Photo Credit: A Rood

A new interview with Trey Anastasio has surfaced via the Burlington Free Press. In the piece, which dropped today, Friday, April 26, the Phish frontman opens up about his own trying times with drugs and monumental refocus through recovery and treatment. In turn, the musician has used his experience to open a new facility aimed at helping folks through their own struggles, Divided Sky Residential Recovery Program, located in Ludlow, Vt.

“I was an opiate addict,” said Anastasio via a phone conversation with The Green Mountain State publication. “My story is exactly Vicodin, oxycontin, heroin – the same wave as everyone else.” The track led him into a felony drug recovery program, where he was assigned Melanie Gulde as a case manager. 

“We butted heads in the program,” Gulde recounted. “It wasn’t all roses and fun stuff. We had to set boundaries, and he had to learn.” With his wife and children at the forefront of his concern and motivation to change, Anastasio prioritized sobriety and embraced a new lease of life, one that he is furthering with the intent of the residential recovery program. 

Following his own sobriety journey, Anastasio remained in contact with Gulde, and the partnership continued to blossom under the joint mission to help others. During their efforts to the public, Anastasio hired Gulde as program director at the Divided Sky Residential Recovery Program. The aforementioned center welcomed its first resident in late 2023, stemming from the success of charitably covid-era virtual concerts, which raised $1 million. 

“It’s an incredible gift to give yourself,” Gulde advocated, “to say, ‘I’ve had enough and it’s time for me to be ready to get sober.’” Recognizing Gulde’s role, Anastasio said, “I never would have done this (the Divided Sky Foundation) if it wasn’t the two of us together.” He continued,  “I watched her for over a year and a half working with 50, 60 local residents of that part of upstate New York, and the amount of care – she’s amazing. I don’t even have the words. I’ve sat in rooms and watched her help so many people get sober on a shoestring budget.”

The Divided Sky Residential Recovery Program has shifted its initial approach away from medical treatment and the early stages of the process in favor of assisting what Gulde calls “a good running start” and ready to enter the 30-day series, reinforcing good and healthy habits. 

“You feel your feelings, good and bad,” Anastasio said. 

“The message I always want to share is you can get off drugs and alcohol completely. Anyone can. I’ve seen it over and over and over again.” He added, “I know so many people who thought all was hopeless, they were never going to get well. And then they did. It’s like a miracle.”

In partnership with the treatment center’s continued legacy, Music on the Mountain, a fundraising event featuring live performances by Anders Osborne, Dogs in a Pile, and Saints & Liars, will occur on Saturday, May 18. Presented by The Phoenix and the Divided Sky Foundation, the event will include a Fun(d) Run. 

If you or someone you know might benefit from the Divided Sky Residential Recovery Program, call 802-735-7890 or visit this link to take the next step. 

Learn more about the treatment center at www.dividedskyfoundation.com.