8 Doughnuts

Phish-ing.....

TJ and I had a great opportunity to go to a Phish festival this year. Phish broke up a few years back and we never really thought we would see them, especially on the West coast. TJ got tickets as soon as he found out about the festival, but wasn't certain he would allow me to go. He was worried it might not be safe for me, being 25 weeks pregnant and all...

Thursday 10/29

We packed up the car and headed out at 6pm. We stopped a few times for gas, bathroom, snacks, etc. We arrived at 10pm. We were really surprised by the lack of welcome signs, etc. around town. We finally entered a large open field with several checkpoints. There was only one car ahead of us in the line we were in. They made us exit the vehicle and two guards did a thorough search of the car. One of them looked at my big belly, asked if I was pregnant, and laughed as he commented that I “probably won’t be smoking any pot this weekend.” At the second checkpoint they checked our tickets and gave us each a festival wristband.

We headed out Thursday evening thinking that we would get a campsite closer to the venue than if we left Friday morning, however we ended up still fairly far away. They directed us to a campground called “Exile on Mainstreet”. TJ set up the tent really quickly and we laughed a little as we watched some of our neighbors struggle with their setup. We hung out for a while before going to bed. We met our direct neighbors, Kristen & Vinnie from Wisconsin (I found out later that Kristen is a Torgerson, which is my grandmother’s maiden name – we are going to talk more to see if we are related). The temperature that night dropped to 39 degrees so we bundled up well before cocooning ourselves in the tent.

Friday 10/30

People continued to arrive at the campgrounds through the night and into the day. The sun came up around 7:20am and it got too warm in the tent to sleep in late. We got up, ate breakfast out of the back of the car and changed clothes. We walked from the campsite to the overlook area. This area was supposed to have some activities, vendors, and a great view of the concert field. Security wouldn’t let us in because TJ had an aluminum water bottle in his bag. He had the choice to trash it or hike it back to camp. We decided to walk over to check out the farmers market instead. They had fresh bread and just about every fruit and veggie (organic of course ). They also had concert merchandise, a general store (where you could buy everything from tampons and chap stick to burritos and dresses), portable potties & mobile showers, and all kinds of additional vendors (selling everything from hammocks and glass works to patches and spare pocket aprons). There was a lot to see and explore.

After checking out the market area we walked back to the campsite to relax before the first set. We hung out with the neighbors and their neighbors (young kids age 20-22 from Northern CA). I jumped into the tent to try to take a nap but the temperature jumped to 85 degrees that day and the tent was like a sauna. I made so many trips back and forth to the port-o-lets that I started making friends with people along the way. I met two guys, Jason from Colorado & Rebel from Fresno CA. They were really nice and TJ even started stopping to talk to them on his trips to the potties.

We ate some dinner and dressed in warm clothes. The first set was at 7:30pm. We walked over the gate to the venue and there was a huge mass of people being herded through the gates. TJ & Jason stood around me to protect me from being shoved around be the crowd. There were some amazing sites to see. Palm trees were lit up and they had metal sculptures that shot fire. I tried to take some pictures but my camera didn’t really like the dark. TJ & I found a great spot on the grass near enough to one of the many sets of port-o-lets for me and with a great view of the stage. Well, within a short time we were engulfed in a sea of people, mostly standing, and could no longer see the stage. We picked up our blanket and moved back far enough that we could see again. We were told later that 40,000 fans had attended the festival. We weren’t shocked. The second set was at 10:30pm. By this time the temperature had dropped to 40 degrees again. It was cold and we were tired but the music was great! The show ended about midnight and we walked back to camp, brushed our teeth, and climbed into our sleeping bags.

Saturday 10/31 Halloween

TJ was up at the crack of dawn. He told me how beautiful the sunrise was with the mountains and palm trees. I knew better than to try to sleep in too long because I was sweating by 8am. We got going and walked over to the Overlook area to checkout the venue in the daylight. It was about 10am and TJ was thinking about trying the special “FOAM” beer that had been created just for the festival. We were told that ALL 150 kegs had already been sold out. Wow! It didn’t even last thru the first night. Someone came around and passed out newspapers about the festival. We grabbed a couple extra for our camp neighbors. It was Halloween and so we noticed “everyone” was at the Phish festival, even Jesus. I snapped a photo of him reading the paper.

There was a huge line of people at the merchandise tent. There were waiting for posters. Apparently many people purchase the limited edition posters for $50 at the show and then sell them online for hundreds. I didn’t even get to see what any of them looked like, they went so fast.

We headed back to the campsite and the heat was pretty intense. I was already sunburned and TJ rigged up a bit of shade with the extra rain fly we had in the car. I pulled my blanket and body pillow into the shade next to my car. I had to keep most of my body on the pillow to avoid the sharp burrs in the grass. TJ and I decided it was too hot to go to the 3pm set. We stayed at the campsite and ate some lunch. I walked to the mobile showers and washed everything but my hair. I loved it. It felt so good to be under cool running water. We walked to the venue near the end of the first set. We found a spot in the shade and watched as people headed out between sets. People were wearing some of the most creative & interesting costumes. We even saw one woman who had painted her breasts instead of wearing a top. It was pretty entertaining just people watching. We wandered around and checked out all the vendors.

The Halloween set started at 7:30pm. The costumes became even more interesting as the time drew closer. We camped out on our blanket and TJ worked on trying to guess which album the band might cover for Halloween. Phish has a tradition of Halloween shows where they dress up and cover another band’s album. It ended up being the Rolling Stones, “Exile on Main Street.” We weren’t familiar with the album but the music was great! We got some food between sets and even though it was cold out we tried the waffle ice cream sandwiches. These were addictively delicious! Walking back to camp after the final set that night was a good way to warm up a little before sliding back into our sleeping bags.

