We’d like to welcome our longtime friend and HT commenter Andy Kahn to the site with an editorial he wrote about the overwhelming acceptance of Phish by the mainstream media over the last few months. You can read more from Andy over at Loudlooppress. Welcome to the team, Andy…

From the mid ’90s until their breakup in 2004, Phish was often mocked by the mainstream press for a variety of reasons, namely their lack of radio and commercial success, relatively weak album sales, their obsessively devoted fan base of neo-hippies who follow them around to show after show (on drugs, always on drugs). With the band’s return at Hampton this past March the common perception of the group is not so common anymore, with Phish now getting treated like any other major act in the industry.

Phish has finally stepped out of the shadow of the Grateful Dead and are getting the respect they deserve. Every article written about them does not need to include a reference to their Dead-like fanbase or similar jamcentric style. Instead, music journos from a wide spectrum of publications are acknowledging the quartet as a band that broke the mold and created their own business model that never relied on album sales and mainstream commercial success but rather focused on the live performance and free sharing of their music amongst its fans.

Showing how far ahead of the curve they were, drummer Jon Fishman – in an interview with Rolling Stone in February 2003 stated, “I could fucking care less if everybody downloads our album off the Internet. We’re not in a position to be screwed by that at all. We have the one thing the Internet can’t touch – live music. If you can actually go out and play your fucking instruments, you won’t be replaced by the Internet. If you’re a good live act and you put on a good show, people will buy a ticket to see your show.”

READ ON for more from Andy on Phish and the mainstream…

Carrie Brownstein’s NPR blog Monitor Mix spent a week dissecting the enigma that is Phish.  A band as she puts it that “occupies a unique space in music: It is extremely popular with a large group of people, yet simultaneously misunderstood, judged and dismissed by another — particularly self-identified music snobs, indie rockers and a whole slew of other folks… Phish has never had a radio hit for non-fans to use as fodder or evidence.”  Much of her premise is that many critics and music lovers alike approach Phish with a negative bias and don’t give them a fair chance.  Yet, it seems ever so slightly (at least amongst mainstream outlets) the band is getting more respect.

Upon their return after five years broken up, Phish didn’t release an album, but rather went right back to what their best at: extensive touring.  And the mainstream media has covered the band’s return absent the usual snarkiness and snide comments that used to be consistently found in any piece written about the band in an effort to mock and discredit the achievements they were forced to cover.

After Bonnaroo, the coverage the band received from the mainstream media illustrated how far they’ve come out of the shadows and into the fabric of American culture.  Here are two posts from the New York Times site that may seem innocuous enough, but that’s the point, Phish’s Bonnaroo performances were covered right along side Bruce Springsteen and the two were treated as peers, not as a superstar and the ugly step-child. RollingStone and Billboard reported similarly.

The announcement of the three-day Halloween weekend Festival 8 also provides examples of a more accepting media. Take for instance this article posted on MTV’s site. There’s no mention of the Grateful Dead, no mention of drug using fans, no adjectives like “alternative” or “cult.”  Nope, it is simply a report about an announcement covered like any other band would be covered.  And this is MTV people, not exactly Phish’s best friend in the past.  (Idolator also covered the MTV story, again providing straight and accurate coverage) Even The Huffington Post ran a piece on the announcement, evidencing both mainstream awareness and acceptance.

So, am I saying that Phish has finally gotten the recognition it deserves?  Not by a long shot.  But in the era of bands getting back together (The Police, Genesis, Jane’s Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, The Pixies etc. etc.) it is nice to see that they are getting a fair(er) shake this time around and being credited for creating a unique and successful footprint on the music industry.  Phish is great band that got back together to do what it does best – put on killer performances night in and night out for the people that pay to see them play – with no other adjectives or caveats necessary.

HT Staff

Hidden Track was started in October of 2006 and features a team of dedicated contributors from across the country. This article was written by one of the newest members of our team or was a collaboration by more than one contributor. Want to contribute to Hidden Track? Send us a pitch to scott at glidemagazine dot com.

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