Spin Cycle'd

I went on the June run of Phish Tour 2009. Have been home exactly a week now, and when I close my eyes, I can still see the lights. My heart is full of vibrant memories of new songs, new friends, old friends, old songs, adventures from the road, and everywhere in between. Here's a little wrap-up story for y'all:

My backpack had been sitting in the corner of my living room where I wearily laid it to rest after our 20+ hour drive->breakdown->drive home from Wisconsin after weeks of travel to experience the pure joy of one amazing show after the next.

After diving full-on into a stressful workweek straight from the road, I was relieved on Friday evening when I walked in the door, finally able to take a deep breath and "land". Kale had left for his own weekend adventure, but the house felt peaceful and calm. I gave Habibi a huge bear hug and fed him a treat. Pressed "play" on the Knoxville recording, cracked an icy cold beer, kicked off the flips, stretched out on the couch, looked over to my left, and was greeted by my trusty tour backpack.

Decided it was time to deal with it. Slung it over my shoulder & Habibi followed me down to the basement. He loves to "help" with laundry, it's very sweet. I filled the washer with hot soapy water (2 caps of Tide and a heaping scoop of Oxyclean: we had work to do) and opened the 'ole pack.

I started pulling out clothes and emptying pockets which were exploding with treasures: my missing Starlake ticket stub, quarters, melted pieces of gum, advils, lip gloss, lighters, stickers, a postcard from Nashville, beer caps, glow-stick bracelets, crumpled receipts, motel room key-cards... Various treasures from Phish tour, and links to their memories scattered out all over my basement floor one by one.

Satisfied that I'd separated the clothes from the trinkets, I began adding each t-shirt, tank top, and sundress to the washer. As I fed each outfit to the hungry machine, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. Ohhhh, there's my Deer Creek dress that survived the monsoon! My Bonnaroo outfit! The Keytar lot-shirt so lovingly made by my friends. The bandanna I used as a protection from the blazing Tennessee sun. Hey, there's the miniskirt I rocked at The Fox in St. Louis, and the lavender hoodie that snuggled me to sleep in the back seat of my brother's car on the night-drive to Starlake.

Each piece of clothing brought back a rush of memories of the last joyous time I'd worn it. When I finally closed the lid & set the dial to "Pre-wash: Extra Soak", I felt a little sad listening to all the sweat, love, tears, rain, mud, dancing, and fun churn together on its way down the drain. They were all covered in magic. Steeped in adventure. Now making Phish Tour Soup right in my very own washing machine.

Ohhhh Phish, here we come!!!

Four days kiddos!

"Ain't nothin like the Crimson Dego strut!"

PLAY BALL!!!

Couldn't think of a better time than the Opening Day of Baseball Season for Phish to announce this extraordinary news. Game on kiddos!! Phish at Fenway, May 31st. Can I get an EPIC?

Rumors have been circulating for weeks, but the official announcement just went up. Check out this cool teaser video here: http://phish.com/fp/

They've also added a 3rd date to their Jones Beach run, which I'm overjoyed about but has already got me juggling already maxed-out PTO allotment to figure out how to make this all work. Let's just say I'll be commuting from Long Island to my office in the Hudson Valley during that first week of June. And it'll all be worth it.

Wow. Go, Phish, Go! I hope Page plays that organ up in the stands for a song or two.

Dead Unicorn Wins A Ford Fiesta!!

My Heroes!

The First 7 Minutes of Hampton

Huge props to Paul Unger and the seven fans who videotaped and contributed footage to make this historic video possible. What a great collaboration! Paul edited the various clips together & synced it with the soundboard recording. The video captures the experience of sprinting through those doors, up the stairs, around the corner, and FINALLY into the venue to witness an event in music history that will be cherished forever. When those lights finally went down and Phish took the stage it was one of the most thrilling and ecstatic moments in my life. And I know about 13,799 other people who agree!

It's still hard to explain in words, but I think this video does a pretty good job at describing the experience. Watching it 2 weeks from the day just gives me chills:

Fluffhead Multi-Cam 3/6/09:


Phish "Fluffhead" Hampton MultiCam 3-6-09 from Paul Unger on Vimeo.

Lovey Dovey

While reviewing music for Pump Audio this morning, I came across NYC band: Lovey Dovey. Totally fell in love with this track, "The Dangerous Time". Check it:

More Dates...

Watch This!

So the other day my buddies Paul and Zac (along with the talented help of Chris and Joe) put together a video audition in hopes of winning one of 100 Ford Fiestas (including gas & insurance!) to drive for 6 months wherever they please this summer and beyond. Dead Unicorn is due for a cross-country tour & I honestly can't think of anyone better suited for the mission then they.

This video is so hot that I know they're a shoe-in, but they do need a slew of You Tube views to show Ford how cool they really are, so if you'd be kind enough to take a few minutes of your time and watch it (all the way through now...) it would be great.

It's worth the 5 minutes, I promise. The thing is damn funny. And clever. C'mon, do a good deed for rock and roll and check it out. And share!

Good luck Dead Unicorn. I love you and I really hope you are winners of the 2009 Ford Fiesta Movement. I know you can do it!

Photos from Hampton

Kale took some great photos, thanks babe!

Thank You Phish, You Really Did It!

Without a doubt those were the best shows I've seen in years and years and years. I have so much to say, pictures & clips to share, memories to absorb... check back I'll post some in the next few once I'm back to reality.

I just need to say real quick before we make the 12 hour drive home that I have a feeling in my heart again that I have been craving for a very long time. I feel rejuvenated to the very core of my soul.

Thank you Phish, I had high expectations for these concerts and they were sensationally exceeded on every level. I feel blessed to have been these for this truly once in a lifetime experience that I will treasure forever and ever.

So long for now Hampton...you were so beautiful.

Next stop, Jones Beach!

Phish Is Here & So Are We! Prepare For Takeoff....

THANK YOU PHISH, THANK YOU LOVED-ONES, THANK YOU UNIVERSE!

Hey, guess what? It's finally 3-6-9. Look at that date, it's today! It feels incredible to be in Hampton. We are hours away from a weekend of delight! Drove by the venue on the way to our hotel and it truly looks like a mothership ready to embrace and carry us to our very favorite stratosphere...

Thanks a million for reading along & following this 28 day countdown. I promise to follow up with setlists, pictures, and details in the exciting days to come.

Mighty Love,
A Very Happy Caitlin

Countdown to Phish: Day...ONE !!!!!!!!

Kale's packing the car, Guthrie's on his way, we're hitting the road in 20 minutes. This may well be the best day of my life, before tomorrow that is!

Countdown to Phish: Day 2 (!!!)

My dear friend and tour-buddy John Butters is AT Hampton now!! And he took these TODAY! We're leaving in the morning to drive down and join him, I can't believe this is really happening. Tonight I'll be packing for Phish! Game on! PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Butters for your generous and exciting contributions to today's post, these are incredible:

Countdown to Phish: Day 3 (!!!)

Sing it with me now:

Three Six Nine
The goose drank wine
The monkey did the shimmy on the streetcar line...

THREE MORE DAYS!!!

Countdown to Phish: Day 4

OK everybody, this is really happening. We are in for the ride of our lives. The word excitement barely begins to describe the way I feel right now. Have I said that before? More than a few times, I know!

So let's discuss the topic of Phish and Excitement for a moment here. I've loved Phish for more than half my life. Looking back, I remember feeling over-the-moon excited for almost every show. Of course a few stick out as major peaks on my excitement-scale, such as Big Cypress and the last time they came back and played after a long hiatus at Madison Square Garden on New Years Eve in 2002. That was a night alright. Take the energy of NYC, factor in the buzz of New Year's Eve, the proximity to Times Square, and especially the fact that Phish hadn't played a show in 2+ years.

Back then there were significantly fewer pacifiers to tide us through the dryspell: no YouTube, fewer shows on DVD, no Live Phish releases. Did we even have iPods? Those were tough times. Kind of like the Great Depression (just kidding!). I remember my brothers and I just plain aching for their return. We'd listen to the archives, reminisce on elated memories, and dream for the day that Phish would play again. We'd get teases here and there from the side projects and have great times at other concerts, but it was never quite the same.

