Gamehendge is the fictional setting for a number of songs by the rock band
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 ...
. Most of the songs can be traced back to ''
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday'' (or TMWSIY), the senior project of guitarist and primary vocalist
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 ...
, written while he attended
Goddard College
Goddard College is a progressive education private liberal arts low-residency college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle, Washington. The college offers undergraduate and gra ...
in 1987. The recording of TMWSIY has been heavily circulated among fans and is considered by some to be an unreleased Phish album. Outside of the songs from ''TMWSIY'', there are numerous other songs set in the fictional universe of Gamehendge.
Story
The Gamehendge saga, as told on ''
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday'' album, tells the story of Colonel Forbin, a retired colonel from
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, who enters the land of Gamehendge and rescues a document called the ''Helping Friendly Book'' from an evil dictator named Wilson.
Characters from Gamehendge
#The Lizards (the race of people who inhabit Gamehendge and are dependent upon the writings of the ''Helping Friendly Book'' for their survival. They're a race of people practically extinct from doing things smart people don't do.)
#Wilson (a traveller who arrives in Gamehendge and eventually captures the ''Helping Friendly Book'' from the Lizards and locks it in the top of his castle, thus becoming the sole dictator of Gamehendge)
#Colonel Forbin (a retired colonel who embarks on a mission to rescue the ''Helping Friendly Book'' from the tower of Wilson's castle)
#McGrupp (Colonel Forbin's dog)
#Rutherford the Brave (head knight of the Lizards who leads a team of allies to help overthrow Wilson)
#Tela (member of the allies and Colonel Forbin's object of desire who is eventually revealed as a spy for Wilson)
#Errand Wolfe (member of the allies who keeps the book for himself after overthrowing Wilson instead of returning it to the Lizards, thus declaring himself ruler)
#Roger Wolfe (member of the allies, Errand's son. Hanged by Wilson in the public square on suspicion of treason.)
#Mr. Palmer (Wilson's accountant who is hanged by the AC/DC Bag in the town square after he is caught embezzling money to fund the allies)
#The AC/DC Bag (a robotic hangman with a bag on its head used to hang traitors and enemies of Wilson)
#The Unit Monster (a giant monster who is a member of the allies and is killed along with Tela for spying)
#Spotted Stripers (Three-legged messenger birds sent by Tela the spy to reveal information to Wilson about the activities of the allies)
#Multibeasts (giant four-legged creatures that are used as transportation by the people of Gamehendge, much like horses or camels. They have long curly hair and splotches of brown and white color.)
#The Famous Mockingbird (a bird who is sent by Icculus to fly to the very top of Wilson's castle and retrieve the ''Helping Friendly Book'' for Colonel Forbin)
#The Sloth (a hitman who is hired to murder Wilson after the ''Helping Friendly Book'' is rescued)
#Icculus (the Supreme God of the Sky and author of the ''Helping Friendly Book'')
#Llamas (giant animals used by the Lizards in combat; complete with huge guns on each side)
#Jimmy (young resident of Gamehendge)
#Poster Nutbag (The cat owned by Jimmy; always dies some form of death towards the end of the song 'Harpua', an ever-changing narration sometimes taking place in Gamehendge)
#Harpua (A mean bulldog owned by an old man who was banished from Jimmy's village; invariably ends up in a terrible fight with Poster Nutbag, usually resulting in Poster's death, sometimes set in Gamehendge.)
Songs from Gamehendge
Songs from ''
The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday''
#
The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday (The introduction features the story's main theme music as the narrator describes the lonely life of Colonel Forbin and what happens when he begins to see an image of a strange door on a daily basis)
#
The Lizards (Colonel Forbin, while on a walk with his "fleet hound called McGrupp", decides to finally walk through the door, thus entering the land of Gamehendge. The song features Colonel Forbin hearing tales about the saga of the Lizards, Wilson, and the ''Helping Friendly Book'' as told by native Rutherford the Brave)
#
Tela
Tela is a town, with a population of 38,030 (2020 calculation), and a municipality in Honduras on the northern Caribbean coast. It is located in the department of Atlantida.
