associated_acts years_active article_title name background birth_date instrument genre origin birth_name occupation
umphrey the cat , drop q , goodnight nurse , brain 's damaged eggmen , ohmphrey , kris myers jazz trio , mcgee audio depth device , dexterous roy , huey lewis & , the rumors , mike keneally band digital tape machine , kick 2000 -- present kris myers
 kris myers non_vocal_instrumentalist 5 april 1977 drums vocals progressive rock , jam band , jazz palatine , illinois , united states kristofer allen myers musician songwriter
kris myers

kris myers -lrb- born april 5 , 1977 -rrb- is an american musician .
he is the drummer for chicago-based progressive rock band umphrey 's mcgee .
myers began drumming when he was eight , after an uncle bought him a drum kit .
he attended william fremd high school in palatine , il from 1991-1995 where he was actively involved in the music department and forming local rock bands with fellow students .
while participating in team sports throughout his time at fremd , myers co-started local ska/punk band skalawags with fellow music students and friends .
after a stint of success in ' 94 - ' 95 , the band members declined an offer to tour japan , opting instead to pursue college degrees .
he attended elmhurst college as a music major from 1995 -- 1999 , joining the elmhurst college jazz band under director doug beach .
the jazz band was self-sufficient ; spending most weekends on paying gigs to help fund trips to jazz festivals both in the u.s. and internationally -lrb- umbria jazz festival in perusia & montreaux jazz festival in switzerland -rrb- .
in 2001 , myers attended depaul university where he earned a master 's degree in jazz drumming and was a member of the robert parton orchestra .
during this time he was regularly hired for studio sessions and was a member of chicago local jazz fusion group kick the cat .
after submitting his demo material and a subsequent audition , myers began playing drums for umphrey 's mcgee in 2003 , replacing the departing drummer mike mirro .
with myers at the helm , umphrey 's has released eight albums -lrb- both studio and live -rrb- and is on extensive tour , playing over 100 nights a year .
they have played the some of the largest music festivals including bonnaroo , lollapalooza , and fuji rock festival -lrb- japan -rrb- , to name a few .
he has shared the stage with a variety of artists over the years : buddy guy , dave matthews , huey lewis , mavis staples , koko taylor , phil lesh , bob weir , mike gordon , warren haynes , ivan neville , les claypool , stephen perkins , mike keneally , jimmy herring , bill kreutzman , 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 dickinson , luther dickenson , mark kolby , jon mclean , rob cornelius , paris delayne , jeremy piven -lrb- actor -rrb- .
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://www.vicfirth.com/product/buynow/product.php?button=55a in 2011 , kris myers was given the title of best jam band drummer by drum magazine , beating out jamband stalwarts such as butch trucks of the allman brothers and jon fishman of phish .
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 -lrb- 2006 -- present -rrb- : transfusion jazz/drum and bass trio with former members of kick the cat kris myers jazz trio -lrb- 2006 -- present -rrb- : modern jazz brain damaged eggmen -lrb- 2006 -- present -rrb- : pink floyd/beatles cover band with umphrey 's band mates and marc brownstien and aron magner from disco biscuits north indiana allstars -lrb- 2007 -- present -rrb- : jazz/rock fusion with stephen perkins from jane 's addiction and umphrey 's band mates goodnight nurse -lrb- 2007 -- present -rrb- : music licensing project for t.v. , film , and record label digital tape machine -lrb- 2009 -- present -rrb- : electronic dance music for live setting and t.v / film ohmphrey -lrb- 2010 -- present -rrb- : hard rock/fusion with chris poland of megadeth and umphrey 's band mates dextrous roy -lrb- 2010 -- present -rrb- : electronic -lrb- house , drum 'n' bass , hip hop -rrb- duo ; drums and dj huey lewis & the rumors -lrb- 2012 -- present -rrb- : 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 myers endorses pearl drums and zildjian cymbals .
cymbal setup : 14 '' a new beat hi-hats 10 '' a custom splash 17 '' a custom crash 17 '' k custom dark crash 18 '' k custom dark crash 19 '' k custom hybrid crash 20 '' a custom crash 22 '' k custom ride 18 '' a custom efx crash umphrey 's mcgee music releases :
