Page 2 - Cluster Flies News Today

Phish’s song, “Heavy Things,” was the lead single off the band’s 2000 album, Farmhouse. “Heavy Things” became one of Phish’s most commercially successful releases, hitting No. 2 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative chart and also landing on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart. Guitarist Trey Anastasio first introduced “Heavy Things” during the electric trio portions of his May 1999 Solo Tour. That tour produced a number of songs that ended up on Farmhouse, though the live perf...

Neil and Pegi co-founded northern California’s Bridge School for severely disabled children in 1986. The couple was motivated to improve the life of their son Ben who was born with cerebral palsy. Bridge School Benefit Concerts were held annually from 1986 through 2016 (despite Neil and Pegi’s divorce in 2014 after 36 years of marriage). Phish, like the scores of all-star acts that played the Bridge School School Benefits, performed acoustically at Shoreline and thus “Sleep” was introdu...

Cluster Flies tracks “Dogs Stole Things,” “Vultures,” “Dirt,” “Bye Bye Foot” and “Piper.” Phish didn’t wait long to use “Twist” as a jam vehicle with a 13-minute version played in Prague on June 20, 1997 followed by an 18-minute workout at the Hurricane Festival the next night. “Twist” was played a total of 11 times in 1997. However, the song appeared live just twice in 1998. The first came on opening night of the Island Tour and helped set the tone for the run. ...

Anastasio led a performance by a one-off band called 8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes on April 17, 1998, at the original Higher Ground in Winooski, just outside Burlington, Vermont. The show was the first time Anastasio performed in public with Lawton and Markellis, who were joined by guitarist/vocalist Tom Lawson of The Pants, saxophonist Dave Grippo, trombonist Heloise Williams of Viperhouse. “First Tube” was seemingly named for its placement as the first song played at the 8 Foot Fluorescen...

Phish began 1997 by touring Europe in February and March, during which they debuted the first three new originals of what would be a total of 18 to come out that year. The tour also saw Fish donning a tailored all-black dress suit instead of his iconic donut mumu dress, which he would wear onstage through the summer. The majority of the new material Phish introduced in 1997 came in June during the band’s European Summer Tour. “Bye Bye Foot” was one of those new originals that was first p...

Cluster Flies, a covers compilation reimagining Phish’s album Farmhouse, complete with bonus songs and revamped tracklist. The limited-edition 3LP release was mastered by engineer Joe Lambert and includes custom artwork and a poster created by longtime Phish collaborator Jim Pollock. A pre-order is underway now through May 3 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Visit www.clusterflies.com for purchasing information as well as full album credits and tracklist details. Each of the songs on Cluster Flies wi...

Trey and Tom created a demo recording of “Dirt” during a writing session held in early 1997 at a rented farmhouse in rural Vermont, that later appeared on the 2000 collection of demos Trampled By Lambs & Pecked By The Dove. Shortly after making the original demo, Anastasio took the song public at a performance on May 21, 1997, at Club Toast in Burlington, Vermont. The one-off concert billed as New York! saw Anastasio joined by Phish bassist Mike Gordon, trombonist Paul “Pistol Stamen�...

The genesis of “Farmhouse” dates back to 1997 when Trey and Tom wrote the song during one of several writing retreats they held that year. Beth Montuori Rowles, general manager at Phish, Inc., was tasked by Trey and Tom with helping find a location to write and record new songs. In the liner notes for the Trampled By Lambs & Pecked By The Dove collection of demos from those retreats, Montuori Rowles detailed the experience, writing: In early 1997, I got a message from Trey that he and Tom...

“Gotta Jibboo” was premiered by Anastasio, Markellis and Lawton at Higher Ground in Winooski, Vermont on February 15, 1999 during what’s considered the first Trey Anastasio Band show. Then, the three-piece played the song 10 times the following May as part of their debut tour. Trey brought “Gotta Jibboo” to Phish later in 1999. Despite the trio performances in May, the Phish debut came on the second night of their Fall 1999 tour at The Gorge on September 10, 1999 as the quartet didn...

Amy Helm shared her version of Daniel Norgen's "Are We Running Out Of Love," which is set to land on the singer-songwriter's upcoming album, 'What The Flood Leaves Behind,' due out in June.