Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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This article was originally published in June.
Were recirculating it now with the release of Phishs new album,Evolve.
I started writing songs really young, he says, and I write almost every day.
I never expected a record deal or anything, and theres still an element of that.
Its a Trey andTomsong that still retains that Phish left of center perspective.
It has that pixie dust.
Squirming Coil has a little Firth of Fifth.
And The Carpet Crawlers, too.
I was just obsessed.
I was on a call with Peter Gabriel once, and he willnottouch that material now.
The Beatles were all young!
Just because you are young doesnt mean you werent already who you are.
I sure do like playing it.
But Id also like to see it.
Thats what were chasing.
That and Harry Hood.
Am I saying too many?
We have a lot of songs!
Oh wait, Divided Sky!
I would like to see Phish play Divided Sky.
Do you ever get annoyed when the audience cheers for so longin that pause in Divided Sky?
I cry a lot, and I make a run at hide the fact that Im crying.
Im looking at the audience, some of whom have been with us for so long.
I see Big Phil.
Hes one of our fans, and hes very tall; he stands out.
So I know what they are yelling about.
They are yelling abouttheirfriendships.
The yelling has less to do with us than the community.
The fans made that happen.
We never told the crowd to clap during Stash; they just did it and we loved it.
We never told people to chant Wilson or to woo during Twist.
And I love it I want more woo.
Though that has a name now, too: Egging the woo.
I was told Some of us dont like it when you egg the woo.
I was like, what the heck is that?
Most challenging song on the new album
We put a lot of care into Mercy.
All solo acoustic versions of the new material.
Different from the acoustic album I released calledMercy.This was another one!
Its got Pillow Jets and everything; this album only exists on my phone.
So Mercy went through a long process before I brought it back to the band.
The Eras Tourwas just starting, and everyone was like, You have to do a Taylor Swift song.
It kept coming up.
So we learned Welcome to New York.
Mike was sad that we bailed.
He was really into it.
We lovedoing covers, but we have so many original songs.
We play Reba once a year now, you know?
Honestly, ever since the iPhone was invented, I feel like there is too much nostalgia.
There are a lot of bands doing covers.
Theres been a shift in our world.
Its become part of the news cycle: Oh, this jam band busts out Metallica.
Now people think we meant to cover L.A. Woman and did it badly!
Old lyrics you cant believe youre still singing
Alotof them.
Ive found a way to … accept that voice.
Its horrific at times, but I got into all this writing songs when I was really really young.
After that came, you know,Disraeli Gears,by Cream, and whatnot.
So I was singing along and writing my own stuff, using four-track cassettes with friends.
So when I sing those early songs, I think about the early friendships.
Drifting is a song about my wife.
These songs are all personal to me.
Even the I cant believe this ones, like, I dunno, Stash.
And The Mango Song.
I get a lot of requests for Fee.
And sometimes Im just not feeling Fee!
I also get a lot of requests for The Mango Song.
But it’s crucial that you understand we never in a million years thought any of this would happen.
These songs just emerged from our gang.
We were just having fun.
Early on atNectars, it wasnt a music venue; it was a bar.
The first set the owner would tell us what to play: Play a slow one.
Wed be doing Mustang Sally and whatnot.
Then it was dinner time for the second set.
The third set was when our friends came.
Now, keep in mind the drinking age was 18.
Vermont was the last state in the union to raise it.
This is so, so, so crucial to understanding what happened.
Sanity never came my way, making up plays, making up Gamehendge this was crazytown.
Then at 2 a.m., wed pile into the car and go to the quarry and go swimming.
There was no Lets get a record contract.
Never did I think Meatstick …
I mean, what is Meatstick?
Meatstick isnt even a song!
If you walked in wearing that blue shirt, itd be Blue shirt / blue shirt.
So a German sausage was in the mini-bar.
It said BiFi Meatstick, and Im like, No more alcohol, time for the meatstick!
I dont just want to dwell onthis; its only one part of the pie.
Newer songs like Shade and Leaves and A Life Beyond the Dream are more gasp-inducing for me now.
Song that could have been a hit
My mom likes The Connection.
We dont play it.
Backwards Down the Number Line could be a hit … if Taylor Swift covered it.
Or maybe Wading in the Velvet Sea?
That could be a hit.
Could she make a hit out of Ghost?
Could anyone make a hit out of Ghost?
Lyrics fans think are inspired by drugs but actually arent
Maybe Fluffhead?
But, then again, Fluffhead kindaisabout getting high!
Theres a guy in front of us with a weird hat that had these things on his head.
So were singing along to this made-up song, like we always did, just laughing.
Then I went home to add stuff.
The opening riff is something I had been fooling with since I first picked up a guitar.
If you look at it, its actually very similar to the outro riff Starship Trooper, by Yes.
When hes sliding a C-chord around?
