Phish

Phish is an American rock ^{rock music} band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams ^{jam session} , exploration of music across genres and devoted fan base. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983, the band's four members performed together for over 20 years until an official breakup in August 2004. The band reunited in 2009 for three shows at the Hampton Coliseum in , and have resumed their former activities with a full summer, a fall tour, a new album titled Joy ^{Joy (Phish album)} , their eighth festival ^{Phish festivals#Festival 8} in Indio, California, and four shows in Miami, Florida, culminating on New Year's Eve. On March 15, 2010, Phish performed two Genesis songs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in New York City. Trey Anastasio gave a speech and inducted Genesis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Their music blends elements of a wide variety of genres, including rock ^{rock music} , jazz, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, funk, bluegrass ^{bluegrass music} , reggae, country ^{country music} , blues, and classical ^{classical music} . Each of their concerts is original in terms of the songs performed, the order in which they appear and the way in which they are performed.

Although the band has received little radio play or mainstream exposure, it has developed a large and dedicated following by word of mouth, the exchange of live recordings and selling over 8 million albums and DVDs in the United States. Rolling Stone stated that the band helped to "...spawn a new wave of bands oriented around group improvisation and superextended groove ^{groove (music)} s."

 
1983 / 1992

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 a Halloween dance in the basement of the ROTC dormitory, the band was billed as "Blackwood Convention", a reference to a bidding convention ^{Blackwood convention} in contract bridge. Their second gig — and their first billed as "Phish" — was November 3 in the basement of Slade Hall at UVM,

Rumors of a Phish reunion began in earnest following a May 2008 Rolling Stone interview with Anastasio, where he was quoted as saying, "...at this point in time I would give my left nut to play [You Enjoy Myself] five times in a row every day until I die."story396

After performing three songs together at the September 2008 wedding of their former tour road manager, the long-awaited announcement from the four as a group came on the first of October with the report of three planned reunion shows: March 6, 7, and 8, 2009 at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.


2009–present

Following the reunion weekend, the band played thirteen shows of a summer tour, including an inaugural concert at Fenway Park, and headlined Bonnaroo 2009 ^{2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival} in June with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Beastie Boys, and Nine Inch Nails. During their first set of the second day, Phish was joined by Springsteen ^{Bruce Springsteen} on guitar for "Mustang Sally", "Bobby Jean", and "Glory Days".
The rumor regarding the collaboration with Lillywhite became fact as they worked together on Phish's fourteenth studio album, Joy ^{Joy (Phish album)} ,story438 The band played nine of the ten tracks throughout the course of the first leg of their summer tour, starting with "Ocelot" on the first night of the tour. 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.
Phish entered the foray of video games via Rock Band ^{Rock Band (video game)} in 2009. Included in the Bonnaroo song pack, with other artists playing at the Bonnaroo Festival that year, is Phish's "Wilson" (December 30, 1994 at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY as released on A Live One),
The band has since completed a fall tour taking the band throughout the Great Lakes, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic.story457 They have performed in Florida at Miami's American Airlines Arena for a 4-night New Year's Eve run.story460

In March 2010, Trey Anastasio was asked to pay tribute to Genesis ^{Genesis (band)} , 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.

It has recently been announced that footage from Festival 8 will be released in April 2010 as a 3D movie: "PHISH3D."
story475

The band has also recently announced a 29 show summer 2010 tour which includes a two night stop in Telluride, CO.Phish's music is an eclectic blend of rock ^{rock music} , jazz, funk, progressive rock, new wave ^{new wave music} , ambient ^{ambient music} , bluegrass ^{bluegrass music} , psychedelic rock, reggae, Latin ^{Latin music} , folk ^{folk music} , blues, country ^{country music} , and classical ^{European classical music} . Their more ambitious compositions (such as "You Enjoy Myself" and "Guyute") are often said to resemble classical music in a rock setting, much related to the genre of progressive rock. The band has performed nearly 650 individual compositions.


