Phish

Phish Artistfacts

  • 1983-
    Trey AnastasioGuitar, vocals
    Jon FishmanDrums, vocals
    Mike GordonBass, vocals
    Jeff HoldsworthGuitar1983-1986
    Page McConnellKeyboards, vocals1985-
  • The band formed at the University of Vermont. Anastasio and Holdsworth used to jam in Fishman's dorm room, and Gordon answered an ad they put up on a bulletin board.
  • They never play the same set twice. When Phish played 13 concerts in a row at Madison Square Garden in the summer of 2017, they performed 237 songs without repeating a single one.
  • Phish had a large following, but when Jerry Garcia died in 1995, many deadheads began following them and they became an even bigger concert draw.
  • In 2000, at the height of their powers, the band broke up. Among other things, they felt things were getting too big and they were not able to focus on music. They regrouped in 2002, but decided to limit their touring. This had the effect of making tickets even harder to get for their shows.
  • Anastasio has said that the band is named after Fishman, who refutes this claim. Fishman said in an interview with Relix: "When it was time to decide a name for the band, I suggested the sound of an airplane taking off - 'phssssh.' But then we thought that we needed a vowel. Imagine people saying, 'We are going to see Phssssh tonight…' We had already designed the logo and the 'I' fit perfectly in the middle. So Phish was not named after me."
  • They are known for their bizarre stage antics. Some of the props they used include trampolines, vacuum cleaners, and a slip-and-slide.
  • They appeared on an episode of The Simpsons where Homer was trying to legalize marijuana. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Amitai - Staten Island, NY
  • Holdsworth left the band in 1986 and became a born again Christian. He played with the band again on December 1, 2003 at a concert in NY. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Andrew - Miami, FL
  • Phish's final music festival was named "Coventry" (after the location in Vermont). It rained the day before, all the roads were closed and the airport shut down. Some people had to walk for miles to get to the show. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    jono - Gobber, KY
  • Phish covered albums in their entirety for several Halloween shows, including the Beatles' White Album ('94), the Who's Quadrophenia ('95), Talking Heads' Remain in Light ('96), and the Velvet Underground's Loaded ('98). >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Matthew - Santa Rosa, CA
  • Anastasio learned guitar in his sophomore year of high school, which is pretty late compared to other great axe wielders. He did play drums and sang in the men's glee club in high school. He took percussion lessons from a drummer who made him practice on a pillow for a full year before even getting a practice pad.
  • Anastasio plays is a band called Oysterhead with bassist Les Claypool from Primus and drummer Stewart Copeland from The Police. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Darrell - Kalkaska, MI, for above 2
  • Ben & Jerry's, based in Vermont, named two ice cream flavors after the band: the marshmallow-and-caramel swirled "Phish Food" and the donut-infused "Freezer Reprise" (inspired by the band's Baker's Dozen concert).

Comments: 9

  • Tom from Marble Falls, ArI love their song "Dirt." I don't know why I love it, I really have no desire to live beneath the dirt. There's just something whimsical about the song. It's addictive.
  • Barry from New York, NyI hung out with Trey after a show at the Hammerstein ballroom in NYC. He was real cool, really nice and easy to talk to. He signed my copy of A LIVE ONE which I have framed now. Wow memories that I'll treasure forever!
  • Taylor Huseman from Amherst , Nhhe goes to University of Vermont


    so i think that is really cool that he likes the band band and goes to the same school as they did.

    (this is part with the top. sme errors)
  • Taylor Huseman from Amherst , Nhmy cuz. ryan loves the band phish. whenever i am in the car with him he puts them on and listen to them. i really like that.he goes University of Vermont. so i think that is really cool that he liesa band and goes to the same school as they did. and that is where they brcame the band "phish". he even went to the very last concert with his friends. so i guess he is a phish head. lol ha,ha,ha....
  • Sam from Philadelphia, Pamike introduced page to trey and trey told mike to ditch page because he wanted phish to be a two guitar band instead. But then holdsworth left and trey finally let page in
  • Chris from Ob, NjPhish is by far my favorite band, they have such great talent and a musical flow, there jams are unmatched and You Enjoy Myself or Haileys Comet has to be thier best songs, If you ever get the chance you should read The Man WHo Stepped Into Yesterday which Trey wrote as a thesis for collage. Phish is purely amazing.
  • John from Omaha, Neat one concert the did a full cover of Pink Floyds "Dark Side of the Moon"
  • Corey from Whistler, CanadaThe band broke up again, playing what have been touted as their final shows, on August 14th and 15th, 2004 at Coventry, Vermont. The place was flooded and turned into a mudfest and a danger zone. Fans were backed up in traffic on the highway for up to 40 hours attempting to get into the concert in the days prior. On the morning of the 14th, the band announced over an impromptu local radio station called "The Bunny" that no one else would be allowed into the show, and asked everyone still on the highway to go home, as the concert area was too muddy for any more vehicles. (Some fans had travelled to the concert from as far away as Japan and Switzerland, therefore, this news was not welcome.) Many fans then walked as far as 15 miles to get into the final shows, which were three sets on each night.
  • Andrew from Miami, FlHoldsworth left the band in 1986 and became a born again Christian. He played with the band again on 12/1/03 at a concert in NY.
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