Phish swims ahead with classic tunes

“Everyone goes through phases of snobbery in their lives,” said Jon Fishman, Phish’s drummer and, of course, the namesake of the band. “Early in my life, I had favorites musicians and musicians I didn’t care for. As our careers professed, we are now the older guys on the block … and we inevitably want to [get to know and appreciate] many other musicians.”

It may be difficult for some fans of Phish — some of whom consider the band a way of life — to understand that their idols have idols. But how else to explain how the band — that was formed in the early 1980s by a group of students at the University of Vermont — has continually built its sound, becoming musicians’ musicians?

That will again be underscored during the Fourth of July weekend at in Watkins Glen, N.Y., when Phish hosts what they promise will be their most extensive festival ever.

That’s saying a lot when you consider all the mammoth festivals and concerts the band has anchored. Some of Fishman’s favorite events have included festivals featuring the traditional bluegrass masters of the Del McCoury Band.

Though their sound might seem a world away from Phish’s, Fishman said he first heard of the band through an interview with the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. After hearing a McCoury song on the radio, he was hooked.

“I was one of those kids, when I heard an album I loved, I would sit down and immediately find out who [all the players and production team members] were,” he said. “After I heard Del, I immediately went and bought all his albums and started idolizing him, too.”

Those who attend Phish concerts these days can expect to hear plenty of their classic songs plus covers such as “When the Circus Comes” by Los Lobos or “Beauty of My Dreams” by the Del McCoury Band.

“I have met some very nice and very gracious people on the road,” Fishman said. “It’s terrific fun to play some of their music during our shows.”