During the first hiatus, and the one that's about to end, I've thirsted and craved for that irreplaceable rush I feel when those lights first go down. At that moment, I know that for the next 4 hours I'm on a ride, a real adventure. There is nothing else to worry about -- the outside world may as well not even exist. From that moment on, all there is to do is focus on the music and let it rock you. Dance and move and jump and soar. Surrender. Explode. Fall in love. Cry. It's OK. You are part of a happening, a time-out-of-time, moving to the music with amazing people who are there for the same reason. Phish shows are journeys. Every single one is different. I love that.

So finally, we were sitting Page-side in 2002, the lights went down, and that was VERY VERY exciting. The cheering in that building could have been measured on the Richter Scale. We're talking SERIOUS EXCITEMENT people. One hell of a night.

So now it's been almost 5 years since Coventry. What are we in store for on Friday in terms of Phish and Excitement? Well, take in a few of the factors from that post-hiatus experience, add about 3 more years of no live Phish, and throw in the loaded question: "will they ever play again?" which was never even a consideration back in the early 00's. Add in the band's new intention of sobriety, some well-loved & re-visited audio components from the old days like Trey's Ross Compressor pedal & cabinets, and all the fresh new hope for Phish 3.0.

It's gigantic. Phish is ready to play again. This is not gonna be a nostalgia act. This is not a hyped-up reunion for the media. This is not about ego. Phish is bringing out their redemption songs. Beginning a new chapter. Reversing regrets, taking risks, paving fresh territory for the future. Each member has grown tremendously on their own and has new chops to bring to the table. The band we see on stage in four days will be a band that we know and love so dearly. But this band will also be different. Their music will sound effortless yet intentional, triumphant yet humble, evolved yet open to fresh starts. Phish 3.0 is so relevant to our time right here, right now on the planet; politically, spiritually, technologically. Hope. Change. New Beginnings. Sound familiar? Coincidence? Absolutely not. Phish, we are ready for you. Let Us Rock.

These pictures were taken this morning by bailedwiththehay. He drove by the Coliseum in time to catch the trucks pulling up for the load-in...nice one!

Countdown to Phish: Day 5

Whew. I was so excited getting ready for the trip that I almost forgot to post today. But I remembered! With an hour and 45 minutes shy of Countdown to Phish Day 4, here goes:

So fishsunderwear posted these great pics on PT from the last Hampton date in '04. It's great to remember what it looks like -- in less than a week now we'll be spending three nights of our lives in this place! I can hardly believe it. Haven't been this excited about anything in a long, long time...

Countdown to Phish: Day 6

This is one of my very favorite video clips of Phish in the studio tracking Billy Breathes. This gorgeous album was recorded February-June in 1996 at the Bearsville Studios.

Check it out:

Countdown to Phish: Day 7

A week from now we'll be standing in line. Can you believe it? A week from today!

Page posted this on his Twitter page yesterday and I just know that they're gonna play like never before. I have a feeling there might be a big surprise in the works.

"(Page_McConnell)... is absolutely amazed, exhausted and exhilarated, but it'll all be worth it! We promise."

Countdown to Phish: Day 8

I'd like to welcome a guest contributor to today's countdown post: hooray for Kale Kaposhilin, my awesome husband!

Kale has also endured the weeks of frustration in playing The Ticket Game: Phish 3.0. I can't remember a day in the past 5 months that we haven't been searching, trading, and (eternally gratefully) getting miracled by a friend with better lotto luck than we to find full sets of Hampton tickets for our crew. Not easy. Advanced Phish for sure. "The hottest tickets on the planet" I've been told time and time again.

But whew, now we can finally relax and start packing the car. With a week and a day to go before the big night, I am elated to announce that our Ticket Game for this run is finally over. It had its twists and its turns, great highs and sad lows, and lemme tell you, it's gonna feel damn good to scan these puppies in at the gate.

For those of you who are either still playing The Ticket Game, or have been "Locked Out" as this phan so eloquently describes, my heart goes out to you sincerely. As cool as The Mothership is, I still wish Phish had played their comeback gig in a gigantic grassy field where everyone who wanted to go could pay $50 and see the damn thing, especially given the state of the economy. How about "let's try Coventry again, do it right, and keep on playing shows afterwards"? That would have been my preference, but hey, no complaints! It's gonna be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a very small number of people, considering the size and enthusiasm of Phish's fanbase, so if that's what they were going for to achieve their triumphant return, then so be it. I have a feeling there might be a few tricks up their sleeve that can only be unveiled in a venue like Hampton. We'll see.

So in response to the stress a dear friend of ours was experiencing while still waiting for his tickets up until yesterday without evidence that they even existed, Kale took this picture as proof of their arrival after signing the FedEx receipt this morning.

He writes: "These tickets seem to be the only color in our lives :)"

Nice work Kale:

Cash for your extra!! (just kidding)

Countdown to Phish: Day 9

Can You Feel The Excitement Building...?!

Countdown to Phish: Day 10

Got two words for today: TEN DAYS!

Here's a song Trey debuted acoustically with Mike at the Rothbury festival last summer: Backwards Down the Number Line. It's a beautiful birthday song that Trey also played a few times with the Classic TAB lineup later during their Northern Exposure Tour last October.

Tom Marshall wrote the lyrics to Trey in a letter for his birthday last year and true to their historic songwriting relationship, Trey set them to music. I sure hope the boys play this in Hampton -- can't wait to hear it evolve over the years if it becomes a part of the Phish rotation. This one's from the National Theater in Richmond on 10/25/08:

Countdown to Phish: Day 11

Ok Team: we're almost into the single digits here. I know it's been a long wait, so thanks for riding along. The weather for Hampton now shows up on the 10-day forecast. Re-confirmed hotel reservation. Car to the shop on Thursday for the tune-up. Trip to the beer store over the weekend to get the essential micro-brews that they may or may not vend in Virginia. Dog-sitting HAS been arranged so our beloved pet will not turn into a Lot Dog this time around (just kidding!) Last batch of tickets for the crew has been verified and will ship this week. Very important. Pretty much all there is left to do is sit around and try to predict to the answer of the most loaded question of possibly the past five years:

"What Song Will Phish Open With in Hampton?" (WSWPOWIH)

Until yesterday, I was betting my (non-existent) left nut on YEM. But then I dreamed about this one last night and I'm thinking it might work out, whaddya think about A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing?

Couldn't find any live vids of this on YouTube, but I absolutely love the natural syncing here of music & imagery, great job PureCoincidence:

Countdown to Phish: Day 12

Wow, we're really starting to get close now ladies & gents!!! In the spirit of counting down the final days until Phish rides again, I thought I'd talk about some other famous countdowns in Phish history -- perhaps culminating with my very favorite Phish countdown of all time: the 45 seconds leading up to the millenium on NYE at Big Cypress, absolutely among the best minutes of my entire life.

It ain't Big Cypress, but this little clip is pretty good at capturing the sheer explosiveness of another Phish countdown, this time from Miami on 12/31/03:

Countdown to Phish: Day 13

In a recent interview with Mike Gordon in one of my favorite music blogs, Hidden Track, Mike expressed his love for the Stanley Brothers' song "Going up Home to Live in Green Pastures".

