"Down with Disease" is a 1994 song by American band

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

. It is the second track from their 1994 album '' Hoist'' and was released as their fifth

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. The song is a

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer sta ...

song written by Phish

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

Tom Marshall. The song's lyrics were based on a bout with

infectious mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

suffered by Marshall. "Down with Disease" was Phish's breakthrough single on American rock radio, reaching #33 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in June 1994. It was first played live December 31, 1993, as a jam without lyrics. "Down with Disease" was released as a single by Elektra on both CD and cassette. The compact disc version of the single was a promotional item issued to radio stations, while the cassette edition was issued to retail. The CD only includes "Down with Disease", while the cassette also contains "NO2", an experimental

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...

composition that features dental drill sound effects. A different recording of "NO2" appeared on the band's 1986 demo release ''

The White Tape ''Phish'' (also known as ''The White Tape'') is a demo album released by the American rock band Phish on cassette in 1986. Often cited as the first Phish "album", ''The White Tape'' was originally a collection of original material that the band u ...

''. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was created for the song, directed by Phish

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...

, that showed the members of the band

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

through an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

. The video was partially shot during the song's debut live performance, at the band's December 31, 1993 New Year's Eve concert at the

Worcester Centrum The DCU Center (originally Centrum in Worcester, formerly Worcester's Centrum Centre and commonly Worcester Centrum) is an indoor arena and convention center complex in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. The facility hosts a variety of events, ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. During the performance, the stage was decorated with aquarium props for the music video shoot. The video appeared a few times on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, including an abbreviated version on ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

''. The "Down with Disease" music video is the only one that has been produced by the band during its 35-year career, apart from a semi-official 1991 fan-made video for the song "Esther". In concert, "Down With Disease" has spanned from three, to ten, to over twenty minutes, often featuring full band improvisation. The longest standalone rendition of this song was the December 12th 1995 performance, which clocked in at 31 minutes and 20 seconds before segueing into "The Lizards".

Track listing

#"Down with Disease" (LP Version) (

, Tom Marshall) - 4:13 #"NO₂" (Previously Unreleased Track) (

) - 8:14

Personnel

Musicians :

– guitars, vocals :

Page McConnell Page Samuel McConnell (born May 17, 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as the keyboardist and a songwriter for the band Phish. In addition to having been a member of Phish since 1985, ...

– keyboards, vocals :

– bass guitar, vocals :

Jon Fishman Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer known for his work with the band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983, and which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo cr ...

– drums, vocals

Also appears on

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'' (2002) *''

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'' (2007) *'' Walnut Creek (DVD)'' (2008) *''

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'' (2009) *'' Alpine Valley (DVD)'' (2010) *''

Hampton/Winston-Salem '97 Hampton/Winston-Salem '97 is a 7-CD live box set album from the American jam band Phish, recorded live at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA on November 21–22, 1997 and Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC on November 23 ...

'' (2011) *''

Chicago '94 ''Chicago '94'' is a live album by the rock band Phish. It contains two complete concerts on six CDs, and was recorded at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois on June 18 and November 25, 1994. It was released by JEMP Records on July 31, 2012. C ...

'' (2012) *'' Star Lake 98 (DVD)'' (2012) *''

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

'' (2015)

Notes

{{Phish Phish songs Elektra Records singles Songs written by Trey Anastasio 1994 singles Songs written by Tom Marshall (singer) 1993 songs Funk rock songs