Sorry it has taken me a while to respond.
ps139 said:
Before you make all of these claims about the band, please give some evidence. Anyone can say anything they want about anyone, and it doesnt mean anything without examples or evidence. Really, your post reminds me of when I read one some crazy website that Trey was plotting some underground al-Qaeda conspiracy. Please give reasons why you think what you do.
Wow - feel the love. Fair enough; I have always said that no one should take anything anyone says at face value but should find out the truth for themselves.
...Hi, I'm Michael.
I first heard Phish in '91. The peak of my fandom was from '93 through June '95. In November of '94 I got saved, which was the beginning of the end for my being able to be a wholehearted Phish fan, especially after seeing them live...but that's a whole other story.
Let me also preface this by saying that if I didn't strongly identify with Phish, I probably wouldn't be so passionate about the things that bother me about them. I have a love/hate relationship with their music. I also want to say that, on a purely musical level, I believe that Trey is one of the greatest living composers (the other guys are great composers, too, btw). As a group, the band has, at their best, been able to pull off with seeming effortlessness what most bands would never even think to try. Their music has been tremendously influential on my own work (I am a composer/multi-instrumentalist).
ps139 said:
theoneway said:
The article would cover Mike Gordon's epiphany (when they were playing in a 5-sided room in 1985, Mike felt the room levitate and had a life-changing "epiphany"; this is widely documented),
I've never heard of the room levitating. Where did you hear that? And whats wrong with, one night while playing music, coming to the conclusion that you want to be a musician? Why is "epiphany" in quotes. Is it something bad?
I don't remember where I first read about Mike Gordon's "epiphany," but this page has an excerpt from The Phish Book where he discusses it briefly:
I don't have enough posts to post external links. PM me.
Phish.Net describes it as "a religious experience":
I don't have enough posts to post external links. PM me.
And, I stand corrected, the room was round rather than pentagonal.
ps139 said:
I've never ever heard him mock Jesus.
Here's the Marshall interview in which he mocks Jesus:
I don't have enough posts to post external links. PM me.
You will probably accuse me of overreacting.
ps139 said:
But he has nothing to do with Phish's music.
Yeah, nothing at all - he only wrote the lyrics to almost every Phish song.
ps139 said:
And why do you think Ghost is about a demon? You are overreacting. I actually thought it was about a guardian angel. It seems like you're looking for the negative meaning.
No, I'm not. How do I know "Ghost" is about a demon? Because Marshall said so himself in an interview. I haven't been able to locate that interview again to post here, but will be glad to share it when/if I do. You might also be interested in a similar admission by Richard "Nancy" Wright, who wrote "Halley's Comet," & "I Didn't Know". This can be found on pp. 245-246 of The Phish Companion, First Edition (to be fair, he describes the experience as a negative one). If you're such a phan, how come you don't already know this stuff?
ps139 said:
No offense but after this I cant take you seriously. A little girl drowns. Must all songs be about happy things?
The point I was attempting to make regarding "Esther," etc. is that life-threateningly bad things happening to people for seemingly no reason is a recurring theme throughout the entire Phish oeuvre (e.g. "Guyute," "It's Ice," "Free," [which, according to The Phish Companion, is about a guy throwing his wife from the ship on which they both are traveling], "Limb by Limb," etc.). I understand that a lot of it is metaphorical or revolves around Marshall's sick sense of humor, but I can't help but ask myself why this is such a prevalent theme...then of course there's Prov. 4:24...
ps139 said:
theoneway said:
Just for the record, the performance itself was pretty lame (I didn't go in, but could hear clearly - "Timber Ho!" was the best thing they played all night if that tells you anything). At least they didn't offer a burnt sacrifice to Baal like last time.
With an attitude like that I'm surprised you liked any songs.
It was a lackluster show, that's all. Mike was strong throughout, but the band didn't seem to find the "it," as Trey would put it. Trey got so ****ed at his mistakes during the performance of the "Squirming Coil" encore that during the jam that precedes Page's closing solo, he took off his guitar and walked off stage before anyone else. "Timber Ho!" was great, though. Since then I have heard parts of other '04 shows; Alpine second night and Keyspan Park first night are the clear standouts, imo.
The remark about a "sacrifice to Baal" was half facetious, but are you familiar with the 10/31/95 show? Oh, and you have to love the double encore of "Amazing Grace" and "Highway to Hell" which was played a few times on '93 tour.
ps139 said:
...what do you mean by "Aggressive witnessing?"
Sharing the love of God with as many people as possible. What did you think I meant? Good point about Paul in Athens, though - I think of that often.
This one guy I know did something pretty ingenious - shortly after Big Cypress, he put together this postcard tract. On the front is a color still of Phish playing during Big Cypress. On the back he says something to the effect that "On 12/31/99, Phish made musical history by playing for 8 hours straight." He then uses that as a springboard to start talking about eternity and then salvation. It ends with an "I love you" and his email address. He says that the response has been very positive.
ps139 said:
If you witness to Phish fans dont tell them how Trey sacrifices to Baal, they'll know you're crazy then anything else you say won't hold much merit with them. And don't assume all of them are sheep without a shepherd either. A bunch of my friends are crazy about Jesus and crazy about Phish. The two are not mutually exclusive.
No offense, but I don't need to be told how to evangelize; I've been in ministry for 10 years. Thanks, anyway. If you can't see the reality of most people on tour and their search for fulfillment and a messiah in all the wrong places, let alone the reality of what's up spiritually with the band itself, that's too bad.
The point of all this is that, as Christians, we have a responsibility to expose darkness and untruth for what it is. Since most phans regard every eye blink from Trey as gospel, I think it behooves us to closely examine what is being communicated, verbally and otherwise. Phish's music invites dissection, and many others have done so from other perspectives, so why are people offended when I bring up things from a Christian perspective that I feel need to be addressed? I also believe people should make informed decisions. I was under the impression that other Christians might understand all these things without my explaining them, but obviously I was mistaken.
I am not "looking for the negative," I am being a realist. Choosing to see life through rose-colored glasses is ultimately much more dangerous than any assertions I have made. The gospel demands that we be completely honest with God, with others, and with ourselves. That's what I'm trying to do.