Someone once said that History becomes Fiction in the very act of writing it down. When the Phish tour dates were finally announced I thought a lot about that quote and my recent position in life.

I find myself almost 30 and well on the path that Phish themselves sent me on almost 14 years ago. The upside is my career is everything I’ve ever wanted and I couldn’t be happier. The downside is I won’t be able to just run off and follow the impetus for my career in the music business like I use to. A new, younger touring generation will be filling the aisles this summer and that brings up, dare I say… bittersweet feelings. I feel there is a need for the veterans to address the new rats with where we went wrong in order to hopefully not make this Era of Phishtory as destructive as the last.

To You, the New Class of Phishtorians I offer these words of warning and encouragement. It’s great to see that Phish is still scoring young in the demographics and you will be finding a way to tell your parents you won’t be a camp counselor this year, but rather, discarding the trappings of The Machine and getting in your car to cruise the land of the brave and free (thank you Ween).

Here are some pointers from a guy who has been in the trenches, learned from said trenches, and now, am getting paid to live on a tour bus and see great music night in and night out. In short: These words come road tested.

READ ON for Wade’s three tips for post-Breakup Phish fans…

1) It’s a Marathon, Not a Race:  Listen, I know you got a screamin’ deal on a kilo of molly and can re-up once you get to Shoreline, but chill just the same.  You’ve got a responsibility to not only yourself, but the band and its organization to not drop dead out there. EVERYONE LIKES TO PARTY!  No one is taking that right from you, but just keep a good pace, hydrate, and watch those around you.  I see so many young kids overdoing it BIGTIME and it scares me.

2) To The Phishtorians:  For those of you up-and-coming journalists and bloggers out there, I have some things to say that you better take to the heart, as I am disgusted with my generation’s reporting of our era of Phishtory.  NO ONE FUCKING CARES IF YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS THE BEST ANTELOPE EVER!  Keep your reviews completely open for the reader’s interpretation. Don’t force them into thinking or feeling anything.

My generation was obsessed with talking about the stupid shit they did before and after the show as well as peppering the article with all their uber-hetty assesments of the previous night, however overly positive or negative.  Keep it classy, start your review at set one and end at the encore. You have a responsibility to make this era of our history recorded as objectively as possible. If you are wasted…don’t even think about printing something in the morning.  Let the people who were clear-headed fill what will most likely be the veterans like myself in on the show the next day.

3) It’s a community, not a forum: Despite how convoluted this whole scene has become, I do believe that the principles and codes of the road that started with The Grateful Dead are still with us. There simply is no room for the individual mindset anymore.  All you trustafarian rejects with a ton of money to blow on drugs to make more money with on tour can stay home.  I’m way hip to the game and so is every security system in place in every venue of the country. Six Up isn’t code anymore, brah. Leave the gangster shit to your hometown and just come out to party with your friends. I guarantee the gangster you thought you were at Coventry will get busted two shows in this year.  Its time to retake our community and we all have a responsibility to clean the scene up. It starts with you.

Soapbox rant done.  I want everyone to know this came from the most positive place possible. Hate or Elate all you want in the comments below…

Wade Wilby

Wade has toured the country as a lighting designer and technician for arena acts Beck and My Chemical Romance, as well as a very memorable stint with one of his favorite bands Umphrey's McGee. These days, Wade is a DJ and producer, and can be seen in many clubs and theaters around the country.

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