Features

American Pie Creator Adam Herz Talks Phish (Relix Revisited)

As American Reunion opens this weekend, we look back to our September/October 2005 issue and this piece on American Pie screenwriter Adam Herz

Name: Adam Herz
Occupation: Screenwriter, Producer
Claim To Fame: American Pie Series

“I still listen to Phish all the time,” admits the 32-year old Adam Herz. “I am in denial that there will not be another show.” The young Hollywood insider responsible for the American Pie franchise says that Phish remains his favorite band, although the jamband channel on Sirius has turned him on to Umphrey’s McGee, Robert Randolph and Keller Williams. “And I still love the dead, “ he says. “All versions of them.”

Herz caught his first Phish show in ’93 and has seen them an additional 46 times, including their farewell show at Coventry. And he misses them as much as anyone: “We’re all trying to treasure and be grateful for the times we had, but well, the truth is that’s just something we say because we have no alternative.”

Having enjoyed the financial rewards of three blockbuster movies, Herz stumbled upon a practice of giving away free popsicles at concerts. At Coventry last year, he bought 10,000 Otter Pops (and 700 pounds of dry ice to keep them cold). “I spent most of my non-show time walking around, handing them out, and meeting people,” he says. “It was a blast. And I never saw a single one of those wrappers on the ground, which is just cool.”

Herz currently runs Terra Firma Films, which has a deal with Universal, and is working on upcoming film projects, both as a screenwriter and producer. “At one time or another, every Pie script had a Phish reference in it,” he reveals. “But all the noticeable ones fell out during the filmmaking process.” And while the “Boy! Man! God! Shit!” dialogue got cut, Herz maintains that “vague” references remain.

“The thing about listening to Phish now, though, is sometimes I just get sad that they’re not around anymore. Some of the fun of listening to a smoking ‘Harry Hood’ was the anticipation of the next time I’d see the song,” he says. “I want my Phish back!”