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Archive for May, 2009

A few good pholks have been working on a documentary about Phish Phans, and they released a “teaser” 24 hours before Phish officially starts their first tour in five years, starting tonight at Fenway Park in Boston.    I was excited to see the trailer to the film, “Maybe So, Maybe Not,” and even more excited to see my former teacher and good Phriend Jnan Blau in the clip.

20 more days until Alpine Valley!

In the last 24 hours, I have become ecstatic. Phish released a single off of their new and upcoming album. My emotions are greater than my judgment at this time, so I will hand it over to someone who has listened to the song 10 times, where I have only listened to it four times. Needless to say, I am not disappointed to Phish’s return to the studio. Mr. Miner seems to do a good job of explaining the construction and composition of this new Phish jam.

Less than a week after the album release and second-ever performance of Trey’s orchestral opus “Time Turns Elastic,” Phish gave the community a significant pre-tour jolt by releasing the newly-completed Phish version as a single on iTunes yesterday morning. Utilizing another video announcement, this time of a studio montage while the song peaks as a soundtrack, Phish punctuated the arrival of their newest piece of music- and by the way it was presented, they seem damn proud of it. A thirteen-plus minute composition, “Time Turns Elastic” will be featured on Phish’s forthcoming album and will certainly jump into this summer’s rotation before too long.

What started out as an idea for a Phish song during Trey’s solo time in Whitehall, NY, transformed into an orchestral piece, with two movements, in collaboration with Don Hart of Orchestra Nashville. After debuting “Time Turns Elastic” at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium last September, Trey set out to record and release his one of a kind piece. Right around that time, an acoustic demo of Trey playing the song by himself in The Barn surfaced, giving everyone a better point from which to imagine the piece as a Phish song; but I’m not sure anyone imagined this. Rearranging the piece’s second movement for a four-piece band and recording it in New York City, Phish has morphed the symphonic composition into a musical suite that will transfix audiences this summer.

What jumps out about “Time Turns Elastic”- as compared to Phish’s older multi-part compositions- is its cohesiveness. As opposed to many of the band’s classic songs that often contrast different musical milieus with precise, and sometimes abrupt, Zappa-like transitions, “Time Turns Elastic,” flows naturally from one segment into the next, each connected with a melodic framework that provides a unifying thread throughout the piece. While moving between many different compositional textures, there is always a familiar element of the song’s melodic structure, holding it together coherently.
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After listening through the track about ten times yesterday, I figure there have to be at at least four or five distinct places where Phish could jump into different improvisational segments. Thus it will be interesting to see where the band stretches the song out when it’s performed live- not to mention there is a chance they will choose to play it as a straight composition- but they are Phish. Swimming between upbeat textures and darker segments, musical peaks and valleys, “Time Turns Elastic” has an incredibly dynamic quality. Some parts feel genuinely uplifting, while others are certainly somber and introspective, providing a sense of musical narrative.

The playing on the track sounds like Phish has been firing in the studio and the video can confirm the fun they are having. The most essential part on the track is played by Fishman, who is “doin’ work” the entire time, creating extraordinarily delicate beats and cradling the music with a tapestry of rhythms that guide the band through the many diverse sections. Also interesting about “Time Turns Elastic” is the “whole-band” focus- no one person plays lead- instead, Trey, Mike, and Page, collectively provide the musical filling. While Trey wrote this song by himself, it is certainly not a guitar-led piece, rather a more collaborative effort that may foreshadow a newer song model.

Beyond a strict musical opus, there is a five-piece lyrical montage of poetic imagery that narrates a story right alongside. A philosophical statement about the fluctuations of time and our lives, Trey shares a piece of his own with us through this song. With images like the following: “But I am a submarine / and the submarine sinks below the ground” to “These are the reasons / that we lay down on the / ground / Drawn through a funnel, all / the colors run together / Turning brown;” “Wait for the waves to come / and carry me away / Down on the ground the / sound of voices in the / echoes seem to say;” “And the carousel turns into / breath around me;” Trey has certainly responded to his post-hiatus pop song naysayers with his strongest and most personal lyrical effort in some time. Essentially, Time Turns Elastic is a musical reflection on Trey’s time of struggle and the celebration of the resiliency of the human spirit. (Cue haters vomiting.)

Yet while many of the lyrical themes are personally connected to Trey’s life, they are universally applicable to all of ours. We have all gone through periods where time has turned elastic- sped quickly or crawled- depending on our state of mind and activity, and we understand the fluctuations of emotion. We have all felt ourselves “in and out of focus” or the “world turning upside down;” and similarly, we have all felt “kissed by the water and held in [our] mother’s arms” and “paved with gold gleaming in daylight.” It is authentic human emotion that “Time Turns Elastic” draws on, both lyrically and musically, striking a chord somewhere inside us all. Maybe you don’t feel it yet after a listen or two, but wait until this summer is over- you will.

