There’s a fantastic new interview up today on Relix.com with Trey Anastasio, with talk of the recent Phish summer tour plus talk of the bust-outs, cover choices and why he likes Paramore. Awesome, awesome interview.
Phish has always covered a range of artists. But last fall and this summer the band has placed a special emphasis on covering more contemporary songs including those by Neutral Milk Hotel, Tom Waits, TV on the Radio, Rage Against the Machine and MGMT. Can you talk about your decision to cover some of these acts more associated with the modern indie/alternative rock world versus the band’s more typical, classic rock covers?
Trey: I think the simple answer to that question would be that those are the bands that I actually listen to. Everything you just named, those are some of my favorites. You know when the band started, considering we’ve been playing for 26 years, some of those classic rock bands were the bands that were our earliest influences and contemporary at the time. But I can’t say that I really listen to them much these days.
Head over to Relix to read the entire writeup. For me, a few things stand out in the piece. First, following the first ever planned acoustic set at Festival 8, Trey mentions and is clearly thinking about extending some of his new songwriting to the acoustic stage. Historically this is a good thing for the band as many songs can be taken out for a test run.
Second, with the Going-to-see Paramore with his daughter talk and his mention of contemporary artists vs. their earliest influences, there exists a very real possibility that the Halloween album, for the first time, might potentially be a current band. No Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famers on this next list? Very possible this time around.
