History Trivia / Phish

** 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 had 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 that 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", Wittels' favorite song (which he often joked about never getting jammed whenever he saw them play it).

** The fan-base has identified [[http://phish.net/faq/jamming-types the two main types]] of jamming the band does as "Type I" and "Type II". Type I jamming is based off variations of the song they are performing, while Type II jamming creates a whole new melody, chord progression and structure. Many jammed out songs will have both types, with a performance of a song leading to a Type I jam in the middle or at the end, which then evolves into a Type II. If this happened in the middle of a song, it's up to the band whether they decide to complete it, or leave it unfinished when they segue into the next number. The band's famous "Bathtub Gin" from the Great Went, for instance, never completes the final bars of the song and goes straight from a Type II jam into the song "Uncle Pen". The "Gin" at Riverport just under a year later (7/29/1998), by contrast, sticks to the piece's harmony throughout the entirety of its 21-minute runtime.

** 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. Both concerts, however, circulate as high quality fan audio recordings. A five hour portion of the New Year's Eve show's monster eight-hour long second set is also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3KobkFn-A available on Youtube]], but cuts out after "Free".

** 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. Both concerts, however, 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 full five hour glory via a reasonably good quality VHS recording of the pay-per-view telecast.

* MissingEpisode: Over 1500 Phish concerts circulate as live concert recordings taped by fans, all with the blessing of the band. Every concert they've played since 1993 is more or less accounted for[[note]]With the exception of a March 1993 concert in Santa Fe and a private show they played for the cast and crew of ''Film/MeMyselfAndIrene'' in 1999[[/note]], but it gets a little spotty after that. About 250 of the band's concerts are unaccounted for, most of which are from the 1980s, before they built up the fanbase they have today and were only really known in Vermont.

* MissingEpisode: Over 1500 of the Phish's concerts circulate as live concert recordings taped by fans with the blessing of the band. Every concert they've played since 1993 is more or less accounted for[[note]]With the exception of a March 1993 concert in Santa Fe and a private show they played for the cast and crew of ''Film/MeMyselfAndIrene'' in 1999[[/note]], but it gets a little spotty after that. About 250 of the band's concerts are unaccounted for, most of which are from the 1980s, before they built up the fanbase they have today and were only really known in Vermont.

** There's a few more instances throughout the band's discography. They tried "Runaway Jim" again during the sessions for both ''A Picture of Nectar'' and ''Rift'', but it didn't make either album. "Buffalo Bill" was cut from ''Hoist''. "Strange Design" was cut from ''Billy Breathes'', but was ultimately released as the B-side to "Free" on a very rare CD single.

** Aron Ralston, whose April 2003 hiking accident inspired the film ''Film/OneHundredAndTwentySevenHours'', is also a prominent member of the fanbase; He was part of the tape-trading community, and [[http://forum.phish.net/forum/permalink/1377560052 was listening to]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q91uUM8fRKM this version of "Harry Hood"]] when he fell while rock-climbing and became trapped under a boulder.

** The band is also fine with the fan-run websites that offer the highest quality audience tapes from throughout their career for free download. Trey Anastasio has [[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/trey-anastasio-on-new-phish-lp-whether-hell-play-with-the-dead-again-32234/ even said]] that he to listens to both the fan recordings and the band's official soundboard recordings, because they give him different perspectives on a performance.

* 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 circulate).

* CutSong: In the summer of 1990, the band booked studio time at Wendell Studios in Boston and recorded studio versions of several of their most beloved live songs, including "Harry Hood", "Suzy Greenberg", "Runaway Jim", "Possum", "Mike's Song", "I am Hydrogen", and "Weekapaug Groove". However, the band decided not to release any of the material they recorded: ''Lawn Boy'' was already completed and was released a few months later, and the band decided to start fresh when they began recording ''A Picture of Nectar'' in the summer of 1991. To date, the only two songs from the Wendell sessions that eventually wound up on an album were "Tweezer" (re-recorded for ''Nectar'') and "Rift" (re-recorded for ''Rift'').

* CutSong: In the summer of 1990, the band booked studio time at Wendell Studios in Boston and recorded studio versions of several of their most loved live songs, including "Harry Hood", "Suzy Greenberg", "Runaway Jim", "Possum", "Mike's Song", "I am Hydrogen", and "Weekapaug Groove". However, the band decided not to release any of the material they recorded: ''Lawn Boy'' was already completed and was released a few months later, and the band decided to start fresh when they began recording ''A Picture of Nectar'' in the summer of 1991. To date, the only two songs from the Wendell sessions that eventually wound up on an album were "Tweezer" (re-recorded for ''Nectar'') and "Rift" (re-recorded for ''Rift'').

