Loooong Fishman interview (part one): http://www.drummersresource.com/jon-fishman-interview/ Part two: http://www.drummersresource.com/john-fishman-phish-interview-part-2/
Does he talk about the Fibonacci sequence? If he's not talkin' about the FibonacciFibonacciFibonacci sequence then I ain't reading it! LOL Sorry, I may be tipsy...
Yeah, I'll probably listen. Just friggin' around. He's a very interesting guy...not that E,M, and P aren't in their own right(s)...thanks again
Blarg. Maybe I'm the last person who'd rather read interviews than listen to them. (There's also legitimately no way I can listen to someone talk for 2 hours...aside from my mind wandering, that's 2 hours of music I'm not listening to)
Thanks for that. I read that as the album having been mixed to digital. @trd do you have a source for the album being mixed to analog and transferred to DAT?
It was mixed to digital. I think what happened was the majority of the record was recorded to tape. They dumped everything over to dat and recorded vocal overdubs there. I would think the only way to accomplish an analog press would be to take those digital vocal bits and bring them to tape alongside their master reels (which would obviously involve a big remix). More realistically I would have liked to see them create a new hi res digital master (that yes, would have unfortunately included upsampled vocal overdubs). I think we can all agree a DAT from 1996 is kinda worst case scenario for vinyl. Such a shame they decided to do this while recording, seems really shortsighted from Lillywhite (or maybe it was Siket). Both of whom had just recorded DMBs Crash months earlier all analog.
It's too bad. I don't listen to the studio albums enough these days to justify re-buying on vinyl in most cases, but this is the one I'd be most interested in if it was analog. I might seek out A Picture of Nectar at some point, as that is the album that I probably played the most back in the day, as my peak in Phish fandom probably hit right around the time that one came out.
Crash probably had a much bigger recording budget, though. I don't know what Phish's situation was like way back then, but I imagine they were mostly an afterthought for Elektra...knowing anything they did was going to sell about the same amount no matter what.
DMB was HUGE! I wasn't a fan though. Yet, I was told by someone at the time that because I like Phish, I must like DMB. I wasn't having that. I wasn't having that at all. I always got the impression that if I pulled out a bowl at a DMB show (not that I've had the pleasure), the fear and confusion I'd create for DMB fans would clear a 15 foot radius around myself. No offense if you're a fan. I kid.
I don't think this is it. Phish had at least "50 reels" deep of Billy Breathes according to Phish.com and you don't do that on a budget. I think digital allowed for easy overdubs and it was just a shortsighted move unless intentionally "experimental" for the time. Don't forget, Phish started off the BB sessions with "The Blob" which was them getting totally weird on tape, not something you do when you're pinching pennies.
I believe Dave wouldn’t have achieved that success without the boost from (a percentage of) phans in the white hats of the mid-90s. I was on rec.music.phish then hearing about DMB and giving them a listen. Didn’t and doesn’t compel me like the deep variety/humor/joy that’s Phish. Aquarium Rescue Unit however...
I don't think it was the cost of the tape, it was the studio time (plus Lillywhite, who probably wasn't cheap and had other projects coming up). As the project neared closer to completion, I can easily imagine someone going "hey, guys, let's move this along a bit," because as you said, digital allowed for easier overdubs. Billy Breathes was easily Phish's most ambitious studio production up to that point, so I imagine by the time they got to the overdub stage, there was definitely some pressure (whether from the label or from the band itself) to wrap the thing up. I mean, the end result is (IMO) their best studio effort, but yeah, the digital stage is disappointing.
In the mid-00s, I had a friend who was into DMB. He showed me a video where Warren Haynes appears for a cover (I always liked the Mule) so I started to pay more attention. I have Busted Stuff and the one he dedicated to his band member who died. Strangely enough, I like their slow, sappy radio hit songs more than anything else they do. But I could never get into them. I cared not at all that Trey was on Dave's solo album, but it did make me think, "Oh, I bet Trey would like that level of mainstream popularity."
Phish took DMB out to open for the latter's first trip to the west coast. Phish was certainly instrumental in their growth. I like that Dave returned the favor, in a way, by suggesting Trey employ Lillywhite/Siket which lead to IMO Phish's best record. I don't like that the master is 16 bit digital!!
I see your point. I suppose it's possible. I don't think "cost" is necessarily accurate but maybe "time." I do know that they were in a huge rush to get the album art in before the deadline (which is why they landed on the tossaway picture of Mike that I love but Trey has in print said he dislikes) but I don't know if that's indicative of a rush to get the recording itself finished.
I usually don't get too far when my first impression of a band is "Why does he sing like that?" But I really kind of do like the "I'm Not You're Superman" song. Just looked it up: "Where Are You Going."
Maybe he would, but I never got the feeling Trey cared all that much, especially since his band is entirely trend-proof. I think by Phish 2.0 he realized that as long as he could keep the band together, they could basically be the Dead and play to the same amount of people as long as all 4 guys were still standing. It really is the perfect musical life: playing big venues, making huge bucks, and being able to do that every year until you die no matter what, but not having any "mainstream popularity" that dictates certain songs you have to play every night. And then he can explore whatever he wants outside the band if he feels constrained by the Phish format. I don't really think Trey having some radio/mainstream 'hits' would've really improved his life in any way. Whereas I think DMB really needed them...they were never weird enough to attract the full-on Deadhead/Jam band crowd. Without those radio staples I think they'd still be a theater band, honestly.
I don't either, but it certainly supports that theory. And pressure to deliver a record on time isn't always a bad thing...except in the technology chain here.
Yeah, I agree with this. But my theory is that Trey was all about a U2 level of success, he just was never going to get there being the type of band they are and the type of musician he is. When he broke up the band and released Shine, I think he was absolutely swinging for the fences. But, I also think (and I don't pretend to know the exact timeline of everything as some here might) that whatever drugs he was doing was interfering with his judgment on the career front. After he came to, I think it was inevitable that the band would get back together, no matter who the initial catalyst was for 3.0. I guess Mike.
