History Trivia / Phish

** The 1999-2000 Big Cypress festival, considered by many fans and the band themselves to be Phish's crowning achievement, has never been given an official release on CD, DVD or streaming. What's more, an official soundboard recording is not known to circulate. Thankfully, the both concerts circulate as high quality fan audio recordings. The second set of the New Year's Eve show is also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3KobkFn-A available on Youtube]] in its five hour glory via a reasonably good quality VHS recording of the pay-per-view telecast.

** The 1999-2000 Big Cypress festival, considered by many fans and the band themselves to be Phish's crowning achievement, has never been given an official release on CD, DVD or streaming. What's more, an official soundboard recording is not known to circulate. Thankfully, the show circulates as a high quality fan audio recording. The second set of the New Year's Eve show is also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3KobkFn-A available on Youtube]] in its five hour glory via a reasonably good quality VHS recording of the pay-per-view telecast.

** The 1999-2000 Big Cypress festival, considered by many fans and the band themselves to be Phish's crowning achievement, has never been given an official release on CD, DVD or streaming. What's more, an official soundboard recording is not known to circulate. Thankfully, the show circulates as a high quality fan audio recording. The New Year's Eve show is also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3KobkFn-A available on Youtube]] in its five hour glory via a reasonably good quality VHS recording of the pay-per-view telecast.

** The band itself have several, and one of the biggest was comedian Harris Wittels. Best known as a writer on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' and as part of the ''[[Podcast/ComedyDeathRayRadio Comedy Bang Bang]]'' crew, Wittels has been a devoted fan of the band since high school, and saw over 300 shows in his lifetime. The best known extension of his fandom was his ''Analyze Phish'' podcast in which he attempted to get ''Comedy Bang Bang'' host Scott Aukerman to like, or at least appreciate, the band. Wittels died in 2015, [[{{Retirony}} a few days before]] the final episode of ''Parks and Recreation'' aired. Phish themselves paid tribute to Wittels on July 29: Mike Gordon wore [[https://relix.com/blogs/detail/mike_gordon_honored_harris_wittels_in_austin_with_a_great_shirt/ a shirt]] with Wittels' name in the band's logo, and the group opened that show with a jammed out version of "Tube", which Wittels had longed to hear and had even made a recurring Twitter gag about.

** The band itself have several, and one of the biggest was comedian Harris Wittels. Best known as a writer on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' and as part of the ''[[Podcast/ComedyDeathRayRadio Comedy Bang Bang]]'' crew, Wittels has been a devoted fan of the band since high school, and saw over 300 shows in his lifetime. His contract for ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' was even written to give him time off to follow the band on tour. The best known extension of his fandom was his ''Analyze Phish'' podcast in which he attempted to get ''Comedy Bang Bang'' host Scott Aukerman to like, or at least appreciate, the band. Wittels died in 2015, [[{{Retirony}} a few days before]] the final episode of ''Parks and Recreation'' aired. Phish themselves paid tribute to Wittels on July 29: Mike Gordon wore [[https://relix.com/blogs/detail/mike_gordon_honored_harris_wittels_in_austin_with_a_great_shirt/ a shirt]] with Wittels' name in the band's logo, and the group opened that show with a jammed out version of "Tube", which Wittels had longed to hear and had even made a recurring Twitter gag about.

* FanCommunityNicknames: Originally, fans were called "Glides" (which in turn inspired the title of the song "Glide"), and later "Phans" or "Phish Heads".

** The band itself have several, and one of the biggest was comedian Harris Wittels. Best known as a writer on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' and as part of the ''[[Podcast/ComedyDeathRayRadio Comedy Bang! Bang!]]'' crew, Wittels has been a devoted fan of the band since high school, and saw over 300 shows in his lifetime. His contract for ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' was even written to give him time off to follow the band on tour. The best known extension of his fandom was his ''Analyze Phish'' podcast in which he attempted to get ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' host Scott Aukerman to like, or at least appreciate, the band. Wittels died in 2015, [[{{Retirony}} a few days before]] the final episode of ''Parks and Recreation'' aired. Phish themselves paid tribute to Wittels on July 29: Mike Gordon wore [[https://relix.com/blogs/detail/mike_gordon_honored_harris_wittels_in_austin_with_a_great_shirt/ a shirt]] with Wittels' name in the band's logo, and the group opened that show with a jammed out version of "Tube", which Wittels had longed to hear and had even made a recurring Twitter gag about.

