Billboard Q&A: Mike, Trey & Page

Lately, it seems that the only people more excited for the return of Phish than the fans are the mainstream media. Not only does every issue of Rolling Stone seem to devote at least half a page to Phish, the newly-reunited quartet is currently on the cover of Billboard Magazine. The issue, currently on newsstands,  contains a full feature on the band while the magazine’s website has been updated with three Q&As between Billboard writer Ray Waddell and Page McConnell, Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon.

The Q&As run the gamut from the breakup to business decisions to the decision to release Joy on their own label. Here are a few excerpts…

Billboard: What led to the breakup?

Mike Gordon: I think we just need to shake things up: people’s personal habits, the group habits, the way that the organization was run — which was awesome, but everything had to be looked at from a difficult angle, and it had to be deconstructed before it could be reconstructed.

Billboard: When you made the decision to reconvene, how long did it take you to recapture that chemistry that’s so productive?

Trey Anastasio: I actually do remember having a dinner at a restaurant, the four of us. We hadn’t all four of us been alone together in a number of years, and sometime during the dinner I went to the bathroom to call my wife and said, “I understand what’s so special about this band just by the way we’re speaking to each other.”  There’s such a level of communication and mutual respect that was evident before we ever even picked up the instruments again.

Billboard: Do you feel more comfortable onstage than in the studio?

Page McConnell: We made 12 or 13 albums and played between 1,500 and 2,000 shows, so you can do the math. We’ve spent a lot more time playing live than we have trying to make records. I have a fun time in the studio, but I like making [albums] on the faster side, you don’t want to get bogged down.

Be sure to pick up the latest issue of Billboard to read the Phish feature.