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 A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

Early life

Steve Pollak is from

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

. 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 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 ...

. While going to boarding school at Taft in

Watertown, Connecticut Watertown is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 22,105 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The ZIP codes for Watertown are 06795 (for most of the ...

, 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 Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress and fashion model, known for being one of Andy Warhol's superstars.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties" Pantheon Books, pp. 210& ...

Solo career

The Dude of Life has released two studio albums: '' Crimes of the Mind'' (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

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 ...

and

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 ...

. In February 1994 he played at the Paradise in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, 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 ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' 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 AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said that it has "quirky lyrics that border on novelties" with a style reminiscent of the Beatles and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. The "Under the Sound Umbrella" tour found The Dude of Life performing at venues like The Comfort Zone in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, MusikFest in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

, and Alexanders in New Jerusalem, Pennsylvania 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 Van Cortlandt Manor is a 17th-century house and property built by the van Cortland family located near the confluence of the Croton and Hudson Rivers in the village of Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County, New York, United States. The colonial ...

Croton-on-Hudson Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern sub ...

, 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 God Street Wine (also known as GSW) is a jam band from New York City. Their music is an amalgam of rock, jazz, bluegrass, funk, psychedelia, pop, Americana, reggae, progressive, and more. The band broke up in 1999 and reunited in 2009. GSW play ...

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'' (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