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Phish

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Phish called Burlington, Vermont, its hometown. The rock quartet of Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Mike Gordon, and Jon Fishman became one of the most successful rock groups ever, having sold more than three million albums and earning more than $10 million on tours alone. The band was a modern anomaly in the rock music scene, growing to stardom without the assistance of MTV or commercial radio. Phish is most often compared to the Grateful Dead. Like the Deadheads before them, Phish Heads grew in number as a result of the group's live shows, as the band toured constantly in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. Fans filled venue parking lots a day before the show, establishing a temporary community. True Phish Heads lived this carnival life and followed the band from city to city until tour's end. In 2004 the group broke up to allow members to pursue individual projects. Musically, the band's shows were mostly improvisational jam sessions, and their musical menu served up a wide range of styles including rock, jazz, blues, funk, Latino, classical, calypso, and folk. The often fantastical lyrics that accompanied the myriad of rhythms were influenced by J.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Kipling's The Jungle Book, Dr. Seuss, and Sesame Street. Phish's drum- mer, Jon Fishman, described the band's style of music to Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone: "We all have a certain desire to honor the roots and traditions of music, but there's also this persistent desire to find out what else we can do rather than the common forms, the things you always hear."

Phish came together in 1983, when two University of Vermont students, freshman Trey Anastasio and sophomore Jeff Holdsworth, began playing their guitars together in dorm lounges. They both shared an interest in the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, Frank Zappa, and Led Zeppelin. The two fledging band members found their first recruit in University of Vermont freshman Jon "Fish" Fishman. Drummer Fishman told Puterbaugh, "[Anastasio] and a friend were having a conversation about who looked like they belonged there and who didn't. I came walking by, and they both fell down laughing. They pegged me from a hundred yards in a crowd of people, going, ‘He doesn't look like he belongs here.’" With two guitarists and a drummer, the band then needed a bass player. Anastasio posted a sign for a bass player, and Mike Gordon responded. The group derived their name from Fishman's nickname, and Fishman's short, bearded, and bespectacled appearance helped personify the band's offbeat persona.

Holdsworth got the band their first gig after seeing a flyer for an ROTC party on campus. Using hockey sticks for microphone stands, the group did not incite rapt attention from their first audience. They were given the boot after their fourth song, when the DJ blasted Michael Jackson's Thriller and the once-empty dance floor quickly filled up. However, the band's first show was not a complete loss. They gained their first official fan. Amy Skelton, who attended that first show, went on to work for Phish as the band's merchandising manager.

After a year of playing in campus dorms, the band felt they were ready to hit the city of Burlington. They became regulars at Nectar, a popular downtown restaurant and bar, where they experimented with their music and put together an original stage show. The band interacted with the audience, allowing fans to read poetry or perform on stage. "All music is conversation," Fishman explained to Charles Hirshberg and Nubar Alexanion of Life. It was this early rapport that the band developed with the audience that linked their fans to them so closely.

For the next two years the band played regular gigs at Nectar and at various Burlington bars. In 1985 Phish picked up a fifth member in Page McConnell, a student at Goddard College. McConnell not only convinced the band they needed a keyboard player, he also managed to convince Anastasio, Holdsworth, and Fishman to transfer to Goddard College. McConnell was rewarded with fifty dollars for recruiting each of the band's members. Gordon, however, remained at the University of Vermont to study film.

In 1986 the band lost one band member when Holdsworth became a born-again Christian. Despite the loss, the band continued playing, developing their music and stage shows. From 1988 to 1990, the band had two independent releases, Junta and Lawn Boy.

Rumblings Came From the Underground
The band's big recording break came while playing a show at Manhattan's Marquee club. A talent scout from Elektra Entertainment, Sue Drew, was intrigued by the group's sound and by the strange community that surrounded them. Drew gave her pitch, outlining the great success to come if the band signed to Elektra Entertainment. The members just listened, politely disinterested, as they did not want to become tied to commercial success. The band enjoyed their freedom to experiment and create unpredictable music, even encouraging fans to tape their shows and setting up sound boards to help fans get high quality recordings. Elektra was not pleased with this policy, but eventually relented in order to get the band signed.

A Picture of Nectar was released in 1992. The band's first major release was a tribute to the old venue in Burlington. The single "Chalkdust Torture" was distributed to radio stations to support the album sales. Although the album was more structured than their previous independent releases, critics felt it did not fit together well. The album was moderately successful, showcasing the band's wide musical tastes with tracks covering bluegrass, jazz, Latin, casual instrumentals, and furious punk.

On the road in 1992, the band was gaining exposure. Phish played four shows on the first HORDE tour. The radio play and large outdoor amphitheaters gave the band a much wider audience, although it caused some stirrings from their once-underground fan base, who were concerned the band would be discovered and their community would be destroyed.

In 1993 Rift was released by Elektra. Legendary producer Barry Becket assisted with the album. It was the first time the band had ever worked with a producer. Becket's production credits included Bob Dylan's Slow Train Coming and Dire Straits's Communique. The addition of a producer helped give the album more focus, and achieved Elektra's goal of increasing album sales. Oddly, the ballad "Fast Enough for You" was selected as the single for radio play. The song received play mostly on adult contemporary formats.

