Within an hour of each other Mike Gordon and Page McConnell both added tremendous fuel to the Phish reunion fire. Page addressed the rumors head on for a letter that ran on Phish.com, while Mike spoke to Rolling Stone about all of the speculation. So what’s the gist of it? Let’s just say it’s SO on, but not for a little while. Here’s the full text of Page’s letter to the fans:
For me, the last four years have been great. I’ve spent quality time with my family and have watched my daughter grow. I took great pleasure and pride in writing and recording an album. I’m living a healthy lifestyle. I travel as little as possible and I sleep in my own bed. It took a couple of years after the break up to begin talking to my old band mates, but once the conversations began to flow it wasn’t long before the friendships were rekindled. And I can honestly say that I’m closer with all of them now then I’ve ever been in our 20-year relationship.
Recently the conversations have turned toward the possibility of spending some time together. Currently many of us have plans and projects already in the works, most notably Mike, who made a great album and is about to hit the road in support of it. Given that I might not even see some of the guys for the next six months, I would say that the announcement of a reunion is premature. However, later this year we hope to spend some time together and take a look at what possible futures we might enjoy. In fact the only real decision that has been made is that when we do get together, it will only be the four of us, hopefully with no distractions. I am really looking forward to that.
I want to say just a few more things. The prospect of Phish reuniting is something I consider very seriously, and I think about it a lot. And lastly, as always, there is plenty of misinformation floating around. Try not to focus too much on secondhand sources and random gossip. If there is anything real to announce, it will come from the four of us as a group.
Until then,
Page
Page mentions that you shouldn’t focus too much on secondhand sources and random gossip, but then Mike goes ahead and tells Rolling Stone that there was more fact than fiction in Jamtopia’s post about Steve Lillywhite:
As for Lillywhite, Gordon says, “We talked to him, actually. [The rumor] stemmed from reality. We love Steve Lillywhite. He would bring out some great things in us. But we don’t have specific plans to work with him. It was an idea and hopefully it’s something that if we rev things up, it could happen some day. We don’t know if we would tour first or make an album first. We have no idea.”
Mike’s optimistic, Trey would give his left nut to play YEM and Page is considering a reunion very seriously. Your serve Mr. Fishman. Start saving your pennies kiddos, because Phish tour will be much more expensive with $4 a gallon gas and $60 tickets. So what should they start with: a tour or an album?
23 Responses
I just quit my job and went to stock up on Sam Smith oatmeal stouts.
::sells PetCo stock::
Well….. I for one cannot wait to see Trey eat his words
“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.'”
YES YOU CAN TREY – YES YOU CAN STILL HAVE FUN!
FLUFF
Is 32 too old to follow a band around the country in a Jeep Grand Cherokee? [sigh]
Man – I’m going to end up as one of those old crazy guys that abandoned his family and commitments to follow some band around the country….sounds great actually.
so i have a year to become independently wealthy basically? Make the album first to get back in the groooooove.
i have been traveling a ton for work lately – means I am a Starwood Point and AAdvantage Mile millionaire!! Gonna be time to cash in once the boys get their thing moving again!!
Good luck finding Sam Smiths in a 30 mile radius of NYC – I’m stock piling already.
I think they should record first, then practice, then practice more, then tour (maybe) – or play roof tops like the Beatles. I could live just as long as they create sweet, sweet music together.
They sell Sam Smiths all over NYC. Even the Grand Central bodegas have Sam Smiths. The Morton Williams on Bleecker has them too.
bodegas are h3tty
micro brews in the lot 1 for $15, 2 for $25?
I need to find my patchwork pants and Be Good hoodie…time to clean out the attic
I just feel so giddy inside!!
The Curtain (with) opener to make up for that atocity in Coventry….
Hey —- I am going to have to see at least one more show (when they come back) my last was Hampton right before Cov. and was a bit put out with the whole show.
Trey’s got every right to be exhausted with the old tunes. They weren’t just played over and over…they were really LOOONG songs! I just hope the break did them well and they’re feeling inspired. Maybe they should play smaller venues to try out new material.
Phish lost its fire in 1997 and they have been trying to get it back for years. They will never play like they did back then ever again. Anybody on this board remember the $15 cover to see Phish at those college runs? If you do, you know what I mean when I say about Phish now…You will get a set full of hot tunes between both sets they play. They are older and they have become “that band” that breaks up and gets back together and breaks up again. I have been seeing Phish since 92 and I can not see them being any better than then. Its all for the love of money and nostalgia and I totally get the fever that surrounds the comeback. I am excited too. I will catch a show just for old times sake. I hope I eat my words. And remember kids, you don’t need a veggie burrito and patchworks to spin at the show…you just need heart. Don’t latch on to what was, because it isn’t anymore. Enjoy it for what it always was…four guys having fun…we are not changing the world here, just dancing thru what we have been trying to get back since Jerry died.
Right on Mak! I started seeing Phish in ’90 and The Dead before that. There definitely is no getting back what was. It was awesome. My highlight was Red Rocks ’95 run, I agree that around ’97 it started to slide. But, yeah, I’d see ’em again without question and just hope that they remember it’s about fun, all out jammin’ and being happy.
BTW-you don’t need to find the old clothes, but some really baggy, loose clothes are just perfect for dancin’!
Also, there are a lot of good new bands comin around that really get things goin’. Check out thebridgemusic.com or their myspace page. Mike recently joined them for a Jam at the All Good festival in West Virginia. These guys rip it. up.
Keep on keepin’ on…..what a long strange trip it’s been….and will continue to be!
Trey should consider changing their lineup if one of the guys just wants to sit around doing the same old thing. It seems like that is really what this is about.
Time to start makin the bubblers. If I want to sell 3 I’ll have to have 4 because at least one is gonna get confiscated on the lot.
WOOOWOOO!! So excited, cant wait ta rock out with the boys. I dont care if they play old tunes, I dont care if they play a costume set, I dont care if they break down and cry on stage… I just dont want it to sound like crap. I want it to be tttiiiggghhtt and funky as all hell ya know?