Check out this absolutely gorgeous version of it covered by Alison Krauss:

Countdown to Phish: Day 14

Dear Everyone,

TWO WEEKS FROM RIGHT NOW PHISH WILL BE PLAYING THEIR SOUNDCHECK.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Countdown to Phish: Day 15

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON FISHMAN!

sweet hampton haikus
i can't take credit for them
swiped 'em from PT:

it's 5-7-5
maybe for hampton haiku
should be 3-6-9
--hippiehop

...it's time time time for
the last rewind, a broken
old man and a world...
--FutureCowboy

Languedoc is gone
please let there be Kuroda
Brad, you fucking tool
--BCdude

fifteen days to go
let's blow the roof off that place
don't jersey hampton
--four20man

veggie burritos
will now be seven bucks each
recession hits lot
-hippiehop

at the mothership
the hose will come out again
will be glorious
--Brett2113

these tickets are fake
no way brah they cost two g's
no fluffhead for you
--nol_13

i'm so excited
already on hampton lot
schwill cup is empty
--hippiehop

wooks will be trying
to gank tickets. i dare them
to try and gank mine.
--FutureCowboy

mothership lift off
taking a trip to the moon
moon rocks 2 4 5
--nol_13

tweeprise opener
trey mike page and jon are back
who's got my headies?
--groundscore420

chill brah, you know he's
not an undercover cuz
he's wearing tie-dye
--FutureCowboy

about two weeks left
before Phish melts my face off
counting down the days!
--lvnphish

fools, recognize this
the boyz will bring it old school
sober, Ross'd, ready!
--funkdr21

Countdown to Phish: Day 16

So I caught the dreaded stomach flu that's been goin' around and all I can think about is how glad I am it hit me this week instead of next!

One of my friends e-mailed me this, it's like a steaming bowl of virtual chicken soup. Many fans agree that Phish was playing at their very best in 1997, it was a hell of a year.

Check out this sweet clip from 2/16/97, Phish in Germany, Wartesaal, Koln:

Countdown to Phish: Day 17

The Ticket Game = The Faint of Heart Need Not Apply

Phish tickets. Wow. A lot has changed since those shows in the 80's when tickets were 5, 7, 10 dollars; venues were small theaters on college campuses or pizza joints in Burlington; crowds were small and innocent. By the time I was old enough to go, the demand for Phish tickets was just beginning to match the capacity of the venues they'd play. And that's when you have yourself a Ticket Game on your hands.

I'll never forget the first time I played about 15 years ago: sitting on the kitchen floor in my PJ's on a Saturday morning frantically dialing the TicketMaster digits over and over into my parents' brand new touch tone phone. Two hours later, I finally broke through the busy-signal barrier and scored a ticket to see Phish at the Boston Garden on NYE 1994-95!

I learned the ropes of mail-order just in time for the next tour. I'd follow every step to the letter, decorate my envelope in hopes of better seats, send it through the mail slot with a kiss for good luck. Mail-order was the sweetest ritual of tour with the most delightful reward at the end of a long wait: an envelope stacked full of crispy Phish tickets in all colors of the rainbow, their perforated stubs just waiting to be ripped at the gate of each venue. Inside of each mail-order return envelope were the keys to a treasure map; following it would determine the course of an entire summer rock and roll roadtrip.

Times have changed, Phish has grown exponentially, and the demand for tickets is on par with the hottest national acts. What makes The Ticket Game even more challenging is that Phish attracts their fans to multiple concerts -- people from all over the world are all competing for the same ticket in Long Island, and again in Asheville, again in St. Louis...location doesn't even matter. If the band is playing, 100,000 + people want to go, and it's a jungle out there!

As stressful as The Ticket Game is, I still enjoy the hours of planning and strategy that goes into it, and the rush on the actual day. Maybe it takes me back to that memory in my parents' kitchen, or maybe I enjoy the camaraderie of it all, making sure that all my friends get into the shows.

These Hampton shows sold out in a matter of seconds. Right now, according to Rolling Stone, it's the "hottest ticket on the planet". People are trading iPhones, cars, drugs, posh hotel rooms, SUV's, sexual favors, vacation rentals, you name it. Auctions are peaking at $1500 a ticket on ebay, it's crazy!

Our crew is almost covered. As each ticket arrives in the mail, a wave of relief and excitement washes over me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the people who have helped us get Hampton tickets (you know who you are!) There is nothing like actually holding a colorful piece of cardstock that says Phish on it. Another key to a spectacular treasure box that we can open in 17 days....

Countdown to Phish: Day 18

"My glance is always darting, when I stroll the avenue
Avoiding all the obstacles that terrorize my view
If you are here with me, I trust you to lead the way
When you're not I follow you, and always go astray

You're silent in the morning, suspended in the trees
Lunch time comes you've found your voice, it brings me to my knees
The volume just increases, the resounding echoes grow
Till once again I bask in morning stillness, I love so

The target that I shoot for seems to move with every breath
I tighten all my arteries and make one last request
Divine creation hears me, and he squashes me with fear
I think that this exact thing happened to me, just last year

Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to
Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to
Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to my knees

I will not dismiss you, shelter you, speak with you
Smile at you, trust in me, he'd like to brush you off, and I'd agree..."

Countdown to Phish: Day 19

The Clifford Ball: the first of seven two-day festivals hosted by Phish. Imagine a rock and roll sleepover party with 70,000 of your friends and 6+ live sets of your favorite band with all sorts of colrful activities, installations, and treats thrown into the mix. Good times.

Phish hosted the Clifford Ball on a decommissioned air force base in Plattsburgh NY on August 16th and 17th of 1996. The shows were strong & the entire weekend was a vibrant music marathon to close out the band's solid summer tour.

Phish recently announced the completion of a 7-disc DVD box set which documents the festival in it's entirety including footage of the epic late-night "flatbed jam". That was one cool surprise: in the middle of the night, Phish cruised through the campgrounds jamming on top of a flatbed trailer -- I remember dancing in my PJ's...

The DVD won't be released until March 3rd, but while we're waiting I thought this might help tide us over:

Countdown to Phish: Day 20

Here's one of Phish's beautiful love songs to celebrate Valentine's Day: a romantic ballad with a build called "Waste". This version is from 4/02/98 during the Island Tour -- a highly-acclaimed run of four shows: two nights on Long Island at Nassau Coliseum and two nights in Rhode Island at the Providence Civic Center. The soundboard recordings of this historic batch of shows was re-mastered and officially released by the band. The set is a an essential component to any Phish lover's collection, although I've always enjoyed the warm sound of the Island Tour audience recordings just as much.

Of course there are many ways to interpret the lyrics of Waste. Over the years, I've come to know it as a love song from the band to us, the audience, the thousands of people who travel night after night to experience the true love that is live music.

I guess what I mean is that if a song itself could write a love song, it would say: "So if I'm inside your head, don't believe what you might have read, you'll see what I might have said, to hear it..."

Countdown to Phish: Day 21

This is one of my favorite places on the planet:

Countdown to Phish: Day 22

Today I'll let Trey and Mike do the talking. This is the first segment of a 3 part interview by the folks at MTV in the summer of 1992. Phish was on H.O.R.D.E. tour, remember that?

Both Trey and Mike reply with insightful responses throughout the interview, and there's a humourous twinkle in all four of their eyes. I can even see it behind Mike's cool shades!

Things really heat up around the 3:44 mark with the synchronized beer-drinking leg-switches. So clever!

Countdown to Phish: Day 23

Phish loves to play on top of things: giant flying hot-dogs, air-traffic control towers, the Ed Sullivan Theater...you name it.

This was a cool day: A Monday morning, the first day of summer: June 21, 2004. We were feeling great after 2 nights in Brooklyn & an epic two-night run at SPAC (my favorite shows of Phish's '04 tour).

With 4 down and 4 ahead for the June run, we turned the car west towards breakfast and a leisurely drive out to Deer Creek. Wait, nope! Text message says "Detour: NYC for a taping of the Letterman Show!" Screeeeech, back on the thruway, let's hit it!

We followed those lines going south, raced through the city traffic, ditched the car, and sprinted through the mid-town sidewalks till we finally caught our breath at W 53rd St. We joined the impromptu audience filling up a solid block of Broadway across from the Ed Sullivan theater. Sure enough, Phish was ready to rock on top of the marquee, with Trey grinning down at us excitedly as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Of course, why not?

They opened with the triumphant chord progression of Scents and Subtle Sounds (which aired later on the Late Show) and then continued on with a 25 minute set, what a treat.

Here's the evidence, play it Leo!

