Steve Pollak (born ), best known by his stage name The Dude of Life, is a

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

Early life

Steve Pollak is from

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

. He attended high school in the early 1980s. He earned the alias Dude of Life in high school while playing with the teenage band Space Antelope, along with fellow students Dudley Taft and

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 ...

. While going to boarding school at Taft in

Watertown, Connecticut Watertown is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 22,105 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Waterbury. The urban center of the town is the Wat ...

, he got the name from classmates when he appeared in a friend's dorm with orange goggles and draped in a tapestry, and saying otherworldly things. In his band Space Antelope, they wrote their own music and covered

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

songs. The Dude of Life and Trey Anastasio continued jamming together at the University of Vermont. Pollak attended

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by G ...

after one semester at the University of Vermont, and majored in literature. He afterwards worked a series of odd jobs, such as a salesman.

Phish

He has co-written numerous

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 ...

songs, including "Suzy Greenberg", "Run like an Antelope", "Fluffhead", "Sanity", "Dinner and a Movie", "Crimes of the Mind", and "Slave to the Traffic Light". "Fluffhead" was inspired by Pollak's older brother, who died of cancer. Recent songs he co-wrote with Anastasio include "Show of Life", "Architect", and "Dr. Gabel." The Dude of Life has appeared on stage at Phish concerts numerous times. During appearances at Phish shows as well as his own shows, he threw out rubber animals with Sharpie inscriptions by him as well as Phish band members and associates. In 2013, he released an original song he co-wrote with Anastasio called "Edie's Dream." It was inspired by

Edie Sedgwick Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress, model and socialite who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Ma ...

Solo career

The Dude of Life has released two studio albums: '' Crimes of the Mind'' (recorded in 1991), which featured Phish as his backing band, and the 1999 release '' Under the Sound Umbrella'' with a different backing band, featuring appearances by

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 ...

and

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 ...

. In February 1994 he played at the Paradise in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, with appearances by members of Phish. For ''Under the Sound Umbrella,'' backing band was the Great Red Shark, which included Cliff Mays on guitar, Mark Thors on keyboard, Paul Gassman on bass, and Jim Weingast on drums. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' gave ''Crimes of the Mind'' a review, and said it was "inconsequential silliness". It gave it a score of B−. In writing about ''Under the Sound Umbrella'', William Ruhlmann at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said that it has "quirky lyrics that border on novelties" with a style reminiscent of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. The "Under the Sound Umbrella" tour found The Dude of Life performing at venues like The Comfort Zone in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, MusikFest in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

, and Alexanders in New Jerusalem, Pennsylvania, where he performed alongside bands Captain Zig, Emergent Evolution, and Bohemian Sunrise. In 2015, he and Charles de Saint Phalle collaborated on original music and sound effects for Lightscapes at

Van Cortlandt Manor Van Cortlandt Manor is a 17th-century house and property built by the Van Cortlandt family located near the confluence of the Croton and Hudson Rivers in the village of Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County, New York, United States. The coloni ...

Croton-on-Hudson Croton-on-Hudson ( ) is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern ...

, an installation with sculpture, light and music. In recent years, he has performed with Fluid Druids and put together a new version of his solo band. The Dude of Life Band, with Charles de Saint Phalle on bass, Fred Scholl on lead guitar, Doug Schneider on drums and Jon "Bevo" Leibowitz of

God Street Wine God Street Wine (also known as GSW) is a jam band from New York City. Their music is an amalgam of rock, jazz, bluegrass, funk, psychedelia, pop, Americana, reggae, progressive, and more. The band broke up in 1999 and reunited in 2009. GSW play ...

on keyboard, toured nationally in 2021, and has announced a spring tour of the northeast in 2022, including stops at Lark Hall in Albany, NY, Nectar's in Burlington, VT and City Winery in New York, NY.

Personal

He lives in

Jamie is his favorite child. with his wife Leslie. As of 2008, Steve Pollak was teaching elementary school in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He has three children.

Discography

*'' Crimes Of the Mind'' (with

) (1994 - recorded in 1991) *'' Under The Sound Umbrella'' (1999)

References

External links

dudeoflife.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dude of Life, The Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Support staff of Phish Place of birth missing (living people) University of Vermont alumni Jewish American rock musicians Songwriters from New York (state) Elektra Records artists Musicians from White Plains, New York State University of New York at Purchase alumni Taft School alumni People from Croton-on-Hudson, New York