Dan: I hope this comes out right, but is it fair to say that to some degree the band has fostered the current climate surrounding DVDs? Because there is clearly a demand for full shows on video and by not releasing anything official, they’ve sort of…I mean, people who want something are going to find it.
Kevin: I think a lot of things contribute to it. Video of the band has been traded as long as audio. That’s not a new thing and it never got much attention until the explosion of DVD synced with official audio sources. I enjoy watching video, as do most people. It’s fun to see what the band looked like and how they were playing. I’m sure the amount officially released may contribute to some degree, but I don’t think anyone is trying to not release official video. To the contrary, I’m almost always working on some video or another we’d like to release and we’ll get more out as we go. I should say there’s generally a lot more scrutiny of the video releases so they take longer. Video projects generally involve lots of band member participation, and basically a lot more desire to edit footage and make it more special – to be more creative producing it. Those things can all be positive, but video releases cost more and take longer as a result. Live audio carries less baggage. It’s more straightforward so it’s easier to satisfy demand.
Dan: If I can interrupt, if that’s the case, that there is more scrutiny, then what about the Vegas DVD?
Kevin: The Vegas DVD was our first attempt to release a full show on video. Like I said, with video releases, the band has always tried to create art within art. IT, Bittersweet Motel and Tracking fit that mold. Vegas was the first Phish video release that’s entirely about the show.
Dan: Are you happy with it?
Kevin: Yes.
Dan: Because the quality is not the best…
Kevin: Yeah I know, speaking from a production standpoint. Ironically, we released Vegas because it was technically the best quality of what we had from recent shows. The desire was to release a recent show so it was a question of what we had in terms of multi-camera shoots so we could create the best possible full show release. And the answer was Vegas. I stand behind Vegas (9.30.00) because I love the show. I find that show to be extremely important for a bunch of reasons. Because of the things Trey said during it, the song selection and the quality of the performances. It’s an inspired show that’s more than worthy of release. It’s where we discovered that Gamehendge is a state of mind! Seriously, if all things had been equal in terms of video sources, we might have gone with another show. But we didn’t have multiple cameras for the other candidates, and there has been a historical desire to only release video we can make as special as possible. Vegas had some problems with the cameras but overall it’s a great, high-energy, historically significant show that sounds killer and looks as good as we could make it. We edited it together carefully, added some killer bonus footage from Phoenix (10.1.00) and a 5.1 mix and I think it’s a good 1st live DVD.
Dan: Are there any additional, official DVD’s in the works to be released?
Kevin: Yes. Not enough to satisfy everyone, but we’ll definitely release more full shows on video. Maybe some song-by-song clips too we have some great material and lots of plans.
Dan: The last question I’ll ask you with respect to DVDs concerns the likelihood of seeing a complete, unedited Big Cypress multi-DVD box set at some point in the future?
Kevin: If you were asking my opinion I’d say 99%. Unedited or uninterrupted is the only way I’ve ever presented the idea. I think that’s how Cypress deserves to be presented. And no one has ever disagreed with that in principle. But that’s a very meaty video release. I don’t doubt that somewhere along the way, someone will suggest that we should release less than the whole thing. And by advocating a full-show release, I don’t think we rule that out. We could do it in full length, either in parts or altogether and still do a documentary or more creative piece on it too. I hope we do it in full even if it takes other forms as well. Nobody disagrees with the magic of Cypress. It’s a great show; a landmark event and we have excellent quality audio and video. It would be sick! The holy grail.
Dan: So now, on to the Island Tour, the whole reason we’re talking now. The first question is; what took so long? And I ask that because in my own mind, I imagine these shows would’ve been among the first releases in the series.
