2006

With Phish now defunct, our only chance to hear unreleased music sits idly in the band’s extensive archive. As the band’s archivist for the past 10 years, Kevin Shapiro holds the key to the vault. Luckily for the fans, he’s a good man, and thorough, with an incredible ear (probably two).

Recently Kevin graciously took time to answer a few — well, eight — questions about the new Colorado ’88 issue, under-the-radar Phish shows and more…

Scott Bernstein: Why Colorado ’88? How did the idea come up?

Kevin Shapiro: When I discovered Phish around 1990, that first tour was already the stuff of legend among Phishheads. In that sense, I’m sure the general idea pre-dates me working with the band. One of the first things I did on the job was work with Shelly to get the master cassettes from Mike Lynch to keep safe in the archives. He always hoped they’d be released someday.

In the past couple years we’ve released some landmark Phish: The Island Tour, New Year’s Eve 1995 and Live in Brooklyn; plus, downloads of New Orleans Relief and the fall 1994 Olympia and Salem shows. Colorado ’88 is the earliest live Phish release, and it’s a crucial link in the chain. The composition, improvisation, intensity and wit in the music and banter are really powerful, as is the sense of being with the band in such an intimate setting. It’s must-hear Phish.

When Mike Lynch recently requested his tapes back, that was kind of the final straw to convince the band it was time to release the best of the run…

In an effort to continue wasting your valuable time, we now present you with this blonde-haired, blue-eyed installment of our regular Tuesday department piece… It’s always fun watching two grown

…the environmentally friendly Green Apple Music & Arts Festival is growing. As had been widely expected at the conclusion of this April’s inaugural Green Apple in New York City, America’s

We’d like to thank you all for entering the Johnny Cash: At San Quentin contest, and we really wish to give you all free DVDs. But we can’t, and now

It’s not often music fans find an opportunity to screw over Clear Channel, but businessman Bill Sagan did just that. Four years ago, Sagan bought legendary concert promoter Bill Graham’s

Welcome to another week of work and dress shoes. On the bright side, next week is already Thanksgiving, so stay strong, and stay black. As usual, Hidden Track helps you adjust to

Was Nirvana really one of the most influential bands in rock history, or was it the most influential bullet in Kurt Cobain’s skull that posthumously bumped his trio to permanent legend status with no possiblity of a legacy downgrade?

I mean, Nirvana hit it and quit it well before the ascension of the Internets. If Kurt and Dave Grohl and That Other Guy Whose Name Escapes You existed during the irrational exuberance of the late 1990s, you just know that any album produced after 1997 would have drawn out all the cheeky, smartass sassmouths to absolutely thrash and pwn the album and the band, some constructing epic posts on PollyOnLithium.net like “If he thinks his mediocre playing’s worth a shit on this disc, he should just shoot himself in the head right now.”

A strong argument for the greatness of Nirvana hit store shelves this past Tuesday, a digitally remastered DVD release of 1994’s Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! And thanks to the good folks that make possible our Everybody Wins When I Plug Something And In Return They Offer Me Free Shit To Give Away contests, we’re giving away a free copy of this re-issue to one lucky, flannel-wearing fan.

This one’s pretty easy: Nirvana is probably right at the top of many “My Favorite Trio” lists, whether truly deserved or not. So I’d like to know which band you consider to be your favorite musical trio, be it dead or still playing, fictional or real, from bands like Nirvana to jingle specialists like Snap, Crackle & Pop.

All you gots-ta do is tell us which trio you love most and briefly explain why they’re the best ever at what they do or did. The wittier, the better. The contest ends this Sunday night, November 19th, so make yourself heard some time before then, and read on for the movie trailer and list of songs featured on this fantastic DVD…