Phish singer-guitarist Trey Anastasio shares his thoughts on the band’s long run, impending break-up, and climactic farewell at the Coventry festival in Vermont this weekend.
How do you feel about the break-up?
It doesn’t feel like quitting or leaving. It feels like forward motion. … And it has made us inject a real urgency into these last shows.
How hard is it to sum up what’s going on?
Phish has been an amazing oasis of learning. I learned so much from these guys. The whole thing was incredible and went by so fast, but this is the inevitable conclusion. We can’t become a big corporation that plods around the country. It would be easy to keep playing arena shows and take the money.
Is Phish going to regroup later and do more farewell shows than Cher?
No, we’re not going to do that. The Police didn’t do that, and neither did the Clash. I’m not the kind of person who looks backward. Life is too short.
Did you propose the break-up?
I pretty much proposed it, yeah. And then everybody had their own thoughts. I called a meeting and sat everyone down at a table and said something like “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” That was about a week or two before I put [a posting announcing the break-up] on the Internet. But the problem was that people started talking, and then everybody who works for us went, “Am I out of a job here?” And we didn’t think it was fair for Phish fans to be hearing this and not be sure.
So you felt you had to do something?
That’s always been my role in Phish. … I have always, since the beginning, decided what song we were going to play next, and what stage, and what time band practice was going to be. A lot of stuff like that. It’s always been my role.
How much was this decision motivated by your having two young daughters?
Of course it has everything to do with the kids. For that reason, though, it’s not like the kids don’t want me playing music or that I should suddenly not have a life. I do want to have a life. … I want to have an ever-changing, risky, scary life where I always feel like I’m a student. And I want to wake up in the morning and feel vibrant. And by being vibrant and healthy, you’re giving your kids the greatest example you could possibly give them.
So you’ll play more with your solo band?
Oh yeah.
And you might do some (studio) sessions and just keep your options open?
I might just end up in the where-are-they-now bin, for all I know. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I might be trying to get in backstage at [Phish keyboardist] Page [McConnell’s] concert at Madison Square Garden, and they’ll say, “Who are you?” And, of course, I could completely lose my mind. I could wake up the day after Coventry and say, “I must be the biggest idiot who has ever walked the planet.” And I’ll be calling those guys and begging them to get back together.
“What have I done?” Hey, the thought has crossed my mind.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com)