For me, its 24 days until Alpine Valley, which should serve as the most magical weekend of my life…

Recently Wilco streamed their new album, “Wilco” on their website.   I had a chance to listen to it on a few different occasions, and I was impressed.   Wilco, I would argue, has put out one of the strongest albums in the last 10 years with “Sky Blue Sky” and I felt like they never would have reached that type of album composition ever again.  Well, in their self-titled album, they most certainly came close to setting the bar that they set just two years ago…

Part of the reason that this album has the same polished composition as “Sky Blue Sky” is because Wilco brought back Jim Scott, who helped mix Sky Blue Sky.   Wilco has come with an understanding that very few bands come with anymore.   Bands and artists have another instrument at hand when recording an album, as Jeff Tweedy, Wilco’s front man would say, “use the studio as another instrument.”

Today, very few bands and artists are making full albums that have an overarching mood or theme.  Wilco, however, doesn’t look at an individual song without looking at the album as a whole.   In the world of iTunes and digital downloading, bands don’t feel the need to develop complete and polished albums.  There are still people like me who want to see good albums, from beginning to end that have a theme, a mood, a melody that sticks throughout the whole album.  And yet, there are still bands like Wilco who want to create good albums from beginning to end, hence, my admiration for coming out with another masterpiece.

This is “You Are My Face” off of their last album “Sky Blue Sky.”   This song most certainly captures a less is more feel to it, and exemplifies the beauty in rock and roll.

The album will be due out on June 30.   Check it out.

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Well, I have officially moved from Painesdale, MI.   I am now located in downtown Houghton, above the Four Seasons Tea Room.   It has been quite the moving process.   I have collected so much crap to the point that I am almost embarrassed.   I threw out a good 10 garbage bags of stuff that were not salvageable to Goodwill or St. Vincents.  In the meantime, I restocked Goodwills inventory as well.  It felt good to get rid of all that stuff, however, it made me realize how much of an environmental impact I am making.   I hope to do better with a minimalist approach on collecting crap I really don’t need.   We’ll see how that goes…I am hoping that limited space means a limit on material possessions.

Anyway, I posted last week on my buddy Tom hiking around Lake Michigan.   He threw in the towel early, and I went to go pick him up in Oshkosh Wednesday Night/Thursday Morning.  Here is his explanation on bailing out of his journey:

So I left on my walkabout around a week ago. Yesterday, i decided that this adventure was no good, and i needed a new one. So here’s why, what i’ve been up to, and what i plan on doing next.

So I left last thursday and had a jolly ol time through the UP. I made 150 miles in three days. (never mind how) and reached Menominee pretty quick. I had found the lake, things were good. Shortly after (and after buying a new pack because some tool swiped mine – just the pack, all other gear intact.) I set out for walking. On the first day, i saw 1 mile of beach. On that mile was a prissy park and some normal beach. I passed the park, and then walked on the beach for a bit. After that, the beach disappeared and i found myself in a marsh. I tried for an hour and a half to pass the marsh, trying this outcropping and then the next. I was working back down the peninsula because i knew it had to turn to solid ground at some point. (the only alternative was to wade a quarter of a mile through chest deep muck) When i finally worked my way back to solid ground, the place i could cross over, i was back at the park with the people walking their dogs.

So i walked on, a bit discouraged, and hoping to re-join the lake soon. Directly after the park were homes built right on the lake. To walk along the beach, i would have to be in the water, or hop fences to go from yard to yard. So i decided to walk on the road and join with the lake later on. I saw only houses and road that day. The next day, it was more of the same. I saw nothing but houses and highway, and lost the lake half way through the day. The next day, i kept walking until about 1, when a truck driver asked if i needed a ride. My thoughts: “Well, i haven’t seen the lake in a day and a half, i havent been able to walk on it in two days, and i’m bored out of my mind.” So i said yes. He was making two stops, one in the little town a couple miles up the road of where i was, and one in Appleton. It was decision time, keep going or truck down to Appleton where i know a friend on co-op. Well the night before i had made a list of all the reasons to keep going around the lake and all the reasons to pick new directions, and i’ll list them below. I went to Appleton, called Mena, met up with her and crashed in her dorm style house thing. That’s where i am now.

Now on to the reasoning:

The lack of walking space made me question my motives, once i opened the can of worms of whether or not i wanted to do this (having experienced a sliver of it) the choice was pretty obvious. Here’s my thought process:

Reasons i wanted to go on this trip:
1) Explore – There’s nothing to explore, it’s all houses save for the State and local parks, which is not enough area to make me walk the whole lake.

2) Prove i can wander – Done and done. I’ve proven i can live out of a pack and do so well. I had no discomfort or difficulty getting 300 miles from home in 6 days. I lived on the fly, and went where i felt. I even got an offer of a place to stay for a week and some odd jobs i could do for some cash. #2 accomplished. I also gathered a few good stories, ask me about those sometime.

