Under the Scales

Today we stop in New Hampshire and dive into 5/8/93, which finds Phish at the end of the Spring 1993 tour. We’re joined by Brad Sands, Phish’s former road manager, who talks about the momentum in 1993, and how this show in Durham served as a homecoming for the band after a long time on the road. And it showed in the music, which we discussed with Brad in detail.  Thanks to our partners at Green Fu...

Today we’re rolling into 1993 with our guest Josh Carver, a longtime Osiris guest and listener. We talk with Josh about The Roxy show from 2/20/93. Josh actually missed this show, but he was at the Roxy shows before and after this infamous night. We all know that feeling.  This show was another pivotal moment in Phish’s progression, and the show became legendary almost immediately. We hope you enj...

In this episode, we keep moving through 1992 and look at one of the most notable shows of the early years—7/25/92, which has an incredible guest appearance by Carlos Santana and his percussionists.  Our guest for this episode is Shelly Culbertson, who worked with former manager John Paluska and Dionysian Productions. Shelly was involved with the early online Phish community, and was the driving fo...

As the next step in our journey through key shows of the ‘90s, we stop in Eureka, California, and check in with a fellow Californian about this show—Holly Bowling. We focus on 4/21/92, a show that has an ahead-of-its-time Tweezer, which served as an inspiration for one of Holly’s famous jam transcriptions.  We heard in previous episodes about this Spring ‘92 run, which featured Phish’s first exten...

Welcome back! As a reminder, from now through December, we’ll be tracking Phish’s progression in the 1990s by focusing on 25 important shows of the 90s—leading up to the tour that changed everything, Fall 1997. And we’ll discuss every show of Fall ‘97.  Today we’re talking about Amy’s Farm, 8/3/91, with the one and only Amy Skelton. Amy talks to us about her involvement with the band and the show...

Welcome to Undermine Season 4! We are back to track the road to Fall ‘97, and to celebrate amazing shows of the 1990s while leading up to that legendary tour. From now through December, we’ll be tracking Phish’s progression in the 1990s by focusing on 25 important shows of the 90’s—leading up to the tour that changed everything, Fall 1997, and we’ll discuss EVERY show of that tour.  We start this...

At the end of the 13 show Baker’s Dozen, a run filled with jams, bustouts, debut covers, and zero repeats, Phish was awarded a banner to commemorate the event that would hang in the rafters of MSG among legendary sports achievements. And yet, like with the best moments in Phish history, the band didn’t simply sit back and admire their accomplishment, they used it to push themselves forward. Just a...

When they returned from the hiatus in 2009, it took time for the band to regain their fluid improvisation. Over the next four years, they worked to strengthen their onstage communication, refine their approach, and ultimately reignite their jamming in 2012. From there, they began experimenting and taking risks, and by the time they reached The Baker’s Dozen, they were ready to take another step fo...

For as long as Phish fans have gathered to discuss and debate the band, the band’s setlists have been a consistent talking point. What songs are in the rotation, how do jams in typically non-jamming slots affect a show, why were there so many bustouts in a single show, what’s the thematic arc of the show? These topics and more have been analyzed by fans for decades—and we know it’s been thought ab...

Throughout their history, Phish has constantly sought new ways to break down the barriers between their performance and their audience. Dubbed, The Long Gig (the LG), the band initially conceived of an indoor show where they’d announce to the audience that the doors were locking and they were going to play for 24hrs straight. This idea ultimately evolved into the band’s all-night set at Big Cypres...

In the Summer of 2017 Phish settled into Madison Square Garden, “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” for a residency of 13 shows, immortalized as The Baker’s Dozen. Across nearly three weekends and four weekday gigs, Phish played 230+ songs without repeating a single one. They fused jokes from their past with music that looked ahead to their future, and connected with the fan community in a way they’d...

Hey there, Undermine fans! Please enjoy the first episode of our new fiction podcast: Sugar Maple. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to see where the story goes! In the series premiere, we meet our narrator, Terrance Woodridge, who brings us a tale he’s chased down: the story of Sugar Maple, the guitar of legend with a timeless sound that's passed from hand to hand over the years. In...

