Question 1

In what year did Phish release its first studio album, Junta?

Accepted Answer

1989. Junta was a self-released cassette that hit stores in May 1989; Elektra reissued it on CD in 1992 and it eventually went platinum.

Question 2

A Picture of Nectar, Phish's 1992 major-label debut, is dedicated to whom?

Accepted Answer

The owner of the Burlington bar Nectar's. The album honors the proprietor of Nectar's in Burlington, where Phish played its first bar gig and regular multi-night stands that the band said taught them how to play.

Question 3

Which Burlington bar hosted Phish's regular residencies from late 1984 through March 1989?

Accepted Answer

Nectar's. The band played dozens of nights at Nectar's, and they later thanked owner Nectar Rorris by naming their 1992 album A Picture of Nectar after him.

Question 4

Which major label signed Phish in 1991?

Accepted Answer

Elektra Records. Phish stayed with Elektra until 2005, and A Picture of Nectar (1992) was their first release for the label.

Question 5

When Phish self-released Junta in May 1989 without a record label, what format was it on?

Accepted Answer

Cassette. Junta started life as an indie cassette; Elektra didn't reissue it on CD until 1992, adding bonus tracks.

Question 6

In 1992, Phish spent a couple of months opening for which guitar legend, who regularly invited band members to jam with his group?

Accepted Answer

Carlos Santana. The Santana connection came back in 1996, when Phish toured Europe on bills with him.

Question 7

Phish's first trip to Europe, in summer 1992, was a short run of opening slots for which band?

Accepted Answer

The Violent Femmes. The 1992 European jaunt was brief and included one radio appearance in England, before the band came home to open a long string of U.S. shows for Santana.

Question 8

Trey first explained the Phish Secret Language to a crowd on March 6, 1992, in which New England city?

Accepted Answer

Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The lesson came during set two at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH, and the signals spread from there.

Question 9

Who produced Rift, recorded in fall 1992 at White Crow in Burlington and The Castle in Nashville?

Accepted Answer

Barry Beckett. Barry Beckett helmed Rift, the band's concept album about a man dreaming of a rift with his girlfriend.

Question 10

In the 1992-94 "Big Ball Jam," how did the audience "play the band"?

Accepted Answer

By bouncing four large balls, each representing a band member. Fans batted four big balls around the room, one for each band member, turning the crowd into the conductor.

Question 11

The original 1990 Absolute A Go Go CD of Lawn Boy included which Junta song as a bonus track?

Accepted Answer

Fee. When Elektra reissued Lawn Boy in 1992, remastered by Bob Ludwig, the bonus track was dropped.

Question 12

Which instrumental made its Phish debut in the intro of 'David Bowie' at Granville, Ohio on December 1, 1992?

Accepted Answer

Baby Elephant Walk. Henry Mancini's 'Baby Elephant Walk' first showed up as a quick detour in the opening of a 'Bowie,' after which the band went back in for a riveting jam.

Question 13

The April 18, 1992 'Harry Hood' in Palo Alto is famous for nodding to which cartoon-associated tune?

Accepted Answer

Linus and Lucy. The Peanuts theme by Vince Guaraldi gives this early 'Hood' its nickname: the 'Linus and Lucy' version.

Question 14

Foreigner's "Cold As Ice" was busted out at MSG on 7/22/26, a night built around Phish's repertoire from which year?

Accepted Answer

1992. The song had last been played on May 18, 1992, a 1,468-show gap. Page kicked off the riff on organ as Trey moved to drums, setting up Fishman's turn on Syd Barrett's 'Love You.'

Question 15

During the 2026 "Phish In Five" MSG run, each night revisited a year. Night four on 7/27/26, the band's 95th MSG show, focused on which year?

Accepted Answer

1995. The run lined up its themed years with the Garden show count, starting with 1992 on the 92nd show.

Question 16

Which Phish studio album includes the original studio version of "Chalk Dust Torture"?

Accepted Answer

A Picture of Nectar. "Chalk Dust Torture" appears on A Picture of Nectar, released in February 1992 on Elektra. The album was dedicated to Nectar's owner Nectar Rorris.

Question 17

What nickname is commonly used for devoted Phish fans?

Accepted Answer

Phishheads. Phish fans got organized online early. The band had one of the first Usenet newsgroups, rec.music.phish, launched in 1992.

Question 18

Phish's cover of "Bold As Love" comes from which artist's catalog?

Accepted Answer

The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Trey has often honored Hendrix on his birthday, November 27. In 1992, Phish closed that night's show with the song.

Question 19

Which 25-minute group jam was added as a bonus track to Elektra's 1992 CD reissue of Junta?

Accepted Answer

Union Federal. The CD also added live versions of "Sanity" and "Icculus," none of which were on the original cassette.

Question 20

The vocal jam of the April 30, 1992 'You Enjoy Myself' in Madison, Wisconsin was built on a song from which holiday TV special?

Accepted Answer

How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In April the band went full Whoville, basing the vocal jam on 'Welcome Christmas.'

Question 21

Phish.net's jam chart notes that the April 30, 1992 Madison 'Tweezer,' with a 'must-hear' opening, featured which guest on trombone?

Accepted Answer

Colonel Bruce Hampton. The chart calls this version's opening segment hysterical and a must-hear.

Question 22

The very improvisational 'Tweezer' of November 22, 1992 in Ithaca, NY included a segue into which audience-participation bit before returning?

Accepted Answer

The Big Ball Jam. The chart rates this one an early 'type II' Tweezer, so it was more exploratory than most 1992 versions.

Question 23

At Providence on March 13, 1992, 'Run Like an Antelope' segued into which song before returning to finish the jam?

Accepted Answer

Big Black Furry Creature from Mars. The jam chart calls it an epic version, and the noisy rocker in the middle was a fitting detour for a song this wild.

Question 24

The jam of the December 3, 1992 'Run Like an Antelope' in Cincinnati began with a brief jam on which Santana song?

Accepted Answer

Gypsy Queen. The chart says this jam went on through several exploratory sections before returning home with big peaks.

Question 25

The intro of the December 30, 1992 'David Bowie' in Springfield, Massachusetts led into the only performance between 1990 and 1995 of which song?

Accepted Answer

Timber (Jerry). This sandwich gave fans a rare taste of the old work song Phish revived in the mid-1990s.

Question 26

The intro of the February 5, 1993 'David Bowie' in New York City was used to deliver which spoken piece?

Accepted Answer

Vibration of Life. This spoken interlude was a rarity; when it popped up inside a December 1992 'Possum' in Chicago, it was only its second appearance.

Question 27

The April 13, 1992 'Mike's Song' in Tempe, Arizona featured jamming on which then-current Nirvana hit?

Accepted Answer

Smells Like Teen Spirit. Nevermind was a brand-new smash in spring 1992, and Phish worked the riff into the jam.

Question 28

The December 5, 1992 'Reba' in Chicago sandwiched which Johnny Cash song before the whistling finished it off?

Accepted Answer

I Walk the Line. The whistling coda did double duty, wrapping up both the Cash detour and Reba itself.

Question 29

The March 14, 1992 New York 'Harry Hood,' with Page on the B-3, included a sweet tease of a song from which movie?

Accepted Answer

The Wizard of Oz. Page's organ work in the intro gets special praise in the chart, along with strong playing from Mike.

Question 30

Inside the April 18, 1992 'It's Ice' in Palo Alto, Trey led a segue into the Phish debut of which jam, a Grateful Dead nod?

Accepted Answer

Mind Left Body Jam. Trey snuck the band into the jam while Page was still out front, and they came back to close out 'It's Ice.'

Phish 1992 Trivia