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FAQ: rec.music.phish III of V (monthly posting)
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ellis of lemuria
May 15, 1993, 3:11:19 PM5/15/93
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* PHISH.NET FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS *
** **** ... SECTION B: BAND QUESTIONS ... **** **
TOPICS: phish, henrietta, hardcopy, organs, guitar, trampolines,
van, tickets, mail order, support/staff
-----------------------------------------------------------
B-1: PHISH: who? what? can you give me some background info?
The Phish Stories & Interviews files from Phish-Archives have
tons of history in them. But, briefly... The band has four
members: Trey Anastasio (lead guitar & vocals; drums during
Henrietta solos), Mike Gordon (bass & vocals), Page McConnell
(keys, organ, piano, vocals), & Jon Fishman (drums, vocals,
vacuum, washboard, & trumbone; see question #27). The band has
been around since 1983, having met in college in Vermont. Their
syle is eclectic: jazz-fusion-funk-blues-classical-rock-etc.
Live performances are known for quick song shifts, extended jams,
beatiful solos, fabulous orchestration, eye-popping
improvisation, & suprises & fun galore for all.
----------------------------------------------------------
B-2: HENRIETTA: who it that? (and all other known nicknames)
Henrietta is just one of many names for Jon Fishman, the drummer.
Others include Tubbs, the hardest man in show business, Zero man,
Henrietta Tubman, Tubman, Sultan of Swat, Missing Link, Central
Scrutinizer, Showboat Gertrude, Moses Brown, Moses Heaps, Moses
Dewitt, the man with the high hat, Marco Esquandolis, second best
trumbone player in vermont & parts of parts of new hampshire, Eye
Ball man; Vinnie Barbarito (2/23/90); Hanrietta, the shortest man
in rock and roll (3/19/91); the Piper (5/1/92); Little John,
Friar Tubbs, & Henrietta Fieldberg (3/9/93). Information on any
others, & dates on any of these, would be _most_ appreciated.
-------------------------------------------------------
B-3: HARDCOPY: is there a newsletter, faznine, etc?
There is a newsletter put out from the bands office. You can get
on the mailing list by writing (NEW ADDRESS as of 4-28-93) c/o
Dionysian Productions, 1632 Mass Ave, Lexington, MA 02173. NOTE:
According to Shelley, this address (& the hotline) are due to
change soon. This file will be updated asap, but at this point,
you probably want to hold off on mailing things..
There have been sporadic reports, not all supportive, of a
"fanzine" called Phish Traders. As of this writing, there is no
endorsement by the band. An address will nonetheless be added
here if one surfaces. No other info is available.
-----------------------------------------------------------
B-4: ORGANS: what can you tell me about Page's setup?
The speaker with the front inside spinner is a Leslie speaker
(with built-in tube amplifier), an integral part of the organ
sound. The tweeter & woofer spin in opposite directionse(speed
is controlled by the organist) creating a vibrato effect. Even
with today's digital technology, it's difficult to create just
the right organ sound w/o the Leslie speaker. At a concert, the
sound from the speaker is picked up by anywhere from 1-4
microphones & sent through the PA system.
Also, in the rear-center of the stage is a speaker in a
wooden cabinet w/ a mike just a bit in front of it & aimed at it.
That cabinet is part of Trey's electric guitar system. Placing a
mic right in front of a speaker seems counter-intuitive. After
all, we could just take the signal directly & cut down on the
distortion caused by the speaker & mic. But consider the speaker
actually part of the musical instrument, & it starts to make more
sense. The speaker's coloring of the sound is part of the
overall sound the guitarist is trying to achieve. The _whole_
instrument is the combination of the guitar, amp, & speaker.
Some guitarists, & most bassists do choose to send their
signals directly to the PA instead of through the mic. The
speaker's coloring is favored for lead guitar but is often
undesirable for other guitar & bass.
From: Jonathan Dennis Kirshbaum <jon...@cs.uoregon.edu>
2 things about leslie cabinets. 1st, I believe that the
source of the neat sound is the doppler effect, the same
phenomena that makes ambulance sirens lower in pitch as they
drive away. The vibrato is cause by the speakers sound going a
small distance farther away & closer as the leslie rotates.
