Welcome back to Talking Circles - a production of Osiris Media & Umphrey’s McGee. This is a podcast about the making of Asking For A Friend with the members of Umphrey’s McGee. In Episode Three we talk with Jake Cinninger and Joel Cummins about the song “Dayville Monarchy.” As opposed to the previous songs from Asking For A Friend that we have looked at, Dayville Monarchy was presented to the band as a fully-realized demo created by Cinninger in his studio. Joel Cummins discusses the difference between working with this type of demo vs. something that might be more of a rough sketch of a song. We also learn about the group's exercise in writing lyrics together in the studio. Talking Circles is a production of Osiris Media and Umphrey’s McGee. Audio production by Matt Dwyer. Written and Produced by Brian Brinkman, RJ Bee, and Kevin Browning. Art by Mark Dowd. All interviews and audio used with permission from Umphrey’s McGee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Episode 4: Dayville Monarchy

Welcome back to Talking Circles - a production of Osiris Media & Umphrey’s McGee. This is a podcast about the making of Asking For A Friend with the members of Umphrey’s McGee. In Episode Three we talk with Brendan Bayliss about the song “So Much.” Written in the late-aughts as a way to make up for two weeks of procrastination, the song is a three-chords-and-the-truth rarity in the UM catalog. Having been auditioned for a number of previous albums, it finally found its home in the Asking For A Friend sessions as its themes spoke clearly to the entire band during 2020. We discuss the origins of the song, its improvisational evolution, the freedom with which the band approached its recording session, and where Bayliss sees the song evolving going forward. Talking Circles is a production of Osiris Media and Umphrey’s McGee. Audio production by Matt Dwyer. Written and Produced by Brian Brinkman, RJ Bee, and Kevin Browning. Art by Mark Dowd. All interviews and audio used with permission from Umphrey’s McGee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Episode 3: So Much

Welcome back to Talking Circles - a production of Osiris Media & Umphrey’s McGee. This is a podcast about the making of Asking For A Friend with the members of Umphrey’s McGee. In Episode Two we’re focusing on the second single from the record, “Small Strides.” Joined again by singer/songwriter Brendan Bayliss and keyboardist Joel Cummins, we dive into the origins of the song from Brendan’s college days, his craftsmanship during the first six months of the pandemic, and how a song can grow from an innocuous joke into an inspired piece of musical discovery. We focus on Cummins’ keyboard wizardry and discuss how, over the course of a year, he layered his keys throughout to give the track the larger than life feel it has. Talking Circles is a production of Osiris Media and Umphrey’s McGee. Audio production by Matt Dwyer. Written and Produced by Brian Brinkman, RJ Bee, and Kevin Browning. Art by Mark Dowd. All interviews and audio used with permission from Umphrey’s McGee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Episode 2: Small Strides

Welcome to Talking Circles - a production of Osiris Media & Umphrey’s McGee. Over the course of the next four months we’ll dive into the making of Asking For A Friend with the members of Umphrey’s McGee. We’ll look at the inspirations behind each song, the songwriting process, the new techniques utilized to craft the songs, and where the band sees each song fitting into their live repertoire.In Episode One we’re focusing on the first single from the record, “I Don’t Know What I Want.” We’re joined by singer/songwriter/guitarist Brendan Bayliss and keyboardist Joel Cummins to discuss the songwriting process, how Brendan combined two different ideas into a single song, and how the band crafted it into their first single throughout 2020. Throughout, we hear the song’s stems and the original demo to give listeners an idea of how the song was built over time. Talking Circles is a production of Osiris Media and Umphrey’s McGee. Audio production by Matt Dwyer. Written and Produced by Brian Brinkman, RJ Bee, and Kevin Browning. Art by Mark Dowd. All interviews and audio used with permission from Umphrey’s McGee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Episode 1: I Don't Know What I Want

Talking Circles brings you inside the songwriting and collaborative process of Umphrey’s McGee’s 14th studio album, Asking For A Friend. Through comprehensive interviews with members of the band, we explore the inspirations behind theses songs - many of which were written during lockdown - the manner in which the band developed them & their transition to the live stage.Asking For A Friend comes out July 1st. Episodes will drop monthly in connection with new singles released ahead of the album.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Umphrey's McGee: Talking Circles

Umphrey's McGee: Talking Circles