Down with Disease: Phish Frontman Trey Anastasio Recovers

As the little sister to an enormous Phish fan, I have been dragged to many Phish shows. Like many diehard fans, she has followed the band all around the country, clocking in over 80 shows in the past 25 years. Due to my sister’s undying love and devotion to the band, I have come to love Phish, as well. So, learning about frontman Trey Anastasio’s battle with substance abuse and his subsequent 17 years of sobriety was super exciting, being in recovery myself.

Trey has long been admired for his musical talent, captivating performances, and creative genius. Yet, behind the scenes, Trey faced a profound personal battle with substance abuse. In a recent interview on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron, Trey spoke candidly about his addiction to alcohol, prescription painkillers, and heroin, and detailed how it spiraled out of control within the jam bands’ infamous party scene. Trey talked about the genesis of his opiate addiction, having been offered a line of a crushed-up pill backstage in 2000. “All my problems just went away,” he said “I didn’t feel high or anything, it was just ‘Eureka!’ And I went down the rabbit hole.”

Trey states that his partying was fun until it wasn’t. His performances, once a source of joy and connection with fans, became marred by inconsistency and unpredictability. The once-unbreakable bond with his three long-time bandmates began to fray as his behavior grew increasingly erratic and his drug and alcohol use ballooned. “My primary band had stopped working, so I had essentially lost that band… I had issues with my family. And I had been arrested. So I was in a complete tailspin, and I was addicted to opiate pills and drinking and the whole bit. It wasn’t a good picture. I couldn’t see at the time how much I had lost. Close to everything.”

The Phish frontman’s turning point came on December 15th, 2006, when he was pulled over in upstate New York and arrested for drug possession and DUI. Facing felony charges after being caught with a car full of various opiates — oxycodone, percocets, heroin — Trey had his wake-up call and was forced to confront the severity of his addiction. Trey used this moment as an opportunity for change, and says the incident was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. “Even when the guy arrested me, I remember thanking him,” Trey stated in a 2019 GQ article.

He entered felony-drug-treatment court, a rigorous program that offered treatment and support in exchange for avoiding jail time. Trey embraced this chance to get sober with unwavering commitment — attending meetings, undergoing therapy, and participating in community service. Of that experience, Trey said, “I did 250 or something hours of community service — cleaning the bathrooms and toilets at the Washington County fairgrounds, putting up fences, parking cars, breaking rocks — and court-ordered outpatient [treatment], and drug-court meetings.” This period marked the beginning of his journey toward sobriety and he is still grateful for that difficult experience to this day.

Trey has been sober since January 5th, 2007, and has been very vocal about his recovery. His authentic and vulnerable honesty about his recovery is refreshing, moving, and relatable. Like a lot of people in recovery, he has talked about how he grappled with his identity in sobriety, how much help he needed, how his friend group changed, and just how much work is required to recover, stating, “It’s taken years — and it will probably be a lifetime — of unraveling how far I had strayed from my inner compass.”

Now, Trey has come full circle, founding Divided Sky, a residential recovery center, in Ludlow, VT.  In a recent People article, he states, “We want to be available to everybody that needs help. It’s a place of healing. Everybody who works there is in recovery. Virtually everyone understands, and there’s no judgment.” Not only is Trey giving back to the recovery community (of which he is very active), Phish also has a new album out, aptly named “Evolve”, and is yet again touring this summer. My sister will be at their four-day Dover, DE festival.

Through his experience, Trey has shown that it is possible to overcome addiction, reclaim one’s life, and inspire others along the way. His legacy is not only one of musical brilliance but also of unwavering strength and the belief that a brighter, sober future is possible. If you are struggling with substance abuse, or trying to get sober, Trey says, “Surrender, and ask for help.” You can get sober, one day at a time, and one show at a time — just like Trey did. 

I walk onstage thinking… “Oh, my God, I wonder if somebody in the back row’s at their first sober show?” And then I kind of wink in my mind to them. I’m like, “Hey, man, I’m not gonna take that stuff either today.”

Laura

Laura is co-creator and writer at The Wagon. She’s written for Newsday, ran a marathon and fallen off bar stools. At 3+ years sober, she currently lives on Long Island, NY with her husband and little dog.