Appeared on MTV
Things really began to move when the band released Hoist in March of 1994. Gordon, having graduated from film school, directed the band's only studio-style video release for the single track "Down with Disease." Phish called on Paul Fox to produce the third Elektra release. Fox's previous credits included tracks for groups as diverse as XTC, 10,000 Maniacs, and the Sugar Cubes. Album sales doubled for Elektra, and the video received play on MTV. Fans, while still committed, were not happy with the growing success, and band members were concerned about being chained to hit songs and losing their spontaneity.

In the fall of 1994, a new tradition was established. Phish played the entire Beatles' White Album in costume for their second set of a three-set concert in Glen Falls, New York. Later, the band would continue these costume sets at various shows. At the end of 1994, Phish was one of the top 50 grossing acts of the year as ranked by Pollstar. The band played over 100 shows to more than 600,000 fans.

Four Albums and a Book
In 1995 the band released a double album, A Live One, which was recorded live the previous year at the Clifford Ball, and the album reached number 15 on the Billboard 200. The following year, Billy Breathes peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200. The band released Slip Stitch and Pass in 1997, a live album that was recorded at a show in Hamburg, Germany. The album peaked at number 17. In 1998 Phish released their ninth album, The Story of Ghost. That same year they also published a book, The Phish Book, which covered a year in the life of Phish while on the road from 1996 to 1997.

From 1997 to 1999, Phish hosted yearly multi-day festivals that drew tens of thousands of fans. The last of these was performed at Big Cypress Indian Reservation on December 30 and 31, 1999, to celebrate the Millenium Eve. The event attracted more than 80,000 fans. Starting at midnight New Year's Eve, the band played a continuous seven-hour set until dawn on New Year's Day.

After the herculean set of New Year's Eve 1999, the band took a sabbatical from festivals. By 2000 the members had agreed to an extended timeout from touring, with members pursuing solo projects. Anastasio worked with the group Oysterhead and was a guest conductor for the Vermont Youth Orchestra. Gordon focused on traditional bluegrass while also working with solo guitarist and singer Leo Kottke. Fishman became of a member of Jazz Mandolin Project as well as Pork Tornado. McConnell formed the trio Vida Blue. In the meantime, they released The Siket Disc in 2000, and two years later the album Round Room.

In 2003 members of the group reunited to perform at the IT festival in August. By this point the band had been together for 20 years, and to celebrate they performed a series of shows at the end of the year in Boston. Not quite ready to jump back into performing at their former pace, the band continued to tour but with frequent breaks. In the spring of 2004, just a month before the release of the album Undermind, the band announced that they were breaking up for good. Fortunately for fans, Phish promised to host one last festival in August.

The Coventry festival drew record crowds and record determination by both the band and its fans. A week's worth of rain made it impossible for the majority of attendees to bring cars onto the farm property where the event was being held. Asked to turn back, fans instead parked their cars along the highway and walked to the site. Some walked more than ten miles to experience the jam band's last concert. Phish ended up performing memorable sets that had McConnell and Anastasio breaking down in tears at several points. The show ended without an encore or the typical aftershow music played over the loudspeakers. Instead, fans were left to walk away from an empty stage and silence.

Throughout the late 2000s, Phish continued to release compilations of live performances on their own label, JEMP. Releases included 2006's Live in Brooklyn and 2007's Vegas '96. In 2008 they released two compilations: Walnut Creek and an eight-disc recording of their performances over three nights in Atlanta in 1993, titled At the Roxy. With the release of At the Roxy, Phish also announced that they would reunite the following year.

Having established themselves as one of the most popular self-made jam bands of the 1990s, Phish's abrupt ending in 2004 left many fans feeling stranded. Although some felt the band's timing was right, it was possible that the members might still have some unfinished business and a few jams left in them as a group. It was also evident that Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, and McConnell had enough talent to sustain themselves individually, and perhaps enough gusto to recreate the energy they left behind.

Selected discography

Studio releases
Untitled Studio Session, unreleased, 1985.
The White Album, unreleased, 1987.
The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday, unreleased, 1988.
Junta, 1988; reissued, Elektra, 1992.
Lawn Boy, Absolute A-Go-Go Records, 1990; reissued, Elektra, 1992.
Picture of Nectar, Elektra, 1992.
Rift, Elektra, 1993.
Hoist, Elektra, 1994.
A Live One, Elektra, 1995.
Billy Breathes, Elektra, 1996.
Slip Stitch and Pass, Elektra, 1997.
The Story of Ghost, Elektra, 1998.
The Siket Disc, Elektra, 2000.
Round Room, Elektra, 2002.
Undermind, Elektra, 2004.

Compilations
Live at Madison Square Garden New Year's Eve 1995, JEMP, 2005.
Live in Brooklyn, JEMP, 2006.
Colorado '88, JEMP, 2006.
Vegas '96, JEMP, 2007.
Walnut Creek, JEMP, 2008.
At the Roxy, JEMP, 2008.

