The current issue of Relix looks back 20 years to the inaugural H.O.R.D.E. tour in 1992 which featured Blues Traveler, Phish, Widespread Panic, Spin Doctors, Col. Bruce Hampton and Aquarium Rescue Unit and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. Here Phish’s Mike Gordon and Page McConnell recall the 1992 tour. To view all of our special H.O.R.D.E. content, visit www.relix.com/HORDE .

Photo by Steve Eichner

While other band sent representatives, all four members of Phish attended the initial meeting in New York City

Page McConnell: I couldn’t tell you exactly how that came about but it doesn’t surprise me because it’s kind of how we operate. Rarely does one of us speak for the band. I imagine that none of us would have felt comfortable taking the responsibility of speaking for the band and then coming back and telling the other three this is what’s going to be. It was simpler to have all four of us. It wasn’t that we were trying to attain leverage or anything like that it’s really just more of the way we function in our decision-making.

No managers allowed (and a veto)

Mike Gordon: I remember managers weren’t allowed in the meeting although there were a couple hovering outside. I also remember that one of the ideas was the bands would be paid equally no matter what. Then when the mangers heard about all the ideas that was the one that they absolutely shot own. They were very concerned that bands had a certain market value were compensated accordingly.

Some of the managers weren’t so sure that Col. Bruce Hampton and The Aquarium Rescue Unit should be on the tour but the other musicians wouldn’t relent on that point.

Mike Gordon: I guess what it came down to was we all loved the aquarium rescue unit, musically and personally and everything about Bruce and there was no way we were doing to have them part of it we were all inspired by them in some ways.

Joining The Team

Page McConnell: We weren’t looking to create anything and as it is now, it was the: we like to do things by ourselves a lot of times. There certainly were some conversations as to whether we should go this route but in the end we’re glad we did it. It was a lot of fun and I was good friends with the Widespread guys and eventually the Unit too. I still am. I love hanging out with those guys, it was a blast.

Photo by Steve Eichner

On selecting the name H.O.R.D.E.

Page McConnell: In a lot of ways Popper was driving the boat in terms of arranging the meeting, putting it together and even the name H.O.R.D.E. Mike [Gordon] came up with a slew of hilarious names and he read out some of them at the meeting. He’s got a knack for funny names and I can remember a couple off the top of my head from 20 years ago: Rock Donkey Dunkle and East Coast Rock-a-Sooey…I don’t think we wanted to take it so seriously and Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere…But it was fine. We weren’t up for a fight. We were happy to be part of it and we enjoyed hanging with all those guys.

Mike Gordon: We had brought a list of potential names which I had made. I was the name list person. They were all weird names and the Clifford Ball was one of them which we then ended up using for our own purposes. Click here to read Mike’s list of suggested names.

The first night in Portland

Mike Gordon: I think that was our first arena gig, which was sort of a nice way to do it. With Phish we always cruised slowly. So even though we normally didn’t team up with other bands to do tours, getting our feet wet in an arena and seeing what it was like without having to carry the show by ourselves, that was a good opportunity for us.

Sweet inspiration

I remember running into my friend Dan up in the bleachers maybe while ARU was playing and sharing a pot brownie which made a great for a great gig for me. I remember that was one of the first times I realized not only that I could play one note for a half hour but that I should play one note for a half hour and really focus hard on each plucking of that note with great intensity. The pot brownie kind of aided that and it was a great jam.

The legacy

Page McConnell: I did sense from the audience perspective that by putting all these bands together there was this commonality a lot of crossover and a lot of people that appreciated it all. It would continue with bands that followed afterwards and fill into that category in people’s minds like the Disco Biscuits or Umphrey’s McGee. I don’t know if the term jamband was really thrown around much before then but it did somehow solidify the genre in people’s minds – if not in my mind, then at least in people’s minds. And in my mind it was recognizing that yes, there’s something going on out there that’s bigger than us.

Mike Gordon: The legacy? A group of bands and friends and gigs and maybe a certain philosophy that happened to be given a name by John.