Jon Fishman Talks Phish & Politics After Committee Appearance

Phish has generally shied away from politics over the course of their 30+ year career. Drummer Jon Fishman made an exception after two of his daughters became involved in the fight to pass legislation in Vermont banning ivory sales. Yesterday, Fishman appeared and spoke before Vermont’s House Committee on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources about the ivory ban and then discussed Phish’s political history with Burlington paper Seven Days.

#Phish drummer Jon Fishman speaks in favor of ivory ban bill #vtpoli #vt @bfp_news pic.twitter.com/TxGl9wqWeO

— Glenn Russell (@GlennVermont) April 8, 2015

One of the interesting nuggets Fish revealed during his chat with Seven Days’ Paul Heintz is that he recently went into the studio with his Phish bandmate Trey Anastasio. “Yeah, I was doing some stuff with [guitarist Trey Anastasio], doing a little demo-ing,” Fishman said. “We’re always working on something.”

Phish did get involved with a political issue back in 1995, when they played a Voters For Choice benefit in Lowell, Massachusetts. Gloria Steinem spoke after the quartet’s performance and Fish doesn’t look back fondly on the experience. “I agree with a lot of what she says. I disagree with a lot of what she says, too. And I didn’t know that until she was speaking right after we played for this thing for which she was the lead speaker,” the drummer revealed. “So suddenly we are married to her opinions.”

Fishman also learned that taking a side on a controversial issue would lead to negative reactions from Phish fans on the other side of the issue. The drummer told Heintz about a letter he received from an aggrieved Phish fan in the wake of the Voters For Choice benefit. “I’m an adopted kid, OK? So someone on earth didn’t have an abortion, and I’m here talking to you today. Alright?” Fishman said the letter read. “Now, another person who was adopted wrote a letter in expressing the same sort of thing. So, now, that to me, there’s some sound reasoning that I hadn’t thought about — and suddenly we’re involved in this very divisive social issue,” Jon added.

So why has Fishman decided to get involved in politics again? “[Elephants are] not a politically human-driven issue. This is, like, our survival,” the drummer said. “To me, if we’re talking about the preservation of life on earth and our own well-being, that’s less politically charged.” Read the Seven Days article for more from Fishman about the ivory ban, Phish and additional topics.