Phish Essay Research Paper Meghan ConleyMusic 265

Phish Essay, Research Paper

Meghan Conley

Music 265- Rock Music

Phish (featuring Trey Anastasio on guitar and vocals, John Fishman on drums and vocals, Jeff Holdsworth on guitar, and Page McConnell on keyboards and vocals), has often been referred to as the ‘Grateful Dead of the 90’s’ and their fans have often been called the ‘new generation of hippies’. The band however, sees things differently. While the Dead’s music has been known to fit easily into the ‘Rock-n-Roll’ category of Rock music, it’s not that cut and dry with Phish.

In a March 1993 article for Edge City Magazine written by Bob Droran, he said, “When I first heard [Phish], I thought of the Allman Brothers old records-extended solos with guitar trading licks with piano. They throw jazz, bluegrass, TV themes, Latin rhythms, and more into the bass-o-matic, shifting genres freely, blending from one song to another in endless sets that last for hours like the Dead. Also like the Dead, they have built their reputation through years on the road without much success in the record stores.” In Billboard’s review of the Horizons of Rock Developing Tour (with Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler), the describe the Phish crowd as ‘tie-dyed Deadhead U types.” When Anastasio was asked if he was offended by the comparison, he answered, ‘No. Because it’s there. You can’t deny it.” In another article, Trey said, “We are not the same band. It must be said they were and remain one of my favorite bands. In fact, the Dead are one of the most important bands, if not the most important. To me, the Dead are a genuine link to traditional American music. They moved music history forward. Jerry Garcia was as important a figure in this country’s music history as Bill Monroe or Elvis. Phish has learned a lot from them. They are an influence. But, that said, we are also very different. The most important lesson we learned from the Dead was how to be a live band.”

This influence in present in nearly every song, but only to an extent. I can remember reading a Rolling Stone article where Anastasio described Phish’s music as a combination of reggae, rock, country, folk, jazz, and whatever else felt right at the time- elements that aren’t always present in the music of the Dead. A wonderful example of Phish’s wide range of musical styles is the song Harry Hood (music by Anastasio, lyrics by a friend of the band, Brian Long). The song is a wonderful example of the band’s “as different as possible” style, and emancipates the concept of dissonance in their ear, which was something the band’s music really strived for.

Hood was first created in 1984 while Anastasio was in Europe; it wasn’t until the following summer (nearly a year later), that the first lyrics were added by Brian Long. They had moved into a house on King Street in Burlington, Vermont, in the fall, along with other band-mates Mike, Page and Fish. It was first performed at a show on 10/30/85.

Harry Hood Dairy Co. is a New England milk company based in Boston that features a small clay figure of a young boy as its logo. Many of the lines in the song are traceable to the company, which is rumored to have a billboard or a factory somewhere in the vacinity of the band’s house. In a mid 1970’s television ad, a claymation Harry Hood is featured wearing red overalls and a milkman hat. The commercial would show people opening their refrigerator to find Harry living inside. The first lines of the song (repeated three times) “harry, Harry, where do you go when the lights go out.” (with wonderful harmony), is presumably referring to the figurine, and the refrigerator light that goes on and off respectively with the opening and closing of the door. (Other rumors have circled though that it’s referring possibly to the lights on the nearby billboard that would be turned off at some point of the night, or to the Hood factory). The Hood slogan, “You can feel about Hood” is also repeated three times.

The only other line in the song appears between the first two previously mentioned ones. “Thank You Mr. Minor” is repeated a few times in the middle- which is said to have no real connection with the Hood factory. Mr. Minor likely refers to a Mr. A. Minor, a former tenant of the King Street house for whom frequent calls from debt collectors came, constantly interrupting early Phish practices. However, other ideas have surfaced which do link the line to the Hood company (although there has been no confirmation of any of these from anyone in or associated with the band). People have speculated that Mr. Minor was the man who owned the nearby plant/ billboard; others that he was a man who owned a convenience store across the street featuring a Hood sign, which he’d turn off at night, allowing the boy’s to sleep; some say he is possibly a milk delivery man; or someone in a Hood advertisement.

It has been confirmed that the boys were often interrupted by phone calls from debt collectors for Mr. Minor, but another explanation (once again not confirmed by anyone) is that they’d also receive an overwhelming amount of junkman for the former tenant, many beginning with the line, “Thank you Mr. Minor.” More specifically, when the “Thank You” to the former tenant is in the song, the chords it is sung over are minor chords (Bm C#m D#m-B-minor, C-sharp-minor, and D-sharp-minor), and the first chord on the song is D-minor.

Musically, the song (as pr