Sources
Books
Budnick, Dean, The Phishing Manual, Hyperion, 1996.
Thompson, Dave, Go Phish, St. Martin's Griffin, 1997.

Periodicals
Amusement Business, July 27, 1998.
Billboard, October 3, 1998.
Boston Globe, August 15, 2004, B1.
Entertainment Weekly, November 1, 1996.
Guitar Player, May 1996.
Life, June 1996.
People, November 27, 1998.
Rolling Stone, February 20, 1997.
St. Petersburg Times (Florida), August 15, 2004, 8E.
Times Union (Albany, NY), August 20, 2004, p. D1.

Online
CD Now, http://www.cdnow.com (January 22, 1998).
Phish Official Web Site, http://www.phish.com (January 7, 1999).
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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Phish

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  • Genres: Rock

Biography

During the early '90s, Phish emerged as heirs to the Grateful Dead's throne. Although their music was somewhat similar to the Dead's sound -- an eclectic, free-form rock & roll encompassing elements of folk, jazz, country, bluegrass, and pop -- the group adhered more to jazz-derived improvisation than folk tradition. Moreover, they sported a looser, goofier attitude; after all, their drummer regularly played a vacuum during their concerts. However, Phish's main claim as the inheritors to the Dead's legacy was their approach to their musical career. The band didn't concentrate on albums, dedicating themselves instead to live improvisation. Within a few years of their 1988 debut, Phish had become an institution in certain sections of America, particularly college campuses and other liberal locales. While their in-concert popularity didn't necessarily translate to huge record sales (their biggest-selling albums usually halted at gold status, with the notable exceptions of Junta and A Live One), Phish's members were still the de facto leaders of the neo-hippie jam band movement.

Guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, and guitarist Jeff Holdsworth formed the band in late 1983 while attending the University of Vermont. After meeting and jamming in their dormitory, the trio posted flyers across campus to recruit a bassist. Mike Gordon answered the advertisement and he was soon added to the original lineup. Phish began practicing regularly and soon assembled a demo tape; by the fall of 1984, they'd also begun performing off-campus concerts. At this stage in their career, the band was augmented by percussionist Marc Daubert and, occasionally, a vocalist called the Dude of Life. Keyboardist Page McConnell soon joined the group, too, having previously booked Phish to play Goddard College's Springfest in 1985. Shortly after McConnell's arrival, Holdsworth left the group, and both Anastasio and Fishman transferred to Goddard College during the fall of 1986.

Early in 1988, Phish recorded the debut album Junta, which they sold as a cassette-only release at local shows. The group played their first tour outside of New England the following year, traveling through the Southeast. Phish also recorded another album, Lawn Boy, in 1989, although the album wasn't released until the fall of 1990 (when it was issued by the independent label Absolute A-Go-Go, a subsidiary of Rough Trade). Throughout early 1991, Phish toured America; during the summer, they recorded their third album, as well as a set of sessions with their old friend, the Dude of Life.

Rough Trade collapsed that August, taking Absolute A-Go-Go with it. Phish was left without a record contract, but they were soon signed by Elektra, which released A Picture of Nectar in February 1992. The group then embarked on an extensive national tour to support the album, including a handful of shows on the H.O.R.D.E. tour. That same summer, Elektra reissued Lawn Boy and Junta, which gave fans greater access to the band's early material. Rift, Phish's fourth album (and the first they recorded with a producer), appeared in February of 1993. During Phish's 1993 tour, the group sold tickets specifically designed for those fans who were taping the concert, a major gesture of goodwill. Hoist, the band's fifth album, was released in 1994; one of its songs, "Down with Disease," became the band's first video and received some airplay on MTV. Hoist sold better than the group's previous albums, which was an indication of how large the group's fan base had become. Crimes of the Mind, the album Phish had originally recorded with the Dude of Life in 1991, was released on Elektra Records before the year's end.

In the summer of 1995, the band released the double live album A Live One, which attempted to definitively capture the Phish concert experience. 1996 saw two additional releases -- one of them a Trey Anastasio solo project (a free-form jazz side project called Surrender to the Air), and the other a full-fledged Phish album entitled Billy Breathes. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Billy Breathes garnered the group's best reviews yet. Slip, Stitch & Pass, the band's second live LP, followed in 1997, and Phish continued their prolific output in 1998 with the studio effort Story of the Ghost. Hampton Comes Alive, a six-disc release that captured four full live sets over the course of two performances, appeared in late 1999 and went gold, a testament to Phish's rabid following.

Phish's popularity only grew during the latter half of the '90s, as their ceaseless touring had helped make them one of the top concert draws in the nation. In the spring of 2000, Phish delivered the pastoral studio effort Farmhouse, which was hailed as one of their finest and tightest releases to date; they also landed some mainstream exposure thanks to the single "Heavy Things." However, exhausted by touring and separation from their families, Phish decided to take an extended break, announcing a temporary breakup in October 2000. One month later, Elektra reissued The Siket Disc, which was previously available only through mail order; it featured improvisational tracks from the band's 1997 Story of the Ghost sessions.

