Mike Gordon appeared on SiriusXM’s Jam On channel on Friday afternoon for a conversation with host Ari Fink, and the Phish bassist discussed the genesis of the band’s mysterious Halloween set, where they “covered” fictional Scandinavian band Kasvot Växt’s seminal album, í rokk.
“It was supposed to be a creation based on misinterpretation, so the wronger the better,” Gordon jokes when Fink asks him exactly how “Kasvot Växt” should be pronounced. The bassist also says that the original idea was to recycle some of the music that Phish had originally recorded for “a special surprise” at their canceled Curveball festival, along with some of the props they planned on using, but the group ended up going a different way.
As Gordon explains, Trey Anastasio presented his bandmates with an album cover, saying that they should cover the record, which was “from 1981,” before admitting that the album “doesn’t really exist.” Getting into some of the inspirations for what became Kasvot Växt, Gordon says that Anastasio was recording some of the funky music he heard in Nashville clubs, which led to drummer Jon Fishman imitating those beats, providing a base for the other members to build on. According to Gordon, all the new Halloween songs were brought together in just a day, with two more days spent on lyrics. Using a stream-of-consciousness technique, the band came up with words that ended up, in Gordon’s words, being “halfway between whimsical and meaningful.”
Gordon also mentions how the full gag came together, noting that Anastasio offered the idea of having articles online for fans to discover when they Googled Kasvot Växt after receiving the “Phishbill” on Halloween. “It got hilarious, instantly,” Gordon says of the ideas that started flowing concerning the fake band members and their backstory (it was Fishman’s idea that they would be scientists, by the way).
Today, SiriusXM and Jam On bring Phish Radio back to the channel, with more “Ask Trey” segments, live streams from the band’s upcoming New Year’s Eve run at New York’s Madison Square Garden and more.
4 Comments comments associated with this post
space smells good
December 21, 2018 at 1:48 pmI was there in vegas and enjoyed most of the Växt set. the tunes just keep getting better when re-listening to the show.
Stephen
December 17, 2018 at 5:51 pmIt was genius!
I had almost become a jaded fan, my first show was 10/31/96 – ATL, Omni, Remain in Light, I quit my show count a long time ago because that doesn’t matter. I have uttered “not released a good album since Farmhouse” and “post Big Cypress shows have inconsistent luster at best.” But the Baker’s Dozen to 2018 to culminating with Kasvot Växt has renewed my love and faith in my favorite band. Thank you Mike, Trey, Page, and Jon. Thank you for reaffirming my almost lost notion that your music is the soundtrack to my life.
Opinions and assholes, I know, and I’m sure some will make fun of or argue the minutia and trivial of Phish, their music, or this slightly ego driven post (haters gonna hate and can go fuck…) Kasvot Växt was pure Phish genius, a little dirty, but good rock and roll is dirty. And for that, I’m grateful!
Barbi J
December 17, 2018 at 3:51 pmThis is why these guys are geniuses. Instead of covering a “classic” album that half the people will love and the other half will be pissed about, bitch about, or otherwise complain about, they actually did something artistic and risky. I thought it worked, and maybe I got caught up in the moment because it was so fun and interesting, but no matter what the reception of it, I’m glad they did- and hopefully always will continue to do- this particular kind of stunt.
Troy Pistachio
December 17, 2018 at 12:35 pmI understand I am not in the majority here but…I feel like the Kasvot set was fun to watch but musically it was horrendus. It sounds 100% like it was put together in 3 days. The lyrics are just a mumbled mess. Just random sentences with no structure or meaning whatsoever. The harmonizing is like nails on a chalkboard. I give the guys so much credit for trying something new but wish they actually took their time and now they will push these songs all next year and NYE.