Phishin' For Phans October 18, 1996 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Scott Mervis Even back when the Grateful Dead were still truckin', there was something Phishy going on in the parking lot. From the backs of those VWs (and BMWs) you could hear not only vintage Dead tapes but the latest shows by the quirky Vermont band Phish. Among Deadheads, Phish tapes were being traded, tour dates discussed and T-shirts peddled, with slogans like ''One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, New Phish.'' Phishheads were being hatched. So, when Jerry Garcia died last year, leaving the Dead community in a shambles, it was only natural that Phish would reel them in. Of course, Deadheads always did follow other like-minded bands, and with the Dead out of the picture, gravitated toward newcomers like Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band and Rusted Root, as well as old-timers Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers and Neil Young. But in the long run, Phishheads just might prevail. Dennis McNally, longtime Grateful Dead publicist, says Deadheads are drawn to Phish because of a ''certain hippie looseness, social dynamic and the improvisational nature of the music. Everyone says, 'Phish, the logical heirs to the Grateful Dead,' but the clearest thing I can see is the way the members relate to audiences. It's a complete relationship and not just money.'' Will Sheff, 25 of Pittsburgh, is into both bands and in August ventured up to the Clifford Ball, Phish's weekend festival in Plattsburgh, N.Y. ''Phish's rise in popularity,'' he says, ''as well as everything else about them, with the exception of the music, mirrors the Dead. At this point, in their 13th year, they're almost at the same exact point the Dead were in their career.'' Sheff says the Phish scene caught on at just the right time. ''Phish hit this popularity the year Jerry died. A lot of 18-year-olds who never saw the Dead, but would have, given the chance, went to see Phish.'' Early on, Phish acknowledged the Dead by playing a few covers. But mostly, the similarities have been in the marketing. The Dead never bounced on trampolines, played vacuum cleaners or covered entire albums by other bands. Dave Gasbarro, who's in his mid-30s and fronts the Grateful Dead tribute band Fungus, will see Phish tonight with an open mind, but has yet to declare himself a Phishhead. ''I've tried to listen to them, but they haven't sparked me,'' he says. ''They don't take it seriously. They have all this talent, but it turns me off when they're doing sitcom theme songs. And yet, they can play 'Quadrophenia' or 'The White Album,' and I respect that.'' Tom Donaldson, a well-known Pittsburgh Deadhead who has shared his 2,000 hours of tapes on WYEP and WRCT over the years, is in a similar boat. ''I have a couple albums and tapes and I keep in touch with the Phish way of life, which has the intention of keeping alive the Dead's touring philosophy.'' Donaldson fears that the Phish scene, though, suffers from a lot of the negative elements that the Dead scene did in later years when a younger generation jumped on for the ''run away with the circus'' atmosphere. ''Younger Heads, because they don't have the long-term connection - those who are into 'kind' buds and veggie burritos - attempt to continue the lifestyle, like monkeys pouring through textbooks and trying to interpret it; following but not knowing why. They know only of the manifestation of the spirit, not the spirit. The closer they get to the 'kind' spirit, the better; the further they get toward just wanting to get blasted, the more negativity they bring.'' ''I'd have to strongly disagree with that,'' Sheff says. ''There's a palpable intensity. They are so into the band and what they're doing. It directly mirrors what Deadheads felt about the Dead. The crowd is foaming at the mouth for these intense jams.'' © 1996 P.G. Publishing Company