When Did Phish Have Horns In The Band?

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The Original Giant Country Horns: A horn section -- the Giant Country Horns, named after a brand of bread in New Hampshire, Giant Country White Bread -- toured with Phish during the summer of 91 for about 20 shows, mostly (if not all) during July. They included: Dave "the truth" Grippo on alto sax, Russel "rim man" Remington on tenor sax, and Carl "Gears" Gearhart on trumpet. The three of them wore tuxedos (e.g. 3-25-92 Trax, but did they always wear them?)

The 1994 Giant Country Horns: For some 1994 shows (4-4-94 and 4-15-94; possibly also Los Angeles?), there was a six-piece incarnation, featuring Dave Grippo on alto sax, Carl Gearhard on trumpet, Joey Somerville Jr. on trumpe, Chris Peterman on tenor sax, Mike Hewitt on baritone sax, and Don Glasgo (a professor at Dartmouth) on trombone.

The Cosmic Country Horns: For other 1994 shows (5-4-94, 12/2/94, and 12/3/94; possibly others in that fall), there was a five-piece combination featuring members of the Giant Country Horns with members of the Cosmic Krewe: Michael Ray on trumpet, Carl Gearhart on trumpet, Dave Grippo on Sax, Tony Tate on tenor sax, Jerome Theriot on baritone sax, and Rick Trolsen on trombone.

Solo Horns: Carl Gearhart and Russel Remmington have also played as solo horns at these shows: Carl at 3-24-92 Floodzone, Richmond, VA; 10-31-96; 11-21-98, others?. Gary "El Bruho" Gazaway appeared 10-31-96 and __.

Studio Horns: The recording of "Julius" on Hoist featured the Tower of Power Horns, with fluglehornist Greg Adams (as well as The Ricki Grundy Chorale, Rose Stone, and Jenn McClain).

Horns Songs: Songs particularly known for being played with horns include Buried Alive (normally without horns), Gumbo (original, rarely played since but picked up late summer '97 when it became very spacey/groovy), Frankenstein (great cover), Split Open and Melt (10-20-89 is a classic favorite), Suzy (frequently played without horns, before and after the horn tour, but a perenial favorite when horns are present), AC/DC Bag (originlally on TMWSIY, without horns) and Julius (in particular on Dave Letterman, also with Dave Grippo). According to a 10/5/95 message from Christopher P. Pieretti , James Harvey plays trombone.

Will there be more horns? There had been discussions on the Phish.Net since the horn tour about when or if there will/could/should be another horn tour; the periodic horn bust-outs during 1994 were a long awaited surprise. No response from the band has surfaced. Your best bet is the occassional appearance of ONE of the horns, though who knows when we might be surprised. For no clear reason, one netter insists that you should watch for horns during even-numbered years.

See elsewhere for other guests and relatives' appearances.

Phish's performance have include a variety of horns, including The Giant Country Horns, the Cosmic Country Horns, and appearances by some of the respective members of each, which includes overlap, at these shows: 10/20/89 Burlington, VT
3/9/90 Burlington, VT
2/8/91 Portsmouth, NH
7/12/91 Keene, NH
7/13/91 Lenox, MA
7/14/91 Townshend, VT
7/15/91 NYC, NY
7/18/91 Hampton Beach, NH
7/19/91 Sommersville, MA
7/20/91 Arrowhead Ranch, Parksville, NY
7/21/91 Arrowhead Ranch, Parksville, NY
7/23/91 Washington, D. C.
7/24/91 Charlottesville, VA
7/25/91 Chapel Hill, NC
7/26/91 Athens, GA
7/27/91 Atlanta, GA
9/25/91 Keene, NH
3/24/92 Richmond, VA
3/3/93 New Orleans, LA
4/4/94 Burlington, VT
4/15/94 NYC, NY
5/4/94 New Orleans, LA
10/14/94 New Orleans, LA
12/2/94 Davis, CA
12/3/94 San Jose, CA
10/31/95 Chicago, IL
3/18/97 Burlington, VT