Jam Central Station 09.27.09: Phish Profiles Part 3-Jon Fishman
Posted by Jeff Modzelewski on 09.27.2009
This week, we take a look at Phish's namesake and resident dress-wearer Jon Fishman. Take a closer look at his career and how he's turned an ordinary household cleaning device into a unique musical instrument.
Welcome back for part 3 in my Phish series. Hope you're enjoying the look at the members. I have to say that, despite being the namesake of the band, Jon Fishman did not have a lot of information on him. I hope that what I was able to find makes for some interesting reading.
In other news, the Browns still suck, although my fantasy football teams bounced back quite nicely this week. It's good to have Chris Johnson on my team sometimes. I'm feeling better after being pretty crappy last week, and I'm ready to get things started. So let's go!
In the group full of strange and somewhat quirky individuals that is Phish, Jon "Fish" Fishman has a strong claim for being the oddest. Forget for a second that drummers tend to be odd by their very nature. Fish isn't known by Phish fans just for being a solid drummer, capable of maintaining some semblance of order in a band known for their extended improvisational jams. He's not known just as the guy who wrote "Harpua" and "Gumbo. He's not even known just as the namesake of the band or the Wolfman's brother. Jon Fishman is all of those things, but he's also a dress-wearing, Madonna-impersonating master of the Electrolux vacuum. Fish brings a distinct personality to the band, a man with both tremendous talent and a tremendous sense of humor. He has more nicknames than the rest of the band put together, and his presence in the band keeps them moving along through their extended jams and improvisations.
Fish started playing drums at the age of 7, and, in his words, "began emulating John Bonham." In his early years as a drummer, Fish was primarily influenced by the hard-rock drummers of the 70's, such as Bonham and Keith Moon. He played drums throughout his childhood, and he joined up with Mike Gordon to play in the band Dangerous Grapes while at the University of Virginia. It was not long after that that Phish was founded, and Fish, along with Trey, transferred to Goddard, where Page was studying.
As a part of Phish, Fish isn't the most prolific songwriter or singer, but he's made his mark in many other ways. Besides the drums, Fish has a number of different instruments in his repetoire. In concert he's played guitar, mandolin, bagpipes, and bass, although he's most well known for being the band's prolific vacuum player. While it's unclear how or why Fish began playing the vacuum (using his mouth and the hose to create different sounds), the band has been sure to make use of it on a regular basis. Fish on his vacuum is a crowd favorite, and he's even hooked his vacuum up to his bass to create the only documented Bag-Vac in rock and roll history.
Outside of Phish, Fish has probably been the least active member of the band. He founded the band Pork Tornado, and they released an album in 2002. The band disbanded after a tour, however. He has played occasionally with the Jazz Mandolin Project, a rotating cast of musicians that play primarily in the Burlington, Vermont area. He played a handful of shows with Yonder Mountain String Band in 2007 and 2008, although he never recorded with them. He's done occasional guest spots with other musicians, but he's never really been a part of any other band or toured with anyone other than Phish on a regular basis. For whatever reason, Fish has chosen to focus his musical energy almost 100% towards Phish, with very few side project.
What Phish fans get from that, though, is one of the most well respected jam-band drummers in the business. He provides the backbone of the band and does his best to keep order in the sometimes-chaos of Phish's live shows. He's been both comical and inspiring. And he's looked damn fine in a dress while doing it.
We'll start off with a '98 version of "Ghost"
Here's a fun version of "Harpua" from this year, with a couple of add-ins
A Talking Heads cover next, "Crosseyed and Painless"
And who doesn't want to hear Fish singing some Marvin Gaye? Here he is with some "Sexual Healing"
Just found this one. Ben Harper and Eddie Vedder on "Indifference"
Finally, Alabama 3 with an acoustic version of "Woke Up This Morning." Got to see these guys at Rothbury 2008, they're set was a lot of fun.
Phish announce Festival 8 schedule
Phish fans heading to California over Halloween for Festival 8 have a lot to be excited for. The band has announced the schedule for the weekend, and they'll be performing 8 sets over the three days. This will include their Halloween set, where the band, as they traditionally have, will cover an album in it's entirety. Rumors are floating to look for a Rolling Stones cover, but nothing's confirmed. They'll also be playing their first-ever all-acoustic full set at the "crack of noon" on Sunday morning. The weekend will include two sets on Friday, three on Saturday (starting at 3:30) and three on Sunday (starting with the noon performance).
