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The Best and Weirdest of Phish, According to Trey Anastasio
“We’re adding ingredients to an enormous bowl of soup.”
Forming in the mid-1980s, Phish (Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, keyboardist Page McConnell, and drummer Jon Fishman) began as a college band based in Burlington, Vermont, playing classic rock covers and originals with fantasy-heavy lyrics — and occasional forays into barbershop quartet and vacuum-cleaner solos — before becoming a top touring act just around when Jerry Garcia died in 1995. While there are similarities between Phish and the Grateful Dead (no two shows the same, jams that can last 27 minutes, a grilled cheese and drug bazaar in the parking lot), it’s too reductive to stick with the “passing of the jam-band torch” narrative. It’s similar to “Bouncing Around the Room” and one we were all happy with — it’s a little mystical with lines about “the creator” and “the math.” It speaks to our teenage obsessions with Peter Gabriel — who could really make an abstract photo with lyrics — Brian Eno, and Robert Fripp, as well as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
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