JOEL CUMMINS – UMPHREY’S MCGEE

What will you remember most about 2014?
2014 for me has been a very bittersweet year. We’ve had some really amazing accomplishments as a band including selling out Red Rocks, that’s something that will of course come to mind. We played a really good show at Red Rocks and played for all these people, which was really special. Obviously, I also lost some really close friends this year, not only Mike Mirro but also a really close friend of mine, who passed away after running the Brooklyn Half Marathon. So, for me 2014 is bittersweet and that’s the nature of life I suppose. Gotta keep moving forward, that’s the only choice.

What album or albums have you listened to the most this past year?
I’ve definitely listened to The War on Drugs album a few times. I’ve listened to, my breakfast music has gone back and forth between Tycho and Miles Davis. I just did this holiday show with Brendan and Jake so I’ve actually been listening to Claude Debussy piano music over the past three or four months to get reacquainted with that to make sure I knew the music inside and out.

What was your favorite show of 2014?
Music of William Onyeabor at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

What emerging band or artists should our readers watch out for in 2015?
Tauk and The Revivalists.

Any big plans for 2015?

I’ll tell you this, it’ll probably be early February that we’re going to drop something that is going to completely blow people away and they’re going to be like ‘how did they pull this off?’ There’s something that we did in 2014 that nobody knows about, that is going to happen in 2015 that I think is going to be pretty awesome. That’s all I’m going to say right now. Be ready, come about February, to see something that—this is going to be, I’m not going to say ‘career defining’ thing because I don’t want to build it up to much. But when it happened, it was something that we’re incredibly proud of and something that I’d never dreamed would happen for us. That’s all I’m going to say.

ROB COMPA – DOPAPOD

What will you remember most about 2014?

Tough question!! There’s a lot of great moments from the past year. I’m really proud of our album, Never Odd Or Even, that we recorded and released this year. Also, we spent a few weeks opening for Umphreys McGee, which was a really great experience. Not only was it great exposure, but we learned a lot for watching how they do things.

What album or albums have you listened to the most this past year?

I’ll just make a list:

Lyle Brewer Wicked Live!
Umphrey’s McGee Similar Skin
Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East
Frogwings Croakin’ At Toad’s

What was your favorite show of 2014?

That’s almost impossible to answer since we’ve played so many shows in the past year, but Peach Fest in Scranton, PA is one that keeps coming to mind. The crowd was great, we felt creative, and the vibe was wonderful from start to finish.

What emerging band or artists should our readers watch out for in 2015?

We just did a two week run with TAUK and I thought they were unbelievable. Amazing players and great guys. Aqueous is another incredible band that I’ve been a fan of for a few years now. They’re new album, Cycles is really terrific, too. I’ve also been digging the Main Squeeze a lot lately. They’re really badass.

Any big plans for 2015?
VERY big plans! Beyond that, I’m not really sure what I’m allowed to talk about at this point, so I’m gonna stay mum about it for now. Just know that we are very, very, very, very excited for what’s in store for 2015.

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