** The band itself have several, and one of the biggest was comedian Harris Wittels. Best known as a writer on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' and as part of the ''[[Podcast/ComedyDeathRayRadio Comedy Bang! Bang!]]'' crew, Wittels has been a devoted fan of the band since high school, and saw over 300 shows in his lifetime. His contract for ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' was even written to give him time off to follow the band on tour. The best known extension of his fandom was his ''Analyze Phish'' podcast in which he attempted to get ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' host Scott Aukerman to like, or at least appreciate, the band. Due to his popularity as a comedy writer. Wittels died in 2015, [[{{Retirony}} a few days before]] the final episode of ''Parks and Recreation'' aired. Phish themselves paid tribute to Wittels on July 29: Mike Gordon wore [[https://relix.com/blogs/detail/mike_gordon_honored_harris_wittels_in_austin_with_a_great_shirt/ a shirt]] with Wittels' name in the band's logo, and the group opened that show with a jammed out version of "Tube", which Wittels had longed to hear and had even made a recurring Twitter gag about.

** The band itself have several, and one of the biggest was comedian Harris Wittels. Best known as a writer on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' and as part of the ''[[Podcast/ComedyDeathRayRadio Comedy Bang! Bang!]]'' crew, Wittels has been a devoted fan of the band since high school, and saw over 300 shows in his lifetime. His contract for ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' was even written to give him time off to follow the band on tour. The best known extension of his fandom was his ''Analyze Phish'' podcast in which he attempted to get ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' host Scott Aukerman to like, or at least appreciate, Phish. Wittels died in 2015, [[{{Retirony}} a few days before]] the final episode of ''Parks and Recreation'' aired. Phish themselves paid tribute to Wittels on July 29: Mike Gordon wore [[https://relix.com/blogs/detail/mike_gordon_honored_harris_wittels_in_austin_with_a_great_shirt/ a shirt]] with Wittels' name in the band's logo, and the group opened that show with a jammed out version of "Tube", which Wittels had longed to hear and had even made a recurring Twitter gag about.

** The band itself have several, and one of the biggest was comedian Harris Wittels. Best known as a writer on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' and as part of the ''[[Podcast/ComedyDeathRayRadio Comedy Bang! Bang!]]'' crew, Wittels has been a devoted fan of the band since high school, and saw over 300 shows in his lifetime. His contract for ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' was even written to give him time off to follow the band on tour. The best known extension of his fandom was his ''Analyze Phish'' podcast in which he attempted to get ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' host Scott Aukerman to like, or at least appreciate, Phish. Wittels died in 2015, [[{{Retirony}} a few days before]] the final episode of ''Parks and Recreation'' aired. Phish themselves paid tribute to Wittels on July 29: Mike Gordon wore [[https://relix.com/blogs/detail/mike_gordon_honored_harris_wittels_in_austin_with_a_great_shirt/ a shirt with Wittels' name in the band's logo]] and the group opened that show with a jammed out version of "Tube", which Wittels had longed to hear and had even made a recurring Twitter gag about.

** "Heavy Things", however, has had an unusual legacy with the band, because an integral part of the song has resulted in a permanent addition to Trey's guitar rig: [[https://youtu.be/AywJYBCxxuc?t=3m44s A special loop pedal labeled "ONCE"]], which manually plays a sample one time as opposed to looping it. That button was specifically designed for Trey to perform "Heavy Things", for which he sample and manually plays-back a chiming guitar note throughout the song. It has since found other uses during concerts.

** "Heavy Things", however, has had an unusual legacy with the band, because an integral part of the song has resulted in a permanent addition to Trey's guitar rig: [[https://youtu.be/AywJYBCxxuc?t=3m44s A special loop pedal labeled "ONCE"]], which manually plays a sample one time as opposed to looping it. Trey uses that button to play the chiming guitar note that this prominent throughout "Heavy Things".

