Vermont's Most Famous Foursome November 11, 1996 - Microsoft Music Central By Tom Moon When the members of Vermont's most famous foursome, Phish, began work on the new Billy Breathes, they didn't start with a bunch of jam-session ideas, or outlines of tunes, or stuff they'd discarded on the road. They played a game. "The first night, we threw on a reel of tape and drew straws," guitarist Trey Anastasio recalled recently. "We called it the Blob: Whoever went first got to put anything on tape they wanted to. And then, on any given person's turn, you could subtract something, or add something. Not more than a phrase, though. So things built slowly. We got songs like 'Talk' and 'Train Song' that way. "The idea was to get people out of their usual bag of tricks. So there are times I'm playing drums, or Page is playing bass. On the last album, we recorded in LA, and we got carried away being able to call in anybody you want. It was so much more fun to see what we could do ourselves. And the Blob was an interesting way to have complete freedom: You could build on what was already down, or take it somewhere else." Adds drummer Jon Fishman: "It was cool because it literally started with one note, and that grew into one idea, and before we knew it, we started to work on songs." The result is the most accessible Phish project ever. Gone are the vacuum-cleaner solos and the quirky barbershop-quartet vocals; the atmosphere is pure corn-fed rock, with acoustic guitars, plaintive vocal harmonies, and pastoral jams that evolve from whisper to scream with machine-like efficiency. Prim and precise and defiantly anti-grunge, the album will surely surprise the band's many detractors. At the same time, it will expand the already massive fan base Phish has developed by following the footsteps of the Grateful Dead--lots of touring, low-key marketing, lots of fan involvement through mailing lists and the Internet. In an expansive conference call recently, Phish founders Anastasio and Fishman talked about the making of the record many are likening to the Dead's American Beauty. What other changes did you make when you began planning the new album? Anastasio: We did Hoist in LA, and we were determined not to do that again--working in the middle of the industry was difficult. For this one, we recorded in a barn in upstate New York. The layout was more communal; there were big couches upstairs where we could crash. We also changed the schedule around. Last time, we started recording at 11 in the morning, for some unknown reason. That's totally different from the schedule we have when we're on the road. So we recorded from 11 at night until whenever, which made it more like a party. Phish has never been comfortable in the studio. Why is that? Anastasio: We have always gone in with big ideas. And in trying to do certain things, we squeezed stuff to death. We didn't want to make a big record this time, so our expectations were low. We almost started this time already defeated: All we were gonna do is spend six weeks playing music and see what would develop. What were some of the big leaps? Fishman: On "Billy Breathes," there are some horn parts. That involved us playing instruments outside of the barn, with the microphone turned on. Nobody knew what notes they were playing or anything, but it worked. What was it like working with Steve Lillywhite? Anastasio: We had been working for six weeks, just us, when we brought him in. We really liked the sound of the records he'd done, and we wanted to have another opinion on the material. Fishman: Steve's a very vibrant guy. He never really comes in and says, "Let's start working." After six weeks we started to lose focus, and there he was. Like there's a party going on, and someone comes in and it picks up steam. That was how it felt. Very natural. He encouraged us to do some serious jamming. Are you making a video this time? The record seems to call out for it--musically, there's the chance to reach a much wider audience. © 1996