"Down with Disease" was Phish's breakthrough single on American rock radio, reaching #33 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in June 1994.[1] It was first played live December 31, 1993, as a jam without lyrics.[2] "Down with Disease" was released as a single by Elektra on both CD and cassette. The compact disc version of the single was a promotional item issued to radio stations, while the cassette edition was issued to retail. The CD only includes "Down with Disease", while the cassette also contains "NO2", an experimental musique concrète composition that features dental drill sound effects. A different recording of "NO2" appeared on the band's 1986 demo release The White Tape.
In concert, "Down With Disease" has spanned from three, to ten, to over twenty minutes, often featuring full band improvisation. The longest standalone rendition of this song was the April 21, 2024 performance, which clocked in at 33 minutes and 56 seconds".[3]
Music video
A music video was created for the song, directed by Phish bassistMike Gordon, that showed the members of the band scuba diving through an aquarium. The video was partially shot during the song's debut live performance, at the band's December 31, 1993 New Year's Eve concert at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts.[4] During the performance, the stage was decorated with aquarium props for the music video shoot.[4] The video appeared a few times on MTV, including an abbreviated version on Beavis and Butt-head.
The "Down with Disease" music video is the only one that has been produced by the band during its 35-year career, apart from a semi-official 1991 fan-made video for the song "Esther".[5]
