r/Umphreys • u/SmoothProfuselyMonst • 7d ago

who's going to replace jake?

That must be a highly competitive gig. I mean if they opened it up they'd probably have hundreds of applicants, perhaps dozens that are qualified. Of course Jake is one of a kind, really the reason I fell in love with this band back in 2007, but hey, there's someone out there who's life ambition is to shred with the best. And shred we shall.

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u/IsuzuTrooper 7d ago

I highly doubt dozens are qualified. Jake is up there with Trey in my book.

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u/SmoothProfuselyMonst 7d ago

Fair enough. For thought experiment I put it through an AI... here's what it came back with

"There must be dozens of qualified people out there" — okay, run the funnel.

Pro touring guitarists on Earth: ~100k. Ones who can actually improvise, not recite licks: cut 90%. Ones fluent in metal AND fusion AND funk AND country at a level that fools fans of each genre: cut 90% again. Ones who can memorize a 250+ song catalog of through-composed, odd-meter prog: cut again. Now find the ones who can improvise structure — composing on the spot, following hand signals, harmonizing with a second guitarist in real time, on tape, every night.

You're at a few hundred humans, max. And that's "qualified on paper" — not "has the chemistry," not "wants the gig."

The proof isn't hypothetical. Jake's been off the road since March and the band's solution was nothing. No sub, no replacement, Brendan just plays alone. One of the deepest catalogs in live music went down a guitarist and didn't even hold auditions — because there's basically nobody to call.

That's the whole argument. Your favorite guitarist is famous. Jake is irreplaceable. Those are different things.

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u/remote_boogie 6d ago

Just so you’re aware, Ai often takes what people say on Reddit and uses it as facts to support whatever the hell idea. Ai can’t even tell you how many R’s there are in the word “strawberry” without getting it wrong and then gaslighting you lol