Something Phishy April 28, 1993 - Hartford Advocate By Meredith Brown Phish brings its legendary live show to Hartford A typical Phish show might have Jon Fishman, the band's drummer, stripping off his clothes while jumping on a trampoline, or producing beautiful sounds out of a 1967 Electra Lux vacuum cleaner. Sea World this isn't. But this whirlwind of a band puts on almost as good a show, as area fans will discover April 30, when Phish takes over the University of Hartford's Sports Center. The band's prowess live is no secret--in fact, it's legendary. Mike Gordon on bass and vocals, Page McConnell on keyboards and vocals, Jon "Tubbs" Fishman on drums, trombone and vacuum cleaner and Trey Anastasio on guitar and lead vocals have created a loyal following of "Phish-heads," addicted to their profoundly wacky lyrics and intense stage presence. The band sells out virtually all its shows, including the one at the University of Hartford. The UHa show comes near the end of a grueling 70-gig, three-and-a-half- month tour. During a phone interview from a Hamilton, New York hotel room, leadsinger Anastasio complains the guys can barely differentiate one hotel room fromanother. "We've gone for five- to nine-day periods where we had a gig every night. At times we're seeing nothing but the hotel, the venue, and the bus," says Anastasio. It's hard to feel sorry for them--the bus has Nintendo, and the guys managed to do some skiing in Colorado and surfing in California. And the constant touring has served them well. "[Touring] is the hard way, the only way, the best way," Anastasio says of the band's philosophy. It'show they've structured their career. Rather than getting signed, getting air- play and then going on tour when album sales looked promising, Phish did it all backwards. They started playing mostly in the Vermont, New Hampshire, Boston and Western Massachusetts area. Through word of mouth and bootlegs, Phish steadily gained in popularity. "The record companies are scratching their heads because they can't understand why our ticket sales are so high yet our record sales are so low," Anastasio says. To date, Phish has recorded four albums: Junta, recorded independently to sell at shows, then re-released on the Elektra label; Lawn Boy; Picture of Nectar; and their latest, Rift. Junta featured such favorites as "Fee," "Let's Go Out To Dinner and See a Movie," and "Wash Your Face and Drive Me To..." No one can seem to figure out the words to the last song, although the beat causes almost involuntary movementof the body. "We get a lot of mail asking about those lyrics," says Anastasio, who opts to preserve the mystery. {Although we all know it's really Water Your Team... :-)} Lawn Boy, their first album released on Elektra, featured upbeat versions of most of their famous live pieces, like "Bouncing Around the Room," and "Split Open and Melt." A Picture of Nectar won great reviews for its blend of rock, reggae, and what the band likes to call an inspired goofiness. But Rift, their most recent work, resonates with a more mature tone. "Tom and I heard Eric Clapton's 'Tears in Heaven,' and thought 'This guy writes ballads that are really personal, they break your heart,'" says Anastasio. "This became a challenge for us. Rift is really personal, because it is about things that happen in our lives." Clapton is only one artist among many Anastasio cites as influences. Miles Davis on _Dark Magus_, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Arrested Development, and Gospel have all contributed to the Phish sound. Anastasio also found a professional role model-mentor in Carlos Santana when they were on tour togetherlast year. "Santana is a family man, a father, he manages to live a normal life fora touring rock musician. His family rule is that he cannot tour for longer thana three-week period without going home for at least a ten-day period," Anastasio says. "Santana is doing it for the same reason he started 30 years ago. He loves to jam, he pushes his band hard, and he lives his philosophy which you can hear in his music: If you want to move your audience's spirit you have to mean the music from your heart." Phish never has a problem moving the audience, because the bottom line is, these guys love to play. "The record company's job is to sell records," says Anastasio. "Our job is to make good music and to put on good shows."