I probably heard Phish over the airwaves long before I knew exactly who they were. On all these stations, around 1992-94, there was always room for Phish between Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. I still remember listening to Rich Haskell and Arty LaVigne riding down Shelburne Road with my parents in the summer, usually talking about some promotions at the Chickenbone Cafe. As a kid, I used to listen to these three stations ad-nauseum. The station would become the predominant rock and roll radio station for the town until 1997 when it added 99.9 The Buzz as its “younger-focused” sister station.

Starting out in 1983 in Vergennes, the same year as Phish, with Arty LaVigne as general manager, the station would become a champion of local radio with a popular local morning show, Corm and the Coach, and a focus on Vermont artists. WIZN was a major player in the Vermont radio scene alongside WNCS out of Montpelier, a station we’ll cover later in this series. Most notably here at the Rock Rumble at the Front. While on a national front this is true, at home, Phish was all supported by local radio stations. Much of the mythos of the Phish story is Phish rose to be the kings of live music without radio, MTV, or album sales. I know what you’re thinking, “How can you write up shows that you don’t know much about?” The fact is these two shows were extremely important in the history of Phish that our lack of first-hand accounts can’t be reason alone to skip them. Today I want to talk about two important shows that we don’t have much of a setlist or any recordings from. towards The Woodbury Armory (formerly Hunt’s).

The SkiRack (formerly The Front) looking up Main St.

Phish nectar cafe