It was really funny. So Trey called my dad and my dad couldn’t do it. And he was like, ‘This might sound really funny but I have this daughter who lives in New York and she sings too and she might be a good fit.’ And I can’t believe it, because they actually took him seriously. They actually followed up on it. First, Trey’s manager called and asked me to send over some music and a bio. And then I remember, freshman year in my dorm room getting a call from Trey – no big deal (laughing).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ever wondered about the background of “YEMblog,” perhaps the most widely used Phish blog on the web? I did, and I asked Scott Bernstein (“SB”), the man behind the site, to chat about it and he graciously obliged

Click here to view the embedded video.

That leads me to my next question – what advice would you give to up and coming bands?

Put on a great live show and make each performance interesting. Gain an audience by becoming a great live act and then those fans will buy your studio efforts. You don’t need to be a jam band to change your setlist every night. And don’t undervalue  Spotify. Ask your fans to add your music to their shared playlists. I’ve discovered plenty of acts that way in 2011.

“There’s so much about this that you wouldn’t believe,” Gordon said. “It’s great because the two parts of my career inspire each other: Phish is going great; it’s inspiring and musically it’s incredibly fun, and there are a lot of perks. But I don’t get to write most of the material. I do get to contribute songs, but there’s only so much space to develop them.”

Brian Bavosa: Your band played two shows in November, how did it go?

Mike Gordon:  It was a whirlwind of activity getting ready and hitting the road for our first weekend in six months. There was a certain smoothness of intention which felt great in the first set – like instead of the music playing itself, our souls played themselves, or at least mine did. That may sound strange but that’s how it felt. There was a relaxedness and a tightness despite it being fresh, and it was also great to have a few new songs, including an epic cover and a new original, Sideways. That one in particular felt smooooth – it’s almost reggaeish, and yet dimented enough such that I don’t know what it is… A simple, haunting little ditty about the world on its side. Or something… Very cool to rehearse something and try so many subtle variations of groove and approach – tight vs. loose, repeating vs. improvised – and then remembering that it’s only on stage that the final element walks in the door – the magic.