Phish - by Parke Puterbaugh (Paperback)

About the Book

Puterbaugh delivers an all-access pass to the life and times of one of rock and roll's most popular, inventive, and enduring bands, with 16 pages of rare photos.

Book Synopsis

The definitive biography of the jam band based on original interviews, by a veteran music journalist

Drawing upon nearly fifteen years of exclusive interviews with the members of Phish, veteran music journalist Parke Puterbaugh examines the colorful chemistry that inspired the wildly popular rock group to push their four-man experiment to the limit. An intimate and fascinating portrait, Phish: The Biography is the definitive story of these Vermont jam-band legends.

Review Quotes

"[This] book is stuffed with insider details."--Cleveland Scene

"A consistently lucid and revelatory look at the 26-year-long career of the legendary 'jam band'...[This] solid and intelligent take on how Phish blends both seriousness and whimsy into rock, jazz, funk, country and experimental music (sometimes in the same song) will satisfy newcomers as well as the band's obsessively knowledgeable fans...His solid reporting produces the best account so far of Phish's college-era birth and growth."--Publishers Weekly

"An even-keeled evaluation of an important American band-a must for Phishheads."--Kirkus

"Couldn't get tickets to the Phish shows at the Garden this weekend? Sit back, crack open a cold one and check out this authoritative Phish-ography by Rolling Stone contributor Puterbaugh, based on more than a dozen years of interviews with the band members. From the guys' early days at a Princeton prep school and the University of Vermont to success, fame, drug busts, breakup and reunion, it's all covered."--New York Post

"Parke Puterbaugh's Phish: The Biography, based on his decade as the band's in-house scribe, offers a detailed portrait of the group beloved by a generation of suburban Jews, one of whom turned himself, with help from Phish, into a superstar ba'al teshuva."--Tablet Magazine

"Puterbaugh serves up everything one could want to know about jam-band supreme Phish, from its beginnings in Burlington, Vermont, and acquisition of a Deadhead-like cult of devotees to its 2004 breakup and 2009 reunion...Puterbaugh was a devoted fan, well qualified to write this laudatory history. Valuable enough as a comprehensive Phish file, this book is greatly enhanced by Puterbaugh's depth of knowledge."--Booklist

"Puterbaugh's book provides a fascinating glimpse at how a successful band implodes in spite of its noble intentions."--Vermont Life

"The definitive Phish bio, one that can be updated throughout the years as the band rolls on into 2010 and beyond...Phish: The Biography receives 4 out of 5 pot leaves."--HighTimes.com

"The important story is Phish's pioneering way of bringing its fans in on the joke, and its fans' pioneering use of the Internet to spread the word (Puterbaug notes that phish.net was created as early as 1991). The important story is how Phish...prophetically anticipated the zeitgeist of today...Knowing Phish's story will enrich anyone's understanding of the American scene over the past quarter century."--New York Times Book Review

"Though he's clearly a fan...Puterbaugh is frank about how drug-addled and lazy Phish had become in the years leading up to their 2004 split...The real story."--Rolling Stone

"What sets [the book] apart are rare, first-hand accounts and details provided by Phish's inner circle...Phish: The Biography's entertaining stories and colorful pictures of key events in the band's remarkable history make it a must-read for fans."--Relix

About the Author

Parke Puterbaugh has written numerous books and magazine articles on music, travel, and the environment. A former senior editor for Rolling Stone magazine, he lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.