Taper’s Choice will play more shows in 2026 than the last two years combined. Like any good jamband, Taper’s changes its setlist each night, but at the same time you will play in front of a lot of new people, in a number of new markets, this year. How do you put together the setlists for a run like this, where you likely want to balance showcasing all your new songs with changing things up for fans coming to multiple shows?

CT: As fully inculcated students of jam minutiae, it is our moral and ethical duty to perform different sets every night. I would say the process of choosing exactly what songs to play is a bit haphazard, and even though Bleeker leads this particular charge, it kind of has a Quaker-meeting vibe. And because we usually play places that serve food and beverages, the setlists themselves usually get written on paper from a “guest check” type pad, paper plates or cardboard ripped from random boxes backstage.

Zach, you have recently balanced big pop tours with more club-style shows with your groups. When left to your own devices, how do you come up with a setlist and change the running order of a show each night as a priority? 

ZT: With WILLOW, the setlists are usually consistent night to night, but there’s so much freedom within the improvisation that each show takes on a totally different energy. With Taper’s, that’s a Bleeker duty. It’s always a conversation, but he’s our guiding spirit and the setlists are always very different.

While some of Taper’s Choice’s titles are more straight ahead, others are full of winks to the extended jamband scene and speak to the common language that the four of you are well versed in. In certain ways, it reminds me of the fun titles jazz artists often give their tracks. Who usually names the band’s songs and is there a conscious effort to be lovingly self-referential?

CT: Much like the songwriting, there is no set way with titles, although it’s probably accurate to say the two biggest guiding lights are instinct and what gets a laugh going. On a deeper level, though, the jamband imperative to world build—to create our own cosmology—is also certainly a driving force.

The Doors have loomed large in Taper’s Choice lore for a bit now. I feel like they are often forgotten in the discussion of seminal psychedelic bands these days for a variety of reasons. What led to Taper’s actively rediscovering their music and using the band as a reference point?

AB: It led from a jam practice of ours that we like to call “micro-Doorsing.” When in doubt during a jam, you can always pull in a little bit of The Doors, but not too much.

Though Dave has released a number of records recently, I think Zach might win for most concurrent releases of anyone in the Taper’s orbit, dropping Prog Hat, the first single off the new Arc Iris record, the BWAHAHA LP and a solo release in a matter of weeks. They all showcase different sides of your personality too. Can you talk a bit about the different studio sessions which produced those four records, highlighting both the similarities and differences? 

ZT: Probably not the best business model to release so much music so close to each other, but what can you do. The full Arc Iris record, iTMRW will be dropping later this year. Both iTMRW and BWAHAHA were long-term projects—we’re talking five years or more. The iTMRW sessions began in 2018, which is pretty unbelievable. The basic tracking was finished in 2020 and then the pandemic hit and took the wind out of our sails. I spent a great deal of time learning Ableton and then, in 2024, I opened up all the sessions again and turned them on their heads, adding a lot of in-the-box production. The final ingredient was WILLOW, who contributed vocals to half of the record.

BWAHAHA followed a similar arc. We tracked the majority of that record in mid-2020 in a boathouse on the Westport River in Massachusetts. I think once we got over the shock of the pandemic, it became a highly creative and productive time for us. Ryan Miller, who we all know and love from Guster, added his vocals in in a one-day marathon session in 2024

Field Trip was also an extension of my learning of Ableton, but the main difference was it was done completely on my own. Prog Hat was easily the simplest record to make. We spent a few days in a studio in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles recording “the prog tunes.”

In LA, Zach, Dave and CT have played jazz and improv gigs together from time to time. How have you felt the local jazz and experimental scene has evolved since you moved to the West Coast and does it remind you of the Northeast scene you were a part of 10 years ago? 

ZT: I’m no expert on the music scenes around the country, but what’s happening in LA right now feels truly unique. There’s a real hunger for improvised music and it’s incredibly inspiring. People turn up for these shows. They become hangs for fellow musicians and likeminded individuals. For a city as big as LA, these shows really feel like being at the bar in Cheers. Shout out to my neighborhood spot, Solarc which is hosting some of the best improvised music out there. I never lived in NYC, but I’ve heard it’s quite similar to how it used to be. When Arc Iris was based in Providence, we spent so much time on the road, and it felt like our community were fellow road warriors.

Looking ahead, Taper’s Choice will tour with Eggy this spring. Real Estate recently did a run of shows with Eggy, including on the day that Bob Weir died. Bleeker, what were your takeaways from that run, and can you talk about putting together a last-minute Dead cover to honor Weir?

AB: I have so much love and respect for Eggy and their crew. They are consummate professionals, and they’re a great band. It was meaningful for me to be with them when we all got the news that Bobby had passed. It was their green room that I turned to for comfort in that moment—and I found it. It didn’t really take much to work up “One More Saturday Night.” Given that it was in fact a Saturday, I made the suggestion, and, of course, they already knew the tune. It was a pleasure to share the stage with them—they’re a machine! I’m hoping for more of that on the Taper’s run. 

Last year, Taper headlined the Relix 50 party and one of the guests was Mike Gordon. A few months before that CT recreated one of my favorite ‘98 Phish segues, “Chalkdust Torture” into English Beat’s “Mirror in the Bathroom” and then back inro “Chaldust” on stage with Mike and the rest of Vampire Weekend in Seattle. Can you walk us through the decision to recreate that classic moment and your takeaways?

