Kris Myers

Kris Myers
Birth name Kristofer Allen Myers
Born (1977-04-05) 5 April 1977
Origin Palatine, Illinois, United States
Genres Progressive rock, jam band, jazz
Occupation(s) Musician
Songwriter
Instruments drums
vocals
Years active 2000–present
Associated acts Umphrey's McGee, Digital Tape Machine, Kick the Cat, Drop Q, Goodnight Nurse, Brain Damaged Eggmen, OHMphrey, Kris Myers Jazz Trio, North Indiana Allstars, Dexterous Roy, Huey Lewis & the rUMors, Mike Keneally Band

Kris Myers (born April 5, 1977) is an American musician. He is currently the drummer for Chicago-based progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee.

Receiving his first drum kit at the age of 8, Myers took an early interest in jazz, rock and punk music. During high school Myers co-started his first musical outfit, a ska/punk band called the Skalawags. Although the group received a decent amount of success, they denied an offer to tour Japan and instead chose to pursue college degrees.

Myers attended Elmhurst College where he was a music major and the drummer in the Elmhurst College Jazz Band. Under director Doug Beach, the Elmhurst College Jazz Band played gigs both in the U.S. and Internationally at events such as the Umbria Jazz Festival,Jakarta Jazz Festival and the Montreaux Jazz Festival.

In 2001 Myers enrolled in DePaul University where he earned his master’s degree in jazz drumming and was a member of the Rob Parton Orchestra. In addition to his involvement in school bands, Myers was playing in festivals with a variety of jazz artists such as Nicholas Payton, Diane Schuur, Randy Brecker, Dennis DiBlasio as well as local musicians Mark Colby and John McLean. He was also a member of Chicago jazz fusion band Kick the Cat.

Myers began playing drums for progressive-rock band Umphrey’s Mcgee in 2003 following the departure of original drummer Mike Mirro. With Myers at the helm, Umphrey’s has released ten albums and maintains a rigorous touring schedule of over 100 live shows per year. Umphrey’s has performed at legendary festivals and venues such as Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Fuji Rock Festival, South by Southwest, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Ryman Auditorium, The Beacon Theatre and many more.

He has shared the stage with a variety of artists over the years: Buddy Guy, Dave Matthews, Huey Lewis, Peter Tosh, Mavis Staples, Koko Taylor, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman, Mike Gordon, Warren Haynes, Ivan Neville, Les Claypool, Stephen Perkins, Mike Keneally, Jimmy Herring, John Oates,Gene Ween, Adrian Belew, Joshua Redman, Taj Mahal, Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten, Jeff Coffin, Jen Hartswick, Keller Williams, Stanley Jordan, Chris Poland, Rob Pagliari, Jeff Austin, Buckethead, Cody & Luther Dickinson, Mark Kolby, Jon McLean, Rob Cornelius, Paris Delayne, Jeremy Piven (actor).

In 2011, Kris Myers was honored with the title of best Jam Band drummer by DRUM Magazine, beating out jamband stalwarts such as Butch Trucks (Allman Brothers) and Jon Fishman (Phish).

Kris is an endorser of Pearl drums, Zildjian cymbals, Evans drumheads and Vic Firth drumsticks. In 2012, he received his own line of signature drum sticks from Vic Firth: http://vicfirth.com/artist/Kris_Myers/

Since 2003, Myers has been a member in several bands with fellow Umphrey’s band mates, and an array of new and old musical artists and friends:


Drop Q (2006 – present): Transfusion jazz/drum and bass trio with former members of Kick the Cat

Kris Myers Jazz Trio (2006 – present): Modern jazz, with John McLean, Bryan Doherty, and Vijay Telisnayak.

Brain Damaged Eggmen (2006 – present): Pink Floyd/Beatles cover band with Umphrey’s band mates and Marc Brownstien and Aron Magner from Disco Biscuits

North Indiana Allstars (2007 – present): Jazz/rock fusion with Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction and Umphrey’s band mates

Umphrey's McGee personnel
(2003–present)
  • Brendan Bayliss - guitar, vocals
  • Joel Cummins - keyboards, vocals
  • Ryan Stasik - bass guitar
  • Jake Cinninger - guitar, vocals
  • Kris Myers - drums, vocals
  • Andy Farag - percussion

Digital Tape Machine (2009 – 2014): Electronic dance music for live setting

OHMphrey (2010 – present): Hard rock/fusion with Chris Poland of Megadeth, Rob Pagliari and Umphrey’s band mates Jake Cinninger and Joel Cummins

Dextrous Roy (2010 – 2014): Electronic(House, Drum 'n' Bass, Hip Hop) duo; drums and DJ My Boy Elroy

Huey Lewis & the rUMors (2012 – present): Teamed up with 80’s pop legend Huey Lewis and fellow Umphrey’s band mates for covers and originals from both Umphrey’s McGee and Huey Lewis & the News

Goodnight Nurse Publishing LLC (2015–present): Music licensing project for TV, film, and video games, managing partners Brian Abraham, and Dylan Jones

Myers endorses Pearl drums and Zildjian cymbals.

Drum setup:

Pearl Reference Series

10”x8” Rack tom

12”x10” Rack Tom

14”x14” Floor Tom

16” x16” Floor tom

22”x18” Bass Drum

14” Reference Snare, or Ultra Cast Snare

10” Popcorn Snare

Cymbal setup:

14" A Hybrid hi-hats

17" A custom crash

19" K custom hybrid crash

20" A custom crash

22" K custom ride

20" A custom EFX crash

Umphrey's McGee music releases:

Discography

DVD releases

External links

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