* FollowTheLeader: Subverted. They are influenced by Music/TheGratefulDead, but they have other prominent influences as well. For instance, Phish are significantly influenced by jazz, funk and alternative rock, none of which were really part of the Grateful Dead's sound. Phish's contemporaries, Widespread Panic and The Dave Matthews Band, were similarly slapped with the "New Dead" moniker, and all three bands saw a boost in popularity after Jerry Garcia died and the Grateful Dead split.

** "Heavy Things", however, has had an unusual legacy with the band because an integral part of the song has resulted in a permanent addition to Trey's guitar rig: [[https://youtu.be/AywJYBCxxuc?t=3m44s A special loop pedal labeled "ONCE"]], which manually plays a sample one time as opposed to looping it. Trey uses that button to play the chiming guitar note that this prominent throughout "Heavy Things".

** "Heavy Things", however, has had an unusual legacy with the band because an integral part of the song has resulted in a permanent addition to Trey's guitar rig: [[https://youtu.be/AywJYBCxxuc?t=3m44s A special loop pedal labeled "ONCE"]], which manually plays a sample one time as opposed to looping it. Trey uses that button that play the chiming guitar note that this prominent throughout "Heavy Things".

* BlackSheepHit: "Heavy Things". It's poppier than most of their other songs and was even a minor hit on adult Top 40 radio. The song also hasn't lended itself to being expanded upon live the way that their other big radio hit, "Down with Disease", has. The largest legacy for "Heavy Things" is that the song resulted in a permanent addition to Trey's guitar rig: [[https://youtu.be/AywJYBCxxuc?t=3m44s A special loop pedal labeled "ONCE"]], which manually plays a sample one time as opposed to looping it. Trey uses that button that play the chiming guitar note that this prominent throughout "Heavy Things".

* BlackSheepHit: "Heavy Things". It's poppier than most of their other songs and was even a minor hit on adult Top 40 radio. The song also hasn't lended itself to being expanded upon live the way that their other big radio hit, "Down with Disease", has.

* FollowTheLeader: Subverted. They are influenced by Music/TheGratefulDead, but they have other prominent influences as well. Phish's contemporaries, Widespread Panic and The Dave Matthews Band, were similarly slapped with the "New Dead" moniker, and all three bands saw a boost in popularity after Jerry Garcia died and the Grateful Dead split.

** The same pattern happened again during Phish's 2000-2002 hiatus and 2004-2008 split, in which magazines ran articles on Phish-influenced artists like O.A.R., Umphrey's [=McGee=] and Jack Johnson in a contrived search to find "The Next Phish".

* BlackSheepHit: "Heavy Things".

* BigNameFan: Jon Fishman (and probably the band as a whole) is a fan of Music/CattleDecapitation and has been spotted attending their shows in Burlington, and the band as a whole performed with Cattle Decapitation in disguise as Garbage Dick, a "just for fun" one-off performance art project while Cattle was on tour.
* BlackSheepHit: "Heavy Things"
* FanCommunityNicknames: Originally fans were called "Glides" (which in turn inspired the title of the song "Glide") and then later "Phans" or "Phish Heads".
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Partially because of the uniqueness of each Phish concert, the band allows and actively encourages fans to tape the band's concerts, so long as the resultant recording is not sold for profit (non monetary trades of recordings/copies of recordings is often the way that most tapes circulated).
* NamesTheSame: While Phish toured North America extensively, former {{Music/Marillion}} singer ''Fish'' toured Europe extensively. Made yet more confusing by the fact that both artists appeals to the ProgressiveRock fandom, although their styles are quite different.
* NoHitWonder: A large, loyal fan following despite never hitting the mainstream charts.

* NamesTheSame: Subverted; while Phish toured North America extensively, former {{Music/Marillion}} singer ''Fish'' toured Europe extensively. Made yet more confusing by the fact that both artists appeals to the ProgressiveRock fandom, although their styles are quite different.