CT: Oh, man, playing “Chalkdust->Mirror in the Bathroom->Chalkdust” with Mike, are you fucking kidding me?! A total dream—when Mike and his awesome band were gracious enough to agree to open some shows for VW, immediately we thought about the most fun ways we could play together. He sat in on some of our tunes, but I asked if he’d do one Phish song and since VW had randomly rehearsed/jammed on “Chalkdust” before that was the natural one to try. Again, Mike was very accommodating and sweet to bless us with his presence! And incorporating the Worcester ‘98 reference was actually Ezra [Koenig]’s idea and I think it came to him as The Beat—formally known as The English Beat—had opened for us the week before and it all just fell into place.

The performance itself was a bit of a blur. I think it went fairly well, although I shudder to think what the folks over at Phantasy Tour had to say about it. But there are a few moments when I was able to semi-process it live, particularly that little descending riff at the end of the jam/solo. That’s something I’ve been messing with on guitar for over 25 years, so to mentally snap during it and taking in the scene of Mike across the stage doing his damn thing in front of an arena full of Seattleites was utterly unreal and I was filled with appreciation and gratitude.

Looking back on the Relix 50 show in specific, in addition to some yearbook-quote-worthy song selections, there were a number of deep cuts on the setlist, including some Mike Gordon songs he hadn’t played in over a decade. Can you talk a bit about how you put that show’s setlist together and what it was like working with Mike and the other guests on which songs to bust out and how to nod to many of Relix‘s Mt. Rushmore acts?

AB: I feel like we took great care to work with the guest artists to make selections that everyone thought were cool. Everyone was keen to really dig in and make some cool choices. Of course, it was amazing to have that conversation with Mike. He had some really cool left field ideas that we were more than happy to indulge, as long as he agreed to play “Possum” with us to close out the night. 

Two of the Relix 50 guests who have deep roots are Ryan Miller and Eric Slick, with whom Zach grew up. How did they both enter your orbit?

ZT: Both are incredible human beings. I first met Ryan at The Complete Last Waltz at the Capitol Theatre [in Port Chester, NY]. My partner, Jocie [Adams], was singing as Joni Mitchell, and Ryan was Van Morrison. Then, when Arc Iris toured through Burlington, V, Ryan showed up. We were playing at a crepe restaurant called the Skinny Pancake, and he was one of maybe 20 people there. After the show, he basically told us that he wanted to join our band, and he eventually did and that’s how BWAHAHA was formed.

Slick and I were both in the aforementioned music program. The teacher was an incredibly problematic individual, which I won’t get into. One of the great silver linings was the deep community of friends that we’ve maintained and I’m thankful to have Slick in my life. He’s a monster player, endlessly hilarious and a lovely human being. I had a dream recently where he called “Norwegian Wood,” “Kornweigan Wood.” I told him about this, and within 10 minutes, he drafted a very good T-shirt design.

During Relix 50, Taper’s choice played with Tom Constanten. Dave, I know you had a long, meaningful conversation with him. Can you share some of the wisdom he imparted on you and a few of your takeaways from that collaboration, which was pretty special.

DH: We were staying at the same hotel the night before the gig and Uncle Jesse told me TC needed a dinner buddy, so I sat with him and watched him eat a steak and we had a drink together and just talked about music and life in a pretty loose and casual way. It was lovely. More than anything, I just loved that he was there—that he was still staying, yes, still chasing the music, still excited about new music he was working on, still playing and happy to hang out with me and be so generous and thoughtful. May we all be so lucky to be that way when we get there.

We recently lost Bob Weir. Chris, you performed with him in 2012 at the Move Me Brightly show at TRI. Can you share a memory from that day–either a musical highlight or a fun interaction off the stage?

CT: Another unreal experience for me. When Bob passed away, I went to find some of that Move Me Brightly performance on YouTube, and as soon as it came on, I physically remembered just how terrified I was to play with him. Mike Gordon, while also a hero and intimidating, was someone who I’d seen live many times and felt somewhat contemporary to my life, whereas Bob and the Dead felt positively Homeric in their foundational and historical heft.

My main impression of Bob as a person was that he was very sweet but preferred to be playing music at almost all times—like as soon as a guitar hit his hands, he was able to lock into a whole different level of his being. That seemingly direct connection to the primordial urge to be a musician I found inspiring back then and I still do today.

My nonmusical highlight was randomly lucking into a one-hour car ride with just me, Bob and his manager at the time on the way to a Mets vs. Giants game. He charmingly shit-talked my NY/NJ sports fandom the entire ride and that remains one of my favorite conversations I’ve ever had. Bob Weir was a certified ball knower.

Bleeker and Dave played with Bill Kreutzmann at Outside Lands in 2015, though I don’t think that either of you ever shared the stage with Bob Weir. However, Bleeker has lived in the Bay Area for years now. Do you have a favorite memory of seeing Bobby pop up for a surprise sit in or just around the neighborhood that you can share? 

AB: Living in West Marin, I had the good fortune to catch Bobby around town a few times as he was going about his daily life. I met him twice. The first time, I was sitting in front of my local health food store eating a sandwich when he walked by and dropped something into our local freebox. I don’t usually behave this way, but this was Bob Weir in my little town. I chased him down and humbly thanked him for the music. He didn’t skip a beat and he said, “You’re welcome,” and then let me know that he had just dropped three drones in the freebox, and that if I wanted to, I could Frankenstein parts from all of them to create, “One working drone.” Thanks Bob. 

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