Phish Splash November 24, 1995 - The Dayton Daily News By Gene Stout In describing the eclectic sound of Phish, bassist Mike Gordon uses a gardening analogy. ''Over the years we've studied a lot of different styles of music,'' Gordon said by telephone between bites of a room-service fruit salad. ''We tried to learn something about jazz and bluegrass and Latin and other styles. It was like a composting thing, where it all went back into the soil of our music.'' The band is on a tour that brings them to Wright State University at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The four-member band was a big Phish in a small pond after forming 12 years ago at the University of Vermont. By the early '90s, the group was selling out college-town clubs around the United States. But it wasn't until 1994 that Phish made its biggest mark, playing to 600,000 fans at more than 100 concerts, including a sold-out show Dec. 30 at Madison Square Garden. The group's jam-oriented style, neo-hippie humor and cultlike following have drawn comparisons to the Grateful Dead. Gordon said he and his fellow band members - singer-guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell and drummer Jon Fishman - sometimes find it annoying. ''There's no reason to deny the comparisons,'' Gordon said. ''Our crowd is a lot like theirs. We've adopted a following that is open to improvisational music and willing to listen to whatever happens, whether it's good or bad.'' Gordon doubts longtime Deadheads will become Phish-heads, despite the death of Jerry Garcia in August and the Dead's uncertain future. ''Actually, real Deadheads probably wouldn't like us,'' he said. Phish's smooth, intricate blend of rock, jazz, bluegrass, country and other styles comes across on such humorously titled, jam-oriented songs as Bouncing Around the Room, You Enjoy Myself, Chalkdust Torture, Slave to the Traffic Light and the 35-minute Tweezer - all included on the current live double-album, A Live One (Elektra Records). Phish allows its fans to tape concerts, in part to thwart bootleggers who peddle crudely recorded albums. Phish's current album, A Live One, was created by winnowing more than 500 songs the band recorded during last year's tour. With so many live songs, the band had little trouble finding its best material.