Countdown to Phish: Day 24

This is a special Phebruary 10th Birthday Edition of "Countdown to Phish" goin' out to my Dad who has always nurtured my deep love for music. He introduced me to his incredible record collection at an early age and has always been my favorite go-to guy for mix-tape advice.

I am so grateful to my parents for giving me such a rich musical upbringing. They played and booked the music for The Folkway all through my childhood. I remember my Mama constantly auditioning tapes (just like I do every day now) to research up and coming artists for The Folkway, and my Dad playing guitar daily. When I close my eyes I can literally HEAR my childhood memories: always music playing, live, at home, in the car, at concerts, always, still is...

In 1993 a dear friend introduced me to Phish. I started avidly collecting tapes and learning about the band on the old phish.net site. My encouraging parents added my ever-growing stash of bootlegs into our family rotation. I remember one specific moment we were in the car and Dad really "got" Phish. Possum was playing, and something just clicked for him. From that moment on he's been an avid fan, as my Mom had been right along from that first tape I ever traded.

I tried to find a sweet version of Possom for you today Dad but stumbled across this little beauty instead that I know you'll love. This is from an amazing show on April 29, 1990. Phish covers a Bill Monroe song "Uncle Pen" and the Soldier's Joy jam that kicks in around 2:15 just sounds so loving, festive, and sincere: just right for you Dad.

Happy BirthDave, I love you with all my heart!

Countdown to Phish: Day 25

Thanks to YouTube user "otuswerd" we have actual video coverage to give you a virtual sense of what it was like to experience the McLovins live at Revolution Hall to celebrate the release of PhanArt (see countdown to Phish: Day 26).

I've watched these young gents rise to YouTube stardom have always been impressed with their chops, but let me just say that when they took the stage Saturday night, no sooner than 30 seconds into "Linus and Lucy" I was totally blown away. My youngest brother may have put it best when he whispered "I'm going on McLovins tour!"

The Hartford, CT trio is Jake (Drumlovin), Jason (Basslovin), and Jeff (Axlovin). Jeff's still in middle school! They shredded & jammed with tight articulation and a natural sense of the groove. I cannot wait to see what these guys are up to in a few years. Extremely talented. While much of their popularity has grown from their epic Phish, Dead, and Weather Report covers, I gotta say, I absolutely LOVED their originals even more than the covers they played (Although Birdland and Cliffs of Dover are both on my desert island song list).

When they teased "Tweezer" about halfway through their own (amazing) song "Guillotine Machine" it sent shivers of excitement up my spine for the upcoming Hampton run. I had a quick flashback as the energy built and the crowd began to move together like an animal of its own. My need to dance kicked in the way it only does in the middle of the greatest of live jams.

Way to go McLovins, you totally rock! Here's a clip from the night which'll give you a taste of their YEM set-closer:

Countdown to Phish: Day 26

Last night I attended a wonderful Phish-related event to celebrate a collaborative effort spearheaded by Pete Mason: a book called Phanart: The Art of the Fans of Phish. Pete has jumped through many legal and logistical hoops to bring the project to life, and it's alive alright!

Last night hundreds of people gathered at one of my favorite venues, Revolution Hall in Troy NY for Phanart's publishing & release party. I bought a copy of the book and you should too. It's beautiful -- chock full of 1600+ images of Phish fan created art: stickers, t-shirts, posters, license plates, and essays which are now preserved in this comprehensive archive all inspired by the love of a band. Huge props to everyone involved in this project!

One of the best things about Phanart is that all of the proceeds benefit The Mockingbird Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to provide and enhance music education. Pete Mason is a teacher himself and mentioned in his speech last night that he'd love nothing more than to see this project which was created by a music-loving community return back to to children to inspire music for years to come.

I had a wonderful time last night celebrating this great achievement and especially the live set played by rising stars, The McLovins. More about them in tomorrow's countdown post, stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are two of my favorites of the hundreds of beautiful photos my husband Kale captured from the event:

Countdown to Phish: Day 27

Let's dial things back about 20 and a half year ago to 6/23/89, a summer night in Boston at the Paradise Theater. Phish played Fee about half-way through the first set that night, and someone captured a pretty sweet video. This was before the days when Trey would sing the lyrics through a megaphone:

Countdown to Phish: Day 28

I am a lover and listener to all types of music from country to death metal to classical and everything in between, but I gotta be honest when I say that above all music, I've been head-over-heels in love with Phish for more than half of my life.

The band played it's last show on August 15, 2004. That was a very sad day for me and a lot of other people. But, it gave us all a chance to do things like go to college or grad school, begin or return to careers, fall in love, start families, discover new bands, and dance in our living rooms to Phish DVD's wondering if and when we'd ever get a chance to do it in real life again.

Last fall on October 1st, a day after Trey's 44th birthday, we awoke to 3am text messages and 4am phone-calls: the whisper spread like wildfire into a worldwide cheer of pure jubilation, our band would play again! I felt like the 8 year old version of myself on Christmas morning hearing the news first from my brother and seeing the announcement for the first time on my computer. The servers that host phish.com were so jammed that day it was nearly impossible to play the video in its entirety, but the message was clear: game on.

These past 4 months have felt almost as long as the 4+ years we've waited to feel that feeling and now there's only one more month to go. Tickets have been bought, sold, birthday-miracled, traded, & gifted. Hotel rooms booked, days off requested, flights reserved. Phish is on, they're really gonna play, and we're gonna be there. I can't believe it!

Now it's time to start nailing down the final details: gotta tune-up the car, set meeting dates to re-connect with long lost friends, check the Hampton weather forecast daily, choose music for the roadtrip, dig out my old lucky show charm necklace, find those bouncy sneakers, and wait for that morning when I can wake up and drive south with my crew!

To celebrate, every day from now until we leave for Hampton on March 5th, I'm going to post a Phish-related story, song, or clip to document this incredible time (and to give me something to focus on so I don't totally self-implode with excitement in the meantime).

Let's start off with what brought this all on in the first place, the oh so long awaited... over-speculated... multi-rumored.... official.... ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!

stephaniesid

I've had this song in my head all week, it's called "cold cold" by stephaniesid: a lush and compelling indie-pop band out of Asheville. Awesome video too:

The Ross Compressor

This story makes me almost as happy as the fact that Phish will soon be playing live again. It's a beautiful story called...The Ross Compressor:

In early December, a conversation began on my favorite Phish discussion board, PhantasyTour.com. Fans were discussing the evolution of Trey's guitar tone since the days before the band returned from their hiatus in 2002.

Trey's rig has changed over the years. He's added and subtracted various components that shape his signature sound. Two noted changes have been the removal of his old cabinets and the Ross compressor pedal from his bag of tricks.

Compression applied to any instrument limits the highs and lows of its sound to create a more evenly distributed tone. If you know Trey's work, you'll remember those lonnnnngggg sweet sustains that would frequent the Squirming Coils and YEMs of the 90's, and you can thank the Ross for every one. Trey sequences his pedals differently than many guitar players: he places his compressor pedal AFTER two tube screamers in his effects chain. This allows him to grow the size of his licks while maintaining clarity and building sustain -- a key element to the intricate compositions of Phish.

Tom Marshall, Phish's lyricist, occasionally contributes to discussions on Phantasy Tour. He was interested in our talk of The Ross, and said he would ask Trey about it the next time they met. Tom returned to the board with a riveting message from Big Red himself: apparently Trey had just been thinking about revisiting the Ross for the upcoming shows — if he could only find it.

That was all the encouragement we needed. Christmas was coming, and our guitar hero needed his pedal. No problem! Immediately after reading Tom's post, a group of 50+ fans joined together as PFACT: “People for a Compressed Trey”. Scott Gray took the initiative and purchased a vintage Ross Compressor pedal from an e-bay auction. The rest of us chipped in a few bucks. We voted on a quote to be engraved on the bottom of the pedal: "And When The Moment Comes..." (but that's another story)

Scott spearheaded the logistics of acquiring the Ross, having it engraved, carefully wrapping the pedal in Christmas paper, and shipping it off to Tom Marshall who promised to deliver it to Trey at some point during the holidays.