Thats one of the first things I learned on guitar I loved Steve Howe and Yes.
Everything comes from somewhere, right?
Now, this isnotSteve Pollaks memory.
His memory is that we wrote it when his brother was dying of cancer.
Which, you know, is poignant, but if you listen to it maybe decide for yourself?
Is this something you would write about that?
Fluff came to New York and His mind was so deranged.
We were in New York for that concert.
Its about people who were laughing.
And the middle part was me sitting at a piano composing for months and months.
Nine hours a day working on an atonal fugue for the center of it, all that doo-doo-doo-do-doooooo.
I was studying Igor Stravinsky and trying to approach his cross-rhythms, not that it rises to that.
Thatsmymemory, but Steves not gonna like this.
Weirdest place hes heard a Phish song
The organist at New York Rangers games.
Hes done Tweezer Reprise and also Fluffhead.
I hear one note Thats Any Major Dude Will Tell You or Thats Ivy fromEvermore.
Im a little bit of a junkie.
But whats weird is people always have to point out when its one of our songs.
Its some kind of block; other people have to lead me to it.
In rehearsals Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
was just another one.
Then we saw the reaction.
We still play it a lot.
The thing with Phish is that we believe in our audience.
I dont know that theres ever been a relationship between a band and an audience like this.
The audience are our peers, always have been.
There are no Grammys.
And Phish fans can be judgmental.
When they think it sucks, we know about; we hear it!
Same with Whats The Use?
Then people kept bringing it up.
One guy in particular kept writing to our manager.
I didnt even remember it existed.
Strawberry Letter 23 came from a fan, too.
I get suggestions from fans a lot.
Sometimes its a little aggressive.
Youneedto cover Strawberry Letter 23.
But I love Shuggie Otis; it was a good idea.
Were all adding ingredients to an enormous bowl of soup.
Last tour, Mike brought Mull and Casual Enlightenment and we got the messages back.
Lots and lots of people were like I love that song Mull, so were like, Oh yeah?
Same with Mikes 555.
Pages Most Events Arent Planned was the same way.
We played it, then days later everyone was like, That one was cool.
Thats how it works.
Song that proves Jon Fishmans drumming prowess
There are different ways to look at what he does.
I love the altered time signature stuff, like Harry Hood, its truly awe-inspiring.
When hes in 78 time going Gabba-da-gabba-da-gabba-da, hes driving through it like his limbs are disconnected.
No, its martial arts.
Not that I know anything about martial arts, but Ive seenThe Karate Kid.
I will talk about Jon Fishman all day if you let me.
I love Jon Fishman.
He was the best man at my wedding.
I remember the day we met like it was yesterday.
Last time I saw him, at the Sphere, he was practicing his drums.
I love playing with him.
I can read his mind.
I want to play with him forever.
I hope I die first.
Best Page McConnell synths
Anything offSigma Oasis.
And also Leaves, and the song Sigma Oasis.
The synth playing is incredible.
Now, you’re gonna wanna understand what else Page does on piano.
No Page, no Fishman, no Phish.
Heres the thing, Mike and Fishman do not play the traditional role of bass and drums.
Long periods go by where Fishman doesnt hit the downbeat.
Then Im doing my thing, surging everywhere.
Page keeps it all together.
Page feels like the drummer sometimes with those complex songs like Petrichor or Life Beyond the Dream.
Page holds it all together on the piano.
Ive seen Fishman sit in with other bands, and they cant handle what he does.
So he reverts to playing 4/4 and its like, Wheres the Jon Fishman I love?
Because someone has to play that.
In our band, its Page.
So hes great with thesynthesizersandspaceship sounds, but hes also one of the last OG rock piano players.
Him and Chuck Leavell, on tour with the Stones right now, and Bill Payne from Little Feat.
We modulate regularly in these 30-minute jams.
Mike doesnt like straight lines.
you’re able to hear it a lot in the song Round Room.
Songs that reminds you of Tony Markellis
First Tube.
Plus Sand and Gotta Jibboo, because I wrote those three withTonyand Russ Lawton in 1998.
And it all started as a trio with me, Tony, and Russ.
I thank God we put out that album before two of the band members passed away.
He says Hey, Trey, whos playing bass back here??
and I was like, Oh no!
and hes like, Thanks for the unsolicited introduction.
He was such a funny guy.
He didnt join the parade, but we had our masks on and …
I went out into the street, and then I never saw him again.
The Beacon Jamsis the best thing Ive ever been a part of.
I cant believe it worked.
We were the only lit marquee in the five boroughs, and we kept the staff employed.
The doormen were crying every day, there was so much emotion everywhere.
Plus my daughter was involved and everyone was on their computers at home.
When we played Whats the Use?
with thestrings, thats real emotion you are hearing.
Its one of the most artistically satisfying things Ive ever been a part of.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the song Undermind as Undermine.