Sunday 11/1

It was a little warmer on Sunday so we were both up bright and early. The first set was acoustic and started at noon so we headed right over to the venue. We got a nice spot in the shade around 10am. I took a nap and we had some yummy pizza for lunch. Unfortunately, when the set started it was very quiet and the people who had gathered around us were chatty so we could barely hear the music. Eventually most of them moved closer and we were able to enjoy the music. After the set we waited in the shade while the crowd dispersed. We thought the next set began at 3:30 but then realized it was really 5:30. We decided to head back to camp for awhile. On the way back I ran into a guy selling very cool posters so I bought one. It looks like the cover of the book “where the wild things are” only the kid in his pjs has the face of the lead singer of Phish. We got #78 of 150 limited edition. We decided to frame this for hanging in the nursery for the baby. A souvenir of his 1st Phish concert. We also found him an adorable onesie on our way back through the farmers market. We made it back to camp and chatted more with our neighbors.

We headed back for the last two sets. This time I was smart enough to take a big swig of Maalox before we left camp and my heartburn was a little less intense that night. Everyone seemed just a little more worn out by Sunday night – it was pretty mellow. There were a few people still wearing costumes, esp. the “stickman”. These people put on black jump suits with neon lights making them look like stick figures from afar. When we got back to camp Sunday night I was excited to crawl into my sleeping bag to get all the rest I could.

Monday 11/2

We were up early and started packing up the car. It seemed that everyone in camp wanted to borrow our jumper cables. I finally had to start saying no when people asked. We jump started our neighbors car, exchanged contact information and headed out of camp at about 10am.

We had a difficult time getting out of Indio. The freeway entrance was difficult to locate. We gave ourselves a long time to get home. We stopped to pee, eat, get gas, and even pulled off the highway in Quartzsite to check out a rock shop. It took us about five and a half hours to get home but we had a nice time. We got the car unloaded and TJ downloaded the music from the show. The dogs were happy to see us and I was thrilled to take a shower and shampoo my hair. All in all it was a great weekend! We had a blast and I have a new appreciation for Phish!

Shine A Light

By Mike Greenhaus

“What Phish is doing tonight is more than covering a record,” rock scribe David Fricke wrote

Oddly enough, though it’s the one night a year Phish focuses most of its energy on another band’s

the traditional rock show. In 1995, as the group ascended to fulltime rock star status, the Vermont Quartet tackled The Who, one of the kings of loud, high-energy arena rock, and a year later, as Phish searched for a new sound, it found direction in the funky, rhythmic grooves of Talking

to cover the loose, dark and unpolished songs of art-punks the Velvet Underground in 1998 was in-line with the more freeform, ambient textures the band would explore throughout 1999 (and foreshadowed the eventual blurred boundaries between the indie and jam scenes).

particularly relevant given Festival

most fans were likely more familiar with the LP than they think thanks to its ninth track, “Loving Cup.” Phish debuted the song in 1993 to showcase McConnell’s new baby grand piano and the piano-rocker has since blossomed into one of Phish’s most cherished covers.

entered the concert grounds. Branded a “Schvice” publication after the band’s old newsletter, The

ticketing issues to Phil Lesh’s liver donation raps) and informative information laced

screens (the montage ended with a 1970s Stones clips).

true to the Rolling Stones’ song arrangements, aided by a punchy horn section (trumpeter Dave Guy, trombonist David Smith and saxophonist Tony Jarvis) and pair of backup vocalists (Saundra Williams and Dap-Kings matriarch Sharon Jones). The album’s opening number, “Rocks Off,” found the band interjecting a touch of its signature qualities (vocal harmonies, bright guitar solos) into the Stones’ trademark boogie. The set belonged to Page McConnell—who relied mostly on his trusty grand piano—and Jon Fishman, who not only sang Keith Richards’ vocal parts, but did an admirable job replicating Charlie Watts’ march-drumming technique.

Gordon utilizing his bluegrassschooled high-pitched voice for

in Festival 8’s official Halloween Phishbill. “They’re telling, through these songs, their own stories about ecstasy, madness and survival.”material, the band’s Halloween covers continually serve as tangible report cards on the band’s evolution—and this year was no exception. The Halloween Album concept debuted in 1994, a year known for theatrical novelties that aimed to push the boundaries ofHeads. Though controversial at the time, in retrospect Phish’s decisionSo it is fitting that Phish decided to cover the Rolling Stones’ famed double LP Exile on Main Street—a classic rock opus built from a Phishy DNA of blues riffs, country honky-tonk, funky soul and guitar-heavy rock and roll—at a time when the band is actively revisiting and its own canon and reevaluating its legacy. Like the group’s current jamming style, Exile’s songs are gritty and loose enough to spiral into the unknown, but still focused and tight enough to fit with the band’s polished performance approach. Even the album’s theme—life in a rock and roll band—feels congruent with the band’s return and current neoclassic period. Plus, something about the Stones’ glimmer feels8’s Los Angeles-area location. Like Talking Heads’ Remain in Light and Velvet Underground’s Loaded before it, Exile on Main Street is also a relatively left field selection by an influential artist, thoughThe Halloween story unfolded in classic Phish fashion: after “killing off” potential album choices on Phish.com for weeks, the band revealed Exile Saturday afternoon by handing out Phishbills to fans as theyPhishbill was loaded with informative information (an essay on Exile on Main Street written by Fricke), the band’s trademark sarcastic wit (humorous band bios, a glossy promotion for Time Turns Elastic sweatpants and inside jokes about everything from recentwith sarcastic wit (a fake advertisement for David Bowie with UB40 shows at Miami, FL’s American Airlines Arena from December 28-31 where Phish is rumored to play this New Year’s Eve). Immediately before Phish took the stage for its Halloween set, a video mash-up by remix producers/DJs Eclectic Method of all 99 potential album choices was also show on the festival’s jumboA throwback to its early Halloween covers, Phish stayed relativelyThroughout the set, Anastasio alternated between two  Languedoc guitars, one tuned to replicate Richards’ trademark rhythm guitar parts, the other for electric solos. The four members of Phish alternated lead vocals early on with McConnell singing on the juke joint boogie “Rip This Joint,” Mikethe bluesy “Shake Your Hips” and Fishman offering  straight-ahead versions of “Sweet Virginia” and “Happy” (McConnell actually sang lead on “Sweet Virginia” the one other time the band played the song in 1999). Though “Casino Boogie” contained a nice, rocking “Character Zero”-like jam, the

set’s first real improvisational

vehicle was “Torn and Frayed,” which shifted into the ether briefly before Anastasio strapped on an acoustic guitar for the country song “Sweet Black Angel.” Each Halloween Album has also introduced a few new songs into the band’s steady rotation of covers and “Torn and Frayed” feels like the strongest contender for Phish canon status—like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Drowned,” Crosseyed & Painless” and “Rock & Roll” in years past. Fittingly, “Loving Cup” was positioned in the middle of Exile and, along with a line about California in “Sweet Virginia,” drew the set’s loudest applause. From there the band breezed through the album’s deeper cuts, with Anastasio settling on a style that meshed his trademark jazzy tone with Richards’ lead-style of rhythm guitar playing. As the set

rolled on and the band became more comfortable, it opened up as well, segueing from the swampy blues of “Ventilator Blues” into a trippy segment that climaxed