History
Colonial era
Tela was founded by the Spanish conquistador ...
(Colonel Forbin joins Rutherford and other allies, one of whom is the beautiful Tela. The song reveals Colonel Forbin's deep feelings for Tela)
#
Wilson
Wilson may refer to:
People
* Wilson (name)
** List of people with given name Wilson
** List of people with surname Wilson
* Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender
* Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...
(a song introducing the evil king Wilson, who captured the ''Helping Friendly Book'' from the Lizards and declared himself ruler of Gamehendge)
#
AC/DC Bag (tells the story of the execution of Mr. Palmer, Wilson's accountant. Palmer was using Wilson's money to secretly fund the revolution, and was therefore hanged in the town square by the AC/DC Bag, a mechanical hangman)
#
Colonel Forbin's Ascent (details Colonel Forbin's journey to the top of a giant mountain to ask for the help of Icculus, the Supreme God of the Sky, in regaining the ''Helping Friendly Book'', which Icculus wrote, from Wilson)
#
Fly Famous Mockingbird (Icculus sends his friend, the Famous Mockingbird, to retrieve the ''Helping Friendly Book'' from Wilson's Castle)
#
The Sloth (once the book is recovered, the Sloth is hired by the allies to murder Wilson)
#
Possum (a non-Gamehendge song written by original
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 ...
guitarist
Jeff Holdsworth
Jeff Holdsworth is a musician who was a founding member of the rock band Phish. Founded at the Redstone campus dormitories of the University of Vermont (UVM) in the fall of 1983, the band originally featured Holdsworth and Trey Anastasio sharing l ...
and later entered into the story by Anastasio with altered lyrics to fit the Gamehendge theme. It offers a strange moral: Icculus considers all that's happened in Gamehendge, offers a slogan to consider ("ain't no truth in action unless you believe it anyway") and describes the roadside demise of a possum. Aside from "Col. Forbin's Ascent," this is Icculus's only direct speech in the Gamehendge saga.)
;Other Gamehendge songs
#
Divided Sky (a chant performed by the Lizards as they stand on the edge of a rhombus and shout to the sky, praising Icculus)
#
Llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...
(a tale from the later years of Wilson's reign in Gamehendge during a violent war)
#
McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters (the story of a shepherd who lives in Gamehendge, whose flock is watched over by Colonel Forbin's dog, McGrupp. This was originally a poem that inspired the Gamehendge saga, then grafted onto the music from a song that Trey wrote with his mother entitled Skippy The Wondermouse which was performed live until 1985.)
#
Punch You in the Eye (tells the story of a traveller who passes through Gamehendge during Wilson's reign and his subsequent escape from Wilson's jail)
#
Icculus
''Junta'' ( ) is the debut studio album by the American rock band Phish. The album was self-released by the band in May 1989 without the support from a record label, and received a wider release when Elektra Records reissued it on compact disc i ...
(introduces Icculus, the Supreme God of the Sky and author of the ''Helping Friendly Book,'' a text which is revered by the Lizards)
#
Harpua
"Harpua" is a Phish song that was a staple of their live concerts, but has now become a rarity and has ''only'' been performed live. Its first appearance on an album was on
''Live Phish Volume 2'', a 2001 release featuring a concert from 1994. Th ...
(tells the story of a mean bulldog who sometimes lives in Gamehendge, however not all Harpua narration sequences include Gamehendge)
#
Axilla
The axilla (also, armpit, underarm or oxter) is the area on the human body directly under the shoulder joint. It includes the axillary space, an anatomical space within the shoulder girdle between the arm and the thoracic cage, bounded superior ...
