All I Learned About Life, I Learned By Seeing Phish

I love the band Phish.  If you love them, you get it.  If you don't get it, I won't force it on you. I understand not everyone will.   But in an effort to explain why I like them, I've created a Phish "self-help" guide.    Apply these things Phish does to your life and maybe it will improve.

Mix it up.  Phish never plays the same show twice.  They have hundreds of songs to pick from and you never know what you'll get on any given night.  This element of suprise keeps it exciting. 

Take chances and don't be afraid to make mistakes.  Phish plays all sorts of fun, different covers.  Some work, some don't, but they take the shot.  Just a few notable examples:  "Purple Rain" (with a vacuum cleaner solo;) "Freebird" Acapella (even the guitar solos;) Beastie Boys' "Sabotage;"  Rolling Stones' "Lovin Cup;"  Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter;" and the other night, John Lennon's "Instant Karma!"

Listen to each other and trust each other.  Phish is a jam band. The jams sometimes follow one groove, but any member of the band can often take it to different places at any given time.  The other members listen and try to follow.  It's more jazz than rock at times. To challenge their trust, they create new ways to practice, even blindfolded sometimes. But it wouldn't work if they didn't listen and trust each other.   



Have fun.  Duh! Phish smile, laugh, and joke onstage.  It's not unprofessional, it's fun.  Have at home, have fun at work, and have fun in public.
Can a rock band change your life?  Who knows?  But we can can all benefit from some improv, change,hard work and fun sometimes.    But, unlike Jon Fishman,  I probably won't be wearing a dress anytime soon.