Speculation on why there's not more Oysterhead

[TheEqualizer]

Over the weekend, I was listening to and watching some Oysterhead material. Not getting specific on what led me to the following conclusion/impression, but I then developed an impression that I never had before.

Does anyone have any knowledge or just share the feeling that the reason Oysterhead did not go much further was because Trey didn't think the music they produced was all that great? I think Trey likes Les and Stewart, but I am not sure Trey was all that thrilled with the end result. My feeling is that Trey felt like maybe his solo work was the superior outlet for what he was trying to do with Oysterhead.

I'd love to be waaayy wrong on this, but . . .

[TOWOS]

Les told me that anytime they called each other and started "Hey, we have to do this again" "Yes, yes", one of them was busy doing something else. At the time I met him, it was Stewart with Tourzilla.
So it's probably one of these projects for which the stars must be aligned...

One can only hope...

[sockii]

I forget exactly when and with who the subject recently came up, but I know some of us were speculating that Oysterhead may have just been a very special "thing" that happened at the right time, with the right (very busy) people. And that re-creating that kind of alignment of the stars may just never be in the cards again, except perhaps a one-off performance or two such as what happened at Bonnaroo.

I mean, all three guys are *very* busy, with pretty full plates in front of them and I can imagine that it could be really difficult to schedule for recording a new album, doing even a short tour, etc. Nevermind all three being in the mood to do it at the same time and have the material/inspiration ready to go.

If there's never more, I'll be disappointed, yeah, but not overly surprised...

[TheEqualizer]

Busyness aside, I have the feeling that Stewart and Les have Oysterhead much higher on their "things to do when I have some time" lists than Trey.

[Spec A!]

I'd agree with that, almost as if Trey did it out of musical boredom, and has since moved on. Who knows, it could be the same for Les and STEWART too. But I definitely feel Trey was the "odd" one (which in itself is pretty funny).

[policerule]

[quote="Spec A!"]But I definitely feel Trey was the "odd" one (which in itself is pretty funny).[/quote]



Yes, indeed it is funny.


I'll never give up hope, but I'm not holding my breath either. Dammit.


Seems like Stewart is pretty happy to be composing again, that Les is content to not go on long tours and Trey is happy to be back with Phish. None of those leave much room for OH.

IF there ever is a one-off, I hope we get enough notice *hint*fucking*hint*, because I'll be there in a heartbeat.

[dontboxmein]

That is too dang funny...EQ...I too was watching Oysterhead this weekened...and arrived at the same conclusions.

Only I really think Trey is the weak link to the band....he can't sing for crap...sorry just what I feel and he is very over rated in my opinion.


Oysterhead should start all over....and replace Trey with Rusty Anderson.

And find an incredible singer.

Stewart and Les are Oysterhead....

[smudge]

This is a bit of a threadjack - sorry.

Years too late, I'm trying to get my paws on all The Desert Sessions* recordings. Reason? I have one CD, and it is patchy. But it is unique, and ear-cleansing. It is a disparate bunch of musicians showing up, plugging in, and pressing 'record', then leaving someone to noodle around a little and whip it into shape afterwards. Then it is done. Once. They are all busy people, unlikely to reconvene in the same place again.

Not quite analagous to Oysterhead, but with so many possibilities and opportunities for all involved, why go and redo something?

*(Larissa - yup - indirectly your fault )

[sockii]

It's hard to say someone is the weak link or not based on just one album. I'm not all that keen on "Radon Balloon", but I love "Polka Dot Rose", both of which are pretty clearly Trey songs. You don't know what all went on in the studio, behind-the-scenes, whatever.

That said, I'd totally be up for hearing Les & Stew doing something together in some other form or fashion because I'm much bigger fans of both separately than I am of Trey. (In fact, now I'm wishing I'd had more time to spend listening to "Of Fungi & Foe" before the Les show last weekend, because I'm really starting to get into it, except for a few tracks which are far too derivative and repetitive of his earlier work. Though the venue in Philly and the 4-acts-on-the-bill thing was still kind of a drag that made it less-than-enjoyable for me, nevertheless.) I'm just not into the whole Phish "thing" but I definitely think that Les & Stew have a similar rhythmic sensibility and appreciation for the absurd that would make anything they'd do together really interesting to me.

[TOWOS]

I don't dislike Trey, but have to say that, given his Godlike Status in the Jam Band community (if you haven't been to an edition of the Jammy Awards, you have no idea), he provided an enthusiastic and numerous audience most of which had probably little or no idea of who the other 2 were.

So his presence was a good idea, practically speaking. :')
Those who have seen Electric Apricot probably have recognized many traits of the public (and maybe the band...)

[Dietmar]

I listened to the Oysterhead record when it was released and thought it was crap.

Now I'm always reading what you people write and think about Oysterhead - so I just watched some clips on youtube.

You know what?
It's still crap.

Just exactly the kind of music I can't relate to.

Dietmar

[Spec A!]

Tell us how you really feel Dietmar!

I'm not an overwhelming fan either- I listen to it for the drums. If I had a chance to see them live, I wouldn't miss it though.

[policerule]

I'm a firm believer that if you don't like Les, you won't like Oysterhead. Period. With a few small exceptions, that album is his sound even on Stewart and Trey's song(s).

[quote="sockii"] Les & Stew have a similar rhythmic sensibility and appreciation for the absurd that would make anything they'd do together really interesting to me.[/quote]


Absofuckinglutely.

[vespapod]

Definately not my favorite sound...

I think they all are too busy....I WANT MORE GIZMO....with concerts in Italy!!!

[DirtyMartini]

[quote="sockii"]I'm not all that keen on "Radon Balloon", but I love "Polka Dot Rose", both of which are pretty clearly Trey songs.[/quote]

I do love "Polka Dot Rose," while "Radon Balloon" is the one song on the album that I fast-forward through. Lame. It'd be a better Phish song. And I don't like Phish.

(Though was Trey's solo stuff closer to the Oysterhead end of the spectrum than to the Phish end? I honestly don't know -- I've only heard one or two of his solo tunes. But I remember that small sample having a funkier quality than the Phish stuff.)

I don't think of Oysterhead as a band as much as a project. Do I think they'll do a full-out tour again? Not really. The Grand Pecking Order thing was a conscious effort to see what might happen. Now that they've done that, I see Oysterhead as one of those projects that requires a particular impetus; not even a question of stars aligning as the requirement of someone making a conscious effort or having a date scheduled, like how they first played in New Orleans or how they did Bonnaroo. "When we have free time" never happens: my best friend and I can't even manage to find a couple of hours of free time to have dinner. It's not for lack of love; it's an abundance of other stuff to do. The only way that we get together is when someone points to a calendar and says, "There. That Day. We are getting together That Day. The End." Now multiply that by three musicians. I personally don't know enough about Trey Anastasio to be able to form an opinion on his opinions or motivations -- but in terms of all three of them (assuming they would all want in), I think that the way that Oysterhead will/might play again is for someone to finally point at a calendar, schedule a date they're all not already booked, and tell each of them to show up.