Brendan Bayliss
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brendan Bayliss | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brendan Bayliss |
| Born | August 11, 1976 |
| Origin | South Bend, Indiana, United States |
| Genre(s) | Progressive rock, jam band |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar Vocals |
| Years active | 1997 - Present |
| Label(s) | Monkey Fuzz Records |
| Associated acts | Umphrey's McGee, Jeff Austin, Omega Moos, Tashi Station |
Brendan Bayliss (born August 11, 1976) is an American musician, the founder, a lead guitarist alongside fellow guitarist and band member Jake Cinninger, and main singer for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. He formed the band in 1997 and took its moniker from the name of a distant relative he met at a wedding named Humphreys McGee. "My father’s aunt’s sister’s son’s kid," says Bayliss. "He’s just a nice guy. Lives on a farm, I think."[1] Bayliss, along with Jake Cinninger, Joel Cummins, Andy Farag, Kris Myers, and Ryan Stasik, is one of the band's main songwriters.
Bayliss attended the University of Notre Dame, where his father Bob Bayliss is a tennis coach, and formed the Star Wars inspired Tashi Station with bass player Ryan Stasik and keyboardist Gregg Andrulis. After the band split in the fall of 1997, Bayliss and Stasik joined up with Joel Cummins and Mike Mirro - two former members of another recently defunct local band, Stomper Bob - to form Umphrey's McGee.
A year later, Mirro brought in percussionist Andy Farag to round out,what was thought at the time, as the final lineup. In September 2000, after the break-up of another South Bend area band, Ali Baba's Tahini, Umphrey's contacted guitarist Jake Cinninger about joining them on their upcoming move to Chicago. Cinninger agreed and the rest is history. In late 2002, original drummer Mike Mirro announced his plans of attending medical school, thus ending his time with Umphrey's McGee. After a little time to think over their futures, the band decided to continue and began accepting tapes from drummers from all over the country. They found just what they needed in former Kick the Cat drummer Kris Myers, a native of Illinois. Kris was, in fact, the first tape the band heard and he began performing with the band at the beginning of 2003. [2]
Bayliss uses Paul Reed Smith guitars, Mesa/Boogie amps, endorses VOX Classic Plus amps, and along with the rest of Umphrey's McGee endorses Morley pedals and BBE Sound equipment.
Bayliss recently founded a non-profit charity called USTORM (United So Together Our Reach Multiplies), a non-profit organization aimed at raising funds to help needy children and young adults improve their lives by providing access to various music and art educational programs.
Bayliss and fellow musician Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band have played a handful of shows together since the summer of 2006 and are working on a studio album together.
Bayliss contributed vocal duties for the Iron Maiden song "The Trooper" in the Guitar Hero II version for Xbox.
[edit] References
- ^ The Ballad of Umphrey's McGee from Notre Dame Magazine
- ^ HISTORY from band website