Each member branched out into different directions during this period. Anastasio released a series of demos before collaborating with Primus bassist Les Claypool and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland for the bizarre Oysterhead project. He also released an eponymous solo album during the spring of 2002. Jonathan Fishman worked with his own side project, Pork Tornado, as well as the touring jazz combo Jazz Mandolin Project. Page McConnell released the first recordings from his other band, Vida Blue, and contributed keyboards to Tenacious D's first record. Mike Gordon, meanwhile, did some work with friend and former employer Col. Bruce Hampton; he also dabbled in film work, both in front and behind the camera. Finally, both Gordon and McConnell worked on Gov't Mule's The Deep End, Vol. 1.

As for the band, Phish became more a part of American culture than ever before, and they made an appearance on The Simpsons before releasing a massive set of live albums (as well as a DVD) during the spring of 2002. By the end of the year, the group bowed to pressure and announced that they would begin to play live dates again, starting at the end of December. Touring soon commenced and continued for a year and a half; however, following the release of Undermind, the group decided to officially call it quits in the summer of 2004. Of course, this didn't mean that more albums couldn't be released, as a slew of posthumous releases kept the band's spirit alive while maintaining demand for Phish's reunion. 2005 saw the release of a 1995 New Year's Eve concert at Madison Square Garden, 2006 witnessed another live album with Live in Brooklyn, and 2008 brought about the mammoth At the Roxy (Atlanta '93), which compiled eight discs of live concert material into one package.

Phish's official reunion arrived in March 2009, when the band played three sold-out shows at the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia. A reunion tour was launched that summer (with venues including Fenway Park and the main stage at Bonnaroo) and sporadic shows continued throughout the year. In addition to playing live, Phish also released their first studio album in years, having partnered with former Billy Breathes producer Steve Lillywhite for the creation of 2009's Joy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

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This article is about the band. For deceptive internet practices, see Phishing.
Phish

Phish performing at American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL on December 30, 2009. Left to right: Page McConnell, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon
Background information
Origin Burlington, Vermont, USA
Genres Rock, alternative rock, jazz fusion, neo-psychedelia, progressive rock[1] folk rock, avant-garde, funk rock, experimental rock
Years active 1983–2004
2009–present
Hiatus: 2000-2002
Labels Elektra, Rhino/WMG, JEMP
Associated acts Phil Lesh and Friends, Oysterhead, 70 Volt Parade, Amfibian, Benevento/Russo Duo, Jazz Mandolin Project, Pork Tornado, Ramble Dove, Rhythm Devils, SerialPod, Surrender to the Air, Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio Band, Vida Blue
Website www.phish.com
Members
Trey Anastasio
Jon Fishman
Mike Gordon
Page McConnell
Past members
Jeff Holdsworth
Marc Daubert

Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, exploration of music across genres, and their adoring fan base. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 (with the current line up solidifying in 1985), the band's four members – Trey Anastasio (guitars, lead vocals), Mike Gordon (bass, vocals), Jon Fishman (drums, percussion, vocals), and Page McConnell (keyboards, vocals) – performed together for over 20 years before breaking up in August 2004. They reunited March 2009 for Phish in Hampton, a series of three consecutive concerts played in the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, and have since resumed performing regularly.

Phish's music blends elements of a wide variety of genres,[2] including rock, jazz, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, funk, folk, bluegrass, reggae, country, blues, avant garde, barbershop quartet and classical. Each of their concerts is original in terms of the songs performed, the order they appear in, and in the way they are performed[citation needed].

Although the band has received little radio play or mainstream exposure, Phish—much like the band it is most often compared to, the Grateful Dead—has developed a large and dedicated following by word of mouth, the exchange of live recordings by trading tapes with other fans and selling over 8 million albums and DVDs in the United States.[3] Rolling Stone stated that the band helped to "...spawn a new wave of bands oriented around group improvisation and superextended grooves."[4]

Contents

History

Formative years: 1983–1988

Phish was formed at The University of Vermont in 1983 by guitarists Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman. For their first gig, at Harris-Millis Cafeteria (a location students fondly call "The Grundle") at the University of Vermont on Dec. 2, 1983, the band was billed as "Blackwood Convention".[5] The band was joined by percussionist Marc Daubert in the fall of 1984, a time during which they promoted themselves as playing Grateful Dead songs.[6] Daubert left the band early in 1985,[7] and Page McConnell then joined the group on keyboards and made his debut on Sept. 26, 1985 at a show for WRUV Radio in Burlington.[8] Holdsworth left the group after graduation in 1986, solidifying the band's lineup of "Trey, Page, Mike, and Fish" — the lineup to this day.[7]

Following a prank at UVM with his friend and former bandmate Steve Pollak, — also known as "The Dude of Life" — and Anastasio decided to leave the college. With the encouragement of McConnell (who received $50 for each transferee), Anastasio and Fishman relocated in mid-1986 to Goddard College, a small school in the hills of Plainfield, Vermont.[7] Phish distributed at least six different experimental self-titled cassettes during this era, including The White Tape.[9] This first studio recording was circulated in two variations: the first, mixed in a dorm room as late as 1985, received a higher distribution than the second studio remix of the original four tracks, circa 1987. The older version was officially released under the title 'Phish' in August 1998.[10]

