By Robert Costa/PopMatters.com
CAMDEN, N.J. - Phish lyricist Tom Marshall, guitarist Trey Anastasio’s longtime friend and writing partner, said in an exclusive interview Tuesday that “Trey wants Phish to come back.”
Marshall said he has been writing and recording with Anastasio at the Phish frontman’s personal Rubber Jungle studios in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., “for the past four months.”
“I think Phish is his baby,” said Marshall, speaking backstage after the Dave Matthews Band’s concert Tuesday at Camden’s Susquehanna Bank Center. “It’s not like there are people preventing it from coming back, it’s just that the landscape has to be right for it to come back.”
“I’ve always been hopeful in expecting a Phish,” continued Marshall. “I think if the stars align and everything works out there will be. I don’t think they will ever (again) be a huge touring band.”
All members of Phish - Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Mike Gordon and keyboardist Page McConnell - appeared together at the Jammy Awards in New York on May 7 to accept a lifetime achievement award. Although Phish did not perform, Anastasio made a cameo appearance on-stage, performing a cover of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with a group of various artists.
On May 21, Anastasio received a reduced sentence of three years’ probation for a 2007 drug conviction after completing a counseling and treatment program in Washington County, N.Y. Anastasio faced class D felony charges after he was arrested in Whitehall, N.Y., in December 2006 with prescription medications prescribed to another person, including hydrocodone, Percocet and Xanax.
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