70 Volt Parade was

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, composer, 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 ...

's backing band in 2005, formed after the breakup of

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

in August of the previous year. After writing and recording new material in late 2004 and early 2005, Anastasio began auditioning various musicians for his next project. This band essentially replaced Anastasio's first backup band that was together in different forms from 1999 to 2004. 70 Volt Parade originally included Peter Chwazik on bass (later replaced by Tony Hall), Skeeto Valdez on drums (later replaced by Raymond Weber), Les Hall on guitar and keyboards, and Ray Paczkowski also on keyboards. In 2006, with Les Hall out of the lineup, and a new musical focus for Anastasio, the 70 Volt Parade name was dropped.

Music

While 70 Volt Parade primarily performed new material that Anastasio has written and recorded since the breakup of

, the band played songs from all points of Anastasio's solo career, which began in 1998. He also performed the Phish song "46 Days" with the new band on a regular basis, as well as songs from the Supergroup (music), supergroup Oysterhead. Also, unlike Anastasio's past bands, performances usually have an opening act. Anastasio and 70 Volt Parade have also served as an opening act for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes ten studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Geo ...

. One of the highlights of the band's inaugural tour was the "Superjam" in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

on April 30, 2005, which included special guests

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon plays banjo, piano, and guitar. He is a filmmaker ('' Rising Low'', '' Outs ...

Dave Matthews David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is an American musician and the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB). Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved frequently between South Africa, ...

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans–based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band u ...

and Sunpie Barnes, among others. Starting with the August 6, 2005 concert at Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater, shows featured Anastasio performing a solo acoustic set in the middle or end of each concert, instead of a traditional set break. Most of the songs performed during these sets were from the

catalog. During the band's fall tour, the other three members of

each made a guest appearance.

Page McConnell Page Samuel McConnell (born May 17, 1963) is an American multi-instrumentalist, most noted for his work as the keyboardist and a songwriter for the band Phish. McConnell joined Phish in 1985, and is the only member of its long-standing quartet li ...

played with Anastasio at the

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's Theater District, New York, theater district, on 52nd Street (Manhattan), West 52nd Street in Manhattan ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

joined Trey onstage at the

Hammerstein Ballroom The Hammerstein Ballroom is a ballroom located within the Manhattan Center at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,000 people for theat ...

Jon Fishman Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer and co-founder of the band Phish, which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo credit. Early life Fishman was born in Ph ...

and Gordon later performed at a show in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

that was heavily promoted on Anastasio's website. McConnell and Fishman's appearances marked the first time either musician had performed with Anastasio in front of a live audience since

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Zooma Tour Cancellation

In the summer of 2005, Anastasio and 70 Volt Parade were scheduled to co-headline the festival-like Zooma Tour along with

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk music, folk, Soul music, soul, reggae, and rock music, and he is known for his guitar-playin ...

. The tour, which featured an intensive schedule covering venues throughout the United States, was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Anastasio then scheduled a brief summer tour in its place.

Lineup Changes

#On July 24, 2005, at the 10,000 Lakes Festival, Tony Hall replaced Peter Chwazik on bass. Hall (no relation to guitarist Les Hall) had recently played with Trey as a member of

Dave Matthews and Friends David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is an American musician and the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB). Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved frequently between South Africa, t ...

. Also, two backup singers were added, Jennifer Hartswick, from Anastasio's previous band and her childhood friend, Christina Durfee. #On November 18, 2005, Raymond Weber replaced Skeeto Valdez on drums. Both Weber and Tony Hall are members of

Ivan Neville Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to the other members of The Neville Brothers. Career Neville has released four solo albums and ...

's Dumpstaphunk, a

funk outfit in the Neville tradition. #Also on the fall tour, the two female singers began playing horns on selected songs (Jen on trumpet and tuba and Christina on trombone). Hartswick had played trumpet and tuba, as well as sung in Anastasio's old band. #The band also added Russell Remington, also from Trey's old band (and who performed with

on many occasions as a member of The Giant Country Horns) on saxophone and flute.

Record Label

's 2005 release, ''Shine'', marked the first release by Anastasio since the formation of the 70 Volt Parade. Although the group does not perform on the album, they appeared in the video for the album's title track, as well as on the bonus features on the video side of the album's Dual Disc. The album, unlike its predecessors by

, was released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The switch of labels for Anastasio led to a delay in digital recordings of 2005 shows being available for sale on the Live Phish website.

External links

Trey Anastasio Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seventy Volt Parade Jam bands Rock music groups from Vermont