BRENDAN & JOEL of Umphrey’s McGee

Brendan Bayliss (born August 11, 1976 in Annapolis, MD) is an American musician, the founder, a lead guitarist alongside fellow guitarist and band member Jake Cinninger, and primary vocalist 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." Bayliss 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. Bayliss uses Paul Reed Smith guitars, Mesa/Boogie and Oldfield amps, endorses VOX Classic Plus amps, and along with the rest of Umphrey's McGee endorses Morley pedals and BBE Sound equipment.

Joel Nathan Cummins (born 1975, La Grange, Illinois) is an American musician, and founding member/keyboardist for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. He formed the band along with Brendan Bayliss, Mike Mirro, and Ryan Stasik in December 1997 and remains with the band to this day. Cummins and Mirro were members of University of Notre Dame band Stomper Bob, who split around the same time as another local band, Tashi Station (which included Bayliss and Stasik). Cummins is a student of classical piano and has, along with several keyboards, recently began performing with a grand piano at Umphrey's McGee concerts. In 1995, he released a solo piano album, Suspended in Time: An Epic, featuring originals such as the future Umphrey's McGee classic Orfeo and covers such as Phish's Magilla. In 2001, Cummins released an electronic keyboard-based album, Common Sense, which featured Umphrey's McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger on drums for most tracks. The band would later use two of the tracks, The Triple Wide and In Violation of Yes, in their concert repertoire.