The latest episode of Phish lyricist Tom Marshall’s Under The Scales podcast features an interview with Higher Ground co-founder Kevin Statesir. Kevin talks about life as Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio‘s brother-in-law, opening Higher Ground, a chance meeting with John Lennon and more.
Under The Scales’ first episode since the announcement of JamBase’s partnership with the Osiris Media podcast network was recorded at the legendary Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey ahead of a recent Mike Gordon show at Asbury Lanes. Tom and Kevin have a long history together and their good rapport was noticeable instantly. Statesir talked about all of the iconic acts he saw during his early days in Asbury Park such as Elton John, Elvis Costello and local hero turned international icon Bruce Springsteen. Kevin revealed that period helped inspire him to open the Burlington area venue Higher Ground.
Statesir told one fascinating story after another. He recalled attending Springsteen On Broadway with Trey and the pair chatting with The Boss backstage. Bruce was blown away by Phish going repeat less during their 13-show Baker’s Dozen residency. Kevin went on to discuss founding Higher Ground at its first location in Winooski, Vermont. Marshall talked about his band, Amfibian’s, multiple appearances at the club. Another anecdote shared by Statesir was about helping Phish throw their first two festivals. He went on to talk about meeting Trey, introducing Anastasio to Tortola and meeting Keith Richards on the island. One of the final stories from Kevin detailed a special encounter he had with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon. Listen to the entire episode below and check out JamBase’s homepage to stream all of the latest Osiris episodes:
https://underthescales.simplecast.fm/a599e10a
