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Her students knew to show up Friday morning for a surprise guest speaker, but no one in Laura Lindenfeld’s Introduction to Mass Communication class knew who to expect.
Lindenfeld teased the curious crowd by introducing the speaker as her husband’s friend, who took up drums and joined a college band that was “kind of sucky at first.” Lindenfeld said that though the band is well-known, “they’re not part of the mainstream music industry.”
Lindenfeld, referencing a Rolling Stone cover, announced to the class “The drummer in the dress, Jon Fishman from Phish.”
Fishman wasn’t wearing a dress for this appearance. Instead, he looked pretty normal, with New Balance sneakers and a “Vote Regime Change 2004″ T-shirt.
This was his second visit to the University of Maine.
“The first time, I played with Phish at this place called the Oronoka,” he said.
Lindenfeld had invited Fishman to talk to her CMJ 100 class about the music industry.
“I guess it starts with 14-year-old girls and plastic,” Fishman said.
He went on to say that Phish – America’s greatest jam band according to Rolling Stone – has existed for 20 years “outside the industry’s 14-year-old girl plastic-selling machine.”
Without a prepared presentation, Fishman had the audience ask him questions.
When asked if Phish tried to get its music into the mainstream, Fishman said “That was always the battle.” He explained that “If you can get 14-year-old girls to like your music, they’ll bring the boys and you’ll sell your music.”
Fishman cited Madonna as the “Queen of the 14-year old girls,” and said that Phish never got a bite from that demographic.
Fishman balanced speaking to the crowd with paying attention to his toddling daughter, Ella, who preferred exploring the room over sitting with her mother and baby brother, Jack.
“There’s an inherent contradiction in the term ‘music industry,’” Fishman said. “On one hand, there’s the word ‘music,’ which means to me art for art’s sake. Music, in its purest form, reaches for the highest part of the human spirit. Then, there’s the word ‘industry,’ which implies mass-production and money, limits and hooks and sales.”
Someone in the crowd then asked what the industry most pressured Phish to change.
“Time,” Fishman said with a laugh. “We have the hardest time getting anything down to five minutes.”
When asked if he wanted Phish to become such a big name, Fishman said, “I think everyone wants to make their mark in this world, to be good at what they do, and to get recognition from their peers. I always wanted to be a drummer’s drummer – someone who other drummer’s looked at.”
Near the end of the hour, an audience member asked Fishman for his opinion on the record industry cracking down on file-sharing.
“For Phish,” Fishman said , “I think it’s the greatest thing in the world. Napster made us look huge. File-share all you want.”
Fishman then described Phish’s file-sharing service, which allows fans to download music from past shows for $10.
“Our philosophy [for live shows] is that you paid for it already. You own it. It’s out in the world,” he said.
The service’s proceeds go to the Mockingbird Foundation, which provides musical instruments for underprivileged children.
“But we can afford to [give away the money raised from file-sharing],” he said.
Fishman’s presentation gave Lindenfeld’s students insight into some topics they have discussed in class. At one point, Fishman apologized for his scattered train of thought. He just had a lot to say – and a few distractions from Ella.
“Forgive me. I’m not a lecturer. And usually I have a big drum set to hide behind.”
Bangor Daily News