Basher Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Trey, Mike Talk Phish Split Frontman, bassist explain why America's favorite jam band is quitting while it's ahead Less than twenty-four hours after Phish called it quits, Trey Anastasio visited Rolling Stone's New York offices to talk about his decision. "Not everybody's fully in agreement," the frontman says of the band, which formed twenty-one years ago while the members were in college in Burlington, Vermont. "But for three of us, it seemed like the natural thing to do. Bands break up, you know?" The split comes at a time when Phish appeared to be firing on all cylinders. The band's tenth studio album, the excellent Undermind, will be released on June 15th; a friendly, rocking first single, "The Connection," released on May 24th, is shaping up to be the group's biggest radio hit. Band members have been saying that some recent shows, such as the four-night New Year's run in Miami, have been among the best in Phish's history. In addition, a thirteen-date summer tour in support of Undermind begins on June 17th in New York (a show that will be simulcast in forty-seven movie theaters nationwide) and culminates in a two-day festival in Coventry, Vermont, on August 14th and 15th. That gig will now be Phish's farewell. Upwards of 65,000 fans are expected to hear the band bid goodbye to its old material. "I'd like to revisit that stuff one more time," Anastasio says of the upcoming tour. "But I just can't play that shit anymore. If that makes somebody angry, I'm sorry. I gotta do something new. I cannot spend my entire life going around the country playing 'You Enjoy Myself.'" According to bassist Mike Gordon, his bandmates came to his Vermont home for a meeting on Friday, May 21st, and sat around the kitchen table to discuss band business. After some joking around, "Trey simply announced, 'I can't do this anymore,' and started to cry," Gordon says. By the end of the three-hour meeting, the bass player was the only one arguing for a reconciliation. "It's pretty weird to have the plug pulled on your career just like that," he says. "But it's a totally classy thing we're doing, leaving on our own terms. The only thing I disagree with is that longevity pays." As disappointed as Gordon may be with Anastasio's decision, he says there is no bitterness. "Trey is one of my biggest influences," he says. "I have huge admiration for the way he sets goals. They are not too big and not too small. And then he follows through. One of the reasons he's able to do that is he cuts out the extraneous stuff. He doesn't use e-mail. Last year, he threw out his CD collection and burned his television. I have to see this as one of those things." This is not the first time the band has gone away. In the fall of 2000, Phish took a long break, re-forming two years later to record Round Room. They resumed touring with a New Year's Eve show at New York's Madison Square Garden. At the time, keyboardist Page McConnell told Rolling Stone that it would be "difficult for me to imagine us ever breaking up again." But Anastasio was never so sure post-hiatus Phish would be a permanent proposition. "I was saying, 'Let's see if this takes a new life,'" he says. "What I found over the last year was that we were having fun on the road but that we were basically playing the old songs, and it didn't feel fresh anymore." In the end, Anastasio believes he is protecting Phish's legacy by quitting now. "How much longer was Led Zeppelin gonna last after In Through the Out Door if John Bonham hadn't died? We all heard that album. Things don't go on forever, and the quicker you accept that change is inevitable, the happier you're gonna be." Besides, he says, "I don't want my daughter to be in high school with her friends following Phish around the country -- that would just be too weird." WILL DANA (Posted Jun 03, 2004) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondtube Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Upwards of 65,000 fans are expected to hear the band bid goodbye to its old material. "I'd like to revisit that stuff one more time," Anastasio says of the upcoming tour. "But I just can't play that shit anymore. If that makes somebody angry, I'm sorry. I gotta do something new. I cannot spend my entire life going around the country playing 'You Enjoy Myself.'" that part made me laugh ... really hard. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kung Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 This line is fitting isn't it: "I don't want my daughter to be in high school with her friends following Phish around the country -- that would just be too weird." I was thinking last night if you flash forward like even say 20 years (God can you imagine what music will be like!) imagine all the offspring of celebrities and musicians and the like that will be the stars in our constellations. Like Blanket Jackson or Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's unborn child, or Trey's daughter or or or. It will just be plain freaky won't it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinw Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 The more I read from Page, Trey, Fish and Mike, the more I think they made the right decision. At first I was upset and pissed that it happened, but the more I think about it, the more I think it is the right thing to do and the right time to do it. I had 10 good years of obsessing about this band, and I travelled tens of thousands of kilometers and spent tens of thousands of dollars on Phish shows and merchandise. I will always be thankful for that. If I was younger and had just started loving Phish this year, I would be pissed that I wasn't going to see them anymore. It is time to move on and try new things, and have different experiences. I think for a good long while I will still be comparing anything I see to a Phish show, but I am sure that will pass. