This remnant will be replaced soon. The FAQ is back, with a new design! HEADERHERE... Albums: Official - Related - Compilations Promo: Early Demos - Discs - Singles Etc: For-Sale Singles - In-Studio Guesting Other Discographies * Asterisked titles are available for purchase from Phish.com. "The White Album" - The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday Junta - Lawnboy - Picture of Nectar - Rift - Hoist - A Live One Billy Breathes - Slip Stitch and Pass - Story of the Ghost One Man's Trash - Surrender to the Air - The Siket Disc Hampton Comes Alive Live Phish releases Round Room Next Release(s) - Singles "The whole record industry and major label thing was never our primary goal. It has always been to play live, practice a lot, and write the best songs we think we can."-- Page McConnell, Williams College Campus Calendar (11:2), 3/92 Early Demo Tapes Bivouac Jaun, circa Oct-Dec 1983 TMWSIY: unofficially circulated, Trey's senior project, produced on Mike's 4-track in a dorm during their early years; about Gamehendge. The White Album: recorded early 1984, unofficially circulated; possibly multiple versions, of mixes Trey happened to make for the parent of that version's lineage, often as gifts. An early demo (circa 1989) reportedly featured "Mike's Song", which didn't appear on an album until Slip Stitch and Pass. There's also a tape sometimes confused with that one, put out in the late 1980s by All Points Booking (look for the small handdrawn "apb") and sent to clubs as late as mid-1990. Side A is originals (Golgi Apparatus, Fee, David Bowie, and Fluffhead) and Side B is covers (I know a Little and Sneakin' Sally). At least two other pre-Junta demos were 4-tracked by Trey, though copies of these are rare and largely untraded. A tape (copies float about) of Junta outtakes, sent to clubs and promoters in the late 80s as a promotional tape, with: Fee, David Bowie, Fluffhead, Golgi Apparatus, Wilson, Lizards (labeled as Land of the Lizards), The Curtain (with slow "Rift" middle part), Sloth, Contact, I Didn't Know. A 1990 Wendell Studios session rendered two tapes. Tape 1: Dog Log, Uncle Penn, Suzie Greenberg, Caravan, Alumni Blues, A-Train, In a Mellow Tone, Possum, Mike's Song > H2 > Weekapaug. Tape 2: TMWSIY > Avenu malkenu > TMWSIY, Tweezer, Possum, Harry Hood, Rift, Runaway Jim. "I'm not sure if we have ever gone in and recorded an old song. Maybe there is a time we brought out something from the past, but we're always forging forward. Most of those old songs may never make it on albums but it would be nice to get some of them on there." -- Mike in Billboard, 12/21/02 Official Phish Albums Junta: 1st official release (tape only) independently produced. Recorded in late 1988 and early 1989, at Euphorie Sound Studios, in Revere, Mass, with engineer Gordon Hookaloo. Originally released in 1989 (copyright 1988). Manufactured by Absolute A GoGo, as an affiliate of distributor Rough Trade. First pressing cover has pink-and-white photo of screaming man (thought to be Ben 'Junta' Hunter); second pressing (much more common) has black-and-white Pollak design. In the two pressings, 10,000 copies were printed (some on vinyl, most on cassettes sold at shows), but Rough Trade closed its doors soon after printing, and went out of business in mid- to late-1991, just before Phish signed with Elektra. Rereleased by Elektra in August 1992. Lawn Boy: 2nd official release (tape & disc); independently produced and released (with a Sommerville Theatre release party) 9/21/90 by Absolute A-Go-Go rereleased on disc by Elektra(*). Recorded in 1988 in Dan Archer's Archer Studios, in Winooski, VT, with engineers Dan Archer and Deal LaBrie. Re-released 6/29/92. * Picture of Nectar: 1st Elektra release (disc & digalog). PON recorded in May and June, and mixed and mastered in August of 1991 at White Crow Studios, Burlington, (when and where the band also spent two weeks recording with the Dude of Life). engineer? Released 2/18/92. * Lawn Boy re-release on Elektra * Junta: two-disc re-release (see above) with bonus (live) tracks; Elektra (ditto), August of 1992. Gold (over 500,000 copies sold). * Rift: Elektra; conceptual project (ditto). Produced by Barry Beckett (the band's first album producer), engineered by Kevin Halpin, recorded at White Crow in Burlington September and October of 1992. Released 2-2-93 (the scheduled release date). Gold (over 500,000 