** In the summer of 1990, the band booked studio time at Wendell Studios in Boston and recorded studio versions of several of their most loved live songs, including "Harry Hood", "Suzy Greenberg", "Runaway Jim", "Possum", "Mike's Song", "I am Hydrogen", and "Weekapaug Groove". However, the band decided not to release any of the material they recorded: ''Lawn Boy'' was already completed and was released a few months later, and the band decided to start fresh when they began recording ''A Picture of Nectar'' in the summer of 1991. To date, the only two songs from the Wendell sessions that eventually wound up on an album were "Tweezer" (re-recorded for ''Nectar'') and "Rift" (re-recorded for ''Rift'').
** The same thing happen while the band was recording ''The Story of the Ghost'' in 1998. Left on the cutting room floor in those sessions were studio versions of live favorites like "Meatstick", "NICU", "Bittersweet Motel" and "Vultures". Many of the other cut songs found their way onto either ''The Siket Disc'' or ''Farmhouse''.

** The same thing happen while the band was recording ''The Story of the Ghost'' in 1998. Left on the cutting room floor in those sessions were studio versions of live favorites like "Meatstick", "NICU" and "Vultures". Many of the other cut songs found their way onto either ''The Siket Disc'' or ''Farmhouse''.

** In the summer of 1990, the band booked studio time at Wendell Studios in Boston and recorded studio versions of several of their most loved live songs, including "Harry Hood", "Suzy Greenberg", "Runaway Jim", "Possum", "Mike's Song", "I am Hydrogen", and "Weekapaug Groove". However, the band decided not to release any of the material they recorded: ''Lawn Boy'' had already been in the can for nearly a year and they wouldn't release it until September 1990, and the band decided to start fresh when they began recording ''A Picture of Nectar'' in the summer of 1991. To date, the only two songs from the Wendell sessions that eventually wound up on an album were "Tweezer" (re-recorded for ''Nectar'') and "Rift" (re-recorded for ''Rift'').

** 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 full 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 had 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 that 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 had 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.

** There are other famous fans too: [[Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete Danny Tamberelli]] has been a fan since the mid-90s and has attended over 100 shows. NBA legend Bill Walton, who is famous for his love of the Music/GratefulDead, is also a fan of Phish and has attended many 3.0 shows. Creator/NathanRabin became a fan of the group through his wife, and he also wrote a book, ''You Don't Know But You Don't Like Me'', about following Phish and Music/InsaneClownPosse on tour and the two bands' respective fandoms.

** The fan-base has identified [[http://phish.net/faq/jamming-types the two main types]] of jamming the band does as "Type I" and "Type II". Type I jamming is based off variations of the song they are performing, while Type II jamming creates a whole new melody, chord progression and structure. Many jammed out songs will have both types, with a performance of a song leading to a Type I jam in the middle or at the end, which then evolves into a Type II. If this happened in the middle of a song, it's up to the band whether they decide to complete it, or leave it unfinished when they segue into the next number. The band's famous "Bathtub Gin" from the Great Went, for instance, never completes the final bars of the song and goes straight from a Type II jam into the song "Uncle Pen".

** The fan-base has identified [[http://phish.net/faq/jamming-types the two main types]] of jamming the band does as "Type I" and "Type II". Type I jamming is based off variations of the song they are performing, while Type II jamming creates a whole new melody, chord progression and structure. Many jammed out songs will have both types, with a performance of a song leading to a Type I jam in the middle or at the end, which then evolves into a Type II. If this happened in the middle of a song, it's up to the band whether they decide to complete it, leave it unfinished when they segue into the next number. The band's famous "Bathtub Gin" from the Great Went, for instance, never completes the final bars of the song and goes straight from a Type II jam into the song "Uncle Pen".

** The fan-base has named the two main types of jamming the band does "Type I" and "Type II". Type I jamming is based off variations of the song they are performing, while Type II jamming creates a whole new melody, chord progression and structure. Many jammed out songs will have both types, with a performance of a song leading to a Type I jam in the middle or at the end, which then evolves into a Type II (if this happened in the middle of a song, it's up to the band whether they decide to complete it, leave it unfinished when they seque into the next number) The band's famous "Bathtub Gin" from the Great Went, for instance, never completes the final bars of the song and goes straight from a Type II jam into the song "Uncle Pen".