THE PHISH HISTORY PAGE
MY PHISH ALBUMS
- JUNTA
- A LIVE ONE
- RIFT
- BILLY BREATHES
- LAWN BOY
1983: Inception - Trey, majoring in philosophy, Fish, studying chemical engineering, & Mike, with a major in electrical engineering, are freshmen at University of Vermont; Jeff Holdsworth, also an EE major, is a sophomore there. Trey hears Fish playing his drumkit from outside his dorm-room door. He also walks by Jeff's room and hears Jeff's '57 Les Paul (guitar). The three of them get together and Trey posts a sign: bass player needed. Mike answers the sign; they get together for a jam session, and Mike says, "Did I make it?"
They practice in the dorm lounge and make a demo tape. They play their first gig as "Blackwood Convention" in the basement of a conservative dorm. They use a hockey stick as a mic stand, play "Proud Mary" twice, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" once, and eventually are shut down so that a Michael Jackson tape can be played.
1984: Trey takes the second semester off and records "Bivouac Jaun" in his basement; many cuts of this 4-track project mixed with Mike's 4-track tapes and a few 4-track-in-the-bedroom tracks by the band end up on Phish's first studio project known as "The White Phish Tape".