Rising from the ashes like the Big Red phoenix he is, Trey Anastasio has returned with another quarantine track, “Catsvot Växt”, which is set to appear as the B-side of an official “Forward People” vinyl single this month.
Last month, Anastasio released the fourteen-minute “Forward People“, an encouraging plea for perseverance to the long-scattered Phish community, on the one-year anniversary of his first quarantine release last March. The single release arrived along with a charming image of Joey Anastasio, Trey’s pet cat/Phish scene influencer, all dressed up for some sort of feline gala. On “Catsvot Växt”, Trey aimed to give his muse a proper tribute of his own.
Throughout quarantine, Joey has become something of a cult figure in the world of Phish fandom. During some of Trey’s earliest quarantine videos from 2020, the big black furry creature from New York could be seen lounging on furniture in the Phish guitarist’s increasingly elaborate music videos. Then, with the dawn of The Beacon Jams, Joeymania was taken to new heights as Joey served as the series’ Twitch chat moderator and Trey spent at least half of the eight-show run gushing about the pet.
Though Trey originally set about writing the tribute the song without Joey’s involvement, it’s hard to keep any secrets in a 700 square-foot apartment. Before long “Catsvot Växt” became a joint Anastasio/Anastasio project. While the “Forward People” A-side merely uses Joey as a mascot, on “Catsvot Växt”, Trey Anastasio landed on a more equitable collaboration with the cat, taking a cue from the group writing sessions that produced Phish’s Kasvot Växt Halloween spectacle in 2018.
As such, the track’s lyrics present a lively mix of introspective examinations from Anastasio and a smattering of meows and screeches from Joey. “Catsvot Växt” finally comes to a crashing climax at the three-minute mark as Joey seemingly swipes Trey’s phone off the table, taking two stray forks with it.
“In a way, working with Joey was like working with Fish because of the way they both just lie around, occasionally getting up to eat or spit out a hairball,” Trey said of the new track in a post on social media.
The new “Forward People”/”Catsvot Växt” vinyl single is now available to pre-order ahead of its April 17th release.
April Fools!