WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-A Reunion for Phish?
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Burlington, Vermont - August 21, 2008
It was an emotional goodbye for Phish in 2004 after the Vermont-grown group toured for twenty years. Phish played some of its earliest shows at Nectar's on Main Street in Burlington in the 1980s, but by the 90s they were playing for 10, 20, even 100,000 fans at huge venues and festivals.
Since their farewell bow, the jam rockers' huge legion of fans have hoped they'd reunite. Bassist Mike Gordon says, "Four years ago, I didn't think it would happen but now I am pretty sure it will."
Gordon says he and his former bandmates plan to meet soon to discuss getting back together. The guys have spent the past few years working on individual music projects. Gordon recently released a new CD. He says, "I am definitely focusing on my own thing, but in my opinion the Phish thing is pretty likely at this point, because people are so healthy and enthusiastic about it among the band members. The vibe is really good."
As to when this may happen, Gordon says, "I don't know exactly, but soon enough, we'll have a better idea."
The possible Phish reunion comes as great news to the DJs at WBKM radio. Eric Koval says, "It would be monstrous. And wonderful!"
"Burlington's Kind of Music" broadcasts the city's rock legends as a big part of its playlist for a worldwide internet audience. They say a comeback would, in a word, be huge, because Phish's dedication to live performances and to pure music would galvanize their immense fan base. Koval would like to see Phish "come together to enrich the band's life and our life."
WBKM's Tony Gallucci adds, "You felt like [watching Phish perform] was part of something you did together with the band. That's unique in art and music."
The group's keyboardist Page McConnell left fans a message on Phish's website a few weeks back saying a Phish reunion is something he thinks about a lot and that he's looking forward to discussing it with his friends from the band.
People close to the band's frontman Trey Anastasio tell Channel 3 he's happy and healthy after completing a program in New York for drug abuse, and that he's looking forward to doing more of what he loves: making music. So he'll certainly be a big part of those conversations.
Anastasio and his bandmates have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to area non-profits including the Women's Rape Crisis Center, the Vermont Youth Orchestra, and various Lake Champlain clean-up efforts. So if a Phish reunion happens and that generosity resumes, even people who don't like the band's music will have to admit that Phish is very good for Vermont.
Jack Thurston - WCAX News