The band's identity with its "hometown" of Burlington Vermont is evident in their actions. By 1985, the group had encountered Burlington, Vermont luthier Paul Languedoc, who would eventually design two guitars for Anastasio and two basses for Gordon. In October 1986, he began working as their sound engineer. Since then, Languedoc has built exclusively for the two, and his designs and traditional wood choices have given Phish a unique instrumental identity.[11] Also during the late 1980's, Phish played regularly at Nectar's restaurant and bar in Burlington. In 1992 the album "A Picture of Nectar", named as a tribute to the owner, featured a large orange with Nectar's photo superimposed subtly within the orange.[12][13]

As his senior project, Anastasio penned The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday, a nine-song concept album that would become their second studio experiment. Recorded between 1987 and 1988, it was submitted in July of that year, accompanied by a written thesis. Elements of the story — known as Gamehendge — grew to include an additional eight songs. The band performed the suite in concert on five occasions: in 1988, 1991, 1993, and twice in 1994 without replicating the song list.[14]

Beginning in the spring of 1988, the band began practicing in earnest, sometimes locking themselves in a room and jamming for hours on end. Dubbed "Okipa Ceremonies" (also spelled Oh Kee Pa), one such jam took place at Anastasio's apartment, and a second was at Paul Languedoc's house in August 1989.[15] The band attributes the sessions to Anastasio, who discovered the concept in the films A Man Called Horse and Modern Primitives.[16] The product of one of these sessions was included in the band's first mass-released recording, a double album called Junta, later that year.

Rise to fame: 1989-1992

On January 26, 1989, Phish played the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. The owners of the club had never heard of Phish and refused to book them, so the band rented the club for the night. The show sold out due to the caravan of fans that had traveled to see the band.[17]

By late 1990, Phish's concerts were becoming more and more intricate, often making a consistent effort to involve the audience in the performance. In a special "secret language,"[18] the audience would react in a certain manner based on a particular musical cue from the band. For instance, if Anastasio "teased" a motif from The Simpsons theme song, the audience would yell, "D'oh!" in imitation of About this sound Homer Simpson. (help·info) In 1992, Phish introduced collaboration between audience and band called the "Big Ball Jam" in which each band member would throw a large beach ball into the audience and play a note each time his ball was hit. In so doing, the audience was helping to create an original composition.

In an experiment known as "The Rotation Jam", each member would switch instruments with the musician on his left. On occasion, a performance of "You Enjoy Myself" involved Gordon and Anastasio performing synchronized maneuvers on mini-trampolines while playing their instruments.[19]

Phish, along with Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and The Beatles, was one of the first bands to have a Usenet newsgroup, rec.music.phish, which launched in 1991. Aware of the band's growing popularity, Elektra Records signed them that year. The following year A Picture of Nectar was complete: their first major studio release, enjoying far more extensive production than either 1988's Junta or 1990s Lawn Boy. These albums were eventually re-released on Elektra, as well.

The first annual H.O.R.D.E. festival in 1992 provided Phish with their first national tour of major amphitheaters. The lineup, among others, included Phish, Blues Traveler, The Spin Doctors, and Widespread Panic. That summer, the band toured Europe with the Violent Femmes and later toured Europe and the U.S. with Carlos Santana.

Peak of success: 1993–2000

Phish began headlining major amphitheaters in the summer of 1993. That year, the group released Rift packaged as a concept album and with heavy promotion from Elektra including artwork by David Welker. In 1994, the band released Hoist. To promote the album, the band made their only video for MTV, "Down With Disease", airing in June of that year. Foreshadowing their future tradition of festivals, Phish coupled camping with their Summer tour finale at Sugarbush North in Fayston, Vermont in July 1994, that show eventually being released as Live Phish Volume 2.[20] On Halloween of that year, the group promised to don a fan-selected "musical costume" by playing an entire album from another band. After an extensive mail-based poll, Phish performed The Beatles' self-titled album — as the second of their three sets at the Glens Falls Civic Center in upstate New York. For their 1994 New Years Run, Phish played two sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden, which were their debuts at both venues. Following the death of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia in the summer of 1995 and the appearance of "Down With Disease" on Beavis and Butthead, the band experienced a surge in the growth of their fan base and an increased awareness in popular culture.

