''Phish'' (also known as ''The White Tape'') is a demo album released by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

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 ...

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

in 1986. Often cited as the first Phish "album", ''The White Tape'' was originally a collection of original material that the band used as a demo/sample tape for venues, and was sometimes labelled "Phish" or simply "Demo". The album was widely circulated among Phish fans for more than a decade before being officially released in 1998. The album was created from four-track recordings over a period of three years and includes a number of outside musicians performing on various songs. Only "Alumni Blues", "AC/DC Bag", "Slave To The Traffic Light" and "Dog Gone Dog" (a.k.a. "Dog Log") have the four band members together. The remaining tracks were recorded separately by various members and blended together to create the finished album. ''The White Tape'' includes an early version of the Phish epic "

You Enjoy Myself "You Enjoy Myself", commonly abbreviated to "YEM", is a Phish song written by Trey Anastasio, first played live on February 3, 1986. It is the band's most frequently performed song, having been played at about 33% of their first 1,800 shows. Hi ...

", performed ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'' with the band members singing the opening guitar lines. The album also contains

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

pieces, instrumental passages, electronic noises and studio

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. Some songs were further developed and figure heavily in the band's live performances, while a few have rarely been heard since. All instruments and vocals on "Fuck Your Face", "NO₂", "He Ent to the Bog" and "Minkin" are performed solely by bass guitarist

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 ...

. All instruments and vocals on "Run Like an Antelope" and "And So to Bed" are recorded solely by

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 ...

. "The Divided Sky", "Ingest" and "Fluff's Travels" are performed by Anastasio, Phish lyricist Tom Marshall, and their friend

Marc Daubert Marc Daubert (born January 13, 1963) is an American musician. He is a percussionist who collaborated with Phish for a brief time in their early history. Daubert was a close friend of guitarist Trey Anastasio. Anastasio, Daubert, and lyricist/k ...

on percussion. "Aftermath" has Anastasio and Roger Holloway on guitar. "Slave to the Traffic Light" has Tom Marshall on keyboards and Pete Cottone on drums. In addition to being released on CD, this album was made available on June 7, 2006, as a download in FLAC and

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

formats at LivePhish.com. A limited edition white vinyl version was released at Superball IX, Phish's 2011 summer festival with the remainder offered up for sale as part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

's "Black Friday" promotion on November 25, 2011. The song "And So to Bed" was finally debuted live in 2021, 25 years after "The White Tape" was originally released

Track listing

Personnel

Phish – perform as a quartet only on "Alumni Blues", "AC/DC Bag" and "Dog Gone Dog" *

– all instruments and vocals on "And So To Bed", "You Enjoy Myself", "Fluff's Travels" and "Letter to Jimmy Page", vocals and guitar on "Alumni Blues", "AC/DC Bag", "Divided Sky", "Slave to the Traffic Light", "Aftermath", "Dog Gone Dog" and "Run Like an Antelope", percussion on "Divided Sky", keyboards on "Slave to the Traffic Light" and "Ingest", bass guitar on "Slave to the Traffic Light", artwork and Phish logo design *

– bass guitar and vocals on "Alumni Blues", "AC/DC Bag", "Fuck Your Face", "Dog Gone Dog", "He Ent to the Bog" and "Minkin", guitar on "Fuck Your Face", "He Ent to the Bog" and "Minkin", vocals and sound effects on "NO2", bongos on "Minkin" *

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 and organ on "Alumni Blues", "AC/DC Bag" and "Dog Gone Dog" *

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 on "Alumni Blues", "AC/DC Bag" and "Dog Gone Dog" Additional musicians * Dave Abrahams – backing vocals on "Slave to the Traffic Light" * Ernie Anastasio – laugh on "Ingest" * Becca Buxbaum – backing vocals on "He Ent to the Bog" and "Minkin", flute on "Minkin" * Lillian Cherry – backing vocals on "Minkin" * Pete Cottone – drums on "Slave to the Traffic Light" * Richard D'Amato – backing vocals on "Minkin" *

– backing vocals on "Slave to the Traffic Light" * David Gordon – backing vocals on "He Ent to the Bog" * Roger Holloway – guitar on "Aftermath" * Tom Marshall – backing vocals on "Slave to the Traffic Light" and "Run Like An Antelope" * Marge Minkin – additional vocals on "Minkin" * Dan McBride – backing vocals on "He Ent to the Bog"

References

External links

Phish.com – Official Site

Phish.com: The White Tape

Phish.net: The White Tape
– Includes details on cassette versions.
Vinyl White Tape – Record Store Day
{{Authority control 1986 debut albums Phish albums LivePhish.com Downloads