist] Brendan [Bayliss] and myself using talkbacks if we needed them,” Stasik noted. “But a lot more not using the talkbacks at all and just extending the jams, which also helps the drummers not have to play as many songs per night.”

Joel Cummins and Ryan Stasik recently spent time at a studio in Nashville with longtime UM engineer Greg Magers. “Right now, the 2024 Umphrey’s album pile Google Drive link that’s going on has got to be up to about 30 or 35 different ideas that we’ve put in there,” Cummins revealed. “Some of them are as short as a riff that needs other parts. But Ryan and I went in there and we did kind of our ‘lego thing’ a little bit, trying to find some pieces that might fit together. We also did some writing.” The pair aimed to leave room for the guitarists and vocalists to come in and add things later.

Kris Myers also stopped by the studio where Cummins and Stasik were encamped, giving the bandmates a chance to play together for the first time in five months. “He got behind the kit and helped write a b-section to one of our funkier dance tunes and a part we’ll probably keep,” Stasik recalled. “It just felt really great to play with him and that was just a little sense of what’s to come for 2024 when we get back together.”

The conversation turned to the upcoming New Year’s Run and how excited Joel and Ryan are to play with drummer Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater for the first time. lespecial drummer Rory Dolan and former Goose drummer Ben Atkind will also be on drums for portions of three-night stand. Cummins revealed UM dug deep into their live repertoire to pick covers that will be in Portnoy’s wheelhouse and again hinted at “an unannounced drummer” making an appearance to allow the band to “get back on the horse that is Umphrey’s.”

Listen to Joel Cummins and Ryan Stasik’s appearance on All That Jam below: