I was a Phish hater. I was a 15 year old die-hard dead fan, and NOTHING could hold a candle to my favorite band back then. I was also an idiot.

I expected Phish to sound just like the dead, and figured they were just some act cashing in on the dead's fan base. So I talked shit about the band with the strange name which I had never heard. I was wrong, and stupid.

The first Phish song I ever heard was rift. I woke up at a strange house after a party. I grabbed a tape off the floor and slammed it in my walkman. My first thought was, "holy shit! this is fucking awesome." I listened to Rift about 100 times. Then I bought a ticket to the next show.

I never looked back.

Still a dead fan. I have not ever noticed a similarity between the two bands music. Seriously.