Earlier this week, Rolling Stone published an interview with Trey Anastasio where he discusses rehearsing for the upcoming Fare Thee Well shows as well as some brief thoughts on Phish. Now, the publication has released a more extensive version of the interview with expanded musings on Phish and where the band is headed. 

On the band’s current state, Anastasio insists he’s “speaking from the heart” when he says, “I feel like we’re playing better now than we have a really long time. I just feel like some kind of imaginary pressure has gone away. I feel like something happened in the last three or four years where the only thing important to us is that everybody’s together.”

He continued, saying that there is an “open-hearted feeling onstage” now. “Fish described it best: ‘When I’m playing music with you guys, I feel like we’re all on a lifeboat together, and if someone falls over the edge, all the other three guys reach right out and pull him back in.’ And it does feel like that.”

The guitarist also heaped praise onto the band’s soundchecks, even suggesting releasing some of them. “I sent an e-mail around recently to the three other guys saying we should put [them] out, you know like, ‘Let people hear some of these soundchecks,'” he said. “Because a lot of times we get to soundcheck, we just get onstage and we start jamming. Nobody’s there, nobody’s watching, everybody just woke up and kind of came stumbling off the bus. It’s kind of a half-dream state.”

Anastasio also expressed the importance and significance of each member participating in their own solo projects, saying, “Mike likes to do his solo thing, and he’s really enjoying aspects of that, making album covers and weird little videos to announce tours. We understand how important it is to Phish that Mike has that outlet. And Page has been doing these Meter Men shows. I think it’s done amazing things for his confidence, and his playing is so good now. I just love listening to him. Fish has a couple of solo things going. We all kind of see the value for everybody to have whatever kind of space they need. If someone needs time off, then we take time off.”

He finished by saying, “I like a lot of it right now. I’m just kind of grateful.”

Phish tour kicks off following Anastasio’s commitment to Fare Thee Well on July 21 in Bend, OR.