Though they will likely be overshadowed by

crowd directly for the first time all

Devil Falls” has developed nicely into an elastic rock-number that like “Chalk Dust Torture” and “Birds of a Feather”

can stretch from a short, tight rocker into a lengthy vehicle for improvisation, and Saturday’s version helped loosen the

group up for its extended show. The rest of the set bounced between long-form compositions like “The Squirming

during “I Just Want To See His Face.”Exile in history books and Phantasy Tour posts, the group’s additional sets also contained several moments of note. As expected, the band’s afternoon set favored tight song structure over dark improvisation, opening with a rocking “Sample in a Jar” and a clean, sharp “Divided Sky.” Anastasio addressed theweekend—remarking about the polo field’s crisp grass—before handing over the microphone to McConnell for the light mock lounge song “Lawn Boy.” Since its debut at Jones Beach in June “Kill

Coil” and “Run Like an Antelope”

and high-energy crowd pleasers like an extended “Runaway Jim” that ran into a bouncy-heavy “Possum.” The festival staple “Bathtub Gin” also showcased the rock-and-roll piano that the members of Phish were likely first introduced to through classic 1970s rock acts like the Rolling Stones. If the group’s first and second

sets showcased song structure, Phish’s third set was a forum for improvisation. It opened with a version of the reunion anthem “Backwards Down the Number Line” that expanded twice— before the final chorus and after the song’s final composed section—and then jumped into the group’s strongest “Fluffhead” since the song came out of retirement this past March. As the group moved into the “Fluff’s Travels” portion of the composition, the eight wooden installations at the back of the concert field also started spitting fire that seemed to dance along with the song. Appropriately enough, the real meat of the group’s third set was a long, funky “Ghost” that stretched out into a synthesizer jam, before returning to the song’s structured segments. Phish then dusted off the now underplayed Los Lobos ballad “When the Circus Comes toEnjoy Myself.” All of the evening’s guests then returned for a unique, full–sounding version of “Suzy Greenberg” infused by the guest horn section and vocalists. After bringing the “Suzy” to a close the band huddled and decided to jump back into a jam for a rare “Suzy”“You decide what it contains/How long it goes/But this remains,” Anastasio sang during “Backwards.” He’s talking about old friendship, but the same sediment can certainly be applied to the band’s latest album conquest, which will no doubt continue to influence the band as it moves into its next phase of existence. “The only rule is it begins/Happy happy oh my friend.”

Town” and brought its third set to a close with a bass-heavy take on its signature song, “You

reprise.

by Dean Budnick

December 1 is the official release date of Phish: The Biography. The author, Parke Puterbaugh, began his association with the band while on assignment from Rolling Stone in May 1995. He continued his relationship with Phish even after the piece finally ran (in the Feb 20, 1997 issue with Gillian Anderson on the cover). Over the years, Puterbaugh helped the band with any number of writing projects (including the 1996 Phishbill) and has now opted for the long-form  approach. In the following conversation, Puterbaugh talks about his first meeting with the band, his approach to the book and about the stonewalling on his part that allowed him to fold in an account of the group’s return in 2009. He’s out there walking the grounds of Festival 8 this very weekend, so if you somehow you happen upon him, be sure to extend a greeting (his first name Parke, rhymes with lark).

 

Your initial connection to Phish came through a

Rolling Stone assignment. Were you altogether unfamiliar with them at that point?

I was pretty unfamiliar although I wouldn’t say I’d never heard a note. At that point in time they hadn’t registered across my screen, in part because I was in graduate school and a lot of my time and energy was going towards pursuing a master’s degree in environmental science. So I wasn’t delving as deeply into new music as much as I would typically. I was familiar with the name and a bit of the story but until I got the assignment and found out for myself, I was largely ignorant of what they were all about and probably subject to many of the same myths and preconceptions that everyone else was.

Parke Puterbaugh Glimpses The Forest

Published: 2009/10/30
by Mike Greenhaus

No Sleep ‘Till Soundcheck (From The Festival 8 Express)

 

