_Keith Griner_

In a new piece in Wall Street Journal, Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell open up about the band’s new album, Big Boat, which is out tomorrow, October 7. Anastasio also provides a more extended interview where he expands on the topic.

The profile mostly focuses on the band’s relationship with producer Bob Ezrin, who helmed both Big Boat and 2014’s Fuego, and how he helped the band relate to each other more effectively and dig deeper into their personal songwriting.

“Democracy is lovely, but it can backfire,” Anastasio says. “We’re a band that communicates really well, but people are so scared of hurting each other’s feelings that things can slide by. Bob was the antidote to that.”

“He pushed us to go as personal, with as much emotional depth, as possible,” McConnell adds. “Collectively, that has not been our strong suit.” Ezrin tasked the group with listening to and learning to play 10 folk songs before diving into writing. The exercise birthed McConnell’s “Things People Do,” which appears on Big Boat in its initial demo form, recorded on the keyboardist’s iPhone, as well as Anastasio’s “Miss You,” about his late sister, who passed away in 2009. “I believe that the more specifically a songwriter writes, the more universal the sentiment becomes,” Anastasio says. “And I hope that happens here.”

Anastasio also reflected on Phish’s longevity and evolution, saying, “Phase One started when we were 18 and just wanted to make music. Then we went great guns like we were never going to stop, and the race car smashed into the wall.” And while he says the band is now in a “very comfortable, very professional place,” the frontman says he draws from his time playing guitar during the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well concerts last summer, saying the experience gave him some perspective on his own projects: “I think you will see us slow down and do some different things over the next two years.”

In the one-on-one interview, Anastasio expands on the topic, saying, “We are definitely not stopping – just shifting our focus. Our kids are at a certain age and there are things that we all want to do. There might be some really creative changes in the touring schedule…which might not involve the same kind of travel. I think it’s going to be an interesting year.”