In the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, guitarist Trey Anastasio sat down to discuss a number of topics, ranging from the upcoming Grateful Dead reunion to Phish, Magnaball, and lots more.
In speaking about the upcoming Dead shows, Anastasio said:
There’s certain things you can’t pick up without sitting there, like some of the changes in “New Minglewood Blues”…It’s been a great experience in ways I might not have anticipated. I hung out with Bobby [Weir] at his Beach house for about a week. He said ‘Just fly out and we’ll play.’
Phil Lesh invited me out, and we had a barbecue at his house, and I got to see Phil walking on the beach with his grandson, which was really touching. Bobby, Phil and I just sat, talking about the set list. Just watching them reminisce about the day they wrote “Truckin’” and laughing, that’s the stuff I love. One day, Bobby started talking about how much he loved Brent [Mydland, the Dead keyboardist who died in 1990]. He said, ‘Make sure you listen to those vocal harmonies from the late 1980s.’ Life happens. People come and go.
I think it’s going to be a really moving experience for the fans to be there together with their friends, and to watch the band members who have just spent their entire lives together.
Grateful Dead Core Four To Reunite, With Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby, and Jeff Chimenti
He also spoke at length about Phish, saying that things have changed for the better since the band reunited in 2009.
It used to be all-inclusive. Everyone we knew worked for Phish. It was “Phish, Phish, Phish” all the time. We’d go to a party, and everybody at the party was a Phish employee. It became a little unhealthy. But now, the only thing that’s important is that our friendship is healthy.
We were naming our [Magnaball] festival, and we had an e-mail chain that went on for three or four months. And if one person doesn’t like it or says, “I’m getting uncomfortable here,” the other three guys will say instantly, “OK, change it, then.”
Magnaball: A Guide Through Phish’s First Nine Festivals
We’re looking forward to a Trey and Phish filled summer!
Phish Summer Tour Dates Officially Announced
[Source]