I love this so much. Last episode with the host from Beyond the Pond is great! I love learning about new music and inspires people musically! Their Spotify link to the playlist seems broken though... could that be looked at again? Thank you!
I do LOVE the show and don’t want to sound ungrateful but agree with another reviewer about “listener whiplash”. Feed is a bit all over the place and don’t love the current strategy of re-releasing 3 old UTS episodes per week. Feels a little quantity > quality just to stuff the feed. Like, how are there 50 old eps released but there wasn’t one or two about the sphere run or about the Evolve release? I know I can find that elsewhere but enjoy the Tom, Benjy, etc. perspective. 🙏🏻
Undermine brings an intimate look at all things Phish and adds a personal touch, oftentimes giving us the feeling that we are sitting in the room and part of the conversation and the inside jokes. As a subscription (premium) member, I have enjoyed the full catalog of the early seasons known as “Under the Scales” and the premium content offered in addition to the regular non subscription podcasts. Tom Marshall’s stories, his guests, his humor and the dive into the various topics discussed make this a phan-tastic addition to the history of Phish over the last 40 years. Undermine offers insight as to why Phish is still reaching their peak. Sit back, enjoy and get more down on the backstory of the band many of us love dearly…The Phish from Vermont!
Undermine itself is a good fun listen. It’s a couple of passionate nerds talking about epic moments in Phish history.
We’ve got a band, the latest release from them, is terrible. It’s young hosts with no charisma who think that Phish is all about partying. They need to read the freaking book.
It is so fun to hear such fun interviews and stories! Thanks so much! Bless you! I LOVE UNDERMIND! It’s my favorite podcast actually! I have learned so much. It’s really well written, the interviews compelling and entertaining. I just finished episode 48 with Scott Bernstein an its the best oc season 4. One reason is it’s over an hour long! Plus the resolution of Cow Funk explained by a visit to the band’s tour bus and exposing a certain VHS that the band was watching nightly…..make Undermine long again!
I have listener whiplash with this podcast. The original Under the Scales was great listening and all that I look for in a podcast. Then the show went overly produced, fully scripted, and mostly unlistenable (for me). Seems to be getting back to actual conversations about Phish, so I will be tuning back in. 3.5 stars for now.
Love this podcast but now you have to sign up to hear the latest episode? Isn’t that why there is 10+ minutes of ads per show? Love the content though. All for revenue and understand that these things cost $ to produce and opens up other podcasts but not worth another subscription.
This show went from being about the history and cultural impact of Phish to telling its audience it is somehow a bad thing that a majority of phish fans are white people.
The episode stated we should seek to change this and try to change peoples behavior.
I really don’t understand but I feel gross now with this show.
Love the podcast, so well researched and informative. Gave it 4 because Tom’s robotic delivery is a bit rough at times. Sounds like a hostage being forced to read. Guys, I love tom, but this ain’t it. Let someone who can read with expression and phrasing do the narration.
I don't care if you're 1.0/2.0/3.0/4.0...everyone's going to learn something here. It's also going to make that connection at shows even stronger.
Listen to them all...
Remember how Phish is so dominant in their booking prowess that they regularly black out or cover up adverts in sheds and arenas they don’t see fit? Well the cash grab on this podcast is stunning, 15mins of commercials?
Can’t Triscuit at least get them to tone down the bro-beer plugs? Dig Tom and the stories but now I remember why I set this podcast aside or at the very least remembered ‘Hey Siri, skip ahead 5mins’. Blerg.
WHAT?!
100% the definitive Phish history. Unbelievable detail and in-depth inquiry.
I saw Phish first when I was 15 in 1995 and never stopped. until listening to this podcast, I really never had the proper perspective on the timeline. It all makes so much more sense now. And I appreciate it on a level deeper than before, which I didn’t really think was possible. Also, it’s really touching to hear the great friendship shared through this circle of people and fans.
I truly think that you could take this entire podcast, (I’m talking about the season one here that you’re doing) and create it as a film w pictures and mintages and make a visual documentary of this. I would def pay some bucks for a 5 hour Definitive Phishtory documentary! please?
what a beautiful addition to a continuing homage to greatness. Thank you all :)
These guys need to loosen up. The commentary sounds extremely rehearsed and canned. You can virtually hear them reading off of a cue card. Tom’s “snowboarder with a head cold” voice is done no favors with this approach. The episode about other indie bands from the 80’s sounded like a group of guys reading Wikipedia articles out loud. There are a lot of great insights about Phish to be had here, but the stiff delivery of it all really makes listening a chore. The ads are similarly painful to listen to, especially the creepy burnout mumbling about manscaping.
