Actually came into this thread to post that I was listening to my audio rip of Phil's 1985 live video, got to this part around 7:20 into the track, and then kept waiting for the band to come in and the decending IV-iii-ii-I section of YEM to come in.
Other musical friends/collaborators/recording partners in Markellis’ winding journey included Bonnie Raitt, The Mamas & Papas, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, David Bromberg and many more. He also counted Jerry Garcia and late Grateful Dead Inc. president Ram Rod as personal friends; legend has it that Markellis even jammed with Garcia one fateful night at the Keystone in Berkeley, Calif.
Sad to hear this news. TAB was the last band I saw before the pandemic. Would love to hear tapes of Jerry with Tony. All respect to Phil, but Jerry played some magical lines when he had an extremely solid, funky rhythm section backing him.
Tony is on David Bromberg’s Dead or Alive album, which also features Jerry and Phil. Not sure if he’s on any of the same tracks as Jerry though
if I made a list of records I could go back and hear again for the first time, this would be on it. Life-changing. Enjoy!
ALO is a great way to dip your toes in the ocean that is live Phish, it’s got a bunch of the big guns, YEM, Hood, Tweezer and the band was on fire during 94 when it was recorded. If you hate it then they probably aren’t for you, but if you do, then it‘s down the rabbit hole you go! Definitely helped me wrap my mind around what the band was all about when I was a newb. Although I still didn’t really get it until a couple years later. SSP I would say is more for people that are already into Phish, it’s a snapshot of a pivotal moment in the bands history, but it being only a single disc with three covers I don’t think it’s really a definitive live album. Really Live Phish 1 and 2, 12-14-95 and 7-16-94 cover a lot of bases right there.
JEMP Radio has blown out their programming tonight to play stuff with Tony. Beacon Jams are airing now. Www.JempRadio.com
The weekend listening kicks off with Trey 5/7/99, the OG trio and my first time seeing Russ and Tony. And I’ll take the opportunity to ask again, why the hell have they not released one of these May 99 shows?
A Live One on vinyl -- I was amazed how much better this sounded than the CD. That being said, I have to be in the right mood for that Tweezer. Everything else is gold. I'm with TRD -- where the hell are the recordings from Spring 99? Seriously.
don’t feel bad. It’s one of my most listened to albums of all time…and I’ve probably listened to “Tweezer” three or four times in 25 years.
I went to junior high / part of high school with Tony (we saw Jimi Hendrix together in March 1968 - a roadie gave us each a little piece of vinyl covering from one of Jimi’s speaker cabinets) and were in touch in recent years. Lots great memories. I can still envision him in his junior high band. White Levis. White turtleneck. British Walkers. Maroon turtleneck. Hofner bass. Also, we spent ten days sharing a canoe on a once-in-lifetime trip in northern Canada. Someone brought a guitar and Tony taught a bunch of us how to play Blackbird. Tony was the big guy in the back of the boat and I was in front, barely weighing 100 lbs. Quite a pair. Also, his recent book of short stories is really great. Last time we corresponded he said that Vol 2 was in the works. Hope it gets published. I know the TAB catalog is vast. Recommendations for recordings that you’d say were “prime Tony” would be much appreciated.
Thanks for the input Hicks -- I'm on the lookout for SSP and the Live Phish sets you mentioned in the wild. I remember when I used to see them all the time....
Good luck finding the Live Phish sets with no "goop." Fortunately they are on streaming sites if you do that.