I know I'm not alone in saying that the excitement I felt about this surprise was almost too much to contain in the weeks leading up to the day when Tom would finally deliver the news of a successful mission. We couldn't wait to hear Trey's response! Imagine being able to give an ultimate gift to your favorite guitar player -- not a t-shirt, not money, not even art. A tool to demonstrate our unbridled desire to hear that sound that we all fell in love with back in the day!

The anticipation built like the force of a Phish jam itself, finally climaxing two nights before the band officially announced their summer tour dates. Our spirits were high: Tom finally delivered the present to Trey on the evening of January 6th and posted pictures to prove it.

I still can't stop looking at these. Some say you'd be hard pressed to find a similar story that compares to this one in the history of rock and roll.

Here's to your triumphant return Trey, and Thanks For Everything!

garden party

Rick Nelson wrote this song after he played a Rock Revival concert in 1971 at Madison Square Garden. He received a negative response from the crowd: the fans had different expectations of the setlist Rick played that night. Hence the title "Garden Party" and the references to his experience written in the lyrics, which also to apply to life in general:

caught by the river

A dear friend reminded me of this Doves track a few days ago and it really hit the nail on the head. Great song, lush & layered mix, solid record, & the video looks like it could have been filmed at the Tivoli mansion right on the Hudson, just steps away from where I'm typing on this soft, rainy day. Good soundtrack for it, check 'er out:

Trey Talks Spectrum

The Philly Spectrum: a historic venue for sports and music alike is scheduled to be torn down in September 2009. Below is some excellent interview footage of Trey Anastasio. He shares his thoughts on the history of the Spectrum where so many epic events and memories have been created and will live on forever. I sure hope we get at least one last Phish show in there!

MGMT: Electric Feel

Ok, so it's no secret that MGMT is blowing it up. They're awesome! Have you seen this video? It's so cool that I'm straying from my usual embedded video posting style to link you to the hi-res version. Trust me, it's worth the load-time even if you're still on dial-up.

Freakin' epic pop song to get your Monday on. Click the image below, and for heaven's sake, please listen loud on some decent speakers:

new beginnings

the world sure does feel better now:

Photo cred: The New York Times

stevie on soul train

In case you kidz need any dancing tips for Hampton, check out these sweet moves. Stevie's got it goin' on like nobody's business:

Go Obama Go!

Six more days until we change the world! Obama layin' it down through the Pennsylvania rain:


Amazing photos by Mark Greene.

great lake swimmers

Special treat for Friday: this spine-tinglingly haunting song & video by Great Lake Swimmers.

The song is calleed "Your Rocky Spine". It's from their latest record called "Ongiara". If you dig it, do yourself a favor and listen to the vinyl or CD on something other than computer speakers because the quality of the production is filled with true love, as is the music.

That luscious reverb you're hearing is 100% homegrown organic, courtesy of the magical space they recorded it in, the Aeolian Hall in London, Ontario. I just can't stop listening to it:

younger sister band

Not just your average, every-day Brooklyn-based DIY Bollywood music video (directed by the ultra-talented Jane Parrot), this one rocks. I love The Younger Sister Band!

3 678 9

Time Turns Elastic

Today is Trey Anastasio's 44th birthday!

My red-headed hero gave a very special performance on Saturday 9-27-08 at one of the great churches of country music, the epic Ryman Auditorium.

Trey headlined Orchestra Nashville’s season-opening show along with a 60-piece orchestra for the world premiere of his 30+ minute piece called “Time Turns Elastic”, composed with collaborator Don Hart.

The evening's performance created a common ground for the hardcore Phish fans, classical music aficionados, and music lovers of all kinds.

Below is a link to some footage from the Ryman. It's a track from Trey's Bar 17 record: "Let Me Lie". This beautiful song has been in my heart for the past few weeks, and this is the best live version I've heard yet.

I love how the orchestra lovingly backs Trey's guitar and vocals. Watch for the moment when Trey switches guitars and plays a heart-melting solo over the strings before singing the song home.

Here's another article written before the show from one of my favorite music blogs, Hidden Track: Trey Takes Nashville.

I highly encourage you to download the torrent and give Time Turns Elastic the deep listen it deserves.

Happy Birthday Big Red! Can't wait for the shows in two weeks...I hope you play this one in Albany:

Peter Mulvey: No Gasoline Tour 2008

Featured Pump Audio Artist: Peter Mulvey has got it going on!

He's embarking on his second concert tour by bicycle on September 10th, which he calls the "No Gasoline Tour." It was a big success last year, so he's hitting the road again for ten days, making stops to play gigs across Southeast Wisconsin. He'll be riding a Rans recumbent bicycle, equipped with a custom guitar-carrying rack, and encouraging fans to ride along and help spread his message of music, fun, and clean energy.

Go Peter, go!

Last Call

Local heroes: Dead Unicorn. Paul Heath (bass, vocals) and Zac Shaw (drums, vocals) rock with the raw, unbridled, masculine force of an exploding solar system -- these guys just play their wild hearts out. Let me tell you, seeing them live and feeding off/back their energy is one hell of a rush.

Dead Unicorn plays "Music For End Times", the appropriate title of their independent record label. Chris Rahm creates apocalyptic video feeds to synch up with Zac & Paul's live soundtrack. The whole experience truly makes you feel like the world is ending, and if it actually was, it just wouldn't be quite so bad to have them take us all to the other side, raging off into an incendiary blaze of glory.

The message of Music For End Times is: "Whatever you do on the last day of your life is probably what you should be doing more of in your normal, boring, everyday life." I love that. I'm gonna do that. Fuck that, I'm doing it now!

Last Call is my favorite song that they play, and it will be released on Dead Unicorn's sophomore record: Code Orange: Global Thermonuclear War, due out this fall with a tour to follow.

Chris directed and produced this amazing video and it just gives me the chills:


Dead Unicorn - Last Call from Chris Rahm on Vimeo.

...

today is the day

Woah, boy, it's really, really good. Put down that latte, do not pass go, and download this one immediately pals. They'll even send you a CD in the mail in the fall, which is a really classy touch. I love and demand the instant gratification of a download, and it's probably gonna live in my iTunes anyway, but the collector heart in me just still likes to hold the real thing in my hand. I also like to be able to put the disc on in the living room over the real speaks (even though it's now though a PS3...oh how technology changes...) Thanks David & Brian -- a whole chorus of angels gets a new lush and shiny mountain of wings every time this record gets played out into the ether...

Everything That Happens Happens Today:

Big Red Rocks APW

So glad you're back in action Trey!

amazing photo cred: Jeff Kravitz copyright 2008

for you from the universe

It's 8-8-08 , the luckiest day of all time!

I get "notes from the universe" from a website that I really love, Thoughts Become Things. It's about the adventure of life. Check it out and you can sign up (no spam, believe me) to start your day with an email that just hits the ball out of the park every time. Definitely awesome.

This one is too good not to share, and it's for you:

It really is easy, You really are powerful. I really do love you.

You can have it all. You will live forever. And the best is yet to come.

You're already rich. There's more on the way. It's closer than you think.

There've been no mistakes. You've never been judged. And all things are playing out in your favor.

Moreover, as if all of that wasn't enough, it's totally Friday and you're so, so beautiful.

Boom,
The Universe

the green sparrow & walnut creek!

It's a great day for record/DVD releases kiddos:

it's all happening (today)

Oh boy, it's here, the free download preview track from the latest (in 27 years) collaboration between David Byrne and Brian Eno!

Click here to check it out, I'm listening to it right now for the first time! Lush, juicy Eno textures with classic Byrne vocals & lyrics...

And, since my last report, I'm pleased to announce that their tour dates have magnificently expanded from six to a whopping 37. One show in Albany, I'll be there!

Thanks for the free song boys! You can get the whole album on August 18th...

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

That's right folks, fasten your seatbelts cause guess what? David Byrne and Brian Eno have finally finished their follow-up record to My Life in The Bush of Ghosts! And you'll be able to hear it real soon!

