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Jimmy Stewart where the name came from

The name “Jimmy Stewart” was actually named after the concert hall the band played at named after the actor. The band had just played at a wedding for their friend Jeremy Welsh in 2001. The band went back to the concert hall to have a jam session around 3 and it was recorded by their sound man Kevin Browning. (Pietro C. Truba. (2008, May 15))Bayliss the lead singer said “We had one of the best improv’s we’ve ever had. It was really kind of a different approach to playing that we had never done before and we really liked it.” (Bayliss, Guitar and vocals)

Cinninger said,“So we went down there and barely turned on all the instruments. And kinda sat on the floor really. I think I grabbed my acoustic and we were just barely tapping on things.” “It’s pretty funny, it runs about 30 minutes or so. We get away with literally like tapping on our stuff. It was kinda loosely based there and because of the room, it was called the Jimmy Stewart ballroom or whatever, we decided to christen the name.”(Jake Cinninger Guitarist and vocals). After that Umphrey’s tried to put what they call “Jimmy Stewarts” into every show. A “Jimmy Stewart” is the time Umphreys Mcgee puts into improv at each show they perform. (Pietro C. Truba. (2008, May 15))

Signals Umphrey's Mcgee uses

When playing at shows, in order to keep themselves in sync while playing improv they have a number of special signals. According to Cinninger, when the band is playing during a concert someone will throw a signal and within 4 beats show another signal and then four beats later they change the flow of the music. According to Cinninger they usually pick who’s going to do what types of sounds so there’s no confusion with how their going to play. Simple things like a hand wipe will tell the band what to do according on how they planned.(Cinninger) According to band archivist and compiler of the “Jimmy Stewart 2007” album, Jon McLennand, there are other signals used during the show, like leaning back, which signals a “bounceback” which means they go back to a section they were playing before. This became popular within 2003. According to (Ryan Stasik Umphrey’s bass player) there is another signal they like to use where he tries to signal that a section is too long, he stops playing telling the others it’s time to change the style. The most important form of communication Umphrey's McGee uses is eye contact. Cinninger compares the members of his band to sheep and shepherds. Usually the person in the front controls what everyones going to do, so everyone watches the leader and when he makes a signal everyone complies, however it’s pretty much up for grabs if someone feels like changing the music they can. Everyone in the band is constantly watching each others eyes but there’s not normally more than two people leading. “As long as everyone is making eye contact and looking then we’ll be able to get to where we need to go,” Bayliss adds.

"Typically they use the instrumental interlude of a song as a launching point, and a band member will signal the rest of the band with an unspoken visual cue to signal what to do next. For example, a smile might indicate a major key while a sad face could direct the band to a minor key."Pico (2008, july 17)