I have been to a few Phish shows over the years, and my friends in high school were (and continue to be) really into them. Mike Gordon actually wrote back to me about it, which made me look really cool to my high school buddies.
I started playing bass in high school. I've played bass and sang in a few bands! Who were the LUCKY ONES that got to see...?
Suzanne (1997-2000) - Le Mars, Iowa
The Subordinates (2000-2001) - Iowa City, Iowa
My Business Failed in Three Weeks (2001-2004) - Iowa City, Iowa
Don't Stop or We'll Die - City of Dreams, California
Q: I know your brother is a huge Phish fan (he posts on a Phish message board I regularly post on) and I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the band
A: YES I know all about the PT board hahaha. I like a few Phish songs but I'm sure they're the lamest ones to real fans, because they're the radio songs! "Farmhouse" and another one I can't remember because I don't ever listen to Phish. :) But I like how into them their fans are and I respect my brother's taste in music!
producing the music is maybe my favorite part of the whole thing. I go into a studio with Matt Kelmer and a handful of great musicians that work under the title "Sweet pro" and we just fuck around. I get to cheat and make music without the training. I ask them for different moods and sounds and they try it. or we'll say let's go with cello and piano for a while and try a few things there. The cello player, wish i fucking knew his name, is tremendous. he creates whole pieces by himself and I use them ALL.
Our process is... we rarely ever start with lyrics... it often begins with us jamming (or jammin') on some riff and then we start singing a melody that fits the music... and whatever words come out that's 90% of what we go with. We got a rule that we can't revise lyrics cuz we think it's funny. DO YOU?!!!
Eric Andre