Want to know exactly what a jam band is? Phish is the living, breathing definition of everything that is jam music. The quartet's humble beginning took place in a dormitory at University of Vermont, and even before the beginnings of Phish the members of the band had a very promising future. Trey Anastasio (lead guitar/vocals) was then a Philosophy major, John Fishman (drums) was then studying chemical engineering, Mike Gordon (bass/vocals) was then an electrical engineering major, and Page McConnell (keyboards/vocals) was then a show promoter/organizer before he organized a small gig for Phish and hit it off with the band. From their beginnings in 1983 until 1989 Phish remained relatively unknown, touring the east coast and working to put together and release a studio album. It was not until May, 1989, that Phish was able to officially release their first studio album, "Junta". It is around this time that the group begins to gain wild popularity, and also starts touring the entire country. Phish begins selling out venues across the nation, using the cash earned to produce their second official album, "Lawn Boy". Over the course of the next few years, the group releases multiple studio albums, sticks to a strenuous tour schedule, and begins recording and distributing live recordings from their events. Thousands of obsessive fans start to tour the country with Phish. After years more of releasing Phish studio albums, Phish live albums, solo studio projects from all different members, and relentless touring, Phish had gained a fan base comaprable to the Grateful Dead. Each member began doing more solo work and less work with Phish as we entered the new millennium, and after the release of their thirteenth studio album, "Farmhouse", they decided to take a hiatus of unknown length. Although all the fans direly missed Phish, the side projects began to take the forefront as we would begin to see the talents that each member possessed outside of Phish. Their first unofficial appearance came in an April, 2002 episode of The Simpson's where Homer receives a prescription for Medical Marijuana and attends a Phish concert. In late 2002, the band began rehearsing for their hiatus ending Holiday tour, and made appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live. After the blowout Holiday Tour of 2002 and early 2003, Phish takes a short break before embarking on their said "final" tour before permenantly breaking the band up. The culmination of this tour is the massive "IT" festival in Limestone, Maine. The group later released a movie documentary of this festival, which proved to be truly stunning to any who could not make it to see Phish for their last days. Luckily for those of us who were unfortunate enough to miss the last days of Phish, they have finally announced, after over a five year hiatus, that they will play dates next year. Although there are not too many specifics yet, they have announced a three evening event in Virginia that will mark the return of the greatest jam band in the world. Tickets for all three nights sold out within minutes of going on sale, and are now being sold for unbelievable fees on eBay. Although I probably will not be able to make it to this March event, I feel confident that Phish will soon announce many more tour dates for the coming spring. With this amazing event ahead of me, I'm sure it will be a monumental summer for both me and the Phish community.
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