How Is Phish?
A Philosophical Discussion
How Is Phish?
Perhaps the one thing that unites Philosophy and Phish is the difficulty in answering the question, “What is ____?”
It’s hard to answer either of those with one succinct statement. Sure, you could go with the button downed definition, such as an American Rock Band from Vermont, but do any of us actually use that when someone poses a question about The Phish from Vermont? Of course not, therein lies the mystery.
It’s a puzzle really, a Rubix Cube, many sides, each beautiful, whether locked in its perfect position, all the hues matching up for perfect harmony, or scrambled up in discombobulated absence of pattern and symmetry.
When Gordon is asked the title question by a reporter in Spain (documented in Bittersweet Motel), “explain to the Spanish people, How Is Phish?”, the answer at that moment begins with an explanation of How they got to that point, that day…college band > word of mouth > dedicated fans, but his “final answer” is the most telling. Describing that phans don’t show up to hear one hit song, but rather “They are coming because they don’t know what’s going to happen. Kind of like how We don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
Phish as Art
It stands then to reason that the band at the center of this epistemological quandary is not in fact THE center. They may be the Bang behind the beginning, but the universe that has spawned from said bang is really the substance. It’s tangible in terms of music and community, it’s metaphysical in terms of Legend, Lore, Sound, and Interconnectedness. IT exists, much like “The Zone” described by athletes, yet is most vulnerable when IT is acknowledged or when one tries to box IT up with definition and explanation.
Spontaneity, Beauty, Myth and Majesty, A Circus of Light, a Maze which often forces us to face the darkest parts of our nature.
One philosophical tool used on such problems is Reason. Like Mathematics it allows us the ability to lay out a problem, through arguments and Logic. If we want to know How is Phish, let’s pretend that we are going to attempt to organically clone four individual musicians with the charge of reaching the current peak of Phish. How would we begin?
1. Start young, practice religiously, live, eat and sleep your “band”.
2. Develop a complex and constantly evolving mythos, one that paints you as both magical heroes of old brought forth to pass along divine wisdom, and as Creators of said myth and legend.
3. We talkin’ bout practice, mane… Practice endlessly, devote yourself with Shamanic discipline, create music that defies definition and scope, and just when you think people might be able to have expectations, pivot and go harder in the opposite direction.
4. Be Funny and well read. Use vocabulary that requires the audience be learned and engaged. Be ever vigilant in your concoction of musical theatrics, and in your own continued education.
5. Systematically tackle and master every form of music, no matter how foreign or obscure. Use household objects as instruments. Don’t just play the spoons, play the forks, knives and spatulas as well. Have you tried the Electrolux? Maybe that could be a funny bit?
6. Play as many shows as possible, insisting that each be better than the last. One Up yourself, a thousand times over, then do it again. Document Everything. Always. Record.
7. Take everything the music industry wants and needs in a band and throw it out of the window. Abandon all styles and current trends in both grooming and wardrobe. Embrace your role as the Anti-Sex Symbol, reject every notion to be on MusicTeleVision. If you do make a video, put your dog in a fishbowl.
8. Create cities, an Oasis of Bliss where all cares are left at the door…be on the forefront of technology, engross yourselves in the perfect “concert” experience. All the while placing the music, sound and experience at the top of your priorities. Get Skyscrapers that sing a pretty tune.
9. Pay homage to those before you. Play songs that speak to surroundings, play music that speak to the soul. Become a hose. Then spray.
10. Thrive and strive, fly too high, recharge, rewind and restart, retire, Return. Like Gandalf the White, return from the shadows and Remain Suffused, to the cause of Light.
There is more, so much more. The audience that this ensemble attracts varies in shape, color and creed. Age is merely a manifestation of ones true self. However, one thing that every phan seems to require is a sense of adventure. A deep withheld knowledge that there is always more to learn, to see, feel and experience. It takes some people longer to get IT than others, yet a desire to better understand, inspires growth, and the music always brings us back.
There are so many great people bringing forth ideas and explanations for the band, discussing shows and philosophizing over meanings and myths. I don’t pretend to have any further explanations, or authority over every idea. I am going to try to continue to put the puzzle together, I only wish to add to the ever-evolving Life in which we walk.
We all know who they are and what they do, Where they played and when. Generally we know how they played, inspired or no? Tight or sloppy…
I guess you could say I’m more interested in Why. Why? This is the question that lends itself to the most open-ended discussions, and frankly, that remains the enduring mystery.