2nd, the speaker(s) inside the cabinet do not actually
rotate. The inside of the leslie that I saw had a woofer lying on
the bottom of the cabinet, face up, & fixed. Above it was a
simple structure that deflected the sound 90 degrees, kind of an
elbow arrangement. It was this that actually spun.
Page recently got a *really nice sounding* Hammond (check summer
92), & later (February 93) a grand piano. He had said he wouldnt
play "Loving Cup" til he had one. Sure enough, check the tapes
for Feb 93.
------------------------------------------------------------
B-5: GUITAR: what can you tell me about Trey's setup?
|From a post by R. Stern <st...@col.hp.com>
Trey's guitar was built by Paul Languedoc, the soundman for
the band (see July 91 newsletter for a phish profile on Paul).
Paul also built Mike's bass. [A 2nd was stolen :-((, summer 92?
Will be OBVIOUS if found!] Trey uses a Mesa/Boogie MkIII head.
Here's the best I can remember off the top of my head. Some
could be off by +-1.
Pre Volume: 10 !! Lead Drive: 2.5
Treble: 5 Lead Master: 6
Mid: 4.5 Master: 3
Bass: 4.5 Presence: 2 (on back of the amp)
Reverb: 0 (he uses the Microverb)
There is an Alesis Microverb (not II) sitting on top of his
amp. He uses a Large 2 or Large 3 setting. He doesn't vary it at
all...reaches for it quite often & just touches the knobs without
changing the settings :-).
His pedalboard has a volume pedal, a cheapo Ross(?)
compresser, 2 Ibanez tube screamers, & the lead/rhythm switchbox
for the Mesa (maybe more...).
The Tube Screamers are the new version Tube Screamer
Classic. Both have the volume turned all the way up, which
really confused me at first. He doesn't seem to get much of
volume boost when switching them on, & mine gives a huge boost if
I set the volume all the way up. What I think happens is this:
since his Mesa Pre-Volume is at 10, the input is already
overdriven. So when he switches in the Tube Screamers, they
can't drive any more volume out of the pre-amp, & simply give
more overdrive. That's my best guess anyway :-).
One of the keys to his cool tone is the way he uses the Tube
Screamers & the Mesa lead mode. He has the Mesa eq switched to
only work for lead mode, & he sets the eq in an upside down V
(lots of mid boost, lots of high cut). One Tube Screamer is set
for a very light crunch, & the other is set for full screaming
overdrive. Trey will often start with a light crunch, then turn
that off & turn on the full overdriver. Then he'll turn back on
the crunch (so he has both Tube Screamers on!). Then he'll kick
in the Mesa to lead mode for a final push over the edge :-) !! By
mixing & matching any combination of the 3 distortions, he gets
an incredible variety of tones. Add in the unique feedback
properties of his semi-hollowbody guitar, & wow ... Yes, he does
sound quite amazing!!
I highly recommend getting a spot against the stage (at a
show with a low stage) where you can see his pedalboard, & check
out how he switches between the Tube Screamers & Mesa lead mode
etc. (it's also a good spot for trying to see some licks/chords
that he uses)
but note... A letter from Paul Languedoc to Tony J. Went:
Tony,
Thanks for your interest. There is no big mystery about the
construction of Trey's guitar (except the secret "Sonic
Enhancer"). It is _not_ a semi-hollow body, but a true hollow
body, built the same way those big arch-top jazz guitars were
built, but, of course, much smaller. No one builds guitars that
way because they tend to feed back at any volume to speak of, but
Trey likes that because he can hold any note he wants to (with
careful muting of the other strings) where most electric guitars
would only feed back certain notes, & at a much higher volume
level.
Incidentally, the woods used are European Curly maple for the
top, domestic curly maple for the neck, Ebony for the fretboard,
tailpiece, etc., & Padauk for the body & sides. Yes, Padauk is a
rain-forest wood, & I don't buy it anymore.