Whomever convinced you to go the scripted podcast route did you a disservice. Loosen up and let it flow improv the podcast just like the band. Then edit it carefully.
I loved this season and look forward to more. Personally, I like some of the ‘tangents’ into other bands and other things going on at the time as it provides interesting context. Would love to hear even more from musicologists/composers about the music itself. Thanks for producing this 👏🏻
I want to like iterations more than I do. But a podcast that is supposed to be deep into Phish spends more than half of its content week after week discussing other bands (Husker du (whoever that is), Yo La Tenga, King Crimson, the Dead, etc) is just not that interesting after abou 15-20 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I like those bands. But what I want to hear are more inside stories, lyric deep dives, and hijinks about our favorite band. You know, the one this is supposed to be about.
I enjoyed the first episode. It was clear and focused with a direction. But after that it seemed to lose its voice. The Narration is lost. I really enjoyed After Midnight because of its direction and narration. I guess that they are going for the Podcast style were its friends talking but it just seems like a bunch of dudes in a dorm room. That can be fun but it’s not alway interesting.
That all being said I like the concept of the show.
So great to hear you guys take on the early years just went back and listened to 4 ‘87 shows
3/23
4/29
8/21
8/29
Thank you for suggestions on listening back and hearing it in a new way that I didn’t have the ear to listen for when I was a younger Phan.
Keep up the great work and look forward to more episodes
I enjoy the content but they need to stop pretending they’re having a conversation and just talk naturally. Maybe write some notes with points you want to cover and then talk like you actually talk about music. Just sounds so forced and sterile when these guys are obviously reading from a script.
I enjoy the content, but the format is brutal. It's an interview format, but it's all obviously scripted, so it all just sounds like someones sitting there reading a report. Not my favorite podcast.
In previous episodes what was lacking for me was musical theory knowledge from the hosts, who knew a lot about different phish shows but did not have the language or knowledge to comment on the music theory side of things. When I saw the title of newest episode “early compositions” I cringed. Man oh man did they make the right call of having actual musicians discuss the compositions. Great episode
Two great shows & one “meh” combine for one mediocre podcast.
So far, the rebrand is coming across way too scripted... I miss the informality. The Beyond The Pond segment should have remained its own separate thing. Not for me... pretty much zero Phish content on a Phish podcast.
I’ll keep listening in hopes this new platform finds its voice.
I love how intimate Tom can be and give us a personal view of his relationship with the band, especially Trey! He tracked down Jeff, I mean come on!! That is insane. I feel like our Phamily gets a little tighter every time a new story comes out. Thank you for that.
Great podcast. Even the biggest phanner can learn something new here, and you get the phacts and phigures directly from the people who were there and lived it. A plus work here. Congrats and well done to all who are responsible for this podcast.
Amazing to hear so many people from the first days of Phish. A woman who lived through Fishman’s dorm drumming. Members of the Joneses, a band that shared stages with Phish. And [SPOILER ALERT], if you don’t know by now, they even get Jeff Holdsworth to share his thoughts and to give us an update on his life. Tom is an excellent guide to take us through the journey of episode one. I can’t wait to hear how they fold in HFPod and Beyond the Pond into this show. In a way, it’s like a jamband experience. You don’t get just one genre or style, but many. Very cool.
Undermine episode 1 is off to a great start. These guys at Osiris are killing it, but especially with the Phish and Dead content. Really interesting to hear the interview with the other founding guitarist of Phish and learn a little more. Great job RJ and Tom!
As often happens, right after I finished listening to the podcast on my walk home from work I switched to NPR and “All things Reconsidered” started playing as the news show segued. 💚
Fantastic first Undermine podcast!
Osiris is the place to go for the best Phish content. They have the most knowledgeable guests and the best produced podcasts. I learn so much from them and, also, they’re having fun while they’re doing it - just like our favorite band.
Love the podcasts man. Keep me coming. They get me through my workday super fast and I can listen for hours. My name is Phreedom and I love how in depth you go into my favorite band and hearing all the behind the scenes stories. One day I would love to here a Reba lyric dive if you could dive that deep haha. Thanks again, my friend my friend
The.best part about this and all podcasts is how easy it is to skip the commercials. The 15 second skip is perfect. I just push it 4/8 times and I never need to hear a commercial. It’s great. Thank you!
Tom brings us all in to the world of phish with how he and Trey write and make songs. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Tom has a great sense of humor and comes across as a very chill down to earth guy with a large brain.
I checked out this podcast on a whim one day and now havnt been able to stop listening. Every episode is awesome and I have gained a lot more knowledge on my favorite band
