Trey Anastasio

Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born 30 September 1964) grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, playing drums. He worked with his mother, an editor for Sesame Street Magazine, developing stories and songs of fantasy and fun and meaning. (His father was an executive with the Princeton-based Educational Testing Service, who administered the SATs etc.) Trey's musicianship grew at Princeton Day School. For high school, Trey transferred to Taft, a Watertown, CT, prep school, and joined (as a vocalist) an eleven-person classic rock band called Red Tide. In Trey's junior year, when seven of the eleven had graduated, the band reformed as Space Antelope and Trey became the guitarist. Trey initially went to the University of Vermont, in Burlington. He studied various musical forms (and often mentions fugues and big band arrangements) but majored in philosophy. He also hosted a Monday morning (5-9 a.m.) radio show, "Ambient Alarm Clock". While at UVM, Trey meet Jon Fishman, Jeff Holdsworth and Mike Gordon, and the four started the band "Phish". After a few years, the band members meet Page McConnell, who was attending Goddard College in Vermont. McConnell eventually joined the band on keys, and convinced Trey and Jon to transfer to Goddard. Phish has grown into one of the largest touring acts in the country. In 1994 alone Phish reportedly grossed $10.3 million from concerts coast to coast. Phish continues to be one of the largest-grossing bands on the touring circuit in the United States today. In 1995, Phish played 80 U.S. shows and grossed $16 Million. In 1996, Phish played 49 shows and grossed $17 million. In 1997, Phish played 44 U.S. shows, sold over 800,000 tickets, and grossed over $21 million. In 1998, Phish played grossed $23.3 million, ranking 23rd for top concert tours of North America. Half of that was between April and August, according to Billboard sister publication Amusement Business.