Cory Wong shared part two of his conversation with Trey Anastasio on a new episode of his Wong Notes podcast, where the Phish guitarist shared unreleased demos, praised emerging artists like Geese and Wednesday, and revealed how his creative process has continued to evolve in recent years.
Anastasio revealed he’s been writing new music by composing on piano before transcribing to guitar, a method he used to rely on “in the old days.” For his 60th birthday, he bought himself “a new piano and a box of pencils and manuscript paper,” committing to write music “just for me and for no one else.”
Using this approach has helped him break out of typical guitar habits. “The reason all guitars make sounds the same is because people just put their hands in the same position,” he explained. “So everybody plays the same crap all the time.”
Trey Anastasio On Why Guitar Music All Sounds The Same
What began as a solo guitar project evolved into full band arrangements. Anastasio played one of these unreleased compositions during the podcast, demonstrating the unusual voicings and melodic structures that emerged from writing on piano. “Once it was all recorded, it sounds really melodic and very, very unique, unlike any guitar music I’ve really heard before.”
Anastasio also played the original demo of “The Wedge” from the early ’90s to illustrate how Phish drummer Jon Fishman learns his composed drum parts note-for-note. “He learned it exactly, every single phrase, exactly the way it was on demo,” Anastasio said. “I think one of the defining characteristics that makes him such a great musician is his hunger to learn.”
Trey Anastasio Details His Pre-Show Ritual
Later, Anastasio championed several emerging artists including Geese, Wednesday, and Guerilla Toss, suggesting there has been a creative resurgence following what he perceived as a drought between the smartphone era and COVID.
He also expressed deep admiration for Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief), Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, and Waxahatchee. Talking about Stevens’ album Carrie & Lowell, he said “masterpieces too small a word. It like hurts my heart to listen to that record. It’s so fucking good.” He went on to add, “It’s so honest about his life experience. And just by revealing that level of honesty, it’s a gift to everybody.”
He said these artists inspire him to be more vulnerable in his own writing and admitted his most meaningful songs are often ones he initially doesn’t want to release: “People keep responding to vulnerability even when I [want] to hide it… they’re often the ones that I don’t want anyone to hear.”
At this stage of his career, Anastasio said he’s prioritizing creative joy over external pressure: “I don’t have time left. I just wanna have fun, yeah, and do what I like doing.”
Listen to the full episode below.