Phish Artist Information
All music icons must start somewhere. For Phish, it all began at the University of Vermont in 1983. Freshman Trey Anastasio heard Jon Fishman playing drums and Jeff Holdsworth on guitar outside their dorm rooms. The three of them got together, posted a sign for a bass player, Mike Gordon responded and their first show was in the basement of Slade Hall at UVM. They used a hockey stick as a mic stand, played "Proud Mary" twice, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" once and then popped in a Michael Jackson tape. Phish was born.
More gigs at Slade Hall would follow, along with shows at local bars including Nectar's in Burlington, VT. Friends would often join the guys on stage, including Page McConnell who first met Gordon at Goddard Springfest in 1985. A few months later, Page was officially in the band. At the end of '87, Phish recorded a demo at Euphoria Studios in Massachusetts. Many of the songs would eventually be used on their debut album Junta. By the late 80s, Phish focused more on playing outside of Vermont, including gigs in New York, Maine and Boston. This widened their exposure and by 1990, Phish was on their first official tour with 150 live concerts.
With their extended chords and improvisational style, Phish was destined to follow in the footsteps of the Grateful Dead. When Elekra signed the band in 1991, Phish was clearly becoming the biggest jam band while attracting a cult following of neo-hippies.
Throughout most of the 90s Phish toured non stop while finding time to record studio albums, including Hoist featuring the single (and only studio-styled video) "Down with Disease." In 1999, Phish took a much needed touring break allowing members to focus on solo appearances. But just two years later, Phish was back on tour and from 2001-03 released an unprecedented 20 live albums. At the height of their career, Phish called it quits in 2004. Just four years later, Phish fans around the world had reason to celebrate— the band announced a three day set at Hampton Coliseum with more dates to follow in 2009.
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