70 Volt Parade was
Trey Anastasio
Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...
's backing band in 2005, formed after the breakup of
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
in August of the previous year. After writing and recording new material in late 2004 and early 2005, Anastasio began auditioning various musicians for his next project. This band essentially replaced
Anastasio's first backup band that was together in different forms from 1999 to 2004. 70 Volt Parade originally included Peter Chwazik on bass (later replaced by Tony Hall), Skeeto Valdez on drums (later replaced by Raymond Weber),
Les Hall on guitar and keyboards, and
Ray Paczkowski also on keyboards. In 2006, with Les Hall out of the lineup, and a new musical focus for Anastasio, the 70 Volt Parade name was dropped.
Music
While 70 Volt Parade primarily performed new material that Anastasio has written and recorded since the breakup of
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
, the band played songs from all points of Anastasio's solo career, which began in 1998. He also performed the Phish song "46 Days" with the new band on a regular basis, as well as songs from the
Supergroup (music), supergroup Oysterhead
Oysterhead is an American rock supergroup featuring bassist Les Claypool of Primus, guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish and drummer Stewart Copeland of The Police, with both Claypool and Anastasio providing vocals. The band's eclectic sound has b ...
. Also, unlike Anastasio's past bands, performances usually have an opening act. Anastasio and 70 Volt Parade have also served as an opening act for
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
and
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Geo ...
.
One of the highlights of the band's inaugural tour was the "Superjam" in
on April 30, 2005, which included special guests
Mike Gordon
Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...
,
Dave Matthews,
Cyril Neville
Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band u ...
and Sunpie Barnes, among others.
Starting with the August 6, 2005 concert at
Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater, shows featured Anastasio performing a solo acoustic set in the middle or end of each concert, instead of a traditional set break. Most of the songs performed during these sets were from the
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
catalog. During the band's fall tour, the other three members of
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
each made a guest appearance.
Page McConnell
Page Samuel McConnell (born May 17, 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as the keyboardist and a songwriter for the band Phish.
In addition to having been a member of Phish since 1985, ...
played with Anastasio at the
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan.
The venue, according to its website, accommodated ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Mike Gordon
Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...
joined Trey onstage at the
Hammerstein Ballroom
The Hammerstein Ballroom is a ballroom located within the Manhattan Center at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,500 people for theat ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Jon Fishman
Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer known for his work with the band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983, and which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo cr ...
and Gordon later performed at a show in
Utica, New York
Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...
that was heavily promoted on Anastasio's website. McConnell and Fishman's appearances marked the first time either musician had performed with Anastasio in front of a live audience since
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
.
Zooma Tour Cancellation
In the summer of 2005, Anastasio and 70 Volt Parade were scheduled to co-headline the festival-like
Zooma Tour along with
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfor ...
. The tour, which featured an intensive schedule covering venues throughout the United States, was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Anastasio then scheduled a brief summer tour in its place.
Lineup Changes
#On July 24, 2005, at the
10,000 Lakes Festival
The 10,000 Lakes Festival (abbreviated as 10KLF) was an annual four-day music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at the Soo Pass Ranch that was held from 2003 until 2009 before going on indefinite hiatus due to financial losses and has not bee ...
, Tony Hall replaced Peter Chwazik on bass. Hall (no relation to guitarist Les Hall) had recently played with Trey as a member of
Dave Matthews and Friends
Dave Matthews & Friends is an American jam band that was put together for a tour to support Dave Matthews' solo debut, ''Some Devil''. Most of the musicians participated in the album's production. The band consists of:
* Dave Matthews †...
. Also, two backup singers were added, Jennifer Hartswick, from Anastasio's previous band and her childhood friend, Christina Durfee.
#On November 18, 2005, Raymond Weber replaced Skeeto Valdez on drums. Both Weber and Tony Hall are members of
Ivan Neville
Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to members of The Neville Brothers.
Career
He has released four solo (music), solo albums and ha ...
's Dumpstaphunk, a
funk outfit in the Neville tradition.
#Also on the fall tour, the two female singers began playing horns on selected songs (Jen on trumpet and tuba and Christina on trombone). Hartswick had played trumpet and tuba, as well as sung in
Anastasio's old band.
#The band also added Russell Remington, also from Trey's old band (and who performed with
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
on many occasions as a member of
The Giant Country Horns) on saxophone and flute.
Record Label
Trey Anastasio
Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...
's 2005 release,
''Shine'', marked the first release by Anastasio since the formation of the 70 Volt Parade. Although the group does not perform on the album, they appeared in the video for the album's title track, as well as on the bonus features on the video side of the album's
Dual Disc. The album, unlike its predecessors by
Trey Anastasio
Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...
&
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
, was released on
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. The switch of labels for Anastasio led to a delay in digital recordings of 2005 shows being available for sale on the Live Phish website.
External links
Trey Anastasio Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seventy Volt Parade
Jam bands
Rock music groups from Vermont