In their tradition of playing a well-known album by another band for Halloween, Phish contracted a full horn section for their performance of The Who's Quadrophenia in 1995. Their first live album — A Live One — which was released during the summer of 1995 became Phish's first RIAA certified gold album in November 1995.[21]

Phish retreated to their Vermont recording studio and recorded hours and hours of improvisations, sometimes overlaying them on one another, and included some of the result on the second half of Billy Breathes, which they released in the fall of 1996. Alongside traditional rock-based crescendos, the album has more acoustic guitar than their previous records, and was regarded by the band and some fans[22] as their crowning studio achievement. The album's first single, "Free", peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and #11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, becoming the band's most successful chart single of their career.[23]

By 1997 jams were becoming so long that several sets contained only four songs; their improvisational ventures were developing into a new funk-inspired jamming style. Vermont-based ice cream conglomerate Ben & Jerry's launched "Phish Food" that year and proceeds from the flavor are donated to the Lake Champlain Initiative. Part of Phish's new non-profit foundation, The WaterWheel Foundation was also composed of two other now-defunct branches: The Touring Branch and the Vermont Giving Program.[24]

2000 saw no Halloween show, no summer festival and no new full-band compositions: May's Farmhouse contained material dating from 1997 and original material from Trey's 1999 solo acoustic/electric club tour. That summer, the band announced that they would take their first "extended time-out" following their upcoming fall tour.[25] During the tour's last concert on October 7, 2000 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, they played a regular show and left without saying a word as The Beatles' Let It Be played over the sound system.

Wilderness years: 2001-2008

Over two years after the hiatus began, Phish announced that they were getting back on the road with a New Year's Eve 2002 concert at Madison Square Garden. They also recorded Round Room in only three days. In their return concert, McConnell's brother was introduced as actor Tom Hanks. The impostor sang a line of the song "Wilson," prompting several media outlets to report that the actor had "jammed with Phish."

At the end of the 2003 summer tour, Phish held their first summer festival in four years, returning to Limestone for It. The festival drew crowds of over 60,000 fans, once again making Limestone one of the largest cities in Maine for a weekend. In December, the band celebrated its 20th anniversary with a four show mini-tour culminating at Boston's Fleet Center. During the Albany date on this tour, Phish invited founding member Jeff Holdsworth onstage for the first time since 1986.

In order to avoid the exhaustion and pitfalls of previous years' high-paced touring, Phish played sporadically after the reunion, with tours lasting about two weeks. After an April 2004 run of shows in Las Vegas, Anastasio announced on the band's website that the band was breaking up after a small summer tour.[3]

Their final album (at the time), Undermind, was released in late spring. In the summer of 2004, the band jammed with rapper Jay-Z at one show, shot a video called "Live in Brooklyn" for broadcast in movie theaters, and performed a seven-song set atop the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater during The Late Show with David Letterman to fans who had gathered on the street, a move reminiscent of The Beatles' final performance on the rooftop of the Apple building in London.

Their final show of 2004 — Coventry — was named for the town in Vermont that hosted the event. 100,000 people were expected to attend. After a week of rain that prompted fears of a sinking stage, Gordon announced on local radio that no more cars would be allowed in, though only about 20,000 people had arrived. Many concert-goers parked their vehicles on roadsides and hiked to the site; an estimated 65,000 attended the emotional finale.

Phish received the Jammys Lifetime Achievement Award on May 7, 2008 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

After performing three songs together at the September 2008 wedding of their former tour road manager,[26] Phish announced that they would perform three reunion shows on March 6, 7, and 8, 2009 at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.[3]

Reemergence: 2009–present

Following the reunion weekend, the band played thirteen shows of a summer tour,[3] including an inaugural concert at Fenway Park,[3] and headlined Bonnaroo 2009 in June with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Beastie Boys, and Nine Inch Nails.[27] During their first set of the second day, Phish was joined by Springsteen on guitar for "Mustang Sally", "Bobby Jean", and "Glory Days".[28] Twelve additional dates in July and August were announced as a Late Summer Tour, including four nights at Red Rocks, two nights at The Gorge, a stop in Chicago, and several nights in the Northeast.[29]

Phish's fourteenth studio album, Joy,[30] produced by Steve Lillywhite, was released September 8, 2009.[31] A single from the album, "Time Turns Elastic", was released on iTunes in late May.[3] The band played nine of the ten tracks throughout the course of the first leg of their summer tour, starting with "Ocelot" and then "Time Turns Elastic" on the first night of the tour.[32] The band announced a "save-the-date" for a three-day festival on October 30 & 31 and November 1. Phish.com contained an animated map of the United States, and individual states were slowly removed from the map, leaving California.[3] Confirming several rumors,[33] the band announced that Festival 8 would take place in Indio, California. Festival 8 featured the band covering the Rolling Stones album "Exile on Main St." as their traditional "musical costume",[34] and also featured the band's first full acoustic set on Sunday, just after noon.[34] Footage from Festival 8 was released in April 2010 as a 3D movie titled "Phish 3D".[3]

In March 2010, Trey Anastasio was asked to pay tribute to Genesis, one of his favorite bands, upon being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to Anastasio's speech, Phish appeared and performed two Genesis songs, "Watcher of the Skies" and "No Reply At All". Genesis did not perform. On May 13, 2010, Phish played the Rolling Stones "Loving Cup" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The band was introduced by Keith Richards. In the late Spring and Summer of 2010, the band completed a two-legged, 29-show tour. The August Alpine Valley shows has been released as a DVD and CD.[3]

