All week long we’ve been sharing versions of the Umphrey’s McGee classic Hajimemashite from throughout the past 14 years to show how far the song has come from its roots before the formation of the band to its inclusion on the recently released Death By Stereo LP. On Monday we started with a studio take recorded by Brendan Bayliss and Ryan Stasik’s pre-UM band Tashi Station. We continued on Tuesday with a version from Umphrey’s first live album Songs For Older Women and on Wednesday with the Haj from the group’s only performance in Japan at the 2006 Fuji Rock Festival. Today, we look at one of the latest and greatest takes on Hajimemashite with a pro-shot clip from last May’s Summer Camp Music Festival.
[Photo by Tammy Wetzel]
We spoke with Bayliss about the progression of Hajimemashite…
Since Kris Myers joined the band in 2003, he’s brought a dose of frenetic energy to Haji that put the exclamation point on this now-classic tune. “Kris makes it sound the way it should. He really adds the dynamics that makes the song shine and added that really cool syncopated hits section that you now hear on the album [Death By Stereo],” Bayliss told us. All in all the song has undergone a major transformation since the Tashi Station and early Umphrey’s days. Bayliss finished, “[Hajimemashite] has become a short, concise little ditty, a nice change of pace for a set that has a lot of rock in it. It’s a nice breather in between songs with a lot of notes.”
Earlier this month the official Umphrey’s YouTube channel was updated with a pro-shot video of Haji from the Summer Camp Music Festival and this version shows off not only where the song is at musically, but also the incredible visual element that LD Jefferson Waful brings to the table…
One Response
One of my favorite moments of the Summer, Scotty!