Kevin: You asked earlier sort of how the shows came out, so the answer doesn’t have as much to do with the Island Tour, as it does with what we were trying to do with releasing live material in the first place. Really up until Slip, Stitch and Pass, there was never much desire to focus on any one show from the past and it wasn’t until then that we did so (and even that isn’t a complete show). Then came Hampton Comes Alive, which was like the breakthrough. Other than those more album-based releases, when we got into the Live Phish series, we tried to focus on different eras of the band’s progress. In that sense, the Island Tour wouldn’t have really fit with what we were trying to do within any one series in terms of highlighting landmark Phish performances spread over time. What The Island Tour does show is how unbelievably well they were communicating and playing and how amazing the crowd was in that snapshot of 1998. That they were not in the middle of a tour makes the performances that much more stunning.
Dan: So what happened now, that made the shows releasable? What was different this time than say last time?
Kevin: When the band started playing again in 2002 and LivePhish.com was started, so did that forward-thinking process. At that point, archival releases, relatively speaking, fell by the wayside. This goes back to a number of things we’ve been talking about. The desire in launching Live Phish Downloads at livephish.com was to fill the demand for full recent shows. The idea wasn’t to focus attention backwards toward the archives, but to focus on what the band was doing right then, post-hiatus. That continued through last year when they stopped touring. Since then we’ve entered an era where we’re specifically not looking forward at Phish’s future as a touring band. So the idea of releasing four incredible shows in a row and focusing on that one moment in time in 1998 is no problem. All bets are off so it’s totally natural now. Maybe next time we’ll go with four from 1996, or two from 1997. We could release a whole run of late fall 1997 shows or a dozen shows from a single venue over time. The focus is entirely different now. For better or worse, this is an exciting time from an archival standpoint and the Island Tour signals that. It’s a perfect kickoff for the legacy. These four shows taken as a whole may leave you dancing in the street or twitching in the corner but after you’ve listened to The Island Tour, you’re ready for more Live Phish.
Dan: If you’re saying there is this change of focus, and more was available to look at, then what were the other shows that came up in the discussions before you settled on these four? What shows did they beat out?
Kevin: The short answer is they beat out a hundred great shows. I have a long list of shows I’d like to see released, as do the band members and fans. Some we agree on and some we may not, but hopefully these shows hit the crossroads of everyone’s lists. Without speaking for anyone else, I think they do exactly that. They are crushing. If you like Phish, you’ll love the Island Tour.
Dan: What are your personal feelings on the shows?
Kevin: I’m thrilled to see them out. They are an obvious highlight of Phish’s career. The four shows fit perfectly together. They were four insular shows with no other gigs surrounding them. There aren’t many examples of that – Red Rocks or some of the New Year’s runs like Miami. These four shows are so musical and flow so well. The risks the band is taking, the way they are playing and the degree to which they are hanging on each and every note is amazing. And the clarity of the mastered recordings is killer. I discover something new with every listen.
Dan: I don’t think they’ve ever reached the pinnacle that they do during the initial moments of the "Nassau Jam" when Trey first begins using his wah pedal (at 2:04) in response to Page’s layering using the same pedal. Up until 4:08 of that jam, they are locked in, in a manner I don’t think they’ve ever equaled. I honestly think it’s the best example of what they’ve repeatedly tried to achieve, in terms of both being egoless and really listening.
Kevin: I love that set. The fun they were having with the "Carini’s Gonna Get You" gag, the exquisite transitions, the emotion that’s pouring off the band and crowd is massive. The "Nassau Jam" that forms out of "Roses are Free" is a huge, intricate, collective composition. It’s just stunning and egoless is a great way to describe it. But there are a number of incredible sets and songs so, not to take anything away from what you said, but I think many of the Island Tour jams qualify as some of Phish’s best, like the beautiful melodic jam in (4.2.98) "Stash," the fearsome space-travel of (4.2.98) "Twist" and the soaring (4.3.98) "Weekapaug Groove" to name a few. And I can’t forget to mention the "Possum" > Funk "Cavern" (4.5.98) and the soundcheck jams. I could go on forever.
Dan: Fair enough.