copies sold). * Hoist: Produced by Paul Fox (who was reportedly convinced by the 7-25-93 Waterloo show). Recorded in the fall of 1993 at the American Recording Company in Woodland Hills, CA, with engineer Ed Thacker. Released 3/29/94 (the scheduled release date) by Elektra. * A Live One: 2-disc, 140 minute compilation of live material recorded on multi-track during the fall of 1994. Released 6/27/95 (5/27/95?) by Elektra. Platinum (over 1 million copies sold). Stash, released only in Europe (primarily Germany), in summer 1996 (copyright 1995), a compilation of US-releated tracks, including selections from every (official) album up to and including A Live One. * Billy Breathes: Released in the U.S. 10/15/96; in Europe 1/17/97; in Japan late 1997. Produced by Steve Lillywhite (Rolling Stones, U2, Dave Matthews Band, et al.) * Slip Stitch and Pass: Relased in the U.S. 10/28/97. Recorded .. * The Story of the Ghost: Released in the U.S. 10/28/98. Recorded... * Farmhouse: Released in the U.S. 5/16/00. Recorded... Next album(s) "I think we haven't made very good albums." -- Trey, Addicted to Noise, 6/95 Related Official Albums * The Dude of Life's Crimes of the Mind (recorded in 1991, released 10/25/94) might arguably be included: Phish backs the Dude, it's billed as "The Dude of Life and Phish", and many record stores file it under Phish. * Surrender to the Air (released spring 1996) also deserves mention. Trey and Fishman with nine other musicians (Allen, Burbridge x 2, Choice, Gullotti, Harvey, Medeski, Ray, and Ribot). Not really Phish, but 1/2 of them and definitely worth checking out! The Siket Disc, released June 1999, of outtakes from the Bearsville Studio sessions that produced Ghost. The tracks are: My Left Toe, The Name Is Slick, What's The Use, Fish Bass, Quadrophonic Toppling Insects, Title Track, and Albert "Phish has exceeded all the expectations I had at 20, but there is room for musical growth. All of us hope to make our mark, to be the kind of band that once the needle drops, you know it is Phish." -- Trey Anastasio, Billboard Magazine, 10/3/98 In-Studio Guest Appearances Jon Fishman is featured on Lost Paradox, a February 1993 release (available only at the merchandise tables of Phish shows, and only then, and only for a short period) of J. Willis Pratt (old link was http://www.goddard.edu/wgdr/willis/), who appeared during Pork Tornado's set break at the Club Toast April 1996 and again (this time with Fishman on drums) in May 1997. Fishman tours in January/February 1998 as drummer for the revised Jazz Mandolin Project's "Tour de Flux". Page McConnell is featured on "Holden Oversoul" Widespread Panic's Space Wrangler (Capricorn, 1992); and on the British band Travis' album Good Feeling, according to Brandyn Bowden (10/14/97), who said Travis is "a band that Oasis considers the best band out there." Ben Greenberg (1/3/98) sent this snippet from the liner notes: "Keyboards on "Good Feeling" [the song, and title track] by Page McConnell. Page McConnell appears courtesy of The Elektra Entertainment Group". Mike played bass on and cowrote "Fraction" (2:04) on Gordon Stone's Touch and Go (Alcazar Productions, 1995); and played bass on "Star of Gladness" on the Fiji Mariners (featured Col. Bruce Hampton, Retired) Fiji (Capricorn, 1996) release. Jon played vacuum on (as?) one track of Feast of Fools, a 1996 holiday compilation produced by the Magic Hat Brewery, in Burlington. Trey is plays guitar on "Samson Riffs", one track on Samson Riffs: The Music of Ernie Stires (Phish Dry Goods, 1997), the release from his Goddard College mentor, Ernie Stires. Jon and Trey appear as part of Surrender to the Air. Mike and Page appear with The Meters on the opening track of Get You A Healin', a benefit compilation released in the New Orleans late April 1999 to coincide with JazzFest. It is currently (5/6/99) available in Tower Records and Virgin Records stores in that area, and will be available via Dry Goods within the month. Compilation Appearances Phish (with Burlington's Richard "the Clarinet Man" Haupt on clarinet) cut "Rocketsled's Funky Main Man Meets Big Joe on Church Street" (lyrics by Rocketsled, music by Phish) for Good Citizen's Burlington Does Burlington two-disc compilation set, which also featured The Pants covering Phish's "Golgi Apparatus". A compilation called Mainstream American Rock was reported to be released in summer of 