• Ickmix

    Ickmix 2

    ickmix 2

    I used to really enjoy creating mixes for friends and – well – especially girlfriends. Inspiration would smack me like a freight train, and I’d dig into my collection and weave together tapestries of musical brilliance (at least I thought so!) and what I thought to be clever proclamations of affection. Well, the girlfriends are no more (my wife would kill me), but I have to get my mix fix in every now and then. So indulge me, my internet friends, and take in my new Ickmix.

    It’s a fairly mellow mix. I’m a mellow fellow. I hope you enjoy. If you do, let me know. It may give me a kick in the pants to make more.

    Ickmix 2 (mp3 – 63MB – 46:00)

    Playlist after the jump:

  • Jam

    My 1990 Halloween with Phish

    Thanks to my college cohort Jason, I now have a living breathing document of our early Phish experience. It was Halloween 1990. That night, Phish would play our college’s 740 seat theater, Armstrong Hall. Judging by my first Phish show in April of that year, I knew we were in for something special. Costumes were required for this performance. So I dug up a poncho, a cowboy hat and a water pistol and called myself Josey Wales. Jason got a little more creative, and dressed up like a droog from A Clockwork Orange.

    That night, we filed into Armstrong Hall and had our minds blown by these four strange fellows from Vermont. Page seemed the most normal of the bunch, nestled behind his keyboard. Mike was a cartoonish figure with his moppy hair and deadpan expression as he laid down those great bass lines. Fishman was a fascinating sight on drums, dressed in his standard attire of goggles and a dress. I had never heard / seen such drumming live before. The rhythms he banged out had me wondering how one person could muster up all of those sounds.

    And then there was Trey: red hair, red beard, and his perma-grin throughout the show. With his stack of amps and electronic equipment blipping and flickering behind him, Trey was a veritable guitar god that night (and every other time I saw him).

    Phish obviously evolved into a phenomenon, selling out tours for years with minimal album sales & radio play. In 1997, when Phish was playing America West Arena here in Phoenix, I scored a backstage pass and got a chance to introduce myself to Trey. I reminded him of this night in 1990, when he and his buddies from Vermont took the stage at a small auditorium in Colorado Springs, and did proceed to tear the roof off the mother (not to mention my brain).

    *Embellishment follows* As a distant neon sign flickered in Trey’s eyes, he began to nod emphatically and hoarsely whispered, “Hey! Weren’t you dressed like Josey Wales?” A tear fell from my eye, and we embraced like two long lost brothers, as we shared the common bong bond of a simpler time. A salivating silver and black dragon then burst through the ground beneath, swallowing us both whole. *End of embellishment*

    Phish
    Armstrong Hall
    Colorado College
    October 31st, 1990

    1: (Buried Alive -> Possum, The Squirming Coil, Lizards, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, You Enjoy Myself, The Asse Festival, My Sweet One, Cavern, Run Like an Antelope

    2: The Landlady, Reba, Runaway Jim, Foam, Tweezer, Fee, Oh Kee Pa Ceremony -> Suzy Greenberg, HYHU -> Love You -> HYHU, Mike’s Song -> I Am Hydrogen -> Weekapaug Groove

    E: Uncle Pen, Big Black Furry Creature From Mars

    Set 2 preceded by costume contest. *Vocal jam included “A Night in Tunisia” (Dizzy Gillespie).

  • Bluegrass

    Compare & Contrast: Goldie and Phish take on Uncle Pen

    Goldie Hawn

    Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe’s “Uncle Pen” has been covered by a multitude of artists, from the Flying Burrito Brothers to Buck Owens. But had you any idea, dear reader, that fair-haired 70’s hottie Goldie Hawn sang it on her 1972 debut album? Goldie covered Dylan, Van Morrison, and Joni Mitchell on the album, among others. And she sweetly sung this Monroe classic…

    Also taking on “Uncle Pen” quite frequently throughout their history was Phish. I haven’t really touched on my fondness for Phish over the brief 2.5 year history of Ickmusic, but they’ll always rank up there as a favorite. During my four years at Colorado College (88-92), they dropped in 3 times: an Earth Day ’90 afternoon show with Pike’s Peak in the background, and two killer Halloween shows in ’90 and ’91 (I was dressed as Josey Wales one year, and I completely forget the other – imagine that).

    So I had a unique introduction to the boys from Phish. Over the 90’s I got to see them a bunch of times here in Arizona, Vegas, Alpine Valley, Wisc., and at Shepherds Bush Empire in London. So allow me to get a little – *sniff sniff* – nostalgic as I listen to Mike Gordon sing “Uncle Pen” as Trey plays the fiddle part with his guitar at breakneck speed.