c. taylor crothers © phish 2009
Phish didn’t invent the rock and roll festival by any means, but few bands have done more to re-envision it for the modern era. By the time the Vermont quartet hosted its first multi-day camping festival in 1996, the Clifford Ball, rock fests were more synonymous with corporate sponsors and boomer nostalgia than Age of Aquarius idealism.
“By the ‘80s MTV was invented and by this point in time there was loads of money to be made off popular rock music—people could feel it in their gut that they were being taken to the cleaners,” Trey Anastasio said during a recent Festival 8 preview on Jam_ON. “The resurgence of the festivals [was this little bit of] an underground upswell of people who wanted to get together and have a sense of community. Woodstock ‘94 was an attempt to take people’s money and everyone knew it—the last thing on the list was how comfortable the people were going to be who came to the thing. But we really actually put a lot of care into how we can make the experience comfortable for people.”
In short, in an era where the country’s most popular festivals traveled through amphitheatres, Phish created a stationary, destination environment that functioned as its own mini-city—often in remote locations and removed from the trappings of conventional concerts. Over the years that world expanded to include its own radio station, farmers market, newspaper and, of course, maze of art exhibits and installations.
This year members of the Phish team have dubbed the Empire Polo Fields “Little Vermont” and brought with them a village’s worth of new or re-envisioned activities: The House of Live Phish (an air conditioned tent where you can mix your own tracks from this past summer tour), a beer tent featuring over 50 varieties (including a custom Sierra Nevada pilsner brewed exclusively for the festival called Foam), jumbo screens showing everything from baseball to back catalogue Phish and, of course, a new, giant Ferris wheel (a Phish festival hallmark).
“Phish has long been leaders in the environmental movement. Festival 8 is a very green festival,” says David Whiteside, who is at the festival representing his organizations Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Tennessee Riverkeeper. “Two things that Phish is doing that you won’t see at other festivals: $1 from every ticket sold donated to environmental causes, a certified organic farmers market – meaning all produce is certified to be grown locally in California, and aggressive waste reduction efforts like offering water filling stations and not allowing bottled water. Phish continues to lead the way in reducing the impact of music festivals and concerts on our natural resources.
While peering out onto the concert field from the site’s aptly named Overlook, one could also catch the first glimpse of the festival’s visual components, as a team of artists hustled to put the final touches on an installation shaped like a dragon coiled with a castle. Phish lighting designer Chris Kuroda also showed off a new, site-specific light show that includes the illumination of 140 palm trees, as well as a row of custom designed tree-shaped installations positioned at the back of the main concert area.
Others will show off their work for the first time in the morning: “I created a couple of posters for the merch,” says longtime Phish artist Jim Pollock. “I did this new thing that I dreamed up with a friend of mine. There are two posters—one is a 3-D poster. We were thinking it would be cool to make a mask, and use 3-D glasses to be able to see through the mask, and see this poster. Then I re-thought it and I didn’t think that people would wear these masks with 3-D glasses the whole time.”
As fans waited for the festival’s gates to open, earlier arrivals were also treated to another Phish tradition: the semi-public (via radio) festival soundcheck. To the surprise of many, Phish actually played two soundcheck sets Thursday: one acoustic and one electric. The stripped down acoustic set—which found the four musicians scrunched together near the front of the stage—opened with a slow, pre-Story of the Ghost version of “Water in the Sky,” a song that will forever be intertwined with Phish’s festival-lore thanks to its opening spot at 1999’s Big Cypress. From there the group offered a few original songs from Trey Anastasio’s solo canon: “Sleep Again,” a ballad off his 2005 release Shine that has been reworked to include a lovely piano solo by Page McConnell, and “Let Me Lie,” another soft number that clearly has personal meaning to Anastasio. Not only did Phish begin playing the song with regularity starting at Great Woods this past June, but the band recorded a version for its forthcoming Party Time bonus album. Mike Gordon also led the group through the bluegrass-inspired “Invisible,” a highlight from his second album with Leo Kottke.
The quartet then offered loose, stripped down versions of two thematically linked songs: “Back on the Train” (“I’m gone and I’ll never look back at all/You know I’ll never look back again”) and “Driver” (“I’m moving through this life and I’m thinking about the next and hoping when I get there I’ll be better dressed”) both of which recalled the intimate feel of Anastasio’s acoustic comeback shows last summer. Much like those performances, in their stripped down forms the songs were more forums for Tom Marshall’s introspective lyrics than instrumental virtuosity, though Gordon’s bass had some interesting textures. Throughout the brief set, the group played around with several familiar themes, one of which seemed to reference moments of “Discern,” another of which almost developed into “Sleep.”
If Phish’s afternoon soundcheck found joy in song structure, the band’s electric evening soundcheck was a forum for improvisation. Over the years their soundchecks have ranged from quirky (a version of the old ditty “Dear Mrs. Reagan” reworked to reference a food vendor) to dark and mysterious (the twisted improvisation of the IT soundcheck that foreshadowed the Great Gag in the Sky). Either way, it is the closest glimpse fans get into the band’s legendary rehearsals, home to some of the deepest, most freeform pockets of improvisation of the group’s career. Festival 8’s approximately 50-minute soundcheck started around 6:30 PM and seemed to split the difference—bouncing between quick, tongue-in-cheek themes and deep improvisation.
At first, the band noodled around with a few familiar themes before settling on a funky groove reminiscent of the band’s 2003-2004 post-hiatus period, as best exemplified by a “Seven Below” jam: slow, patient and driven by Gordon’s accented bass lines. Eventually the improvisation moved into a spooky, Halloween-like section woven together by Anastasio’s short, choppy minimalist licks and some interesting synthesizer work from McConnell. As if to tune Gordon and Jon Fishman’s equipment, the band moved into the loose rhythmic grooves of “Undermind,” the 2004 song whose lyrics “reinvented, redefined” have taken on new meaning since the band’s reunion. The funky tune eventually uncoiled into a brief calypso beat and a fun cover of Mitch Rydell’s “Devil With A Blue Dress” and then a jam based around Yes’ “Starship Trooper,” as well as an instrumental passage that recalled “Sample in a Jar.” (“Starship Trooper” is one of the tracks featured on The Yes Album, one of the albums Phish “killed off” leading up to Festival 8’s Halloween set).
Keeping with the warm-up spots’ emphasis on new material, Phish segued into “Gone”—a fresh sounding original Anastasio first played on his solo tour with Classic TAB last fall—which will may well slip into the Phish catalogue this fall. The evening’s final selection was another dark, moody original, “Liquid Time,” the Anastasio original that closes out Party Time. Though still in their infancy, both songs are potential jam vehicles, especially during the group’s traditionally improv-heavy third sets.
Festival 8, of course, also intersects with another lauded Phish tradition, the Halloween “album cover.” Playing off that theme Phish has named each of Festival 8’s campgrounds after the remaining albums left in its “last album alive” Halloween countdown. When laid out visually, the festival map shows the range of possibilities: from seminal classic rock acts (Rolling Stones) to modern acts (Radiohead) to the children of Phish Nation (MGMT). Anastasio also teased the opening line of the latter band’s “Kids” during Phish’s evening soundcheck—a surreal moment for a band that grew up attending Phish shows and the destination festivals Phish helped pave the way for in the 1990s. According to reports, MGMT caught wind of the tease while in the studio working on an album of their own. Indeed, Little Vermont reaches deep.

