Vida Blue

Formed in the wake of Phish's 2000 hiatus, Vida Blue is the first solo project from Phish keyboardist Page McConnell. Named after a major-league pitcher who was popular in the 1970s and '80s, the band mixed electronica with exploratory jazz, funk, and jam rock. Vida Blue toured heavily and issued a pair of albums in the early years of the millennium before going on hiatus themselves in 2004. McConnell revived the project in 2018 and they released their third album, Crossing Lines, a year later. In 2001, nearly a year after Phish's break began, McConnell traveled to New Orleans, where he convened with the Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge (later of Dead & Company) and Funky Meters' drummer Russell Batiste. McConnell had known Burbridge for over a decade, as Phish had often shared bills with the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Burbridge's seminal early-'90s band. Batiste and McConnell had first come into contact while working on a track for Get You A Healin', a benefit album with Phish bassist Mike Gordon and others. The trio improvised a good deal of music, which ranged in tone as McConnell experimented with acoustic pianos and various synthesizers. Turntablist DJ Logic joined them for a session. Ultimately, the band latched onto an electronic sound and McConnell shaped some of the material into songs and added lyrics. Following a run of introductory shows, Elektra released Vida Blue's self-titled debut in 2002. Over the next year they became a staple of the jam band circuit and recorded a 2003 follow-up, The Illustrated Band, which featured four songs backed by the colorful Afro-Cuban outfit Spam Allstars. Before McConnell retired the project in 2004, they captured a set at the San Francisco Fillmore, which was released on CD and DVD as Live at the Fillmore. After a brief reunion followed by a four-year break-up, Phish resumed business in 2008 and Vida Blue remained inactive until 2018, when McConnell announced they were headed into the studio. Guitarist Adam Zimmon (Shakira, Ziggy Marley) was added to the lineup and the newly minted quartet released Crossing Lines in September 2019.
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