Jon Fishman

Jon Fishman

Jon Fishman is a drummer, best known for his work with the American jam band Phish. He is credited with co-writing 18 Phish originals, 7 of them as a solo credit [1].

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1965. He was then adopted, and grew up in Syracuse, New York. Fishman had a passion for the drums from an early age, and emulated John Bonham, the drummer for Led Zeppelin, Bill Bruford of Yes, and Keith Moon of The Who. He went to Jamesville-Dewitt High School in a suburb of Syracuse, and after graduation in 1983, he attended the University of Vermont for one year, where he co-founded Phish. He then transferred with guitarist Trey Anastasio to Goddard College, where he wrote his thesis on "A Self-Teaching Guide to Drumming in Retrospect."

Fishman and the other members of Phish were admitted psychedelic drug users. He once claimed that for a whole year he would set his alarm clock for 5 AM, ingest liquid LSD, go back to sleep, and at 7:30 the acid would wake him up to go to school. He stated that this was the year in which he got his best grades. He also has claimed that he consumed acid at every single gig during the first two years of the band's history.

The band Phish was named after him (he is commonly referred to as “Fish”, though has had dozens of nicknames - and though other explanations for the name have been given [2]). Other than drumming, he also sang back-up vocals and occasionally lead-vocals (usually on cover songs, most of them humorous). He was well-known on tour for his Electrolux vacuum cleaner solos and his distinctively-patterned dress (black with red donuts). Fishman also plays drums in the rock band Pork Tornado, and has performed with the Jazz Mandolin Project for several years as well. As of late, he has been a member of two large musical collectives, The Everyone Orchestra and The Village.

External links

• Phish's Homepage
• Pork Tornado
• University of Vermont