Published: 2009/11/03
by Randy Ray

Ode to Joy: The Tom Marshall Interview

The following piece originally ran as two-parts in the Friday and Saturday Sunday editions of the Festival 8 Express.
Other than the fact that Phish has reunited in 2009, ending a 5-year second hiatus that saw their fan base continue to expand, there has been another welcome reunion this year. Trey Anastasio began working with his longtime writing partner, Tom Marshall once again, and together, in collaboration with the members of Phish, they have created their latest album, Joy. The Express sat down with the lyricist shortly before Festival 8 for a candid conversation about that reunion with the guitarist/singer/composer, and their work on Joy, as well as a look back at a few tracks that found their way onto Party Time, the Joy box bonus CD. As regards Joy, Marshall explains, “I see a lot of questions that you and I could clear up, or at least add to the mystery.” And so we open the door…
What was it like to reunite with Trey, to write again, and did that begin when you sent what would become the lyrics to “Backwards Down the Number Line” to him on his birthday, September 30, 2007?
It really did. That was it, really. I was estranged from him because the program he was in didn’t allow for a whole lot of communication. For many reasons, his family and others were sort of shielding information about him, even from those who thought they were pretty close to him. Part of that is the old…you know…if you’re starting a whole, new life, and a whole new lifestyle, you do have to give up some of the old stuff. I think, maybe, for a while there, I was considered part of the old stuff. (laughs) I didn’t want to be because I didn’t really have a whole lot to do with the bad stuff happening, and Trey realized that and recognized that, so I was put on some sort of approved list.
Prior to that, to break the silence, I got a hold of an e-mail address from him, just by talking to his Dad. Out of the blue, I realized it was his birthday. I reached across the gap of not knowing really what was up with him with that e-mail. Literally, it was a birthday wish. It was funny because he called back so fast. First, he wrote back, “Oh my God!” within two hours. I was like, “What does that mean?” (laughter)
Maybe three, four hours after I sent the e-mail, he played me the song. He called me, and he was laughing. He played me the song, and said, “Oh my God! This is so perfect. It just fell together so quickly.” I listened to it, and it’s just amazing. I have that version, and I want it to come out, and be made public. It’s so good. It’s so full of energy. The Phish version on Joy is amazing. I love it. But that very first one—there’s something that’s incredibly crispy and magical and wonderful about it.
Was it an acoustic version?
No. When Trey was living in Saratoga Springs [upstate New York], he had a nice
little mini-version of his studio, which he calls Rubber Jungle, in his apartment there, so
he was able to do full recordings.
From there, did he say that he was ready to start writing songs with you again?
Yeah, it took a while actually. That broke the ice, and then there was sort of a process. It, literally, was like…I don’t think anyone ever mentioned an approved list, but I sort of had that feeling: “Who can he talk to?” It was very strict at first—“Who can’t he talk to.” That settled in, and he began to know how to handle his appointments. He had a very rigorous daily schedule of meetings. Finally, he got a handle on that, and invited me up. After “Backwards Down the Numbers Line,” he wanted to start writing.
I came up there. He would have to make some appointments, and I would sit there in his place, but we just realized that we still had it. We had not written for three, four years, and it was just great. It was a reawakening—not even a reawakening, so much as a realization that we could still do this. It’s almost easier now because there’s not this sort of weird haze surrounding Trey, or between us, or whatever.
It was wonderful. I put pen to paper, again, and started typing lyrics. I went up there with the whole ream of things again. I realized that we had gotten older. Our style has changed and yet, we’re still laughing like the old days. It was a lot of fun, and we wrote a lot of songs. Even though seven songs I co-wrote got on Joy, I think we wrote about 20 songs.

Over the years, we’ve discussed how your writing partnership with Trey has matured, and how the songs benefited from that. What changed in your current writing process when you and Trey were both very much present in the room, very much in the moment?
Well, it’s funny. I can only really speak to the lyrics side of that question. I remember “Spices,” “Pebbles & Marbles,” “Walls of the Cave,” “Scents and Subtle Sounds,” and “Two Versions of Me,” were all these poems that I had written and spent a long, long time writing and refining.
For Joy, a lot of them were written in the moment with Trey. “Joy,” the song, we entirely wrote together. That was different. The pervading happiness and simplicity about “Joy,” had a ‘fresh start’ feeling, in a way.
Let’s talk about the story behind the title track, “Joy,” and its overall meaning within the context of the entire album.
Sure. Well, where do I start? I have a friend, Joy, and I was hanging out with her at Hampton back in March [at the initial trio of Phish comeback shows]. Trey and I wrote the song “Joy,” after the Hampton shows in mid-to-late March. I was definitely thinking about it on the train, on the way in, Trey had rented a room in a nice hotel, and had filled it, like he does, with musical and recording equipment for us, and he wanted to get some more songs, a couple of additional songs, ready to go for the new album.
So on the way in, on the train, I went through some old lyrics that we hadn’t used. But I also started writing some new ones. I was finishing up a couple of thoughts that I had on the train, and I closed the book. I was thinking about my friend Joy, and also thinking about how cool that name is; you know, when you see a little baby girl, naming her Joy is so obvious—nothing but happiness. And then, how it changes for girls, some more than others; in particular, I was also thinking about my daughter. I had this conversation with Trey before we started writing, or anything—just about daughters, and happiness.
Then, later, we wrote a few songs, including “Ocelot.” We were sitting around and he said, “Do you have anything new?” I thumbed through the newest stuff that I had written, and that little verse that I had written, thinking about my pal, Joy, and my daughter at the same time, was Joy is over there in her incredible clothes, and just for fun, I had written she has rings on her fingers, and bells on her toes [Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias”]. That was the very, very beginning of the lyrics to that song.
I had also come up with a little guitar riff, so I grabbed a guitar and sang it, and played that little turnaround that goes ding ding ding ding ding din, but Trey took it completely from there. I wrote the first chord, and that little turnaround. Trey liked it right away, and turned it back to our conversation that we had about our daughters. As we were writing it, and it was kind of sad, and sort of transcendent, though, in a good, glowing way- we want you to be happy – we both, I guess, at one point, the whole time we were thinking about Kristy [Manning, Trey’s sister, who would pass away from cancer on April 29].
We almost couldn’t write because of Kristy’s condition, but Trey had just had a wonderful visit with her. We had delayed one writing session, and then we were able to write this one, so he was up thinking…Kristy was good at telling people she was better than she was, but I think Trey had come to a realization of what was about to happen. It was pretty heavy. Writing that song, I remember putting in that line but then somebody leaves you and you’re never the same, and I realized what I had just done by writing that. The puzzle piece line, you know …all of the places and people belong to the puzzle but one of the pieces is gone… and we didn’t talk about it.
Shortly after that, we wrote it, and finished it. It was great. It was about our daughters. But shortly after that, I heard him tell his mom on the phone that we had just finished a song about Kristy. So I agreed. We knew it. We didn’t say it, but we knew it. So…pretty heavy and yet, it was nice and hopeful, in a way, too.
Something like we want you to be happy, come step outside your room could have three meanings. The song is referencing Kristy, of course, almost as if she is speaking to Trey, and letting him know that he offers so much joy to the world. “Just be happy, and go out and do that, Trey. That’s your gift.” Second, it could be a message to everyone that has stayed loyal to Trey, Phish and yourself, Tom—“Please come back. We want to share in the happiness that only you can provide. Do not be cynical, jaded, and mean-spirited, just share in the joy of Phish.” Finally, the lyric could be interpreted as a simple statement to your respective daughters.
(Laughs) Well, it started as a simple statement. No, definitely, when we were writing it, and thinking it, and singing it, and doing the harmony and everything, we were thinking of people hearing that, and their reactions to it, and what a great message—(laughs) what a great message it is.
No, I agree. It’s funny because I think—as you know after having talked to me so many times about my take on the songs, and how I have a tunnel vision, and I know what I wrote—that Trey sometimes pulls me in a different directions, and tells me what it’s really about. Or, what it is about for him. Just then, you reminded me that even turning it around is like Kristy is singing it back to Trey, in a way. I hadn’t really gone there.
I had definitely gone to the audience’s perspective a little bit after it was written. But really to me, it really did start very simply as the daughter statement. Yep, of course, once you sing a chorus like that, you’re singing it to the world. (laughs)

