MUSICMAKERS - Jon Fishman

[@LNZROCKS]

Great interview Jon Fishman is such am amazing drummer, I love hearing his point of view!!!

[@fals_one]

Absolute legend

[@sharonlacey3176]

Omg yes

[@altheabell7095]

U are amazing

[@stuartangel8212]

For me being a musician Fishman is the most unique drummer around. He surprises me at ever turn he is always doing something that is unexpected and totally awesome. He moves the music in a way that no other drummer that I had listened to is able to. A true Genius

[@jakedamphier2445]

Same here man. I’ve been drumming for 17 years and I have listened to a lot of drummers in many different genres and Fish is just the best. He’s definitely my biggest influence and he’s the reason I got into Phish as a teenager. The week ay he’s able to create new, fresh sounds with such a smorgasbord of genres night in and night out for almost 40 years is unparalleled and unprecedented. His playing style and unique sound, along with his personality are one of the main reason for Phish’s success. Even Trey said that fish has the best work ethic and is the most talented musician in the band. Without him, they wouldn’t be where they are today. He’s the driving force behind their music, and he doesn’t use anything too fancy in his setup. He’s not loyal to one brand of cymbals and has pretty much every big name brand. Zildjian A’s and K’s; Sabian AA, AAX and HHX; Istanbul, Paiste and even a Wuhan. He plays two snare drums. One is a brass/nickel/chrome 14”x6.5” Ludwig Black Beauty and the other is either a Pearl or Yamaha piccolo snare. He used to play Yamaha shells with an Ayotte bass drum that he’s carried over to every new kit. I always figured the toms were from a Tour Custom or Maple custom or Maple Absolute, but according to phish.net it was a Stage Custom birch. For those who don’t know the drum market - a Yamaha stage custom is built with thin birch shells and is their “intermediate level” kit, which sells for $650 new. In fact, I have a stage custom. They’re great sounding kits at a great value but I never would’ve expected one of the highest earning drummers in the world to play a stage custom. He also used Noble and Cooley toms with the Ayotte kick drum. In 2017 he switched to a Gretsch Renown Maple. Since then he’s gone back and forth between the Gretsch and Noble and Cooley toms while sticking with the Gretsch kick drum. He also uses the old reliable Remo coated Ambassador heads on his snare and toms. They’ve been the industry standard since the ‘60s but most drummers switched to thicker two-ply heads by the ‘80s. Ambassadors are thinner, one-ply heads which are now considered “budget” heads. He’s got a hell of a drum tech because that kit (and every other kit he uses) sounds f***ing awesome. I know, tl;dr... just wanted to share some knowledge. I know we’re not the only drummers out there influenced by Jon Fishman and I know I’m not the only one who’s interested in knowing what Fishman has in his setup. I hope someone will read this and appreciate the details. Anyway, rock on man 🤘 🥁 🕺 ✌️

[@stuartangel8212]

@@jakedamphier2445 Great comment and I am actually a guitarist but play the drums and Fishman is the one I watch when I go see them.

[@jakedamphier2445]

@@stuartangel8212 same here man. I can lock into Fishman and/or Mike all night long. Most Phish fans are obsessed with Trey, but I rarely ever hone in on and focus on just his playing like I do with fish.

[@jakedamphier2445]

@@wolfpacguy3824yup, Tama Starclassic Bubinga around 2019-2021. One of the only (or quite possibly the only) setups where he used clear heads. I would assume they were just the clear Ambassadors considering he’s always played the coated Ambassadors on his toms and snares. Although I’ve seen his snares fitted with Remo CS coated heads too recently. I believe it was the matching Gretsch USA Custom snare that he played last summer tour. I know their spring tour he went back to the black beauty but still rocked that sweet Gretsch. Hopefully it makes a return this summer tour. I’ll be at Philly, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and 7/29-730, 8/4-8/5 MSG so we shall see. I started a new job last year so I was only able to do the AC run and went solo but still had a blast. In fact it was so nice to get out and be left alone that I’m doing most of this summer’s shows solo too.

[@williambock1821]

I remember being 16 and thinking I could be as good as Bonham. I’m almost 50 now , been playing more or less the whole time and I ain’t even close to how good he was at 19!! I still play Levee that way. Screw delays!😂

[@sharonlacey3176]

Breathtaking beautiful talented group

[@bobbydtv1]

he lived by me for years and i was shocked how good he got around 16 he was playing all kinds of crazy stuff diggin Zappa crimson ,Genesis , no one even knew what the guy was up to most of the time its a trip what he has become i still admire the hell out of him ,always will .

[@Chalking.About.Stein.]

Bob D the house that you speak of was on Halton road. The house is no longer owned by a Fishman. Jonathan is a very intelligent person, if it's not drum sticks in his hand it will be a book !

