Oysterhead

Oysterhead
Artwork for The Grand Pecking Order, the band's sole studio album.
Background information
Genres	Alternative rock, neo-psychedelia
Years active	2000–2001, 2006, 2019-Present
Associated acts	Phish, Primus, The Police
Website	www.oysterhead.com
Members	Stewart Copeland Les Claypool Trey Anastasio

Oysterhead is an American rock supergroup featuring bassist Les Claypool of Primus, guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish, Keyboardist Britton House of human, and drummer Stewart Copeland of The Police, with House, Claypool and, Anastasio providing vocals. The band's eclectic sound has been described as "alt-funk fusion".^[1][2]

In April 2000 Superfly Presents asked Claypool to assemble a band to perform during New Orleans Jazz Fest. Claypool contacted Anastasio and together they agreed on mutual hero, Copeland.^[3] Oysterhead was originally intended to be a singular live performance at New Orleans Saenger Theatre^[4] on May 4, 2000. The band compiled a set of almost entirely original material for the show, practicing at Muskegon's Frauenthal Theatre. Tickets were scalped for up to $2,000 each, audience members included Francis Ford Coppola and Matt Groening.^[3] The band toured in 2001 and was scheduled to tour in 2020. Both times it has toured it has been interrupted due to significant disasters, in 2001 due to the September 11 attacks and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oysterhead played at The Peach Music Festival in Scranton, PA in July 2021. They have a new member of the band named Britton House

The Grand Pecking Order[]

In 2001, Oysterhead officially reformed to record and release an album entitled The Grand Pecking Order, which featured nine new tracks in addition to four songs originally debuted in New Orleans.^[5] The release of this album was supported by a brief tour of North America, during which most shows were performed to sold-out audiences. The Oysterhead tour of fall 2001 also saw the debut of the Matterhorn, a guitar played by Trey Anastasio featuring a full-size deer antler.

On November 15, 2001, the band performed the song "Oz Is Ever Floating" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[6] After the 2001 tour, which had schedule changes due to the September 11 attacks, the trio went their separate ways.

Reformation at Bonnaroo[]

On June 16, 2006, Oysterhead reunited to perform a two-hour set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. The band performed music from The Grand Pecking Order during the set.^[7]

Reformation in 2019[]

On October 14, 2019, Oysterhead created social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter sparking debate about their reunion. On October 15, Oysterhead announced two shows on February 14 and 15, 2020 at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Oysterhead will be headlining the SweetWater 420 Fest in Atlanta, Georgia.^[8] On December 6, Oysterhead announced they were headlining the 2020 Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania. On December 17, they announced two shows in the Bay Area. They will perform in Berkeley, California on April 17, 2020; and Stanford, California on April 18, 2020 as well as Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 13, 2020.

The Broomfield, Colorado shows featured 2 sets of music featuring songs from The Grand Pecking Order and various covers from individual careers. The setlists varied in terms of song placement, improvisation and chosen covers. The shows were met with high praise from those in attendance.^[9]

Aside from the performance in Broomfield, the entire reunion for 2020 was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Oysterhead is now scheduled to tour through 2021.^[10]

List of performances[]

^[11][12][13]

Location	Venue	Date
2000
New Orleans, LA	Saenger Theater	05/04/2000
2001
New Haven, CT	The Toad's Place	09/14/2001
New York, NY	Irving Plaza	09/15/2001
Westford, VT	The Barn	09/15/2001
Seattle, WA	The Paramount	10/21/2001
Vancouver, BC	Orpheum Theatre	10/23/2001
Salem, OR	Salem Armory	10/24/2001
Berkeley, CA	Greek Theatre	10/26/2001
Los Angeles, CA	Hollywood Palladium	10/27/2001
Denver, CO	The Fillmore	10/30/2001
		10/31/2001
Chicago, IL	Aragon Ballroom	11/02/2001
West Lafayette, IN	Elliot Hall of Music	11/03/2001
Ann Arbor, MI	Hill Auditorium	11/04/2001
Cleveland, OH	Cleveland State Theatre	11/06/2001
Toronto, ON	Massey Hall	11/07/2001
Utica, NY	Utica Memorial Auditorium	11/09/2001
Lowell, MA	Tsongas Arena	11/10/2001
Camden, NJ	Tweeter Center	11/11/2001
New York, NY	Roseland Ballroom	11/13/2001
		11/14/2001
	Studio 6A, NBC Studios	11/15/2001
Washington, DC	DAR Constitution Hall	11/16/2001
Asheville, NC	Asheville Civic Center	11/17/2001
Gainesville, FL	O'Connell Center	11/18/2001
2006
Manchester, TN	Bonnaroo Music Festival	06/16/2006
2020
Broomfield, CO	1stBank Center	02/14/2020
		02/15/2020
Berkeley, CA	Greek Theatre	04/17/2020
Stanford, CA	Frost Amphitheater	04/18/2020
Chicago, IL	Aragon Ballroom	04/22/2020
		04/23/2020
Atlanta, GA	Centennial Olympic Park	04/24/2020
		04/25/2020
		04/26/2020
Manchester, TN	Bonnaroo Music Festival	06/13/2020
Scranton, PA	Scranton Peach Festival	07/04/2020
Manchester, TN	Bonnaroo Music Festival (1st reschedule)	09/26/2020
2021
Berkeley, CA	Greek Theatre	04/17/2021
Atlanta, GA	Centennial Olympic Park	04/23/2021
		04/24/2021
		04/25/2021
Manchester, TN	Bonnaroo Music Festival (2nd reschedule)	06/18/2021
Scranton, PA	Scranton Peach Festival	07/03/2021
Key
Canceled due to September 11 Attacks
Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic
Make-up show
Television only
Private performance

Discography[]

• The Grand Pecking Order (2001)
• 2020/02/14 Broomfield, CO (2020) (Live album) ^[14]
• 2020/02/15 Broomfield, CO (2020) (Live album) ^[15]

References[]

External links[]

• Oysterhead's official website