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\/\/illy Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 This made me laugh: "How much longer was Led Zeppelin gonna last after In Through the Out Door if John Bonham hadn't died? We all heard that album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 "I'd like to revisit that stuff one more time," Anastasio says of the upcoming tour. "But I just can't play that shit anymore. If that makes somebody angry, I'm sorry. I gotta do something new. I cannot spend my entire life going around the country playing 'You Enjoy Myself.'" I'm sorry, Trey... is someone forcing you to play the old songs? Playing more new material might piss off some "fans", but if this is about being happy yourself, what does it matter? If you don't wanna play YEM, don't. I don't care. The expectations of the fans should be irrelevant. Logic is sorely lacking here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Wish Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 I totally agree Colin..... After watching the Charlie Rose stuff, not only am I at peace with the decision, but I think I actually applaud it. And I thought the quote about his daughters was funny, because the first thing I thought is that Mike would be hitting on them. j/k Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 And I thought the quote about his daughters was funny, because the first thing I thought is that Mike would be hitting on them. Excellent work Sean, you beat me to it... AD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 I'm looking forward to Phish's new album and I think they ( Trey ) are doing the right thing in calling it a career... at least calling it a career for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 I as angry at first, but once I heard Trey cried, well, that was enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 In Through The Out Door smokes every Phish album. Fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 The preceeding post was Booche bait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Man, what a Slip show... Oh sorry, wrong thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 I'm looking forward to Phish's new album and I think they ( Trey ) are doing the right thing in calling it a career... at least calling it a career for now. It may be a good decision (for any number of reasons), but the statement about being tired of playing some songs is just stupid. Don't wanna play YEM? Don't. It's that simple. I'm still fairly confused about the preponderance of old material in the post-hiatus Phish career. Wasn't that part of the reason that they took a break the first time? Why was all of the new material so under-played? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 If Trey wants to quit, then the band has to break-up. If any other member wanted Phish to disband, then that guy would get replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinw Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 I guess that is how it works. If the band leader, chief vocalist/songwriter, driving force isn't going to be involved there isn't much to continue on with. I can't see the band hanging on with any the members missing. The last thing we need to see is a half assed representation of the original (see Other Ones, the Dead, etc). I think they are doing the right thing for now, and I can't wait to see the side projects. TAB will tear it up and Vida Blue will continue to get stronger. Who knows what else will emerge? Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 "If Trey wants to quit, then the band has to break-up. If any other member wanted Phish to disband, then that guy would get replaced. " Put the bong down, you've smoked yourself stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 If Trey wants to quit, then the band has to break-up. If any other member wanted Phish to disband, then that guy would get replaced. I agree completely. But that doesn't change the fact that this particular argument that he is using is illogical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Trey calls the shots. That's all I'm saying. If Fishman says " I don't want to go on anymore " but the rest of the guys do, then he would probably get replaced. Anyway, I don't care if they disband or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Guess I gotta start picking on disco biscuits fans now...SCI is way too easy since the joke speaks or should I say "plays" it self out with SCI.Now,I'm forced to listen to the biscuits to make sure I get an educated intake of the music and start hitting some DB message boards to see what qualities the fans have for me to mock....dam Phish,I had it made or easy for awhile...I'll take a month off to work on my material.... :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 If Trey wants to quit, then the band has to break-up. If any other member wanted Phish to disband, then that guy would get replaced. I agree completely. But that doesn't change the fact that this particular argument that he is using is illogical. Dude, I was just informed of the Phish Break-up Pact so I was not being illogical, being a non-Phish disciple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kung Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 You guys seem to be forgetting about WHISH - the Warren Haynes Ish experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 You guys seem to be forgetting about WHISH - the Warren Haynes Ish experience. What the hell is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 If Trey wants to quit, then the band has to break-up. If any other member wanted Phish to disband, then that guy would get replaced. I agree completely. But that doesn't change the fact that this particular argument that he is using is illogical. Dude, I was just informed of the Phish Break-up Pact so I was not being illogical, being a non-Phish disciple. I didn't mean that you were being illogical... I meant that Trey was being illogical! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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