Trey Anastasio

Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964 ) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983.

He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish original songs, 141 of them as a solo credit, in addition to 41 credits attributed to the band as a whole.

In addition to his work with Phish, Anastasio has released 11 solo albums, and been part of several side projects including the Trey Anastasio Band, Oysterhead, Ghosts of the Forest, Phil Lesh and Friends, and Surrender to the Air.

He has performed his own compositions with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

With Amanda Green, he wrote the score for the Broadway musical Hands on a Hardbody.

In 1967, Trey was the inspiration for the lead character in the children's book What Does The Cloud Do?, which was written and illustrated by his grandparents, Jean and Cle Kinney.

Anastasio attended Princeton public schools through the fourth grade, then transferred to Princeton Day School.

He graduated from the Taft School along with Steven Pollak, better known as the Dude of Life, who later helped pen such Phish compositions as "Suzy Greenberg", "Fluffhead", "Run Like An Antelope", "Slave to the Traffic Light", and "Dinner and a Movie".

At Taft, he formed his first two bands, Red Tide and Space Antelope.

He enrolled at the University of Vermont (UVM) as a philosophy major, where he met original Phish bandmates Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, and Jeff Holdsworth.

On December 2, 1983, the group played their first gig at a dance in the Harris-Millis Cafeteria at UVM.

The setlist consisted of cover songs, including "Long Cool Woman" and "Proud Mary" which was performed twice.

The band was very primitive at this time and used hockey sticks as mic stands.

After performing one set, Michael Jackson's Thriller album was put on by a party-goer to drown out the band.

The band would not return to play but were still paid for the performance.

At UVM, he hosted an early morning radio program, Ambient Alarm Clock.

While living at home for a semester he attended Mercer County Community College.

While there, he reconnected with his childhood friend Tom Marshall, and the pair began a songwriting collaboration and recorded material that would appear on the Bivouac Jaun demo tape.

Anastasio met up with childhood friends Tom Marshall, his future writing partner, and early collaborator Marc Daubert.

Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 (with the current line up solidifying in 1985), the band includes bassist and vocalist Mike Gordon; percussionist, vacuum player, and vocalist Jon Fishman; and keyboardist and vocalist Page McConnell.

After seeing a Phish show, pianist Page McConnell joined Phish in the autumn of 1985.

Anastasio, along with Jon Fishman, transferred to Goddard College.

During this time he began a musical association and close friendship with composer Ernie Stires, who taught him composition, theory, and arranging.

While at Goddard, he composed the song cycle The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday as his senior project.

These songs became mainstays of the Phish catalog.

He graduated from Goddard in 1988.

Anastasio is a founding member of the rock band Phish, serving as lead guitarist and vocalist since their inception.

Phish is noted for their musical improvisation, extended jams, exploration of a broad range of genres, and original live performances.

Trey Anastasio Band debuted in 1998 as Eight Foot Fluorescent Tubes, as a local band in Vermont fronted by Anastasio, on April 17 of that year at the opening week of the nightclub Higher Ground, co-owned by his brother-in-law.

The band debuted a number of songs heard in Anastasio's live performances today, including "First Tube", "Last Tube", and "Mozambique".

The Trio in 1999 was an evolution of Eight Foot Fluorescent Tubes.

Anastasio's first solo tour was with the trio, which included himself, Russ Lawton, and Tony Markellis.

Phish performed together for over 20 years, releasing 10 studio albums, disbanding in August 2004.

They reunited in March 2009 for a corresponding tour, released a reunion album Joy and have since resumed performing regularly.

In 2013, they were nominated for a Tony Award for Best Original Score at the 67th Tony Awards, and were awarded the 2013 Dramatists Guild Frederick Loewe Award for best theatrical score composition.

In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Anastasio at number 53 on their list of the 250 greatest guitarists of all time.

Anastasio was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and moved to Princeton, New Jersey, when he was three.

His father, Ernest Anastasio Jr., was an executive vice president at the Educational Testing Service.

His mother, Dina, was a children's book author and editor of Sesame Street Magazine.

He grew up with his sister Kristy.