Kevin: The textural style of jamming you mentioned was a definite goal as the band came out of the early 90’s. They’ve always tried to listen to each other more as they went along, to groove more and to create a more interwoven sound. They achieved those goals almost perfectly during this run. It worked constantly throughout all the nights. There are so many jams of such variety, that it’s tough to even make a list. And that’s what strikes me most about this run – how successful they were stylistically, and how well they were able to layer their parts to achieve those unique moments. They were completing each other’s musical thoughts, finishing each other’s sentences and even syllables. The "Nassau Jam" personifies that, as do many others throughout the run. I was spellbound over and over at the shows and I still find something new every time I listen to them. And the sound mastered from Paul’s reference mixes is so good. It nearly knocks you over. Paul (Languedoc front of house engineer) and Fred (Kevorkian – mastering engineer) did an incredible job capturing and presenting it.
Dan: Speaking of the "Nassau Jam," what goes into separating a "jam" from the song it originated from?
Kevin: The one, overriding reason is that it (the jam) departs so far from the original song, that it’s really its own original Phish composition instead of a groove on the song that brought them there. It departs so far, that they’re composing a new piece of music in real time. Publishing plays a role because it involves crediting composers of a piece to determine royalties, but most important is recognizing a jam that is its own entity, rather than a part of what spawned it. The band deserves credit for creating that kind of magic on the spot.
Dan: I would certainly not disagree with that. But, at the same time, wouldn’t royalty payments increase as the length of the cover increases? I mean, would you have to pay more for a thirty minute "Roses" than you would for a four-minute version?
Kevin: Perhaps. But, and I can’t stress this enough – the jams come out of songs, whether covers or originals, and become their own entity and so we label them as such. It’s done to give credit for what is ultimately an original piece of music, regardless of where it comes from.
Dan: That makes sense.
Kevin: Yeah, it’s a common question.
Dan: Okay, and now for my favorite question in the world. What did you think of Coventry?
Kevin: (pause) I thought the event itself was (pause) given circumstances surrounding the festival, where it was, when it was, how it was, given factors that were out of anyone’s control…I thought it had a lot of beauty. I also think that what it was, namely the last gig, set the band up, the gig up, the fans up for…
Dan: Failure?
Kevin: For a guaranteed difficult experience. Probably there are many different views of this I can only share mine, but the last gig ever had to be difficult. The relationship between Phish and Phishheads is pure magic and the sum is exponentially larger than the parts. When it ended, that realization came rushing in and it permeated everything. The hope was for a musical celebration in Vermont of all that was Phish. Phish was such a pure musical endeavor. I wonder if any band ever walked on stage with as few contrived thoughts in their head. "Will they like our single?" "Will it get played?" "Are we selling enough tickets?" "Is there some industry cat in the audience and will he or she like us?" "Should we not say ‘stink kind’ on stage because people will think we’re weird?" "Should we not let our drummer suck on a vacuum mid-show?" I don’t know if any band ever maintained that sort of total group selflessness. They were seeking those high, magic moments with the audience without regard to what anyone outside the room was thinking. For me, the hallmark of Phish was and is purity.
Coventry was intended to be a celebration of that on Phish’s own turf, but the fact that it was the end of Phish as we knew it weighed heavily. The fact that it was the last show guaranteed a difficult experience and those emotions were multiplied by horrible weather leading up to it. An already-emotional experience was turned into an almost insurmountable one. I can say firsthand it was very difficult to try to explain (over the radio) to friends and family who traveled from around the world to pay respects to a band that shared so much with us. In the face of all the difficulties, the way everyone came together one last time is inspiring and I’ll never forget it.
Coventry had a surreal beauty about it. We all banded together and went the extra mile to attend because it was the last hurrah and we overcame terrible odds to do it. Maybe there’d have been less beauty if so many people didn’t hike so far to get in or if the band didn’t have to sign thousands of books to apologize for bad weather or if the shows had been perfectly played. Maybe that’s a perfectly fitting and perfectly pure ending to the most incredible experience I may ever share with so many friends and strangers. Despite how it ended, Phish is the best and I’m glad we’re able to look back on it together and remember all the magic that led up to it – those moments that never end.
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