Umphrey's McGee, Part 4

YOUR SOUND IS VERY JAZZ INFLUENCED?
I never really though about it, but it has to be. We also listen to progressive rock and bands like Genesis with Peter Gabriel, and everything from Return to Forever, Al DiMeola, and Mahavishnu. Right when we started the band was when we were getting into these bands, so it rubbed off on the songwriting. We try to get things from all angles and reproduce in our way.

HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR NICHE?
I don't really think we have one. For us, it comes from constantly doing it, constantly analyzing it and repairing what is wrong. I don't think we are ever going to be satisfied or have a signature.

WILL THE NEXT ALBUM FEATURE AN ALTERED SOUND?
Based on the few songs we have ready for it, you could hear a completely different sound. We are also going to have a few more that we are working on. We're not going to try to make the same album. For us, it's our life and we don't want to live the same way day-to-day.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE BAND FOR EACH ALBUM?
To make a better album than the one before, to have something we're proud of and wouldn't mind listening to. We're a live band trying to become a studio band, but we're a live band first. That's how we pay the rent. In order to become more legitimate though, you have to have something in the record stores and stuff on the radio.

FINALLY, TELL US ABOUT THE FORTHCOMING ALBUM?
We going into the studio in January, but we're going to try and wait until 2006 to put it out. We're gonna try and do it in different places to make it sound different from track to track. I like to think that if one isn't ambitious, there is no sense in doing it. We are going into this hoping that everything works out.