-------------------------------------------------------
B-6: TRAMPOLINES? VANS? when did the band give them away? to
whom?
[temporarily missing from faq; serious revisions underway]
-------------------------------------------------------
B-7: TICKETS: how can I get ticket & venue information?
option a) Hotline: 617-862-7820 (new as of 4-28-93);
includes new 3-line answering system
option b) newsletter (see question #10)
option c) watch the net
option d) archives (see questions #5 & 6)
-------------------------------------------------------
B-8: MAIL ORDER: is it ever going to happen?
This has been discussed widely on the net. There are both
advantages & disadvantages; a summary will be posted here as soon
as suggestions are given & assimilated. A recent (march 93)
newsletter said that the possibilities were being considered, but
that its a slow & gradual learning & decision process.
-------------------------------------------------------
B-9: SUPPORT: who are the staff/crew? what do they do?
Lemuria is still looking for help on this, but...
Paul Languadoc is the Soundman.
Brad Sands is the Merchandise man & was the Mockingbird
12-31-92.
Pete Schall runs monitors.
Andrew Fischbeck & Chris Koruda... well... one is lightman &
one is a stage dude. ]8-o
Bob has been referred to by one former roadie-helper as "chief
crewman."
Amy Skelton (as in Amy's Farm) is now helping & is "doing the
merchandise more often than Brad."-Rich Fromm
Shelly Culbertson goes to a bunch of shows & has been a
tremendous help with, on, in, as, & for the net... though im not
certain what specifically she does directly for the band. :-(....
She smiles! :-))
John Paluska & Marni Davis are the management (Dionysian
Productions: 617-862-8850).
Elektra does the printing & sales of releases. (do they count!)
(sorry, all: you deserve MUCH more credit than simple ID can
give!!!)
Also, falsifiable: Jay Fialkov is the band's lawyer?
-------------------------------------------------------
end rec.music.phish part 2 (of 5): section b: band questions
editor: ellis of lemuria: je...@virginia.edu
keep smiling, gliding, and riding that train!
** **** ... SECTION B: BAND QUESTIONS ... **** **
TOPICS: phish, henrietta, hardcopy, organs, guitar, trampolines,
van, tickets, mail order, support/staff
-----------------------------------------------------------
B-1: PHISH: who? what? can you give me some background info?
The Phish Stories & Interviews files from Phish-Archives have
tons of history in them. But, briefly... The band has four
members: Trey Anastasio (lead guitar & vocals; drums during
Henrietta solos), Mike Gordon (bass & vocals), Page McConnell
(keys, organ, piano, vocals), & Jon Fishman (drums, vocals,
vacuum, washboard, & trumbone; see question #27). The band has
been around since 1983, having met in college in Vermont. Their
syle is eclectic: jazz-fusion-funk-blues-classical-rock-etc.
Live performances are known for quick song shifts, extended jams,
beatiful solos, fabulous orchestration, eye-popping
improvisation, & suprises & fun galore for all.
----------------------------------------------------------
B-2: HENRIETTA: who it that? (and all other known nicknames)
Henrietta is just one of many names for Jon Fishman, the drummer.
Others include Tubbs, the hardest man in show business, Zero man,
Henrietta Tubman, Tubman, Sultan of Swat, Missing Link, Central
Scrutinizer, Showboat Gertrude, Moses Brown, Moses Heaps, Moses
Dewitt, the man with the high hat, Marco Esquandolis, second best
trumbone player in vermont & parts of parts of new hampshire, Eye
Ball man; Vinnie Barbarito (2/23/90); Hanrietta, the shortest man
in rock and roll (3/19/91); the Piper (5/1/92); Little John,
Friar Tubbs, & Henrietta Fieldberg (3/9/93). Information on any
others, & dates on any of these, would be _most_ appreciated.
-------------------------------------------------------
B-3: HARDCOPY: is there a newsletter, faznine, etc?
There is a newsletter put out from the bands office. You can get
on the mailing list by writing (NEW ADDRESS as of 4-28-93) c/o
Dionysian Productions, 1632 Mass Ave, Lexington, MA 02173. NOTE:
According to Shelley, this address (& the hotline) are due to
change soon. This file will be updated asap, but at this point,
you probably want to hold off on mailing things..
