Steve Pollak (born ), best known by his stage name The Dude of Life, is a

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and lyricist.

Early life

Steve Pollak is from White Plains, New York. He attended high school in the early 1980s. He earned the alias Dude of Life in high school while playing with the teenage band Space Antelope, along with fellow students Dudley Taft and Trey Anastasio. While going to boarding school at Taft in Watertown, Connecticut, he got the name from classmates when he appeared in a friend's dorm with orange goggles and draped in a tapestry, and saying otherworldly things. In his band Space Antelope, they wrote their own music and covered

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

songs. The Dude of Life and Trey Anastasio continued jamming together at the University of Vermont. Pollak attended

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges ...

after one semester at the University of Vermont, and majored in literature. He afterwards worked a series of odd jobs, such as a salesman.

Phish

He has co-written numerous

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 ...

songs, including "Suzy Greenberg", "Run like an Antelope", "Fluffhead", "Sanity", "Dinner and a Movie", "Crimes of the Mind", and "Slave to the Traffic Light". "Fluffhead" was inspired by Pollak's older brother, who died of cancer. Recent songs he co-wrote with Anastasio include "Show of Life", "Architect", and "Dr. Gabel." The Dude of Life has appeared on stage at Phish concerts numerous times. During appearances at Phish shows as well as his own shows, he threw out rubber animals with Sharpie inscriptions by him as well as Phish band members and associates. In 2013, he released an original song he co-wrote with Anastasio called "Edie's Dream." It was inspired by Edie Sedgwick.

Solo career

The Dude of Life has released two studio albums: ''

Crimes of the Mind ''Crimes of the Mind'' is the debut album from The Dude of Life, a childhood friend of Phish leader Trey Anastasio and a lyrical contributor to many of Phish's early songs. Phish is the backing band for the entire album. The album was recorded ...

'' (recorded in 1991), which featured Phish as his backing band, and the 1999 release '' Under the Sound Umbrella'' with a different backing band, featuring appearances by Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman. In February 1994 he played at the Paradise in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with appearances by members of Phish. For ''Under the Sound Umbrella,'' backing band was the Great Red Shark, which included Cliff Mays on guitar, Mark Thors on keyboard, Paul Gassman on bass, and Jim Weingast on drums. '' Entertainment Weekly'' gave ''Crimes of the Mind'' a review, and said it was "inconsequential silliness". It gave it a score of B−. In writing about ''Under the Sound Umbrella'', William Ruhlmann at Allmusic said that it has "quirky lyrics that border on novelties" with a style reminiscent of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

and David Bowie. The "Under the Sound Umbrella" tour found The Dude of Life performing at venues like The Comfort Zone in Toronto, Ontario, MusikFest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Alexanders in

New Jerusalem, Pennsylvania New Jerusalem is a census-designated place in Rockland Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the South Mountains and is drained by the Manatawny Creek into the Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is ...

where he performed alongside bands Captain Zig, Emergent Evolution, and Bohemian Sunrise. In 2015, he and Charles de Saint Phalle collaborated on original music and sound effects for Lightscapes at Van Cortlandt Manor in

Croton-on-Hudson Croton-on-Hudson is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the ...

, an installation with sculpture, light and music. In recent years, he has performed with Fluid Druids and put together a new version of his solo band. The Dude of Life Band, with Charles de Saint Phalle on bass, Fred Scholl on lead guitar, Doug Schneider on drums and Jon "Bevo" Leibowitz of God Street Wine on keyboard, toured nationally in 2021, and has announced a spring tour of the northeast in 2022, including stops at Lark Hall in Albany, NY, Nectar's in Burlington, VT and City Winery in New York, NY.

Personal

He lives in

with his wife Leslie. As of 2008, Steve Pollak was teaching elementary school in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

. He has three children.

Discography

*''

Crimes Of the Mind ''Crimes of the Mind'' is the debut album from The Dude of Life, a childhood friend of Phish leader Trey Anastasio and a lyrical contributor to many of Phish's early songs. Phish is the backing band for the entire album. The album was recorded ...

'' (with

) (1994 - recorded in 1991) *'' Under The Sound Umbrella'' (1999)

References

External links

dudeoflife.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dude of Life, The Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Jewish American musicians Support staff of Phish Place of birth missing (living people) University of Vermont alumni Jewish rock musicians Songwriters from New York (state) Elektra Records artists People from White Plains, New York State University of New York at Purchase alumni Taft School alumni People from Croton-on-Hudson, New York