1997, featuring Phish (not sure what song), Better than Ezra, Jackson Browne, Nanci Griffith, Hootie and the Blowfish, and others. "Plus, it has artwork and that sort of thing." -- Mike Gordon, Plattsburgh Press-Republican, 8/16/96 For-Sale Singles "Down with Disease" (with a radio edit of Julius, according to Nick Johnston) - released 1994, on analog audio cassette only, with an eight-minute "N02" on the b-side "Free" (LP version; 3:48) was sold as a disc single in Germany, Australia, United Kingdom (Elektra index #7559-64205-2; made in Germany), also featuring "Theme From the Bottom" (LP version; 6:22) and the bonus track (not available on any other release) "Strange Design" (LP version; 3:14). The only picture is on the cover and features band standing in an alley in Italy; Fishman is wearing the 'Moses Brown' T-shirt. "... nobody ever comes just to hear a single, everybody is there for the same reason, including us: to get to that point where you kind of step through the membrance or something, and all of a sudden you're in his wwwusshhht - and it's so fun to be there." -- Trey Anastasio, Spin magazine 12/95 Promotional Singles "Chalkdust Torture": 4:45 radio version, released 2/92, also on Picture of Nectar. The inner sleeve (which has the same album art as PON) says: "Chalk Dust Torture Is One Of The Sixteen Songs On Phish's Debut Elektra Album A Picture Of Nectar." "The Wedge" full album version, released mid-1992, also on Picture of Nectar. "Fast Enough for You": single-edit (radio version), released 2/93, also on Rift. "Down with Disease" radio version, released 1994, also on Hoist. The cover is black and white and has Phish standing in a dead forest. Also, an official single release (see above), but the promo single did not have NO2 on the b-side. "Sample in a Jar": LP version, released 1994, second single released from Hoist "Julius" -- 3:34 single-edit radio version, released 1995, third from Hoist. The cover has Fishman standing on his hands on a barbell, the rest of the band is clapping. "Bouncin Around the Room": 3:45 LP version which appears on A Live One, released 1995. A picture on the cover shows Mike onstage with Trey soaring in the background on a tramp. The inner sleeve says: "'Bouncing Around The Room' is the premiere single from Phish's forthcoming album 'PHISH LIVE.' 'PHISH LIVE' captures Vermont's favorite sons in their natural habitat - on the concert stage - with over 125 minutes of music including six previously unreleased songs. Phish's 1994 tour put the band in Pollstar Magazine's Top 50 grossing acts of the year." Some fall '95 tourdates follow. Maybe also have been released as a for-sale single, but not certain. May also have been released years earlier to some VT stations after the initial LawnBoy release. "Gumbo": 5:15 LP version from A Live One, released 1995. "Free" (American release): 3:48 LP version, released 1996, from Billy Breathes. The sleeve has the same album art as the full disc. Also released (in Germany) as a single, with otherwise-unreleased "Strange Design" on the b-side. "Character Zero": released 1997, with two versions: the 3:59 (single-edit) LP version and a 3:26 radio remix. "Cities" and _?_: rumoredly released 1998, also on Slip Stitch and Pass Promotional Discs/Samplers Beyond demos (listed above), the first promotional sampler was a collection sent to Elektra as a primer for what Rift would look like. Mostly put together from soundboards from 4/15-22/92, it featured: Brother, It's Ice, Runaway Jim, NICU, My Friend My Friend, Horn, Sparkle, Fee, Horse > Silent in the Morning, Mound, Weigh, My Mind's Got a Mind of It's Own, Rift, and Sleeping Monkey. A Phish CD called A Sampler was sent to radio stations in 1993. It contained two tracks each from Picture of Nectar, Rift, and Junta, and one from Lawn Boy. The insert says something like "Phish's summer tour 1993. Bigger audiences, mostly outdoor venues, no support." or something very similar. Then it lists their summer itinerary of '93. A promo of Hoist, sent to disc jockeys and radio stations, came in a canvas bag w/ the word 'Phish' written in orange letters on one side and the word 'Hoist' written on the other side. Attached to the bag was a small metal pulley (playing on the hoist theme), to which was attached a brown tag that says on one side "HOIST: it's in the bag. On the other side of the tag it says: "They've netted over half a