Is Phish Returning to Jam Once More?

Stop showering right this second, throw your deodorant away, and grab your hacky sack, because it looks like the chances of a Phish reunion have gone from “definitely never” to “maybe soon.” According to an e-mail “with a rumor that supposedly originated from [drummer] Jon Fishman,” the ubiquitous jam band is reuniting and will soon record a new album, produced by Steve Lillywhite, the man behind 1996’s Billy Breathes.

But a closer read of the situation suggests that maybe you shouldn’t quit your job and fix up the old van based just on a single dubiously authentic e-mail. It’s not that we don’t believe you, Phishheads, it’s just that Steve Lillywhite is in Dublin recording with Bono and U2, according to our friends at Indie Point Unlimited Supply. Not one to let a good rumor go unverified, Billboard placed a call to Lillywhite’s people but got nothing better than “no comment.”

Lillywhite aside, could it be that the long arm of Johnny Law smacked Trey Anastasio hard enough to make him question the band’s breakup? After getting busted for having painkillers with no prescription, Anastasio told Rolling Stone that he started longing to play with Phish again “while [he] was in jail.” “At this point in time I would give my left nut to play [“You Enjoy Myself”] five times in a row every night until I die,” he added. The good news for Phishheads everywhere: That grim fate may yet be his. —Nick Confalone

Phish Reuniting in Studio with Steve Lillywhite? [Billboard]