Restocking the Pond

Restocking the Pond:  Rumors of a Phish Reunion Begin to Hold Water
By Tim Hurley


About nine to ten months ago I received a email containing a link to a blog site which my friend swore held a copy of the letter sent by Phish's management company requesting venues for a short tour in the fall of 2006.  I eagerly opened this link and viewed this so-called letter, however left it with little regard.  It was vague and certain parts of the letter were blacked out.  How ridiculous I thought.  After all, I read guitarist Trey Anastasio's official announcement proclaiming the inevitable breakup of the band and I watched his interview on Charlie Rose stating he could no longer keep the machine going and how he wanted to explore new avenues.  There was no way these guys would start touring again, especially so soon after calling it quits.  However, after numerous reports and rumors amongst fans and friends, and even recent statements by members of the band, it appears that a Phish reunion may in fact not be that far off.

The buzz surrounding the possibility of a reunion tour began shortly after Trey wrapped up his 2005 fall/winter tour with his new band 70 Volt Parade.  I heard fans speak of Trey's renewed energy and his rumored quest for sobriety, which they believe would in turn lead to reforming Phish and "starting over".  Most of these sentiments heard around the Phish community were still written off as hearsay, that is until more concrete reports began to circle.  Sometime in mid-February I was emailed the dates that Phish was supposedly slated to play in the fall of 2006:

10/20/06 Thomas and Mack Center Las Vegas NV
10/21/06 Thomas and Mack Center Las Vegas NV
10/27/06 Madison Square Garden New York NY
10/28/06 Madison Square Garden New York NY
10/29/06 Madison Square Garden New York NY
10/31/06 Wachovia Center Philadelphia PA
11/01/06 Wachovia Center Philadelphia PA
11/03/06 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro NC
11/04/06 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro NC

At the time, none of these venues had any events booked which, of course, sent many fans to the message boards proclaiming that a full-on reunion tour was going to happen.  However, the skeptical were still skeptical considering that no word from those actually in the Phish community were making any statements.  That would soon change as those who worked closely with the band began to speak up as well.

In a February interview with Jambands.com, Phish's road manager talked about the breakup of the band and hinted at the possibility of touring again:  "There was definitely the moment where everybody was thinking, well, with the hiatus coming, we should just stop now but I think there’s some really cool stuff that came after that. And as far as you want to say Phish or Trey or whatever, I still think that they have their best stuff in them. I think it will, hopefully, come in the future."  He went on to say that "Trey was the one who had the ideas, wrote the songs and he was driving us with him 99% of the time. It got to the point where he didn’t want to do it. His heart wasn’t in this stuff—whether it will be again or not, probably, yes but it wasn’t at the time".  To have someone who has worked so closely with the band state that he thinks more is to "come in the future" really began to turn the non-believers.

Shortly after this article was published I received a message from a friend of a friend who used to work for Dionysian Productions (Phish's management front) which read like this:  "The band is trying to work out the details of the return. Most people with some sort of connection will be finding this info out within the next few weeks or so. There might even be an official announcement by this spring letting the fans know that the band will return later this year. Basically, the band knew all along this would only be a break to clear the issues within the organization, start fresh, get sober, explore other projects etc., but made it seem as if the band was done for good just in case those issues could not be resolved. No one, not even the band knew for sure what would happen after the breakup. I wouldn’t get too excited because for the most part they will only be doing a summer tour each year with a standard NYE run and possible brief run of shows each fall/winter. This model of touring is Coran Capshaw's design for DMB (touring extensively in the summer and taking the time in between off, minus a few shows in the winter). Due to the contract Trey is involved in and by the bands choice, Coran will be running the show from now on along with some of the familiar faces of Dionysian Productions. I'd say that only 15-20 people from the old crew/staff will be part of Phish v2.0. The boys want to return but are making sure that everything is in order before doing anything and a big part of that was sacrificing a lot of the old friends that worked for them in hopes of filtering out the problems that arose post 1998. They really are only keeping the faces that were around pre 1992, basically the core group. In terms of the comeback show, they are trying to work out a late October short run of shows as well as a NYE run and then staying low key until summer of 2007. Until then, fans can expect Trey to play a short Oysterhead tour as well as a very short run of shows (as in less than 5) with 70VP this summer at some festivals. The band for the most part will be together all summer practicing and writing new material because they want to come back fresh and regenerated. Things will be different, but they will be back. They really wanted to tear down every wall surrounding them and start fresh as if it were Day 1 again. The band will play their old songs, but at least half of the Phish songs will never be played again. My source who has spoken with Trey many times about the whole issue said that Trey refuses to sing/play any songs that remind him of certain years from Phish's career or that remind him of the band's old childish ways. The band wants to come back in a very serious manner and will do away with the pranks/theatrics and other childish things that would occur on Phish's stage."

