Umphrey’s Sound Caresser Kevin Browning Says Goodbye to the Road

I’ve been to over 50 Umphrey’s McGee concerts in a wide variety of venues. No matter where the band performed, you could always count on hearing the perfect mix thanks to the work of sound caresser Kevin Browning. Today, Browning announced that he will no longer tour with Umphrey’s McGee starting on Feb. 1st, after 12+ years of relentless gigging.

[Photo by Brian Spady]

Not only did Browning make sure the sound in each venue was perfect, he also had the midas touch with live recordings for the band’s UMLive series. You could hear nuances in the group’s music that you might not have been able to hear if someone else produced these recordings thanks to KB’s masterful mixes. Kevin also adds to UM’s sound through live vocal effects. Whether panning vocals in Uncle Wally,  throwing death metal effects on the vocals within Resolution (Nopener and Pay The Snucka, too), providing on-the-spot vocal delays in Bright Lights, Big City or crushing vocal reverbs in Morning Song; Browning was a major part of the action. It should also be mentioned that KB produced all of Umphrey’s studio efforts.

Kevin will still be a major part of the Umphrey’s organization and will work out of the band’s Chicago headquarters starting on February 1st. Browning has played a major role in many of the group’s innovative marketing/musical efforts including the UMBowl and S2 (Stew Art). Chris Mitchell (Rhythm Devils, The Dead, G. Love) has been tapped as the band’s new sound engineer. We wish Chris all the best as he’s got some seriously large shoes to fill. Head over to The Floor for Kevin’s essay on his big move.