Dude Of Life’s musical career began at the Taft School in Watertown, CT in 1982. The Dude, with classmate Trey Anastasio, and three other friends decided to put together a Rock band. It was Dude of Life that came up with the moniker “Space Antelope”, and thus the band was named. “Space Antelope” played a few gigs in front of the entire school before the members dispersed due to high school graduation. Both Dude and Trey attended the University of Vermont in the Fall of 1983. Their friendship continued and they participated in all the usual antics of a couple of crazy freshman. They continued jamming together and collaborating on different musical projects. At the same time, the inception of the now legendary band Phish was about to take place. They developed quite a few songs together, many of which remain in the Phish repertoire today. Their time at UVM was rudely interrupted when, under mysterious circumstances, the two were forced to take a semester sabbatical at the request of the Dean of Discipline. Trey went to Goddard College where the line up of Phish was solidified and Dude enrolled at SUNY Purchase in NY where he continued his song-writing pursuits. In the years since, Dude has made quite a few guest appearances at Phish shows. His stage manner, inspired and at times bizarre, is so unpredictable that no one, not even Dude himself, knows what may happen when the spotlight hits. The outrageous stories are so numerous it’s sometimes hard to know where reality ends and the legend begins.
In 1994, Dude released his first solo project Crimes of The Mind, with Phish as his band. To date it has sold over 100,000 copies. Since then, he has toured extensively leading a party wherever he goes. He sees his own shows as a celebration of life, and a place to connect with people and reach for new musical heights. In 1999, Dude of Life released his second album, Under The Sound Umbrella. The CD features some great playing by members of Phish, The Great Red Shark and a Who’s Who of the Burlington music scene. Today, between tour dates, Dude of Life continues to work on his craft and is hard at work on a new CD.