Discography


In addition to their fourteen studio-recorded albums, Phish has released a multitude of live shows: seven traditional live albums, and a series of 27 complete concerts called Live Phish ^{Live Phish Series} . Phish has also released 6 videos, containing live concert footage and documentary material. The band's Junta ^{Junta (album)} and A Live One reached platinum status, and the albums Lawn Boy, A Picture of Nectar, Rift ^{Rift (album)} , Hoist ^{Hoist (album)} , Billy Breathes, Slip Stitch and Pass, Hampton Comes Alive, and Farmhouse ^{Farmhouse (album)} reached gold status. In addition, their DVD Phish: Live in Vegas achieved gold status, and the DVD of It ^{It (video)} went platinum.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. For many, one concert is simply a prelude to the next as the community follows the band around the country.


Tickets by Mail

Fans were able to purchase tickets before the general public by using Phish Tickets By Mail, a mail-order service available through Phish.com or their newsletter, Doniac Schvice. The service was first made available for tapers' ^{Taper (concert)} tickets prior to the 1993 new years run and became available for both tapers' and regular tickets by Summer 1995. Orders were filled on a first-come-first-served basis, making every attempt to return all orders before tickets went on sale through traditional outlets. All levels of seating were made available through Phish Tickets By Mail (including the best seats in the house). Starting with the 1995 new years run, mail order tickets featured unique designs by long-time band artist Jim Pollock. In 2002, Phish abandoned the mail-in method of Tickets-By-Mail in favor of an Internet-based ticketing system, allowing ticket-seekers to submit all necessary information online. Abandoning the first-come-first-served philosophy, orders were instead filled by lottery.


Fifth member

A dedicated group of fans — CK5 — unsuccessfully attempted to have Chris Kuroda officially recognized as a member of Phish. The band's lighting designer since 1989, Kuroda is completely responsible for the visual aspect of a Phish concert, establishing it as important as the aural. As much of each concert is unrehearsed and improvisational, Kuroda is able to "play" the lights in time with the music.


Comparisons to the Grateful Dead

Phish is likely the foremost Grateful Dead-inspired band and is thus a primary example of a jam band. Often compared to one another, the bands' similarities are cultural as well as musical. Fans of both bands would often tour for weeks at a time, travel from show to show, and support themselves by selling food, homespun goods, and other goods to the pre-show parking lot community. Just as Jerry Garcia had frequently collaborated with a non-Dead member, lyricist Robert Hunter ^{Robert Hunter (lyricist)} , Trey Anastasio frequently shares writing credit with lyricist and non-Phish member Tom Marshall ^{Tom Marshall (singer)} .

The comparison extends to the business practices of both bands: the primacy of live shows over studio albums and commercial appearances, the fan-friendly taping policies and generous archival release programs, and the familial quality of the organizations themselves further align the legacies of the two bands.

Musically, the bands' similarity is more of ethic than aesthetic. Their embrace of group improvisation in a rock context is their unifying factor; however, Phish tended to more closely follow a jazz language or tradition in their playing (similar to The Allman Brothers Band),

Furthermore, the similarity extends to both bands' relationship to pop culture, with Ben & Jerry's naming a flavor of ice cream after each — "Phish Food" after the band and "Cherry Garcia" after the Grateful Dead guitarist.


Fan activities

Like the Grateful Dead before them, which had legions of loyal fans nicknamed Deadheads, fans of Phish — known as phans, phriends, phamily, Phishheads, or any number of ph ^{Ph (digraph)} -substituted appellations — have created over a dozen fan organizations. Maintained by fans for fans, these run the gamut of profit status, and indirectly work to the benefit of the band. While pot ^{cannabis (drug)} smoking is common at Phish concerts,

Live recording circulation

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 website. Legal bootlegs ^{Bootleg recording} produced by tapers ^{Taper (concert)} with boom microphones from the audience in compliance with Phish's tape trading policy