Hidden Track

While the idea of a Phish documentary is not necessarily a new one, Maybe So, Maybe Not (“MSMN”) certainly incorporates a unique approach; raising the bulk of the funding from fellow fans, enlisting crew support from fans, and basing a large part of the material on anecdotal and visual contributions from fans – a true grassroots-and-boots effort if you will.

Having heard a bit about the project but curious to know more, we hooked up with Washington D.C. native, Noah Wilderman, the film’s director and producer to do just that. A movie about the Phish scene could go in any of a thousand directions – opting to paint the picture like a flock of fanatical music-lovers, a communal junta of like-minded friends, an insane posse of hyper-critical internet nerds, or a tribe of morons and drug-addled children. Which way will it go? Given the fan-friendly nature, we safely assumed this one is not that latter two, but the following interview should give a deeper sense of what to expect in terms of plot, budget, motivation, scheduling, and of course, vision.

Hidden Track: Could you describe the moment you had the epiphany whereby you realized that you were going to make a movie about Phish?

Noah Wilderman: My decision to make a movie about the Phish experience was quite a surprise, even to myself. Like many others I’ve encountered since this journey began, the swell of emotion of emotions hit me like a ton of bricks when I discovered that Phish was coming back to the stage. After graduating college, finishing grad school and “growing up (a.k.a.,getting a job),” I wholeheartedly embraced my career as a broadcast television professional for several years and had long ago taken my own exit as Phish followed their evolving sound into the late 90’s. I thought I was over Phish, that it was a phase I associated with the freedom of my youth. I was wrong.

READ ON for more of Ryan’s interview with Noah…

Nearly 44 years after The Beatles played the first concert at Shea Stadium, Yankee fan and bass player – Sir Paul McCartney – will break in Citi Field, the new

Longtime HT contributor Hal Hansen attended Saturday’s memorial service for original GSW taper and superfan Paul Ducharme and filed this report…

The opening song of Stranger was an appropriate one for God Street Wine’s triumphant return on Saturday, the first time all five original members performed together since a 2001 reunion for the closing of The Wetlands. I had never met Paul Ducharme, a fixture in the New York area music scene whose tragic passing in April was the inspiration for the New York City band’s 75 minute set on the lawn outside the Westside Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, NJ. However, it did not take long to see that this community of friends and family lost a caring, funny & intriguing soul. After a mix of various musical artists and emotional speeches by those closest to Paul, it was time for GSW to play.

The set list featured an even mix of classics from several different albums, unrecorded live staples and even a one-two Beatles punch of Blackbird & Dear Prudence. Each song was a joy to hear again and other than a few moments of understandable rustiness, including a restart on Waiting for the Tide, the band was very impressive for not playing together in nearly eight years. Driving West & 6:15 reached their familiar & powerful climaxes while Imogene featured some blistering guitar work by Aaron. The creative ending segue of Borderline > Swing Low, Sweet Chariot > Borderline showed that GSW can also still have some fun on the fly.

READ ON for more on GSW’s performance in Ridgewood…

The first Phish show at Jones Beach in nearly 14 years was worth the wait. From the monster Timber, Cities segment to the beautiful improv in Harry Hood and Reba

The Hidden Track staff is headed out to Jones Beach for the first of three Phish concerts in Wantagh. I’ll be tweeting live from the venue so be sure to

Here are the aforementioned photos from Jeremy Gordon of the second day of Mountain Jam. Be sure to check out Jeremy and Carla’s Day 1 recap.

In honor of Phish’s Fenway bust out, we’re re-running our The Ballad of Curtis Loew Cover Wars which was originally published on May 5th, 2009

The Ballad Of Curtis Loew was originally released on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s aptly titled sophomore effort Second Helping. There is a FAQ section on Skynrd’s website that asks if there was a real Curtis Loew. Here’s the answer…

The inspiration for Curtis Loew was loosely based around the characters that lived near Ronnie’s home on Jacksonville’s Westside. The corner store in the song is based on Claude’s Midway Grocery on the corner of Plymouth and Lakeshore in Jacksonville. While there wasn’t a ‘real’ Curtis Loew, there were many Curtis Loews in the neighborhood. The actual spelling of the name came when Ed was writing the liner notes for the Second Helping album in 1974. He thought it would be funny to name this old Florida black bluesman after the Jewish Loew’s Theatre.

The Contestants:

Keller Williams: Leading off this week we’ve got a short rendition from the early years of Keller Williams. Source: 1-25-1998
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/kw.mp3]

READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

Get Some – Pearl Jam (live on Conan)