million records sold. Their 1993 concert attendance tipped the scale at 312,000. They sold out a 14,000-seat arena in seven hours. What can they do now to get these numbers higher?" "... let's say you're playing a 2,000 seat arena. And then all of a sudden you have a hit single and are playing at 10,000 seat places. You know 8,000 of them are there to hear that single. So should you play the hit single? It's kind of a no-win situation. If you don't play it, you're kind of looking at the audience and saying, 'There, I'm not going to play this hit single, fuck it.' If you do play it, you're looking at the audience going, 'Well, here it is.'" -- Trey Anastasio, _, _ Other Discographies Jonathan Jacob for track listings and timings Phish.Net Albums Page for the base of official US-released albums Miles Abrams for Elektra order numbers, and cover images ORDERING DISCS Of those still in print (asterisked in discography, above), some can be ordered directly from the band's merchandise arm, Dry Goods. (see also hardcopy) as well as from places like Homegrown Music Network and Leeway Productions. A complete list of order numbers for Phish from the 2 CD clubs, thanks to initial help from Neil Berkman Release Columbia House BMG Junta 452219 2163699 Lawnboy 439075 1163682 Nectar 436824 1163674 Rift 454322 1012384 Hoist 477919 1027242 A Live One n/a 2089225 Billy Breathes n/a 1159342 Columbia House Customer Service: (812) 466-8125 BMG Music Service Customer Service: (317) 692-9200 also, BMG email: 73654.305@compuserve.com, fax 317-542-6244 Neil Berkman mentioned (10/5/94) the CD Club World Wide Web page at http://biogopher.wustl.edu:70/1/audio/bmg. It includes a CD Club FAQ, a searchable index for BMG, and information on _very_ good deals from both clubs. Two of the selections are available from Columbia House and were listed in the January 1993 _Music Source_ as follows (in part): --Lawn Boy: 1990 reissue from free-jamming retro-rockers. The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony, My Sweet One, Bathtub Gin; Reba; title cut; more. 439075 --A Picture of Nectar: Take rock and jazz. Add calypso, reggae, and barbershop. Stir. Chalk Dust Torture; Guelah Papyrus; The Mango Song; etc. 436824 See also, Music Boulevard. "It may take another 30 years, but we will eventually put out the perfect album, Zen-style. We'd all be blissed out, right in the moment, and 30 minutes later we'd just put our instruments down and that'd be it: an album of perfect silence. Then we'd be finished as a band. It would be the end of the evolution of music. No one will ever play music again after hearing that album. And you'll hear perfect silence in your head for as long as you live." -- Trey, Guitar World Feb 1999, p. 106 Etc. Fall 02 - Jon Fishman plays percussion on two tracks of the Tin Hat Trio's upcoming release "The Rodeo Eroded", out Septmber 10th on Rope-A-Dope records. The album also features appearances by Willie Nelson and Billy Martin. The title is pretty descriptive of the album's sound, an amalgam of jazz, classical, country, tango, blues, and more. For more information, check out tinhattrio.com See also performance and nonperformance side projects, and videos; and the Helping Phriendly Book, which is available from the archive; and a discography in French. Thanks also to Nick Johnston, Hardy Childers, Daniel W. Mielcarz, Hal Waterman, Michael John Gaito, Scott Weiser, Mark Hutchison, Tom Costello, and Matthew S. Cramer, and Austin Crossley "...more and more I think the worst thing that could happen to a band is to have a hit single, because you weaken your fan base. People start coming in that aren't interested in the whole thing, and then they're expecting to hear that one song. There's so much stuff that comes along with it. The record company wants another one. You think they're going to stop at one? I mean, once they've had a tase, they want more. And you may just ignore them completely, and good for you. But you're still going to have to deal with that shit, with people coming to the concert just to hear that one song, that subtle feeling of, 'Oh, we had a huge hit, we'd better make another one.' There's too much false stuff going on. It seems to me that things just happen too fast for bands."" -- Trey Anastasio, to Addicted to Noise, c. 6/95" This page last updated February 03, 2007. All contents © 1992-2007 Ellis Godard. All rights reserved.