Category Archives: Blog

Alex featured on “Undermine” Phish Podcast hosted by Tom Marshall

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Hey gang,

Very cool development here. Since August, as a fun aside, I have been cataloging the clothing that Phish has been wearing on the road. My Twitter handle is @PhishPhashion and you can check that out here. In just over three months I’ve managed to develop a fan base of over 2,000 people! Happy to have found a unique angle to take on a band I’ve loved for thirty years. 

Stemming from that comes my inclusion of the most recent episode of Undermine, a podcast hosted by Phish lyricist, Tom Marshall, written by Benjy Eisen. In the podcast, I talk about the Twitter page, but more importantly, I discuss what it’s like to be a Phish fan living in Japan, and how we watch the webcasts live the next morning as well as connecting with self-described “Japhans” here. 

Also, it’s extremely cool to hear my guitar playing in the background and Tom discussing the version of the Phish song “Free” that I performed with the Young at Heart Chorus (at around the 43-minute mark). You can see the whole video of that tune here.

Check out the full podcast below:

S2E9: Phish Without Borders

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the production and everyone involved in making it. Really well done and makes me smile to hear the stories from Phish fans all around the globe. 

 

~FAJ

 

 

 

Brand new tune “Right to a Reason” released!

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Hi all,

Here is a new tune from me written and recorded here in Kyoto, Japan called “Right to a Reason”

Written by me and mixed and mastered by Shawn Berkeley.

Enjoy and stay safe!

Hear all three demos I’ve made since moving overseas right here.

Feel like buying me a coffee? You can do that right here. Thanks so much!

~FAJ

 

RIP Hilton Valentine

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Colorway, was lucky enough to get to open for The Yardbirds on three separate occasions at the Iron Horse Music Hall. If you were there then you know how much fun those shows were. 
 
Well, at every soundcheck, sitting in the same chair near the stage, would be a silver-haired gent. Yep, it was The Animals’ own, Hilton Valentine. Him and Jim McCarty (original drummer for the Yardbirds) were buddies, of course, and Hilton lived somewhere in Connecticut, so he’d make the trip up for their shows.
 
I was lucky enough to get to tell him how much his opening riff on “House Of The Rising Sun” meant to me as a kid learning guitar way back in the early 80s. I’m sure I was one of many but it still made him smile and thank me for saying so. We exchanged pleasantries at the next two shows we did with The Yardbirds.
 
At the third show together the incredible Johnny A had been replaced with a “new” guitarist named Godfrey Townsend (John Entwistle/Jack Bruce/Denny Laine) and I sort of joked around after our sound check was done and said, “Hey there, so . . . you’re the *new* guy, eh?” and they all laughed. I mean, the band does have a bit of a track record.
 
Hilton piped up from his chair and pointed to me and said, “be careful, lad, you might be next . . . “
 
That was a funny, awkward, and unforgettable moment.
 
My mom taught me at a very young age that if you get the chance, thank the people who inspired you, however big or small. Let them know they made a difference in your life.
 
I’m glad I took her advice.
 
Thanks, Hilton. Rest in peace.
 
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/31/entertainment/hilton-valentine-the-animals-dies-trnd/index.html