Sure. But I was also wondering about lines like I never thought I could have it so good… you were the song that my soul understood. That has multiple meanings, too.
Right. Oh, I know. Those lyrics came so fast. We were together, and there’s something that is amazingly magical when Trey has a guitar in his hand. And when he’s playing, sometimes I’ll put down something quickly that, later, I might regret. Sometimes, Trey will say, “Come on, Tom, come up with something here. We’ve got to record this.” This one [“Joy”]—we didn’t feel that way, even though the lyrics came fast, there was no hurry like “Let’s get this thing written.” We just knew. This one was fast and perfect, and the lyrics came out right the first time. It really did write itself.
I remember…I even have the original paper, and there’s no cross-outs. We just put it down. I was really thrilled with the puzzle piece line. I was agonizing about it a little bit like “How does this fit into the meter?” I remember I had it differently in my head. I just had to write it down because there were so many cool words and ideas. I was also thinking of “In My Life,” the Beatles song: there are places …
You are talking about no cross-outs, and I am amazed at how these words just tumble out so gracefully natural and perfect: but time is a river that flows through the woods, and it led us to places we both understand.
Yeah, that’s early in the song. There are two halves to the song, and that one is still the daughter half, and not the Kristy half. That one was sad, and I remember Trey and I were sad listening and thinking about it: the kids growing up, and we’re growing up, too. Hopefully, you grow up, and you’re happy. There’s a lot you can, as a parent, control, in a way. Then, there’s a lot you just have to sit back and watch. We want you to be happy, and we’re trying to do everything we can. We try. But, shit. Time is a river, and it flows—who knows really what’s going to be around the next bend?
How does something like “Kill Devil Falls” fit into that Joy scheme of things?
“Kill Devil Falls”—I had written the lyrics a while ago, back in the era of “Walls of the Cave.” However, Trey rewrote it, and added a C section, if you will. Suddenly, we realized that it’s a song about addiction. I didn’t really get it as he was doing it, but he said, “Here’s sort of a goofy song about a guy who drinks too much, or loses his girlfriend because he’s an idiot.” Just by adding that stand at the base of the mountain (Don’t follow me) part—his reference, in a metaphor, to his problems, which I didn’t really realize until later.
But “Kill Devil Falls” was your phrase, initially.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Where was that phrase coming from you, at that point, back then?
(Laughs) Honestly, I think it was one of those one-off, off the cuff, funny little things that I’ve sent to Scott Herman, trying to goad him into writing a response, and I don’t think it did. Later, I found it as I was rifling through some stuff to bring up to Trey. What’s funny to me is the transformation and relevance now.
What about “Light”?
(Laughs) That was funny because I think I was online with Phantasy Tour when Trey and I were together. I went on Phantasy Tour, and referenced a song. I think I said, “KDF,” and that would be “Kill Devil Falls,” but I was also talking about another song, and that was “Light,” which was being written at the time. Later, I remember reading people saying, “I wonder what Tom’s going to write about, and I wonder what they are doing these days?” And months later, when they saw the lyrics, someone said, “Oh, no— it’s like all of these religious references.” (laughter)
Uh-huh.
And it did kind of come from that sort of place. Trey turned me on to some reading that he was doing at the time.
I thought so. I didn’t want to directly ask you.
He did. He did. Believe it or not—you know those cheesy books that you can get a beginner’s commercialized, packaged versions of Buddhism, like The Secret, with its roots in Buddhism, in a way? There was one that was packaged, but much more difficult, and much more mumbo jumbo-y by Eckhart Tolle called The Power of Now. Even trying to make sense of it is kind of mumbo jumbo. It is. It really didn’t make sense. And yet, it described this guy, and I guess he was having problems in his life, blah blah blah, and suddenly, he realized that his mind and he are separate entities. That realization was a huge epiphany for him, and it enabled him to get on to a whole different plane of happiness and satisfaction.
He was trying to explain how you could live in the now—the past doesn’t really matter; the future really doesn’t matter; you’re here and happy now. I was thinking, “How do I envision that for myself? How can I try to do that? If my mind and me are separate, maybe I can see a gap between them?” (laughs) Then, I started writing.

