PHISH

Phish, in my opinion, was very deserving of the huge success they achieved. They are 4 virtuosos on their respective instruments. They came along in the right time as well. I'll expand; When Jerry Garcia died the Grateful Dead pretty much was over. The Dead still play and are wonderful but the magic of the Grateful Dead vanished with Garcia's passing. Phish also incorporated many of the wonderful elements of a Grateful Dead show such as unusual covers(they do an all-vocal cover of Freebird), long, wonderful variated jams with soloing from each member of the band,beautiful light shows, catchy simple recognizeable songs and mind blowing intricate masterpieces. They snatched up the 2nd generation 'Dead Heads' and ran with it. Why Phish split up is just too bizarre for me to even start to understand. The solo stuff Trey Anastasio does is cool and all but it's nothing on the level of the stuff he did with Phish.
   
Many people associate Phish's music/concerts with drug use. Sure there was probably some drug use goin' on at their shows but doesn't that happen at most  all shows? I bet even some 'Christian' rock shows have a few people puffin' on some 'hippie lettuce' or lickin' small pieces of paper. I only hope the possibility of drug use at their shows doesn't turn away a potential listener of their 'near spritual sound'. Phish was as good as any band ever in a live setting. If you haven't heard recording of them doin' their thing, I strongly urge you to give it a chance..............

Gone Phishin',
SouthPaw41L(Toney)

Jerry was the lead guitarist and sang lead vocals on many of the Grateful Deads tunes. 3 part vocal harmonies were in almost every G.D. song so Jerry sang harmony on many songs as well. Garcia was also the groups most outspoken member and more times than not he handled most of the press/media questions. Jerry also contributed to many of the lyric writing tasks with Robert Hunter(not a member of the band, just their lyricist). Jerry was many times the face of the band and his fuzzy,burly appearance was the prototype for the Grateful Deads mascot dancing bears.  Garcia was a gracious, intelligent, gentle, human beeing with a stong, savy sense for the business side of music. He also has a largely succesful line of neck ties as well. Here's a link to shine a little more light on the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia;

http://www.rukind.org/

Yes, very good. His estate still generates massive income. In the early days of the Grateful Dead the band struggled for a short time financially. But as time went on and their popularity grew the $$ started rolling in. Jerry Garcia was a very wise businessman as well as an incredibly talented and gifted musician.

dada, the opinions about phish are different, so I agree with you. What I heard is not bad, but is it correct to write that 50% of their songs are covers, like dark side of the moon?

No, sorry gitaardocphil, it is incorrect to write that 50% of their songs are covers. Phish, like almost every band to ever play a show anywhere, anyplace, anytime, would throw in the ocassional 'cover song'. 90% or more of the songs Phish played in concert or recorded in the studio were their own creations. Here are a few links to confirm this statement;

http://www.phish.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phish