It's their first collaboration in 27 years (since MLITBOG) and it's called "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today". It's being described as "electronic gospel" and I am just sitting on the edge of my seat, drooling to dig into it. I've heard that it's a lot more song-y than atmospheric, and Byrne sings over Eno's compositions. Woah, nelly this is gonna be good. The duo will self-release it here on August 4th. Then on August 18th, you'll be able to stream or buy the entire album from the site, and one song will be free!

The duo will embark on a long international tour beginning this fall. As of now, only six shows have been announced, and they're all pretty far away (from me), but the rumor is that there are many more to come. Great!

rain

man, is it pouring out there! here's a rainy day song for you:

love

"there's someone in the world today, right now in time and space, who you've yet to even meet, who will, before long, fall very, very in love with you" -- the universe

7.16.94

Today I'm celebrating the 14th anniversary of my first Phish show at Sugarbush in North Fayston, Vermont, 7-16-94. It was one of those "first days of the rest of your life" nights. It was also exactly half my life ago! I was 14, it was the peak of summer, I was there with my brother Travis and two dear friends. And let me tell you, we had ourselves a real adventure. Having followed Phish by the minute ever since that day, I now know what an exceptional show it was and how lucky I am to have been there.

A comet crashed into Jupiter that night, and while we couldn't quite see it in the starry sky above the mountain, the band played a rare song in time with the event, which definitely added to the excitement. They also played Harry Hood, which I'd never heard before and has been my favorite song of all time ever since.

So tonight I'll repeat my favorite annual ritual of listening to the concert in its entirety. A spiritual experience. A few years ago, the band remastered the recording and released it as Live Phish Volume 2 -- that version sounds almost as good as it did that epic night on the mountain. Gates open at 5, showtime 7:30...

bankrobber

Here's a single by the Clash called Bankrobber. Interestingly, it was never released on any of their studio albums. Instead it appeared on a compilation called Black Market Clash in 1980, and of course it rocked right to the top of the UK charts because it's awesome!

Another bit of trivia is that the single was released on August 8, 1980 (8-8-80) and if you're a date geek like I am, you're probably looking forward to 8-8-08 which is coming right up. Wouldn't it have been cool if I'd posted this 28 years later on 8-8-08? Maybe I'll do another tribute to Bankrobber in a few weeks -- just couldn't resist sharing this tune with you today. It just sounds so good playing real loud with the windows rolled down on a mid-summer afternoon beer-run, right? (Or sitting in your office imagining that very scenario...) There's also a cool story that goes along with the following video, which The Clash put together on a low budget, way ahead of their time.

So you've got your standard clips of the band tracking in the studio. Meanwhile, the editor cuts in narrative scenes of bandana-clad Clash roadies Baker and Johnny Green while they're heisting a bank in Lewisham. I was probably learning to walk when this went down, but I'm guessing that there weren't too many of these narrative music videos going around back then.

Anyway, as the story goes, in the middle of production, Baker and Green were questioned by a bunch of cops who thought they were really robbing a bank! Ha ha ha. That must have been tricky to explain back then. But then again, you've got to be pretty badass to be a roadie for The Clash, so I'm sure they had it covered.

i like mike

Celebrated Guthrie's 23rd birthday with the whole family down at the Iron Horse on Monday night! It was a real treat to hear Mike Gordon playing in his sparkely shirt, sleeves rolled up and all. The room sounded great and was full of radiant energy. One of those nights when you're just so damn glad to be alive. Magic. The music just felt so good washing over me. Mike is a man of few words (on stage anyhow) but during one break he spoke of his recent experiences of pure jubilation, like the feeling of falling in love. It was contagious.

Mike has been working hard all year on his new record which is due out on August 5th. It's called The Green Sparrow. He's even pressing a special batch out on 180g Green Vinyl, and boy oh boy, am I ever excited to peel the shrink wrap off that baby when it arrives in my mailbox! Preorder'd!

His five-piece band includes longtime collaborator Scott Murawski on guitar, Vermonters Craig Myers on percussion and Tom Cleary on keyboards (sick!), and Brooklyn drummer Todd Isler. They have a laid-back, easy stage presence and it's lucky to hear them find their sound, which I'm sure will layer in complexity over time like a nice maroon wine. Shiraz, probably.

Monday was the kick-off night of their 20+ show summer tour to celebrate the new record, so naturally they played a bunch of Green Sparrow tunes. They also treated us to a few very tasteful and special covers. I almost peed my pants when they busted out the JJ Cale tune "Ain't Love Funny". Guthrie re-turned me onto it last spring, and it's been in my heart a whole lot lately. They also played the Beatles' She Said, She Said and Phish's "Meat" for the encore.

Check out this insightful article about Mike in Rolling Stone yesterday.

And here's She Said from the Iron Horse, thanks to sweetjonny for taping this, and thanks a million to the band and to my family for one amazing night of music and love!

moodstream

As a kid, whenever people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I said "I want to match music to fit the right mood". And now I'm a grown-up and that's what I get to do (most days ;-)!

This is a cool little web application that I worked on recently. My job was to pick out songs that matched 10 different moods from the Pump Audio catalog. Their job at Getty Images was to pick out pictures and video clips that match those same moods, and integrate the music with the visuals.

Moodstream by Getty Images

Pretty neat! Check it out & make sure to hit "Refresh Stream" after you choose your ideal mood or switch between the instrumental/vocal settings.

falling in love in a coffee shop...

sweet song by landon pigg:

Artist Site

More Videos

air: all i need

sky smeed

Here's a great song to kick off your Memorial Day weekend: Moving Down by Sky Smeed. It came on the radio as I was driving across the Hudson River tonight and everything just fell into place.

As the folks at WAMC say, "Sky Smeed is the real thing, a kid from Kansas who's making his home in Housatonic, MA while writing songs and working on old houses, which, when you come to think of it, are the same thing." Love that quote.

Buy his records and play them in the car on your summer roadtrips! Sky plays honest Alt-Country that's straight from the heart; his music is the perfect soundtrack for these fresh sweet days in late-spring when everything is possible.

do you hear the difference?

My friend Mr. Tunes turned me on to this cool little test. Try it out & see if you can tell the difference in sound quality between a 128 kbps mp3 vs. a 320k one? Good luck...it's tricky!

best of jill hives

Song of the day: Best of Jill Hives by Guided By Voices

sarah perrotta

Sarah Perrotta has something going on...

She sings clear through the speakers right into my heart. I've been classifying her album "The Well" today, and it's beautiful -- just added her tracks to our catalog here at Pump Audio.

Found this great live recording from my favorite venue, the Bearsville Theater. Sarah plays "Out of Grace" with surprise guest Garth Hudson on accordion (dude, how do you even play an accordion so sweet with a beard that long?!?)

Also, big props to the crew - pretty slick production, eh? And I'm not just saying that because my darling husband Kale recorded the audio & my buddy Chris Rahm produced the shoot.

Well done, boys (and girl :-) Nice one all around!

might as well...

The story goes something like this: joined some pals for a night at the pirate bar down in Catskill one springy night not too long ago, funny place. We loaded up the jukebox and when my selection of Van Halen's Jump! came on, it matched our spirits perfectly. Really kicked the energy up a notch in the place -- I love it when that happens. Air-keytar action ensued and when things settled down a bit, my buddy and I began imagining what the hell it must have been like to be tracking that freakin' session, I mean the energy involved is super-human to say the least! Seriously, try it. Listen to that song and imagine actually being in the recording session at that very moment and you'll get my point. We were wishing we'd been flies on the wall the day that tape was rolling...

So today, I was retelling that watering-hole story around the water-cooler with a fellow friend and engineer, he totally got the idea. He asked if I'd ever heard Aztec Camera's version of Jump! Have you? Totally different vibe, beautiful all the same.

