"Down with Disease" was Phish's breakthrough single on American rock radio, reaching #33 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in June 1994.[1] It was first played live December 31, 1993, as a jam without lyrics.[2] "Down with Disease" was released as a single by Elektra on both CD and cassette. The compact disc version of the single was a promotional item issued to radio stations, while the cassette edition was issued to retail. The CD only includes "Down with Disease", while the cassette also contains "NO2", an experimental musique concrète composition that features dental drill sound effects. A different recording of "NO2" appeared on the band's 1986 demo release The White Tape.
In concert, "Down With Disease" has spanned from three, to ten, to over twenty minutes, often featuring full band improvisation. The longest standalone rendition of this song was the April 21, 2024 performance, which clocked in at 33 minutes and 56 seconds".[3]
Music video
A music video was created for the song, directed by Phish bassistMike Gordon, that showed the members of the band scuba diving through an aquarium. The video was partially shot during the song's debut live performance, at the band's December 31, 1993 New Year's Eve concert at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts.[4] During the performance, the stage was decorated with aquarium props for the music video shoot.[4] The video appeared a few times on MTV, including an abbreviated version on Beavis and Butt-head.
The "Down with Disease" music video is the only one that has been produced by the band during its 35-year career, apart from a semi-official 1991 fan-made video for the song "Esther".[5]
Billy Breathes is the sixth studio album by American rock band Phish, released by Elektra Records on October 15, 1996. The album was credited with connecting the band, known for its jam band concerts and devoted cult following, with a more mainstream audience. The first single, "Free", was the band's most successful song on two Billboard rock charts, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart and at #24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart. The album itself became the band's highest-charting album on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number seven.
Undermind is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Phish, released on June 15, 2004 by Elektra Records. The album was the group's last release before they disbanded in August 2004. It is also their final studio release for Elektra Records ; When the band reunited in 2009, their subsequent albums would be released through their own JEMP Records label which had launched in December 2005 for live releases.
Rift is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on February 2, 1993, by Elektra Records. It is a concept album, detailing the experience of a man dreaming about the rift in his relationship with his girlfriend. Rift was recorded in September and October 1992 and produced by Barry Beckett. Rift was certified gold by the RIAA on October 15, 1997.
Farmhouse is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Phish. The album was released on May 16, 2000, by Elektra Records. Farmhouse was the last Phish studio album before their two-year hiatus between October 2000 and December 2002.
Hoist (stylized as (HOIST)) is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on March 29, 1994, by Elektra Records. At the time of its release, Hoist was Phish's best selling album to date, peaking at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on August 19, 1996, and remains the band's best-selling studio release, outsold in their discography only by the platinum-certified A Live One.
The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday is a 1988 concept album written by Trey Anastasio, the guitarist and lead vocalist of the American rock band Phish, as his senior thesis while attending Goddard College. Completed in July 1988, the thesis included an essay piece and collection of songs relating an epic tale from the band's fictional land of Gamehendge.
"Birds of a Feather" is a 1998 song by the American band Phish. It is the second track from their 1998 album The Story of the Ghost and was released as their twelfth promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a funk rock song written by the entire band and lyricist Tom Marshall, and was influenced by Talking Heads.
Live Phish Vol. 2 was recorded live on July 16, 1994, and was released on September 18, 2001, as part of the Live Phish Series. The show was performed on the side of a ski slope at the Sugarbush Resort in the town of North Fayston, located in Phish's home state of Vermont. It was the final concert of the band's highly successful 1994 summer tour. Earlier in the year, the band had released its highest selling album to date (Hoist) and the size of the Phish audience had expanded greatly by the summer. The Sugarbush concert, which included overnight camping on the ski slope under the stars, was slated as the grand finale of the tour.
Phish: Live in Vegas (2000) is a video of a complete live performance by the rock band Phish recorded at the Thomas & Mack Center on September 30, 2000, bandleader Trey Anastasio's 36th birthday. It includes many rarities and songs that were brought out of "retirement" after long periods of inactivity.
Live Phish Vol. 11 is a live album by American rock band Phish, which was recorded live at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 17, 1997.