[@Whiskey4myHoz]

@@Chalking.About.Stein. I went to FM. I went to a few awesome JD parties. All at his house. All thanks to his awesome mom.

[@jamieharr4459]

So glad he's my favorite drummer. I've been learning his parts and feel for twenty years now and am a great drummer because of it. I started out deciphering his live studio tracks and my addiction grew to Covering full sets. These days I hardly see the band but instead download the sets to play along with.

[@deBebbler]

Someone out there... anyone.... for the love of Christ, please post this entire interview!

[@mathensful]

I really love this guy lol. I learned to play When the Levee Breaks the same exact way, with ghost notes, before I realized the reverb on the drum track was what made the sound. I'm so glad I never knew the difference when I first learned it!

[@ericsnyder5427]

Genius at work.

[@TheHSIHP]

Fish is an amazing drummer. Amazing.

[@skankhunt-vw8xr]

My biggest influence ever. I work on ATR almost every time I sit down at my drums. Yamar took me forever to play and I still don't know if I'm playing it right. Lizards is another. His drumming is unique and just different. Almost impossible some of the stuff he does. Just try and play to Rift or Junta. Jon is a true genius.

[@kliffklug6095]

skankhunt42 yamar is so fun to play ! all those right hand (assuming you are playing open handed) variations on the snare and cowbell such a great exercise !

[@KhalDrogo76]

Famous Mockingbird....The Wedge....so many amazing grooves!!

[@averyprice9422]

The wedge beat is pretty mean too

[@jakedamphier2445]

My favorite is probably the back beat to “meat.” Idk what it is, just very unique yet still pretty simple. One of my favorite songs to play regardless of the band or drummer.

[@charliet.sanford2495]

Man... John C. Reilly’s brother sure is passionate about drumming.

[@flyjoseph6355]

Phish is one of the brainiest, yet also smartest bands ever to come down the pike, but what makes them really great is a) a good taste in music but b) knowing the balance of their creative identity between themselves and their influences and contemporaries

[@TopazRocker]

Fly Joseph Completely agree, this definitely isn’t said enough. Phish doesn’t tarnish the music influences they borrow, a skill that most bands seldom possess.

[@nathangoodman1764]

Love the line, "Work on stuff were bad at"

[@michaeldematteis3409]

Fish is such a cool,smart guy.awesome,awesome. Drummer

[@LSommer]

Thanks Yall.

[@summer-west]

3:45 bad at or Bad Hat? 👌 best 32 years ever!

[@Juancilra]

Is Phish the only jam band that does not have drum solos? Haha. That is fine with me. The whole drum solo thing can be eff-out at times. But occasionally I wish Fishman would give it a go.... I think Trey feels the same way, but gave up trying to egg him on somewhere in the late 90s.

[@honuman39]

Fish is a great drummer and he's self taught. He doesn't have the formal education that some other drummers have so (imo) he doesn't have some of the fundamentals that would make drum solos easier for him. He's a great drummer though and one of my biggest drum inspirations.

[@2000om28v]

It would be a treat to hear him solo out on Coil

[@nayarlopez8655]

@@honuman39 didn’t he earn a music degree at the same college as Trey?

[@honuman39]

@@nayarlopez8655 He earned a degree with drumming as his "major" at Goddard College but he didn't take formal lessons or study the way someone who would go to Berklee or some other music school would have. Goddard was a very liberal school that allowed its students to self direct their studies. I believe Fish's dissertation title was "A self teaching guide to drumming in retrospect". I heard him talk about it in an interview somewhere. He says he's pretty embarassed by it now but imo his playing style is so much tied to the band's music and really Trey's playing that if he'd been formally trained the band would never have come out sounding the way they did.

[@nayarlopez8655]

@@honuman39 thanks!

[@billsmith4356]

Not a phish fan but i am a Phishman fan

[@jktunney]

Love this, does anyone get his last point about studio musicians?

[@rbjax2001]

Jake Tunney It sounds like he's saying that a seasoned studio musician (like a Steve Gadd) has had the advantage of playing in many bands and with hundreds of artists. This would presumably make someone highly versatile but more importantly a true master of multiple genres. I.e., you're not getting that jazz gig unless you are the absolute cream of the crop.

[@jamieharr4459]

@@rbjax2001 totally agree with you. It felt like he was also implying his own short comings. He's helped me become a more rounded player though. His influences bleed out of his work.

[@rbjax2001]

Jamie Harr yep agree. I guess we are our own worst critics because I do think he is tremendously versatile and a stellar drummer. The whole jamband scene is loaded with masterful musicians.

[@jamieharr4459]

@@rbjax2001 I know. So fun to play as a drummer too. People don't know what they are missing. I think sometimes people miss the whole point of drumming. It's an art form that is supposed by bring people together. Not just too play things because they are overly complicated. Not that jam drumming doesn't have it's share of places to demonstrate chops but at it's core it's about the groove ...and sharing in that groove..😉