It will be a much different outing since his first solo jaunt in 1999; he’s increased his band from a trio to an 8-piece, complete with a full horn section. Clearly, he’s taking advantage of the break from Phish to stretch his own wings.

“I’ve been writing a lot of horn charts,” Anastasio said. “There’s definitely going to be new material and there are songs that I wrote years ago that I think would be great for a band with horns.”

The tour will kick off July 11 in San Diego, then work up the West Coast with a stop in Los Angeles and a two-night stand at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley.

That will be followed up July 17 and 18 with a two-nighter at Red Rocks near Denver. The road heads east including stops in St. Louis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston and New York City markets.

The guitar virtuoso will again be backed by bassist Tony Markellis and drummer Russ Lawton, both of whom accompanied Anastasio on his first solo outing in 1999. Phish collaborators Dave “The Truth” Grippo on saxophone, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, and Andy Moroz on trombone also lend their talents to the group.

New to the band are saxophonist Russell Remington and keyboardist Ray Paczkowski.

Tickets go on sale June 1, but early birds with Internet access will be able to get tickets during a three-day presale via the Phish Web site beginning April 25.

Demand for ducats could be high, especially if Phishheads are feeling the need to congregate. On two previous solo outings, Anastasio sold out all but a couple of concerts. However, those shows were in far smaller theatres, generally ranging from 1,000-3,000 seats.