At the onset of the 2020s, Trey Anastasio got stuck on a platform high above MSG. While he played through with humor and grace, the moment would serve as the prelude to a year where we all felt unhinged. For those who were infected by Covid, or lost loved ones, 2020 was a nightmare. For everyone, it was an unexpected pause, marked by tension and a longing for normalcy. In the Season 2 finale, we e...

To this point, Season 2 of Undermine has mirrored the fan experience with Phish—traveling to see them, engaging with the community, and trying to understand why we dedicate so much time, energy and money to this band. But what happens if you fall in love with Phish but have no ability to see them live or to engage with the community in person? What does the band mean to you if they’re 10,000 miles...

Beyond the tape trading, the road trips, the lot vibe, the people you meet, the lights dropping, etc, the reason we all come back to Phish is for the music. Why do people throw everything they have into this band? Why are we podcasting about them in 2021? Why are we trying to decipher all of their inside jokes? Why are we debating and relisting to jams decades after they happened? In this episode...

And after all that, we go collect our thoughts and go back to waiting again for 15 minutes (they always promise it’ll be 15 minutes!). Setbreak is the time to get a grip back on reality, connect with neighbors, meet people, take a stroll, grab a bite, you name it. It’s the in between. Something has happened, and something more will happen, but for now, we wait once again. In this episode, we explo...

The anticipation has been building for hours, months...maybe even years. So many hours spent listening to shows, so much planning just to get you into the venue and in your spot for the moment we all wait for: when the lights finally drop. It’s a moment of ecstasy for many, a relief for others, and the beginning of the journey into the unknown of that night’s show for all of us in attendance.  In...

Breaking Waves: Seattle is the story of the scene that defined rock in the ‘90s. The show traces the roots of grunge, and details the rise and fall of the Seattle scene, and concludes with a look forward, examining the legacy of grunge and highlighting the current and emerging artists who will create Seattle’s next breaking wave. Produced for Audacy by Osiris Media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

There’s that moment at every Phish show where we transition from the bliss of the pre-show party to the business at hand of the show itself. We walk in, get our seats, gaze at the stage, and realize how many of us there are to see this incredible band. With this comes the realization that we’re amongst a wide and disparate tribe of people chasing the same thing, oftentimes from different starting...

At first blush, hanging out in a parking lot doesn’t sound that fun. But the Phish parking lot experience is completely different—part bazaar, part sprawling tailgating party, it’s a place for people to meet, hang out, exchange money for goods, and start the good times before a concert.  In this episode, we stroll through the lot, conversing with vendors and artists alike, and hear from a few musi...

When we think of the Phish community, we usually think about the obsessive, or at the very least, passionate, fans. However, behind the scenes, in every venue Phish plays in, there’s a community that works together to make sure that the show goes on—safely, smoothly, and in the most enjoyable way possible. In this episode, we hear from the crew, the bartenders, the ushers, and so many more, as the...

While many Phish fans in the early 90s discovered Phish by way of message boards and tape trades, the band solidified their status as one of the most important bands of the era through their unpredictable and thrilling live shows—and when you just had to hear, or see, the tour to understand the full story.   In this episode, we hear about adventures on tour, and explore why “going on tour” is an e...

In the early days of the internet, college kids from around the country began to congregate online to discuss Phish and trade information and live show tapes. Evolving alongside the internet itself, the community helped the band reach new fans, expand their sound and reach a level of success which few could have foreseen in the 1980s.  In the first episode of Undermine Season Two, Phish lyricist T...

Undermine is the definitive Phish podcast. In Season 2 we'll turn our focus to YOU, the Community. We've interviewed over 100 Phish fans to get to the heart of what's shaped this community, how it originated, how it's evolved, what issues persist, and how it's communicated with each other over the the last 30 years. In addition, we'll explore how Phish impacted the lives of their fans during 2020...

Phish tour is back, and so is the Helping Friendly Podcast! HF Pod On Tour will feature live video Quick Hits at 1pm the day after every show—on Osiris Media's Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels. We'll also have podcast episodes every Tuesday with a rundown of the tour thus far. Featuring great conversation, fans who were at the shows, and lots of laughs and music. Subscribe to the...