On October 8, 2010, the band played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. They then began a Fall tour, which highlights many indoor arenas that they had played in the early years of their career. These stops include Broomfield, CO, Utica, NY, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, Manchester, NH, and Providence, RI. They concluded the Fall tour with 3 nights in Atlantic City including a Halloween show featuring the "musical costume" Waiting For Columbus originally by the band Little Feat. For their 2010 New Years Run, the band played the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on December 27 and 28, and Madison Square Garden on December 30, December 31, and for the first time ever, performed on New Years Day, January 1, 2011. On March 31, 2011, the band announced Super Ball IX, a 3-day festival that was held in Watkins Glen, NY on the weekend of July 1.[35] On September 6, the band announced that it would be playing a show in Essex Junction, Vermont, their first show in the state since Coventry in '04. The show was held on Sept. 14, and the more than $1.2M in proceeds were donated to VT flood victim relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. The band's next performances are scheduled to be at Madison Square Garden on December 28, 29, 30, and 31, 2011, making it the second New Years show in a row, and prompting fans to use the term "NYEMSG" to indicate New Years Eve at Madison Square Garden.

Discography

Main article: Phish discography

Band members

Former members

Solo work

The members of Phish have worked on various musical side projects. Anastasio continued the solo career he'd begun in 1998, formed the group Oysterhead, and began conducting an orchestral composition with the Vermont Youth Orchestra. Gordon made an album with acoustic guitar legend Leo Kottke and two films before launching his own solo career. Fishman alternated between Jazz Mandolin Project and his band Pork Tornado, while McConnell formed the trio Vida Blue.

During their break-up, members of Phish maintained various solo projects. Trey continued his solo career with his own band and performed with Oysterhead in June 2006. Gordon played with Leo Kottke and the Benevento/Russo Duo. At Rothbury in 2006, he played with his newest project, Ramble Dove, which is the name of the country outfit he fronted in his directorial feature Outside Out, and also joined Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann along with Steve Kimock and Jen Durkin as the Rhythm Devils. Anastasio and Gordon toured as a four-piece with the Benevento/Russo Duo in the summer of 2006. McConnell debuted his new solo project at a festival in September 2006 held by jam band moe. and released his self-titled debut on April 17, 2007. Fishman has performed occasional shows with the Everyone Orchestra, The Village and the Yonder Mountain String Band, but had, for the most part, retired from the music business.

Music

The music of Phish is "oriented around group improvisation and superextended grooves"[36] that draw on a range of rock-oriented influences, including psychedelic rock, funk, reggae, hard rock and various "acoustic" genres, such as folk and bluegrass. Some Phish songs use different vocal approaches, such as a cappella (unaccompanied) sections of barbershop quartet-style vocal harmonies.

Some of their original compositions (such as "Theme from the Bottom") tend towards a psychedelic rock and bluegrass fusion, with more rock, jazz and funk elements than the Grateful Dead and other earlier jam bands like Pink Floyd. Their more ambitious, epic compositions (such as "You Enjoy Myself" and "Guyute") are often said to resemble classical music in a rock setting, much like the music of one of their heroes, Frank Zappa.

Live performances

The driving force behind Phish is the popularity of their concerts and the fan culture surrounding the event. Each a production unto itself, the band is known to consistently change set lists and details, as well as the addition of their own antics to ensure that no two shows are ever the same. With fans flocking to venues hours before they open, the concert is the centerpiece of an event that includes a temporary community in the parking lot, complete with "Shakedown Street": at times a garment district, art district, food court, or pharmacy.[37] For many, one concert is simply a prelude to the next as the community follows the band around the country.

Because Phish's reputation is so grounded in their live performances, concert recordings are commonly-traded commodities. Official soundboard recordings can be purchased through the Live Phish website. Legal field recordings produced by tapers with boom microphones from the audience in compliance with Phish's tape trading policy[38] are frequently traded on any number of music message boards. Although technically not allowed, live videos of Phish shows are also traded by fans and are tolerated as long as it is for non-profit, personal use. Phish fans have been noted for their extensive collections of fan-taped concert recordings; owning recordings of entire tours and years is widespread.

In other media

Phish began appearing in video games in 2009. Their song "Wilson" (December 30, 1994 at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY as released on A Live One),[39][40] appeared in Rock Band's Bonnaroo song pack, along with other songs by artists playing at the Bonnaroo Festival that year. A Phish "Live Track Pack" for Guitar Hero World Tour became available on June 25, 2009.[41] Recordings of "Sample in a Jar" (December 1, 1994 at Salem Armory, Salem, Oregon), "Down With Disease" (December 1, 1995 at Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, Pennsylvania) and "Chalk Dust Torture" (November 16, 1994, Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, as released on A Live One) have been released, compatible with Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. On August 19, 2010, it was confirmed that Llama would be a playable song in Rock Band 3, released on October 26, 2010.[42]