Phish is a demo album released by the American rock band Phish on cassette in 1986. Often cited as the first Phish "album", The White Tape was originally a collection of original material that the band used as a demo/sample tape for venues, and was sometimes labelled "Phish" or simply "Demo". The album was widely circulated among Phish fans for more than a decade before being officially released in 1998.
Walnut Creek is a concert DVD released on August 8, 2008, by the rock band Phish. It was performed on July 22, 1997, at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh, North Carolina during a stormy night, the second show of their 1997 U.S. summer tour.
The Clifford Ball is a seven-DVD box set released on March 3, 2009 by the rock band Phish. It was performed on August 16 and August 17, 1996 at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, NY, chronicling the first of ten Phish festivals. The collection received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package in 2009.
Chicago '94 is a live album by the rock band Phish. It contains two complete concerts on six CDs, and was recorded at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois on June 18 and November 25, 1994. It was released by JEMP Records on July 31, 2012.
"Cavern" is a 1992 song by the American band Phish. It is the third track from their 1992 album A Picture of Nectar and was also released as their second promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a beat-driven funk rock song written by Phish guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Scott Herman and Tom Marshall.
“Cavern” has been a rock in Phish’s rotation since early 1990. While most fans have become accustomed to the song as a set-closer or encore, initially it was much more versatile, appearing just about everywhere in the setlist. It was only beginning in 1992 that the band began utilizing it in its current role. In fact, beginning in fall 1992, well over half of the performances of “Cavern” have come either at the close of a set or during an encore. And no wonder: the song’s straight-up rock feel and fist-pumping climax make it a fitting exclamation point on the end of an evening of more excursionary jamming.
"Chalk Dust Torture" is a 1992 song by the American band Phish. It is the thirteenth track from their 1992 album A Picture of Nectar and was also released as their first promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a riff-based, fast-paced rock song written by Phish guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall. The studio recording features a lowered pitch effect on Anastasio's lead vocal, and in order to accommodate the lower pitch, the song's typical key of E was dropped to Eb. "Chalk Dust Torture" was the band's first song to receive significant radio airplay, peaking at No. 53 on the Radio & Records Album-oriented rock chart in 1992.
"Fast Enough for You" is a 1993 song by the American band Phish. It is the second track from their 1993 concept album Rift and was released as their third promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a slow-tempo ballad written by Phish guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall. The studio recording features a pedal steel guitar performed by Gordon Stone.
In "Fast Enough for You," Tom Marshall (lyricist) supposes that we wouldn’t burden each other as we do with weighty expectations and needs unmet, and things would be a whole lot happier. But that’s not the way it is, and the lover to whom our narrator speaks is not content with the pace of the affair. He is thus a target for her scorn.
"Sample in a Jar" is a song by the American band Phish. It was released as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, Hoist. The song peaked at No. 49 on the Radio & Records Rock chart.
On the surface, the lyrics seem to deal with a relationship argument while intoxicated. In The Phish Book, Trey mentioned that the song is “basically about sitting in a car with the seatbelt on, drunk.”
"Julius" is a 1994 song by the American band Phish. It is the first track from their 1994 album Hoist and was released as their seventh promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a blues rock song written by Phish guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall. The song features backing vocals by Rose Stone, Jean McClain and the Rickey Grundy Chorale and horn instruments by the Tower of Power Horn Section.
"Gumbo" is a song by the American band Phish. It is a funk/jazz song written around 1990 by Phish guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Anastasio and drummer Jon Fishman. It is the third track from their 1995 live album A Live One and was released as their ninth promotional single by Elektra Records in 1995.
Like "Split Open and Melt," "Gumbo" started out as a strong tune but one that had a destiny that didn’t lie solely in its composition. A mix of acid jazz and loose funk attended with three-part harmonies and silly lyrics, it had all the ingredients for greatness. The first several versions clearly lacked something, which seemed to be fulfilled with the addition of horns – five times on the Giant Country Horn tour in 1991 and twice with the West Coast return of the horns. The (12/2/94) version appears on A Live One as well as the European compilation, Stash.
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