There have been sporadic reports, not all supportive, of a
"fanzine" called Phish Traders. As of this writing, there is no
endorsement by the band. An address will nonetheless be added
here if one surfaces. No other info is available.
-----------------------------------------------------------
B-4: ORGANS: what can you tell me about Page's setup?
The speaker with the front inside spinner is a Leslie speaker
(with built-in tube amplifier), an integral part of the organ
sound. The tweeter & woofer spin in opposite directionse(speed
is controlled by the organist) creating a vibrato effect. Even
with today's digital technology, it's difficult to create just
the right organ sound w/o the Leslie speaker. At a concert, the
sound from the speaker is picked up by anywhere from 1-4
microphones & sent through the PA system.
Also, in the rear-center of the stage is a speaker in a
wooden cabinet w/ a mike just a bit in front of it & aimed at it.
That cabinet is part of Trey's electric guitar system. Placing a
mic right in front of a speaker seems counter-intuitive. After
all, we could just take the signal directly & cut down on the
distortion caused by the speaker & mic. But consider the speaker
actually part of the musical instrument, & it starts to make more
sense. The speaker's coloring of the sound is part of the
overall sound the guitarist is trying to achieve. The _whole_
instrument is the combination of the guitar, amp, & speaker.
Some guitarists, & most bassists do choose to send their
signals directly to the PA instead of through the mic. The
speaker's coloring is favored for lead guitar but is often
undesirable for other guitar & bass.
From: Jonathan Dennis Kirshbaum <jon...@cs.uoregon.edu>
2 things about leslie cabinets. 1st, I believe that the
source of the neat sound is the doppler effect, the same
phenomena that makes ambulance sirens lower in pitch as they
drive away. The vibrato is cause by the speakers sound going a
small distance farther away & closer as the leslie rotates.
2nd, the speaker(s) inside the cabinet do not actually
rotate. The inside of the leslie that I saw had a woofer lying on
the bottom of the cabinet, face up, & fixed. Above it was a
simple structure that deflected the sound 90 degrees, kind of an
elbow arrangement. It was this that actually spun.
Page recently got a *really nice sounding* Hammond (check summer
92), & later (February 93) a grand piano. He had said he wouldnt
play "Loving Cup" til he had one. Sure enough, check the tapes
for Feb 93.
------------------------------------------------------------
B-5: GUITAR: what can you tell me about Trey's setup?
|From a post by R. Stern <st...@col.hp.com>
Trey's guitar was built by Paul Languedoc, the soundman for
the band (see July 91 newsletter for a phish profile on Paul).
Paul also built Mike's bass. [A 2nd was stolen :-((, summer 92?
Will be OBVIOUS if found!] Trey uses a Mesa/Boogie MkIII head.
Here's the best I can remember off the top of my head. Some
could be off by +-1.
Pre Volume: 10 !! Lead Drive: 2.5
Treble: 5 Lead Master: 6
Mid: 4.5 Master: 3
Bass: 4.5 Presence: 2 (on back of the amp)
Reverb: 0 (he uses the Microverb)
There is an Alesis Microverb (not II) sitting on top of his
amp. He uses a Large 2 or Large 3 setting. He doesn't vary it at
all...reaches for it quite often & just touches the knobs without
changing the settings :-).
His pedalboard has a volume pedal, a cheapo Ross(?)
compresser, 2 Ibanez tube screamers, & the lead/rhythm switchbox
for the Mesa (maybe more...).
The Tube Screamers are the new version Tube Screamer
Classic. Both have the volume turned all the way up, which
really confused me at first. He doesn't seem to get much of
volume boost when switching them on, & mine gives a huge boost if
I set the volume all the way up. What I think happens is this:
since his Mesa Pre-Volume is at 10, the input is already
overdriven. So when he switches in the Tube Screamers, they
can't drive any more volume out of the pre-amp, & simply give
more overdrive. That's my best guess anyway :-).