“Light” is my favorite song on the album—musically and lyrically, it rings true. I felt it was a different angle for you, but it is still very simple, yet very deep.
Yeah, exactly. That turned out to be the theme of Joy’s songs: simple, yet deep like the song “Joy,” itself, in a way.
“Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan” is a song people can relate to from time to time with its element of the mind not clicking like it should. I love the line Got a Clif Bar and some cold green tea. Yes, we all need to kick start the engine, right?
(Laughs) That’s another one that I think Trey latched hold of and realized that there’s a deeper message in there that he could bring out from obscurity depending on the way he sang it. I think he chopped some lyrics out of it, and just really liked that line. I was in hell, working in front of a computer, and I actually really did have a Clif Bar and green tea. That was my snack. (laughter) I remember thinking, “Oh, God—how do I get through this thing, just sitting there in a 9 to 5 slog?” That one, also, was written a while ago because I haven’t been 9 to 5ing in four and a half years. The song is a Scott Herman/Tom Marshall collaboration. We were desperately reaching out to each other across the void, and comfort each other in our respective horror at the time.
“Ocelot” seems fairly straightforward. too.
Yeah. I think Trey was the ocelot, and I was writing to him.
“Twenty Years Later” is a nice bookend to the album as Joy begins with “Backwards Down the Number Line”—another glance back before looking ahead.
I’m so glad they moved that. When I first heard the album, “Twenty Years Later” was going to be the first song. I thought, “Oh, no. ‘Backwards Down the Number Line’ should be the first,” but I didn’t say it. Trey came upon that himself, thank goodness, and put it at the end. To me, it’s an end song, especially with that “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” jam at the end.
(laughs) But, yeah, I don’t know, really. Trey and I wrote that entirely together, just sort of thinking, “Here we are twenty years later.” The little verses were just kind of put together kind of Tom-silliness style.
Well, Phish in a way, recording-wise, it’s been around 20 years, but it is more like 30 years later for you and Trey.
(Laughs) That’s true. That’s true.
Let’s talk about your work with Trey on a few songs you specifically co-wrote with him, which appear on Party Time, the bonus CD included in the Joy box set. “Alaska” is a familiar song to Phish fans as Trey played it on his solo dates in 2008.
That had a “Tennessee Jed,” Grateful Dead kind of vibe going on there. I think we wrote it in Saratoga Springs in Trey’s apartment when he was staying up there. I just remember really—that was one, again, we wrote together. I think the challenge to ourselves was “Let’s just write a happy, funny, ‘Tennessee Jed’ kind of story with a swing to it.” And that’s what we did. That was our take on that sort of thing. I don’t know why we chose Alaska, but I remember (laughs), shortly thereafter, the whole Sarah Palin thing ruined it for him. (laughter) Ruined it for him.

How about “In a Misty Glade”?
Oh my God. (laughter) Oh my God. I honestly can’t remember what that is. I think it’s just a Fishman joke song, right?
It’s got a Anastasio/Marshall credit.
It’s funny you say this…I have…(laughs)…if it’s what I think it is…it’s actually almost like a throwaway, but really funny with Fishman singing it. Here’s what I remember about that song. It’s Fishman trying to sing on top of some pretty cool music. He takes a Scott Herman/Tom Marshall poem from the book, the same one that “Roggae” came from, a long time ago. That book back then was called The Salamander Prince. All that crazy stuff came from there. That Scott Herman/Tom Marshall composition was one from long ago that we gave to Trey.
That one was funny because Fishman took the mic, and was singing—which is unusual, in itself—and the fact that, in one sentence, he mispronounced three words. Notably, one was cue, and I think he pronounced it “cue-y.” (laughter) I think that was a joke. It’s funny, musically decent, and Fishman just sort of butchering the lines is the thing that sealed its fate.
Do you remember co-writing “The Birdwatcher”?
That I do. Before Amfibian, there was a brief moment when Trey, Peter Cottone, Matt Kohut, and I had a band called Utalk. That was one of our songs, for whatever reason. It is sort of like one of those call-and-answer songs. You can imagine a big band kind of thing playing on the stage, and sometimes those guys would snake through the crowd, and one of the guys would be on the trumpet, one of the guys would be on the trombone, and go through the crowd while the rest of the band played on stage, and there’s a call-and-answer to the crowd. I’ve definitely seen stuff like that, and I’ve had it clearly in my mind, but I had no idea who it was. That’s what we had in our mind when we wrote it.
It was just filled with bad jokes, double entendre puns like “a beer belly dancer” and “fire breathing lessons.” (laughter) Yeah—just sort of silliness. It came out pretty good. I have the original that I think I should make public. We are just laughing so hard through the whole song. I think Trey re-visited it. That’s when he was with the band taking four-part harmony training, and barbershop quartet training, and that was one of the songs that they did, along with “Grind,” I think, in the same session.

Published: 2009/11/01
by Mike Greenhaus

Shine A Light (Phish at Festival 8: From The Express)

“What Phish is doing tonight is more than covering a record,” rock scribe David Fricke wrote in Festival 8’s official Halloween Phishbill. “They’re telling, through these songs, their own stories about ecstasy, madness and survival.”