Go ahead and...

i especially enjoyed the scallops

had the pleasure of partying with these fine gents once again over the weekend, and boy they sure are entertaining in so very many ways. 

check out dead unicorn and their podcast & music for end times:

feels like i'm walking

This is a cool music video from one of the first bands that I fell in love with while working at Pump: Huma. Self-described on their site they're "Just three young folks. A brother. A sister. A best friend/girlfriend. Kids behind counters making music on coffee breaks. Teachers after school playing NYC late. Librarians singing softly in the stacks."

They started in Jersey & now live, work, & play in Seattle. They've got a new EP coming out soon & are rising stars in the world of Pump Audio & the universe in general. Check 'em:

for those about to rock...

true blue

Man, have I got a story for you. So remember that good old trusty Volvo that I drove all over the country in with my brothers on all those Phish tours and other fun road-trips?

Well I've gone through a bunch of great cars in my day; most of them well-loved beaters with great stories attached. There was Long John Silver, The Purple School Bus, The Walrus, Verona, The Red Tomato, The Dodge Dart, True Blue, and then...The Green Volvo.

Now The Green Volvo had a lot of nicknames, none that ever really ever stuck, but man...she was one hell of a car. One of those cars that you feel so safe in because your Dad gave it to you and you used to sit in the back seat on family trips and now you're a grown up but you're driving around the world in a capsule protected by your Dad's love? Yeah, just like that. Plus, it was a really nice car that had the kind of stamina to cross the country without breaking down all the time.

About a month before Guthrie and I left for Vancouver for our year at film school, I was looking into storage options, thinking I'd put 'er up on blocks in a garage somewhere and fly out to Vancouver where I wouldn't need a car anyway. It was a hot, sunny afternoon in late August, and we were sitting on the lawn in front of the house we grew up in looking at The Green Volvo. The doors and trunk were wide open, the beer cooler was overturned on the lawn, and various tarps and sleeping bags were draped across the yard. We were all airing out from a particularly sad and soggy drive home from Coventry, the very last Phish show. I think we were all wondering what was going to happen next. Guthrie turned to me and said, "You know Cait? The best possible use for that car is to carry us out to Vancouver and back so I don't have to check my guitars on the airplane and we can have another fun roadtrip!"

The next thing I knew, we were squabbling over who would "take the trunk" and who would "take the back seat" in terms of filling it up with possessions for the big year ahead. Between my clothes and Guthrie's gear, believe me, we didn't waste an inch of space. We hit the trail once again, driving the entire length of I-90 from Springfield to Seattle and watched the leaves turn the entire way, listening to Chariots of Fire as we set out, and to the Northern Exposure theme song as we crossed the Black Hills, silly and road-weary, with our sights set on the border. Then exactly a year later, with gleaming Pro-Tools Certifications under each of our seatbelts, we packed her up and drove all the way back home again.

So you get the idea. Great car, great times, family bonding, etc. About 2 years later, I called Guthrie and said "Well, I'm afraid she's reached the end of her trail, for us anyway..." The repairs were way too expensive to justify, and I sold her for "parts" to my friendly neighborhood Volvo mechanic. I was secretly hoping that he would revive the car and give her a second life. My husband and I bought a beautiful Prius just when the gas prices started to really go up. We said goodbye to The Green Volvo and started the next roadtrip in our new ride.

When my Mama gave her safe-capsule-of-love-Volvo to Guthrie, he started taking it to the same mechanic for oil changes. He would call me from the garage with occasional status reports about The Green Volvo, like "eh, she's still in the junkyard" or "oh, he moved her into the other lot today". Time passes. Then one day last year, winter was approaching and Guthrie went to get his snow tires mounted. He called me from the shop and said, "You'll never believe it! The Green Volvo is back in action! Bill fixed it and sold it to someone nice! It's here in the bay right next to my car and they're still trying to figure out that problem with the electrical system so it will pass inspection." I was happy to know that it would have some more adventures, and Guthrie got a kick out of telling the mechanic about the coincidence.

A winter went by, spring happened, and then about 20 minutes ago, Guthrie called me saying "Hey, check this out, I'm having another reunion here!" He'd gone to get his snow tires removed, and low and behold, there is The Green Volvo getting an oil change right in the bay next to his! The new owner even left the Phish sticker on it. I said, "Hey! send me a picture from your cell phone," which he did. Now check out this sweet sight: our two capsules of adventure and love side-by-side just saying hi to each other again & sharing their stories from another season down the road:

stash

this is just amazing. i am at a loss for words. you fellow phish fans will know what i mean:

sweet jane

the rumor

"Close your eyes, hang down your head, until the fog blows away, let it roll away. Open up your arms and feel the good, it's a-comin', a brand new day."

from 'The Rumor' by The Band

sunscreen

Thanks, brother for reminding me about this one today!

radiohead re-mix project

I love Radiohead. I love In Rainbows, and the whole concept of "pay what you want" for it. I paid 5 pounds, because that was what I could afford, although if I was a millionaire, I would have paid 500 pounds, because the record is just that damn good.

And you've probably heard of this by now, but if not, get ready for yet another revolutionary musical gift from Radiohead: how about giving us fans access to 5 stems from the original track "Nude" to mix up to our hearts content! Yeah!

Read all about it out on their site.

They want you to make something new out of their song. For a small fee of $5.94, you can purchase the stems and have a blast.

'Stems' are individual tracks that make up a song. Every song is made up of several stem tracks; one for drums, one for bass, one for guitar, etc. Before you've mixed the stems down into one track, you still have the freedom to play around; you can boost/cut the volume, (say if you want the other instruments to get quieter during a guitar solo, all you've gotta do is lower the levels of the other tracks & boost the guitar track). You can also drop out parts completely, or add beats and effects. Once the mix sounds good to everybody, you weave those stems together and that's what makes a finished song.

Once a song is mixed, you can't change anything about specific elements, like say, drop out the vocal track to sing your own karaoke over it. But, before a song is mixed, you can make new arrangements until your heart's content using a music software platform, like Pro Tools, Nuendo, Logic, or Garageband.

So, back to the "Nude" remix project. You can download the 'stems' from iTunes, and you get bass, voice, guitar, strings/fx and drums, each for use on their own track. They'll even give you a special Garageband session to make things easier. You can mix the stems any way you like, by adding your own beats, instrumentation, vocals, and effects, or just by remixing the original parts until you come up with something cool and original.

Then, you can upload your finished mix to Radiohead's website. Tons of people will listen and vote for their favorite remix, and then Radiohead will listen to the best remixes.

There are some really cool remixes up there on the site now to check out. I'm excited, it's a great song and I can't wait to mix it up. What a band.

Here's the original version of Nude:

pump audio rocks times square

What an amazing time! After arriving at work on Thursday armed with garment bags & sheriff badges, about 30 of us from the Tivoli crew of Pump Audio boarded a Rock Bus headed straight for the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. The folks from Getty Images joined us in hosting a night that was action-packed with incredible music, contagious excitement, beautiful people, colorful lights, fancy dresses, flashing cameras, wild dancing, and just a little bit of drinking. The Alexis P. Suter Band played a set that was literally incendiary. Epic. They've also been opening up the Midnight Rambles at Levon Helm's studio up here in Woodstock lately. Here are a few pics from the night:

hello tomorrow

Here's a good one for a Monday. Yes it's a commercial, but a great example of music used well in a commercial -- I think so anyway. Cool video too. This spot came out in 2005 and was created by Spike Jonze. The title song, "Hello Tomorrow" was composed specifically for the ad by Spike's brother, Sam "Squeak E. Clean" Spiegel. Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs sings the lyrics.

ain't love funny

Thanks to my brother Guthrie for sharing a sweet tune this morning; it's a JJ Cale song Ain't Love Funny from his album Closer to You. This version was covered by Phish on June 6, 1997 at their road manager Brad Sands' house in Charlotte, VT. This private, unannounced concert was attended by 50-60 family members and friends of the band and is lovingly referred to as "The Fourth Ball" or "Bradstock". Happy spring!

four eyed monsters

Just revisiting one of my favorite films here; Four Eyed Monsters. A great one to check out this weekend if you haven't seen it yet. It's a fresh and delicious love story for the eyes and ears alike. And you don't even have to wait for Netflix or b-side films to send it to you, you can watch it right now, all 71 minutes of it right on their myspace page, how's that for innovation? That's right, they've embedded their entire feature film right into their damn myspace page! I'm pretty sure that after watching about 4 of the 71 minutes online, you'll want to order yourself a nice DVD to show off your new flat-panel with, but there is nothing like instant gratification.