String Cheese Incident readies Halloween box set
While we won't be getting a Halloween show this year from String Cheese Incident, they will be releasing a massive collection of music for fans. Trick or Treat will be released on October 27, and will be available both as a double-disc collection and a 9-disc box set. The 2 disc set will feature a "best of" compilation from various Halloween shows throughout the years (which consist almost exclusively of cover songs), while the 9-disc box set will consist of every "Hulaween" show from throughout the band's career, 7 sets in total. You can pre-order the sets, and the first 200 pre-orders of the 9-disc set will include a poster autographed by the entire band.
Umphrey's McGee announces New Years Eve shows, freeform shows
Umphrey's McGee will once again be in Chicago for New Years Eve, playing three shows in their hometown. December 29 will be at the intimate Vic Theatre while the 30th and 31st will be at the Aragon Ballroom. Opening acts and tickets will be announced soon.
In other UM news, the band has announced a series of "freeform shows" known as the Stew Art Series. These "S2" shows will be completely improvisational and inspired by crowd interaction. The crowd will be able to "direct" the jam by offering suggestions through text messages, cue cards, and who knows what else. The band will then use the inspiration from the audience to create their improvs. Few details have been released so far, but this sounds like one of the most ambitious and interesting ideas that I've heard of in a long time. It could be amazing or it could be a complete train wreck. The first S2 show be on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee. The show will start at 4, the event capacity is 50, and tickets are $99. They're available starting tomorrow on a first-come first-served basis through Umphrey's Ticketing.
Widespread Panic returns to Atlanta for NYE
After a year away, Widespread Panic will return to the Philips Arena for shows on December 30 and 31. The band had played Philips for new years every year since 1999 before moving to Denver for New Years last year. Fan Club tickets go on sale Monday, so if you're in the fan club you should get on that as soon as possible.
Further debuts, announces tour dates
The new collaboration between Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, called Further, played their first shows last weekend in Oakland. The band includes Lesh and Weir, along with members of RatDog, The Duo's, and Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra. The band has announced a few shows for December, but no word on if the band intends to enter the studio or how long they're planning on touring. If you're in the New York City area, there are a few shows you can check them out at.
December 8-9 New York, NY— Hammerstein Ballroom
December 11 Wallingford, CT—Chevrolet Theater @ Oakdale
December 12-13 Asbury Park, NJ—Asbury Park Convention Hall
moe. confirms more dates
moe.'s fall tour got a little more rounded out this week, as the band confirmed a handful of dates in November. The tour as it stands right now will bring them through mid-November with four dates in Texas. They're on tour now, so check them out if they're coming by.
November 1 Frederick, MD—Weinberg Center for the Arts
November 4 Raleigh, NC— Lincoln Theatre
November 5 Boone, NC—Legends at Appalachian State University
November 6 Athens, GA—Classic Center
November 7 Charleston, SC—The Music Farm
November 8 Nashville, TN—Cannery Ballroom
November 10 Memphis, TN—Minglewood Hall
November 12 Houston, TX—House of Blues Houston
November 13 Dallas, TX—Lakewood Theatre
November 14 Austin, TX—Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
Lotus and MSTRKRFT to co-headline NYE in Philly
New Years Eve in Philly will be Lotus's highest-profile Pennsylvania show to date, as the band will headline the Electric Factory with MSTRKRFT. The band will be playing a handful of shows in PA to get ready for the NYE gig. You can catch them next month on their "Pay What You Want" tour if you're in the South or West.
U-Melt covers Synchronicity
At the opening night of their tour, U-Melt played a two-set show that included the entire Synchronicity album during the first set at the Wormtown Music Festival in Greenfield MA. The band played the entire album bookended by their song "Through The Prism." The band will continue to tour throughout the fall, though no word if they plan to cover more albums.
Galactic goes New Orleans
Galactic is in the studio right now working on their latest effort. Unlike From the Corner to the Block, which featured primarily hip-hop collaborations, the new album will feature the band working with some musicians from New Orleans. Few details have been released, but the band has said that they're putting the finishing touches on the album, so we may see it either by the end of the year or the beginning of 2010.
Pretty Lights readies Passing Behind Your Eyes
Pretty Lights will be releasing their third album, Passing Behind Your Eyes on October 6. As with their previous albums, the album will be available for free on their website.
Well, I hop you had a good time this week. I have a busy week ahead of me. I'll be catching Michael Franti and Spearhead at the Newport in Columbus on September 30, and then I'll be heading north for the NORML Harvest Festival in Seville, Ohio on October 3. I won't be doing the whole weekend at the Harvest Festival, but a friend of mine is headlining on Saturday as a member of the Groove Prophets. Check them out on Facebook if you have a chance. If you're in Ohio and planning on going to either of these shows, let me know and you can buy me a drink. That'd be nice. Until then, Jam On!
