by Steve LeggettBest known as the piano and keyboard player for Phish, Page McConnell was born May 17, 1963, in Philadelphia, PA, moving to Basking Ridge, NJ, in 1969 with his family. McConnell began piano lessons at the age of four and was playing in local bands by the time he was in the seventh grade. He attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, from 1982 to 1984, and then transferred to Goddard College in Vermont, graduating in 1987. McConnell played with several area bands while at Goddard, including Love Goat, Pueblo Fever, Tom's Sub Shop, and most notably Phish, which he officially joined in 1985, spending the next 15 years playing, recording, and touring with the group. In 2001 he formed the electronic trio Vida Blue with Oteil Burbridge and Russell Batiste. The group released two albums, 2002's Vida Blue and 2003's The Illustrated Band, before calling it quits. In 2007 McConnell released his debut solo album, simply entitled Page McConnell, on Legacy Records.