Here's the trailer:

25 Things About Me

1. I'll try anything once.

2. I learned how to fly an airplane before I learned how to drive.

3. My brothers are my closest friends on the planet.

4. Living in Vancouver for a year only amplified my love for rainy days.

5. I recently earned my EMT-B certification and have already put it to good use.

6. Dropping out of high school was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

7. I survived "Hook Worms". Enough said.

8. I believe in love at first sight.

9. My parents still own and live in the house I grew up in. I feel comfort and ground whenever I go back there.

10. Sometimes I wish people would call me Caitie but I haven't figured out a cool way to spell it with a "C".

11. When I fall in love with a song, I crave it on a visceral level.

12. I can't wait to meet my future children and I think about them all the time.

13. If Steve Jobs made a toothbrush, I would buy it.

14. I am a proud member of the mile-high club (see #2).

15. I will attend my 100th Phish concert on March 8th, 2009!

16. I worked as a shad fisherman on the Hudson River for several years every season each May. It was one of my favorite jobs I've ever had.

17. Sunset is my favorite time of day.

18. I've transformed from a "cat-person" into a "dog-person", thanks to Habibi.

19. The company I work for pays me good money to listen to music for 8 hours every day (?!?) Yes.

20. I love plane, train, and automobile trips. Especially the ones where the road stretches out for so long ahead that it takes days or weeks to get "there".

21. When I was ten, I memorized all the words to "We Didn't Start the Fire". I still sing it regularly.

22. The first vehicle registered in my name was a full-sized purple 1978 Bluebird school bus.

23. According to my (very patient) husband, I have long, detailed, one-sided conversations in my sleep almost every night.

24. I can cook an awesome meal out of whatever is left in the fridge as long as we have garlic.

25. If you are reading this, I love you.

runnin' on faith

I'll never forget one of the many times I asked my Dad for mix-tape advice while raiding his record collection. I was 15, the whole ecstatic summer was glistening ahead, and I was dubbing songs from vinyl to cassettes; crafting the soundtrack for my first big road trip. He played me "Key to the Highway" from the Derek & the Dominos record, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. It's one of my favorite albums of all time. He said, "play this one as soon as you turn onto 91..."

The next thing I'll never forget is the rush that I felt in my soul after cranking up that mix tape in the van and actually hearing that song while watching those yellow lines stretch miles ahead as I left Cheshire County far behind & began my own adventure of self-discovery. Good call Dad!

The image above was on my desktop for a while during my "Winter of Eric Clapton Appreciation Season of 2007-08". Really spiced up the 'ole cabin fever this year to read his autobiography & chronologically listen to his entire discography of recorded material. His book, appropriately titled Clapton, is a real page-turner. As a writer for Publisher's Weekly says "Readers hoping for sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll won't be disappointed." And baby, I wasn't. It was amazing to hear him describe his journey of teaching himself to play guitar by listening to records and playing along, recording himself on a tape recorder, and learning from his mistakes. The story unfolds from there into a tornado of wild adventures as he travels through adolescence, self-discovery, addiction, women, tours, bands, a search for his roots, and a brilliant outlook on the future.

I'm gonna roam this old highway until the break of day...

golden ears

Most humans can hear sounds within the frequency range of 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. Anything below 20 Hz is silent to us, but we can feel it, like the bass of a song through a sub-woofer (ha ha), or the vibrations of the floor at a concert.

Check this one out: dogs (as well as many other animals) have a wider range of hearing than humans, about 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz (you probably knew that, but hey)!

I love watching our dog Habibi (adorable) react to sounds. It never ceases to amaze me at how he can tell that Kale is coming home at least 30 seconds before I hear any footsteps or keys jingling in the door.

To me, the vacuum just sounds loud, but it's actually giving off a very high frequency sound which scares the living daylights out of the poor guy.

One time I learned that part of dogs' secret to sharp hearing is the fact that they have so much mobility in their ears. If you watch 'em, you'll notice that they perk up their ears when they pick up on a fascinating sound, and move them to "tune it in", the same way that we can cup our ears to increase sensitivity to sound.

I just know that those extra 40,000 Hz give Habibi a whole different perspective of the world. He would definitely be one awesome sound engineer.

i can't believe i ran my hybrid out of gas...

Yep, what began as a simple Friday lunchtime trip to the diner with a couple of friends turned into an adventure that will not likely be forgotten anytime soon by the folks at our local watering hole... I guess now i know that when the Prius says E it means it!

make the jump!

I'm lucky to say that two of my favorite things in this world are my amazing brothers, Travis and Guthrie. And since this blog is about music, life, love, and adventures, I think it's about time I introduce them to y'all.

Travis plays bass (and guitar hero), has attended more live concerts than anyone I've ever known, is a critical and talented music writer, and also has a photographic memory of which he devotes an entire hemisphere of his brain to cataloging musical experiences and data. His most recent endeavor involves recording live concerts (with the bands' permission, of course) and posting the torrents to his site, The JumpStation.

Once again, thank the sweet Lord for brothers, because The JumpStation has been a real publicity kick for our younger brother Guthrie, an incredibly talented working musician. Guthrie plays bass in Middle America, pretty much the hottest rock band in the Hudson Valley. He's also the bass player in another great local band, Johnny Unstoppable, and plays a bunch of solo gigs here and there. He's also a pro-tools engineer, sound designer, film composer, remote classifier for Pump, and one of those guys who can pick up any instrument and play it beautifully, (or rocking-ly, depending on the groove) with very little ego.

Middle America played a hot set at The Basement the other night which Travis recorded and will soon be uploading as a torrent on The Jumpstation. For now, you can check out and download some other cool shows from his site; there's also a killer Dead Unicorn show up -- they're yet another insanely awesome Kingston band.

I love you brothers, you keep on rockin' now boyzzzzz....

tegan and sara

Tegan and Sara aren't Pump artists, but their fifth album "The Con" has been in slot 4 of my cd-player for weeks now. They're twin sisters from Calgary, Alberta. Currently, Tegan lives in Vancouver (a city close to my heart) and Sara lives in Montreal. I'd say for about the last 25 week-days or so, this song has been key to my morning routine: Wake up, hit the shower, eat cereal with Kale and Habibi, run out the door, realize I've forgotten my cell phone, run back in and grab it, rev up the 'ole Prius, and skip straight to track 6 for a great morning-drive soundtrack. Saw a video of them recording this a while back and learned a whole bunch of cool studio tricks like throwing a mic on a bottle of sunflower seeds (which shaking) to emphasize the crisp snare-rattle. Check out their fantastic final product:
back in your head

that sea, the gambler

I love my job at Pump Audio. I listen to music all day. As a classifier for our ever-expanding catalog, I screen the submissions that come in from independent artists all over the world. Some days I hear a lot of good music. Some days I hear a lot of what we like to call "average" music. Most days it's a stew. But then there are days like today when I come across a real gem -- a song or an album that warms me to the core of my soul and makes me want to listen over and over and play it through speakers big enough to wash through the whole Hudson River.

So today was pretty much a regular day until the album "That Sea, the Gambler" by Gregory Alan Isakov (of The Freight) played through my speakers about an hour ago. First, I fell in love. Then, I added "The Stable Song" to my myspace page. Then, I said, hey...I think today's the day to actually start that music blog I've been wanting to for a long time. So thanks for the music Gregory, and for the inspiration... from now on when I hear something cool I'll post it up here for y'all to enjoy!

Here is a video-track from "That Sea, The Gambler" by Gregory Alan Isakov:
Check out this video: Black and Blue



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