References

  1. ^ "Phish". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/phish-p21630. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  2. ^ "What Is Phish?". FAQ Files. phish.net. http://phish.net/faq/whatisphish. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "News Archives". Phish.com. http://phish.com/#/news/index.php?year=2009&hash=story460. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  4. ^ "Phish". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/phish/biography. Retrieved 2008-05-11. 
  5. ^ "Phish setlists". phish.net. http://phish.net/setlists/1983.html#1983-01-01. Retrieved 2011-05-28. 
  6. ^ Bernstein, Andy; Celentano, Brian; Chasnoff, Larry; Steele, Lockhart. The Pharmers Almanac : The Unofficial Guide to the Band Phish (Volume 1). Berkley Publishing Group. pp. 32. ISBN 0-425-16356-3. 
  7. ^ a b c "Phishtory: College Years". FAQ Files. phish.net. http://www.phish.net/faq/history#college. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  8. ^ "Phish setlists". phish.net. http://phish.net/setlists/1985.html#1985-01-01. Retrieved 2011-05-28. 
  9. ^ "Discography: Unofficial Releases". Discography. phish.net. http://phish.net/discography#4. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  10. ^ "The White Tape". Discography. phish.net. http://phish.net/discography/the-white-tape. Retrieved 2008-05-11. 
  11. ^ "Paul Languedoc". FAQ Files. phish.net. http://phish.net/faq/languedoc. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  12. ^ liveatnectors.com[1]
  13. ^ phish.com timeline[2]
  14. ^ "What is The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday?". FAQ Files. phish.net. http://phish.net/faq/tmwsiy. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  15. ^ "The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony". Discography. phish.net. http://phish.net/songs/the-oh-kee-pa-ceremony. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  16. ^ Gehr, Richard; Phish (1998). The Phish book. New York: Villard. ISBN 0-375-50203-3. 
  17. ^ Morse, Steve (2003-11-30). "Twenty years later, Phish still moves against the current" (PDF, Reprint). The Boston Globe (Boston, MA). http://nugs.net/press/bostonglobe_031130.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-11. 
  18. ^ "Secret Language Instructions". FAQ Files. phish.net. http://phish.net/songs/secret-language-instructions. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  19. ^ "Phish On-stage Antics". FAQ Files. phish.net. http://phish.net/faq/antics. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  20. ^ "Live Phis 02". Phish.com. http://phish.com/#/music/live-phish-02. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  21. ^ "List of Phish albums certified as gold or platinum". riaa.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20070608063940/http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp. Retrieved 2007-06-14. 
  22. ^ Paul, Alan (December, 1996). "Trey Anastasio, the brains behind Phish, plays from the heart on Billy Breathes." (Reprint). Guitar World Online (phish.net). Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20080423224023/http://www.phish.net/archives/interviews/1996/199612.html. Retrieved 2008-05-11. 
  23. ^ "Phish - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/phish-p21630/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  24. ^ "What's the story behind Phish Food?". FAQ FIles. phish.net. http://phish.net/faq/phish-food. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  25. ^ "Why did Phish stop playing for how long?". FAQ Files. phish.net. http://phish.net/faq/hiatus. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  26. ^ Breaking: Phish Reunites For Sandsio’s Wedding. Published 09/06/08.
  27. ^ "Lineup". Bonnaroo. 2 February 2009. http://www.bonnaroo.com/artists.aspx. Retrieved 3 February 2009. 
  28. ^ Fromtheroad.phish.com
  29. ^ Phish Late Summer Tour 2009 phish.com Accessed on April 26, 2009.
  30. ^ Fricke, David (2009-06-24). "Phish Capture Famous Live Vibe on New Summer Album "Joy"". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/phish-capture-famous-live-vibe-on-new-summer-album-joy-20090624. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  31. ^ Phish Add 12 Shows to Reunion Tour, Plot Return to the Studio. Rolling Stone Accessed on April 26, 2009.
  32. ^ Fricke, David (May 28, 2009). "Phish". Rolling Stone (1,079): 32. 
  33. ^ "Hampton and Indio Rumors Make The Papers". glidemagazine.com. http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/hampton-and-indio-rumors-make-the-papers/. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  34. ^ a b "Phish Setlists - 2009". Phish.net. http://phish.net/setlists/?d=2009-01-01. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  35. ^ "Announcing Super Ball IX At Watkins Glen International". phish.com. http://phish.com/#/news/2011/31/announcing-super-ball-ix-at-watkins-glen-international. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
  36. ^ From the 2004 The New Rolling Stone Album Guide http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/phish/biography
  37. ^ Gibbon, Sean (2001). Run like an antelope: on the road with Phish. New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 95. ISBN 0-312-26330-9. 
  38. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Phish.com. http://phish.com/#/faq/taping-guidelines. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  39. ^ Milano, Brett (2009-06-02). "Bonnaroo Six Pack of DLC". rockband.com. http://www.rockband.com/blog/bonnaroo_dlc. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
  40. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Phish.net. http://phish.net/discography/a-live-one. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
  41. ^ Pwnordie.com
  42. ^ Johnson, Stephen (2010-08-20). "Harmonix Responds To Rock Band 3 Set List "Leaks" By Revealing Entire Set List". g4tv.com. http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/707034/Harmonix-Responds-To-Rock-Band-3-Set-List-Leaks-By-Revealing-Entire-Set-List.html. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 

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