Originally published in the second edition of The Phish Companion, this is a textual collage of quotations from scores of interviews with the band before, during, and after their two-and-a-half-year hiatus, which started 12 years ago today. These quotations have been edited together in topical areas, which allows for a cohesive telling literally in their words but also allows the reader to pick up on shifts in tone and emphasis over the course of the hiatus.

The Announcement

Phish is currently on hiatus. The band has not decided how long the break will last, nor have they made any future plans collectively or individually. (5) We've got about six gigs left on this tour and ... I want to take this speaking opportunity to thank a couple of people before we go on what's going to be our first extended hiatus in about seventeen years. ... What we're planning on doing, so that you get the message clearly from us right here, is taking some time and writing some music and kind of getting our whole life back together before we return so that we can hopefully get another great seventeen years out of this. ... We have, without exaggerating, the greatest crew even assembled in the history of music, and I mean that. This is a chance for them to take a little breather, too. ... A lot goes in this, it's not just the four of us, it's a whole big family kind of team thing. (1)

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