One of the keys to his cool tone is the way he uses the Tube
Screamers & the Mesa lead mode. He has the Mesa eq switched to
only work for lead mode, & he sets the eq in an upside down V
(lots of mid boost, lots of high cut). One Tube Screamer is set
for a very light crunch, & the other is set for full screaming
overdrive. Trey will often start with a light crunch, then turn
that off & turn on the full overdriver. Then he'll turn back on
the crunch (so he has both Tube Screamers on!). Then he'll kick
in the Mesa to lead mode for a final push over the edge :-) !! By
mixing & matching any combination of the 3 distortions, he gets
an incredible variety of tones. Add in the unique feedback
properties of his semi-hollowbody guitar, & wow ... Yes, he does
sound quite amazing!!
I highly recommend getting a spot against the stage (at a
show with a low stage) where you can see his pedalboard, & check
out how he switches between the Tube Screamers & Mesa lead mode
etc. (it's also a good spot for trying to see some licks/chords
that he uses)
but note... A letter from Paul Languedoc to Tony J. Went:
Tony,
Thanks for your interest. There is no big mystery about the
construction of Trey's guitar (except the secret "Sonic
Enhancer"). It is _not_ a semi-hollow body, but a true hollow
body, built the same way those big arch-top jazz guitars were
built, but, of course, much smaller. No one builds guitars that
way because they tend to feed back at any volume to speak of, but
Trey likes that because he can hold any note he wants to (with
careful muting of the other strings) where most electric guitars
would only feed back certain notes, & at a much higher volume
level.
Incidentally, the woods used are European Curly maple for the
top, domestic curly maple for the neck, Ebony for the fretboard,
tailpiece, etc., & Padauk for the body & sides. Yes, Padauk is a
rain-forest wood, & I don't buy it anymore.
-------------------------------------------------------
B-6: TRAMPOLINES? VANS? when did the band give them away? to
whom?
[temporarily missing from faq; serious revisions underway]
-------------------------------------------------------
B-7: TICKETS: how can I get ticket & venue information?
option a) Hotline: 617-862-7820 (new as of 4-28-93);
includes new 3-line answering system
option b) newsletter (see question #10)
option c) watch the net
option d) archives (see questions #5 & 6)
-------------------------------------------------------
B-8: MAIL ORDER: is it ever going to happen?
This has been discussed widely on the net. There are both
advantages & disadvantages; a summary will be posted here as soon
as suggestions are given & assimilated. A recent (march 93)
newsletter said that the possibilities were being considered, but
that its a slow & gradual learning & decision process.
-------------------------------------------------------
B-9: SUPPORT: who are the staff/crew? what do they do?
Lemuria is still looking for help on this, but...
Paul Languadoc is the Soundman.
Brad Sands is the Merchandise man & was the Mockingbird
12-31-92.
Pete Schall runs monitors.
Andrew Fischbeck & Chris Koruda... well... one is lightman &
one is a stage dude. ]8-o
Bob has been referred to by one former roadie-helper as "chief
crewman."
Amy Skelton (as in Amy's Farm) is now helping & is "doing the
merchandise more often than Brad."-Rich Fromm
Shelly Culbertson goes to a bunch of shows & has been a
tremendous help with, on, in, as, & for the net... though im not
certain what specifically she does directly for the band. :-(....
She smiles! :-))
John Paluska & Marni Davis are the management (Dionysian
Productions: 617-862-8850).
Elektra does the printing & sales of releases. (do they count!)
(sorry, all: you deserve MUCH more credit than simple ID can
give!!!)
Also, falsifiable: Jay Fialkov is the band's lawyer?
-------------------------------------------------------
end rec.music.phish part 2 (of 5): section b: band questions
editor: ellis of lemuria: je...@virginia.edu
keep smiling, gliding, and riding that train!
--
----keep gliding, smiling, and riding that train!
------{Ellis of Lemuria * je...@virginia.edu
-------- P.O. Box 3240, Charlottesville, VA 22903
** "Sophisticated technology makes the superstitious
and irrational seem reasonable." -- abiie hoffman
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