In the World of Phish, Things are going Swimmingly December 24, 1997 - Portland Oregonian By Brian McCollum Phish, that jammingest of jam bands, has cut down the safety net. After 14 years developing legions of devotees with its all-things-considered improvisation, the Vermont band has decided to quit using set lists on stage. Maybe it's no surprise. Gigging relentlessly -- and rehearsing several times a week -- can build telepathy among a quartet of music-minded guys, in this case Mike Gordon (bass), Trey Anastasio (guitar), Page McConnell (keyboards) and Jonathan Fishman (drums). "We used to have at least a sketch up there with us," Gordon says. "Lately it's been nothing, which is great, because it's more spontaneous. Usually it's Trey who starts playing a song, and everyone else just goes along with him. I'm so glad I'm in one of the only bands around doing that, because it does keep things fun." Gordon recently ruminated on a few of his favorite topics. * On recalling offbeat songs: "Trey will know if we haven't played a song in a few years and aren't likely to remember it. But that won't keep him from playing something obscure. We have the attitude that energy and inspiration is more important than getting the changes right. Especially with our own songs, the older stuff, a lot of times we won't remember all the notes, but we'll remember the rhythm and the phrasings. There's something neat about playing intricate music with a loose approach. * On outside misconceptions: "People who haven't seen the band will make certain assumptions. I met this girl working at a mall, and she was saying she wasn't going to our concert because she heard we were following in the footsteps of the Grateful Dead. She said she liked the Dead and wasn't into a band that was trying to copy somebody else. . . . That's the worst insult. We used to have that image -- to the outside, we seemed derivative. To us, we were doing something fresh." * On changing musical directions onstage as a unit: "For me a good concert is a series of dreams, the different jams. Dreams definitely go into some scary places and some joyful places, too. That's the beauty of improvisation -- it's all about connecting. The jazz people say to play what you hear -- if you don't hear anything, don't play anything. If you're doing that, you're moving as a group or being moved by the cosmos. So we move in directions together." Article © 1997 The Oregonian