(a tale of monsters, witches, and battles in old time Gamehendge)
#
Axilla, Part 2 (told years later during peacetime in Gamehendge as the narrator reflects on the land's past turmoil)
#
Kung
Kung or Küng may refer to:
* ǃKung people
* ǃKung language
* Kung (Haida village), an historical village of the Haida people of the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia, Canada; also Kung Indian Reserve No. 11 at the same location
* Kun ...
(a chant that one must perform in order to enter the land of Gamehendge)
#
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
and
Reba have also been mentioned as possible Gamehendge characters, especially
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
who Trey Anastasio has said hails from a part of Gamehendge. The "flying jam" in Esther also appears as the interlude between several of the TMWSIY songs lending said songs a thematic, musical link.
Character and location references
#In the story, "Prussia" is a city that was constructed in the land of Gamehendge. In the song "Wilson," Anastasio refers to Wilson as the "King of Prussia." This lyric references an actual city named
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia (also referred to as KOP) is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,028. The community took its unusual name in the 18th ...
, which is where "the rhombus" was rumored to be located. Actually located near Anastasio's childhood home in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
, the rhombus is a giant piece of art located in a field where Anastasio,
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 ...
lyricist
Tom Marshall, and other friends would engage in lengthy songwriting sessions (including some Gamehendge songs). "The Divided Sky" also references the rhombus, where the Lizards supposedly chant to the sky in praise of Icculus.
#The Roger Holloway song "Mr. Richburg's Lullaby" also references more of Anastasio's friends, including Mike Christian, Holloway ("Roger Wolfe" in the story, also immortalized in "AC/DC Bag"), and drummer Pete Cottone. Anastasio and Holloway perform the instrumental duet "Aftermath" on
the very first Phish album, which also features Pete Cottone on drums for "Slave to the Traffic Light."
#Dave Abrahms, an old friend and songwriting collaborator of Anastasio's, is referenced in "McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters."
Live performances
The songs from Gamehendge have been played many times throughout the career 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 ...
, sometimes with Anastasio narrating parts of the story to the audience. The earliest known performance of a Gamehendge song was "McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters" o
April 6, 1985 in
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
. On the following four occasions in the band's history,
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 ...
performed a complete set of Gamehendge songs, complete with narration:
1988-03-12
O
Phish played an almost complete Narration, leaving off "The Lizards".
The July 8, 1994 concert is the only complete Gamehendge performance to have been issued by the band as an official live release. It was first featured as part of their ''Dinner and a Movie'' webcast series in July 2020, and was made available on their LivePhish website the next month. The July 1994 concert had been recorded by Boston public television station
WGBH WGBH may refer to:
* WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation
** WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...
.
Each song list has been slightly different from one another. The 1994 shows were recorded in 24-track digital for, it is assumed, a
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
project that was mentioned in a 1994 Doniac Schvice. The project has long since been shelved.
Another common sequence at shows from 1988 to 1995, and less frequently after, was to play Colonel Forbin's Ascent segueing into Fly Famous Mockingbird, often with an Anastasio monologue sandwiched in between.
When songs from the project are performed live, accompanying narration often details the transportation of the audience to Gamehendge. Some fans speak of "going to Gamehendge" with reference to attending a Phish concert. Some songs and narratives explain how to get to Gamehendge, as evident in live versions of "Kung," "Harpua," "N0
2," and "It's Ice
See also
* ''
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday''
References
External links
*http://music.ibiblio.org/pub/multimedia/jamz/SBDs/trey-gamehendge.shnf/ Lossless SHN download of TMWSIY(Gamehendge)
*http://www.phish.net/faq/gamehendge.html Phish.net's explanation of ''Gamehendge''
*https://mega.nz/#F!rj50WIyb!cp-v95RRtoKwWELjibAMFw A free download of a compilation of 100 artists that reworked Gamehendge for Little Fury Things Records.
*https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Wtg8bQou2eNTZRZFRZR1RlN3c/edit Trey's Gamehendge senior thesis.
*https://phish.com/news/daam-ep19/
{{Phish
Phish
Fictional locations