Oddly enough, though it’s the one night a year Phish focuses most of its energy on another band’s material, the band’s Halloween covers continually serve as tangible report cards on the band’s evolution—and this year was no exception. The Halloween Album concept debuted in 1994, a year known for theatrical novelties that aimed to push the boundaries of the traditional rock show. In 1995, as the group ascended to fulltime rock star status, the Vermont Quartet tackled The Who, one of the kings of loud, high-energy arena rock, and a year later, as Phish searched for a new sound, it found direction in the funky, rhythmic grooves of Talking Heads. Though controversial at the time, in retrospect Phish’s decision to cover the loose, dark and unpolished songs of art-punks the Velvet Underground in 1998 was in-line with the more freeform, ambient textures the band would explore throughout 1999 (and foreshadowed the eventual blurred boundaries between the indie and jam scenes).
So it is fitting that Phish decided to cover the Rolling Stones’ famed double LP Exile on Main Street,a classic rock opus built from a Phishy DNA of blues riffs, country honky-tonk, funky soul and guitar-heavy rock and roll, at a time when the band is actively revisiting and its own canon and reevaluating its legacy. Like the group’s current jamming style, Exile’s songs are gritty and loose enough to spiral into the unknown, but still focused and tight enough to fit with the band’s polished performance approach. Even the album’s theme—life in a rock and roll band—feels congruent with the band’s return and current neo-classic period. Plus, something about the Stones’ glimmer feels particularly relevant given Festival 8’s Los Angeles-area location.
Like Talking Heads’ Remain in Light and Velvet Underground’s Loaded before it, Exile on Main Street is also a relatively left field selection by an influential artist, though most fans were likely more familiar with the LP than they think thanks to its ninth track, “Loving Cup.” Phish debuted the song in 1993 to showcase McConnell’s new baby grand piano and the piano-rocker has since blossomed into one of Phish’s most cherished covers.
The Halloween story unfolded in classic Phish fashion: after “killing off” potential album choices on Phish.com for weeks, the band revealed Exile Saturday afternoon by handing out Phishbills to fans as they entered the concert grounds. Branded a “Schvice” publication after the band’s old newsletter, The Phishbill was loaded with informative information (an essay on Exile on Main Street written by Fricke), the band’s trademark sarcastic wit (humorous band bios, a glossy promotion for Time Turns Elastic sweatpants and inside jokes about everything from recent ticketing issues to Phil Lesh’s liver donation raps) and informative information laced with sarcastic wit (a fake advertisement for David Bowie with UB40 shows at Miami, FL’s American Airlines Arena from December 28-31 where Phish is rumored to play this New Year’s Eve). Immediately before Phish took the stage for its Halloween set, a video mash-up by remix producers/DJs Eclectic Method of all 99 potential album choices was also show on the festival’s jumbo screens (the montage ended with a 1970s Stones clips).
A throwback to its early Halloween covers, Phish stayed relatively true to the Rolling Stones’ song arrangements, aided by a punchy horn section (trumpeter Dave Guy, trombonist David Smith and saxophonist Tony Jarvis) and pair of backup vocalists (Saundra Williams and Dap-Kings matriarch Sharon Jones). The album’s opening number, “Rocks Off,” found the band interjecting a touch of its signature qualities (vocal harmonies, bright guitar solos) into the Stones’ trademark boogie. The set belonged to Page McConnell—who relied mostly on his trusty grand piano—and Jon Fishman, who not only sang Keith Richards’ vocal parts, but did an admirable job replicating Charlie Watts’ march-drumming technique. Throughout the set, Anastasio alternated between two Languedoc guitars, one tuned to replicate Richards’ trademark rhythm guitar parts, the other for electric solos.
The four members of Phish alternated lead vocals early on with McConnell singing on the juke joint boogie “Rip This Joint,” Mike Gordon utilizing his bluegrass-schooled high-pitched voice for the bluesy “Shake Your Hips” and Fishman offering straight-ahead versions of “Sweet Virginia” and “Happy” (McConnell actually sang lead on “Sweet Virginia” the one other time the band played the song in 1999). Though “Casino Boogie” contained a nice, rocking “Character Zero”-like jam, the set’s first real improvisational vehicle was “Torn and Frayed,” which shifted into the ether briefly before Anastasio strapped on an acoustic guitar for the country song “Sweet Black Angel.” Each Halloween Album has also introduced a few new songs into the band’s steady rotation of covers and “Torn and Frayed” feels like the strongest contender for Phish canon status—like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Drowned,” Crosseyed & Painless” and “Rock & Roll” in years past.
Fittingly, “Loving Cup” was positioned in the middle of Exile and, along with a line about California in “Sweet Virginia,” drew the set’s loudest applause. From there the band breezed through the album’s deeper cuts, with Anastasio settling on a style that meshed his trademark jazzy tone with Richards’ lead-style of rhythm guitar playing. As the set rolled on and the band became more comfortable, it opened up as well, segueing from the swampy blues of “Ventilator Blues” into a trippy segment that climaxed during “I Just Want To See His Face.”
Though they will likely be overshadowed by Exile in history books and Phantasy Tour posts, the group’s additional sets also contained several moments of note. As expected, the band’s afternoon set favored tight song structure over dark improvisation, opening with a rocking “Sample in a Jar” and a clean, sharp “Divided Sky.” Anastasio addressed the crowd directly for the first time all weekend—remarking about the polo field’s crisp grass—before handing over the microphone to McConnell for the light mock lounge song “Lawn Boy.” Since its debut at Jones Beach in June “Kill Devil Falls” has developed nicely into an elastic rock-number that like “Chalk Dust Torture” and “Birds of a Feather” can stretch from a short, tight rocker into a lengthy vehicle for improvisation, and Saturday’s version helped loosen the group up for its extended show. The rest of the set bounced between long-form compositions like “The Squirming Coil” and “Run Like an Antelope” and high-energy crowd pleasers like an extended “Runaway Jim” that ran into a bouncy-heavy “Possum.” The festival staple “Bathtub Gin” also showcased the rock-and-roll piano that the members of Phish were likely first introduced to through classic 1970s rock acts like the Rolling Stones.
If the group’s first and second sets showcased song structure, Phish’s third set was a forum for improvisation. It opened with a version of the reunion anthem “Backwards Down the Number Line” that expanded twice—before the final chorus and after the song’s final composed section—and then jumped into the group’s strongest “Fluffhead” since the song came out of retirement this past March. As the group moved into the “Fluff’s Travels” portion of the composition, the eight wooden installations at the back of the concert field also started spitting fire that seemed to dance along with the song.
Appropriately enough, the real meat of the group’s third set was a long, funky “Ghost” that stretched out into a synthesizer jam, before returning to the song’s structured segments. Phish then dusted off the now underplayed Los Lobos ballad “When the Circus Comes to Town” and brought its third set to a close with a bass-heavy take on its signature song, “You Enjoy Myself.” All of the evening’s guests then returned for a unique, full–sounding version of “Suzy Greenberg” infused by the guest horn section and vocalists. After bringing the “Suzy” to a close the band huddled and decided to jump back into a jam for a rare “Suzy” reprise.
“You decide what it contains/How long it goes/But this remains,” Anastasio sang during “Backwards.” He’s talking about old friendship, but the same sediment can certainly be applied to the band’s latest album conquest, which will no doubt continue to influence the band as it moves into its next phase of existence. “The only rule is it begins/Happy happy oh my friend.”