For generations, children and adults have created entire worlds out of Legos, but progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee has given those building blocks a new application. On the Chicago-based sextet's new album Blueprints, the group compiled improvised sections of music — what they call "legos" — to build fully realized songs.
Guitarist and vocalist Brendan Bayliss says the group found a natural starting point for the legos concept early on in their songwriting.
"Some people would have sections of songs or a verse or a chorus. And when you start collaborating with other people, sometimes someone would have a 'B' section that would work with someone else's 'A' section," Bayliss said of the group's beginnings.
Known for their prowess in the live setting, the band soon realized certain sections of improvised music might fit well with other ideas they had spontaneously created. Bayliss said those sections could have had similar tempos, keys or moods that worked together.
"There were certain moments that were actually really good — and we listened back and decided to keep that part from that jam that night," he said. "All of a sudden, you have four or five different sections that we just stuck together. And we always used the Lego imagery because we all grew up with that."
Umphrey's has long sought to engage their fanbase with interactive experiences — creating a semi-regular event they call the UMBowl. During those special performances, the band lets fans weigh in on different musical themes and ideas they'd like to see explored.
Eventually, they decided to blend the ideas of live improvisation and audience engagement for a studio recording — letting fans vote on which improvisations might work as fully fleshed out songs.
Recording took place in a small theater hidden above the iconic venue Metro, in Chicago. The band workshopped the songs during the day and played them for small, intimate crowds at night, recording as they went along.
The result is 24 legos that make up the six songs on Blueprints. Keyboardist and vocalist Joel Cummins said the idea was simple: let fans have some say in the creative process and see where things land.
"If it goes well, they feel like they're part of something magical. And if it doesn't, then we can blame them," Cummins joked.
Improvising lyrical themes
Just as the musical sections were refined from improvisations, so were some of the lyrics on Blueprints. Bayliss points to the song "Exit Signs" — a song spawned out of live improvisations dating back to 2006 — as one example of him riffing in the moment while on stage.
"Playing the show, I started to hear a vocal melody. So I looked over, and there's literally a red and white exit sign by the back door," Bayliss said of the lyrics' origins.
Bayliss' lyrical focus has long been introspective — and on this new album, he touches heavily on themes like taking and sharing advice, including on the songs "Concessions" and "Wide Open."
"I'm just trying to give myself advice because I don't listen to myself. My kids don't listen to me," he deadpanned. "So maybe I can read it back in the lyrics and it'll stick."
Growing the relationship between the band and fans
Cummins says partly handing over the creation of Blueprints to fans was rewarding, but the future of employing that process remains unclear.
"As far as I know, this is the first-ever album by an artist that has been a complete collaboration with their fans," Cummins said. "I think that we'll definitely have more songs that come this way. But for now, I think we're going to kind of let it stand on its own as this pretty unique creation."
Bayliss also acknowledges that the impact of their fanbase is enormous. He said those who follow the band always push them to explore new territory.
"It kind of puts us in a really good spot because we're kind of forced to keep creating," Bayliss said. "The funnest part is when you have a finished product and you can look back on something that was once an idea and is now an actual vinyl spinning on a record player at your house."
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