It was now becoming clear that if in fact Phish were thinking about rejoining for a tour, they would not be able to hide it much longer.  Until recently the members of the band refused to give the reunion rumors any light.  That is until an April 27th radio interview with Trey on an Atlanta radio station (also broadcast through Sirius Satellite Radio), where Trey said that is was "definitely not out of the question" that they may re-group and that he "hopes to get Phish back together in a few years".  Bassist Mike Gordon was also noted as saying that "Everybody's getting along really well. There's no reason it couldn't happen.  It would probably be a long time away . . . I can never be sure, because I've never been able to predict the future."
Adding even more fuel to the fire, Trey was recently quoted in a Rolling Stone interview saying "I hang onto this hope that I can play with Phish again--if everybody goes back in with a bristling sense of urgency.  Phish is an improvisational band, and it could come back to us, steeped with emotions."  He went on to add that "Recently, for the first time since our last show, everybody got back together.  I had a big feast at my house in Vermont--just the four of us--with huge crab legs and pasta and eighteen bottles of wine and a big bonfire."  Talk of possibly playing again no doubt followed this inevitable gathering.

With these statements coming directly from the band, it now seems evident that some sort of reunion tour or album recording will indeed occur.  Although the initial rumors may have been a little premature, it appears they did hold some ground.  With such a large, dedicated fan base I would think it would be difficult for Phish to keep anything a secret.

In the meantime, the members of Phish haven't been sitting around relaxing and relishing in their time off from the band.  In fact the opposite has occurred as each member has taken advantage of the opportunity to discover new pathways and explore fresh areas of musical expression.  Trey released the more commercial-friendly album "Shine" and continues to tour off and on with his evolving lineup of 70 Volt Parade, even opening for the Rolling Stones and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers this year.  Recently he also finished collaborating with long time Phish lyricist Tom Marshall and a slew of musicians to produce "Bar 17" which was released just this month.  Additionally, he played with the supergroup Oysterhead (Trey, Les Claypool, Stewart Copeland) this summer at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.
 
Mike Gordon has also been very busy, releasing the very well-received "Sixty Six Steps" with Leo Kottke (which earned them a Jammy for best album of the year), touring with Trey and the Benevento-Russo Duo (G.R.A.B.), and forming his own country-rock band dubbed Ramble Dove.
 
Drummer Jon Fishman has been reportedly been enjoying his time performing with the Jazz Mandolin Project and more recently the Everyone Orchestra.
 
Since the breakup of band Keyboardist Page McConnell had been touring with his side project Vida Blue, and is apparently writing material for a new solo album.

Thus, it appears that the breakup of Phish was in reality the true hiatus that they needed (versus the short-lived one taken five years ago).  It has given them time away from the machine to pursue new endeavors, reinvent themselves, find a renewed sense of creativity, and most importantly to ground them.  So when the reunion happens it will be to the delight of many fans across the globe, but more likely to the band members themselves.  It seems as if they are all finding the muse that once led them to trudge across the map churning out energetic songs and magical jams.  Whether it happens this year or in five years, fans should be patient and really appreciate the much-needed break while taking the time to enjoy the fresh music each member is sharing today.


Published October 2006 by Jammed Online Music Magazine (www.jammedonline.com)
http://www.jammedonline.com/restockthepond.html