''Bar 17'' is

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 fifth solo studio album. It was the first release from his newly formed record label,

Rubber Jungle Records Rubber Jungle Records is an independent record label created by Phish frontman Trey Anastasio. It was started by Anastasio to release his album ''One Man's Trash''. The label released Anastasio's ''The Horseshoe Curve'' on July 24, 2007, and the ...

. Work began on ''Bar 17'' shortly 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 ...

, but had to temporarily suspend the project due to the absence of producer

Bryce Goggin Bryce Goggin is an American record producer and sound engineer. His career began in the early 1990s, working at Baby Monster Studios. He first received note for mixing the album ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' by Pavement. He has since worked with ...

. During the long hiatus in the middle of the album's production, Anastasio flew to Atlanta to record his 2005 album '' Shine'', which was very pop-oriented and different from Anastasio's normal musical style. ''Bar 17'' contains songs written over roughly three years by Anastasio, from the spring of 2003 to the spring of 2006. The album features contributions by a greatly varied cast of musicians including

bandmates

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 ...

as well as the

Benevento/Russo Duo The Benevento/Russo Duo (or The Duo for short) is an alternative jazz/rock band from New York City, featuring Marco Benevento on keyboard instruments and Joe Russo on drums. History Benevento and Russo met while in junior high school in New Jer ...

and

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

. The album credits a total of 42 musicians as performing on various tracks. The first single released from the album is ''

Dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

'', recorded with Mike Gordon and the Benevento/Russo Duo. Unlike ''Shine'', no video has been recorded. ''Bar 17'' was released on October 3, 2006. Pre-orders made on Anastasio's official webstore came with a bonus disc, '' 18 Steps''. Although it is not available in stores, ''18 Steps'' is available separately on the Live Phish website.

Track listing

# "Host Across the Potomac" (Anastasio) - 6:05 # "If You're Walking" (Anastasio) - 5:47 # "

" (Anastasio, Benevento, Gordon, Russo) - 3:52 # "Bar 17" (Anastasio) - 8:52 # "Mud City" (Anastasio) - 4:04 # "Let Me Lie" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 3:15 # "What’s Done" (Anastasio) - 5:43 # "Goodbye Head" (Anastasio, Anastasio) - 7:05 # "A Case of Ice and Snow" (Anastasio, Cruz, Hoffman) - 4:42 # "Empty House" (Anastasio) - 3:57 # "Gloomy Sky" (Anastasio) - 5:56 # "Shadow" (Anastasio) - 5:26 # "Cincinnati" (Anastasio, Marshall) - 6:31 2006 albums Trey Anastasio albums {{2006-rock-album-stub