3) Fun – It’s not all that fun, i can walk on roads anywhere. It’s not very challenging either, almost too easy. Yes the pack is heavy, but i’ve carried heavy packs before, i didn’t need to prove to myself that i can walk long distances, i already knew that.

4) Experience the “open road” – I have and will continue to do so this summer. I’ll tackle the unknown and live where life takes me. When it really comes down to it, the walkabout was way more structured then what i’m planning now.

5) Meet people – It’s a pretty crappy way to meet people. I had one conversation, over and over and over again. I detest small talk and that’s all i got. There are much, much better ways to meet people than this.

Then i made a list of reasons i should change directions:
1. I want to do more than one thing this summer. The idea of one activity for four moths seems bleak now.
2. Freeze dried food. Fine for a week, beyond that….don’t go beyond that.
3. Need people. Solitude is great, but it does get lonely out there.
4. Tired of trespassing. I couldn’t light a fire the whole time I was gone for fear of being spotted and thrown out of my camp.
5. Music!
6. Books!
7. Ticks!
8. Boredom. I’ve seen enough houses, thanks much.
9. Pack stolen. Cost to morale as well as wallet. Also, the idea that more than my pack (like my entire camp) could have been gone is scary. And by scary i mean terrifying. It’s just stuff, but its the most useful stuff i own. And it’s the stuff i chose to keep me ALIVE.
10. I realized all i’d miss out on this summer if i didn’t go out and take advantage of all life offered over the next 4 months. Rather than walk, sit, sleep, walk, sit, sleep there are SO many things i can do. I truly feel like i would be missing out if i had kept going, and probably wouldn’t forgive myself for it.

Reasons i thought of to stay on Lake Michigan:
That you would be disappointed in me. I’m not disappointed in me, i’m happy with my decision. Like i said, Adventure was always the name of the game. Lake Michigan was the where and walking was the how. I’m only changing the where and the how. So you can be disappointed in me if you like, but it doesn’t make any sense that way. The disappointment should come if i decided to be stubborn enough to keep walking even though i was unhappy and bored.

If you are disappointed, then don’t say “He thought he could and he couldn’t”. That’s not accurate. The downfall was that i thought it was there and it wasn’t. So yeah, i’m bummed that Lake Michigan isn’t walkable, but on the whole i’m not disappointed at all. I’ve got a slew of adventures to go on, horizons to chase, and friends to see. Way, way way more than the original plan.

I don’t consider anything here a failure, simply a change of direction. Morale is as high as ever, i consider my adventures still underway, and am excited to see what’s around the next corner.

So now i’m going to bum around Oshkosh, and catch bus into Houghton tonight. I should be home tomorrow morning, where i can regroup, repack, and decide where to go from there.

I have to give him all the credit in the world.   His week long journey is full of stories, and it is absolutely amazing that he was planning on putting his whole life on his backpack for four months.   Fortunately, I have the luxury of having another friend around for a good portion of the summer.

A nice treat was given to Phish Phans in the last few days, and I figured I would embed this set on my blog for anyone else who might enjoy.   1 month until Alpine Valley!

Tom's tentative route...

My good friend Tom Maynard, has decided to go on a 3-4 month hike this summer around Lake Michigan.   He left today, and is looking at doing about 10-15 miles a day, ending back up at his front porch, from which where he started.    He doesn’t know if he is going to make it, and I’m sure many are in doubt, but I have good faith he will make a good portion of the loop, if not all of it.   I will try to keep you posted as I will be reporting on his position and morale everytime I hear from him.   I think he deserves some coverage and credibility for some effort.   Stay tuned for more information as I try to keep close track of his current whereabouts.   Here is a excerpt from his expedition:

I’m taking a walk around lake Michigan next summer. I will start in Houghton, go around counterclockwise, and end in Houghton just in time for school. It will be a great time to gain the kind of experience that one can only learn from the road. Should be a lot of fun

It would be about 13 miles a day, on foot for the most part. I will carry only a backpack. I realize that i will be by myself most of the trip, but would like some of you guys to come along for some, if not all, of the experience.

“Happiness is only real when shared” – Into the Wild

If you don’t understand why i would want to do this, simply read Thorough’s Walking or Krakauer’s Into the Wild

UPDATE:  Saturday, May 9, 2009:   Tom has reached Lake Michigan

Stacy, I, Tom, and Kristin decided to head out to Houghton Douglass Falls to celebrate the first day of summer.   Stacy and I did this last year and it was way too snowy, but this year we hit it just right.    The hike in and out was fantastic.   I fell in the river, which was cold, but due to the nice weather(yes, it hit 55 yesterday) I didn’t really care.   Anyway, are some pics….

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