Oysterhead

Non-Phish Phish Band Members
#1

Oysterhead is easily my favorite side project. Nothing extremely groundbreaking going on but it is a groove-fest and a half. Les Claypool (arguably one of the best bassists ever) with Stewart Copeland (arguably one of the best drummers ever) and Big Red? What is not to like?

The “Grand Pecking Order” is a solid album all the way through. The lyrics range from the metaphorical to the ridiculous. The way that Stu and Les hook up in the thumping grooves while Trey floats over the top is what makes this band work so well.

Their live stuff is jammed out but nothing really “type II” (save for a few exceptions - the bonnaroo 03 show, Pseduo Suicide from their first show).

Overall just extremely fun music.

#2

has Claypool ever had bad blood towards Trey? i have a couple friends who have told me that Claypool doesn’t like Trey, but I don’t think its true is it?

#3

The album is amazing, the live show is amazing, listening to the live show leaves something to be desired.

#4

I don’t think Les would form a band (even a one-off one like Oysterhead) with him if he didn’t like Trey. :wink:

#5

Your friends must be good friends with Les or Trey to state that.

#6

Once upon a greasy day
I had an opportune to play
Flanked by ol’ Stew and Trey
Cause there ain’t no cure for suicide

this, along with wield the spade…BARBER, GET THIS MIROR CLEAN!

are my favorites. i have always loved oyterhead

#7

I was an Oysterhead fan before I was a Phish fan, believe it or not. I was hardcore into Claypool at the time and I found out he was in Oysterhead (a band that my friends dad used to play in the car a lot). Then I checked out them out and saw their lineup, thinking “Holy shit! This should be awesome.” I always liked Stu’s playing and knew that Phish would be a band that seemed really cool, but just never got around to listening to. A few weeks later, after falling in complete love with TGPO, it hit me that I’VE GOTTA CHECK PHISH OUT! So, I rented out A Live One and LP Vol. 11 from the library and then HCA about a month later. The rest is history.

#8

^That is awesome. I think everyone either has in their mind before they listen to phish that they are really cool or really dumb.

#9

Yes…Trey was supposed to show up at Les’s late night gig in Vegas after his show. Les even announced he was in the building and coming on. Trey never showed. I’m sure you could find the aud. I think it was 6/01/02.

#10

Always had a particular fondness for Stewart Copeland since childhood and The Police and I think he is definitely among the best drummers ever. Each member is certainly a master of their instrument and their combined talents were a match made in musical heaven.

The album is one of my all time faves. Great songs, each and every one. I had the distinct pleasure of seeing them live only once, but right here in my own hometown, and it was an absolutely stellar show. I used to hope and hope after hearing that show they did in NOLA for Jazzfest that they would do more. I listened to it repeatedly, especially “Owner of the World” and “The Israelites” (still a favorite song of mine by the golden piped Desmond Dekker). My expectations were exceeded by that album and show. So now I sometimes wish they would do another, but then worry that what if they just couldn’t capture that magic again? I could be content with that one time masterpiece.

#11

In the Phish Bio there are some quotes in there by Les that basically say, “Trey is a good guy”…not that he is currently friendly with him…makes you wonder. Isn’t makind amends part of Trey’s program? :wave:

Oysterhead rocked BTW

#12

Man, if you were able to see Les put on those CREEPY night-sight goggles and play “Shadow of a Man” then you got a treat. Will was right in that seeing the live show was much better than hearing it. I even ran into some total Phish-fan strangers at a party a month after I saw the show and all I had to say was “Shadow of a Man” and they all reacted in the same “blown away” fashion to the song.

#13

fuck a spring TAB tour

OYSTERHEAD ALL THE WAY!

but isn’t les in europe or something like that?

#14
#15

Yup, sho nuff, tru dat, werd.

#16

Yeah, that coulda happened, but Les played with Phish a couple times, Oysterhead is still Oysterhead, and in '06 or '07 Les wrote a theme for Trey to be played only when Trey was around and when he was coming up to play at some point. I saw that happen a couple times.

It goes like this: Yuh ohhh, Yuh ohhh, Yuh oh yuh oh yuh ohhhh, yuh oh yuh oh yuh oh yeah uh you ohhhh.

Beautiful really…

#17

Oh, and Trey has his own special Clay-dubbed nickelodeon name…“Antipasta.”

check: Bonnaroo and Allgood '06.

#18

Man, I love this album. Somehow I didn’t realize it existed until long after I got into both Phish and Primus… but man, this is amazing.

The great part is that it’s EXACTLY what you expect; a mix of Antipop-era Les with post-millenial Trey. Incredibly, it all works (thankfully, Trey is the kind of guitarist who can be great while still taking a backseat to an insane bassist, be it Mike Gordon or Les Claypool). Trey’s lyrics fare well, sometimes even eclipsing Les’ (a surprise, because usually Trey minus Tom Marshall is a problem), and Stuart Copeland can basically do anything he wants. (I swear there’s one part where I can hear “Klark Kent” providing backing vocals.)

I would recommend this album to anyone. Ever.

#19

:thumbup: :thumbup: YES PLEASE! Shit was TIGHT… :sunglasses:

Primus front man recently spoke with Rolling Stone for a new feature in which he discusses a couple of topics close to our heart - the possibility of an Oysterhead reunion

When asked about the possibility that the trio (which features Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and The Police drummer Stewart Copeland) will reunite Claypool responded, "Ah…I don’t know what the hell is going on with Oysterhead. We always talk about it. There’s a lot of talk. I think it’s an itch we should start scratching here pretty soon. It’s been long overdue

jambase.com/Articles/119499/ … shing-Show

#20

^I LOVED Oysterhead as well. I’ll never forget Les singing Shadow of a Man with those super-creepy flashlight goggles during the live show. That show was off the hook.