It’s that time of year again… In seven short days, Phish will return to New York’s Madison Square Garden for their annual four-night New Year’s run. Each year, we like to celebrate the season in the days leading up to Phish at MSG with the 12 Days of Phishmas, a daily series that gives you your Phish fix and helps stoke your excitement in the days leading up to the run. In 2016, we took you back to 12 historic Phish performances at The Garden. In 2017, with the Baker’s Dozen barely out of sight in the rearview, we relived the magic and mystery of the band’s historic residency.
For years, we’ve been earmarking some of our favorite Phish interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and other cool content that we haven’t found the right occasion to share with you…until now. For 2018, we’ve made you a very special Phishmas Advent calendar to help spice up your countdown to showtime. As we approach the start of the run on the 28th, we’ll open up one panel a day and reveal a fun surprise inside—a little something sweet and Phishy once a day until the Garden party begins. No peeking! By the time we’re finished with the calendar, it will finally be time for the gift we’ve all been waiting for: Four nights of Phish on their home court at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
7 Days Til Phish: Page McConnell Gives An Interview On The Street In London (1996)
On the sixth day of Phishmas… Page McConnell gives an informal, off-the-cuff interview on the street in London during Phish’s 1996 summer European tour. Extensive tours throughout Europe were still relatively new to the band at this point, and Page rarely gives interviews these days, making it even particularly cool to watch the keyboardist so enthusiastic to answer questions following their show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 7/11/96.
Looking back on Phish 22 summers ago is a feel-good trip down memory lane, as Page and later Trey (Anastasio) entertain fans on the sidewalk and sign autographs, hoping to push their musical following outside of the U.S. Although Phish has grown tremendously since this 1996 interview, it’s fascinating to hear about all of the signature elements of practice and performance (like the “Hey” exercise) that the band continues to incorporate into their rehearsal time in 2018.
Watch the clip below to see Page field a barrage of questions on wide range of topics ranging from band’s initial distaste for constantly being compared to the Grateful Dead, his earliest memories of Trey, Jon, and Mike, what became of Jeff Holdsworth, and more.
Page McConnell Gives An Interview On The Street In London
[Video: spaceodyssee2000]
We’ll be back tomorrow to open the seventh panel on our Phishmas 2018 Advent calendar. What other Phishmas surprises are in store? You’ll just have to wait and see…
In the meantime, you can go back through the previous Phishmas surprises:
On the first day of Phishmas… The Big Daddy Show
On the second day of Phishmas… David Byrne Interviews Phish
On the third day of Phishmas… Trey Anastasio Talks Fare The Well At The New Yorker Festival
On the fourth day of Phishmas… A Look Inside The Hoist Sessions From Cactus Films
On the fifth day of Phishmas… Mike Gordon Fascinates A Muscle Shoals Legend
On the sixth day of Phishmas… Page McConnell Chats in the Streets of London