During the early '90s, Phish emerged as the heirs to the Grateful Dead's throne. Although their music is somewhat similar to the Dead's -- it's an eclectic, free-form rock & roll encompassing folk, jazz, country, bluegrass, and pop -- the group adheres more to jazz-derived improvisation than folk tradition, and they have a looser, goofier attitude. After all, their drummer regularly plays a vacuum during their concerts. Phish's main claim as the inheritors to the Dead's legacy is their approach to their musical career. The band didn't concentrate on albums, they dedicated themselves to live improvisation. Within a few years of their 1988 debut, Phish had become an institution in certain sections of America, particularly college campuses. And Phish' in-concert popularity didn't necessarily translate to huge record sales; their biggest-selling albums usually halted at gold status. Still, Phish were the de facto leaders of the neo-hippie jam band movement until deciding to go on hiatus in 2000.

In the summer of 1995, Phish released the double-live album A Live One, which attempted to definitively capture the Phish concert experience. In early 1996, Trey Anastasio released a free-form jazz side project called Surrender to the Air. In the fall of 1996, Phish released their sixth album, Billy Breathes, which was produced by Steve Lillywhite and garnered the group's best reviews thus far. Slip, Stitch & Pass, their second live LP, followed in 1997, and the following year, the group resurfaced with the studio effort Story of the Ghost. The six-disc Hampton Comes Alive, capturing four full live sets over the course of two nights, appeared in late 1999; and went gold, a testament to their rabid following. The band's popularity only grew during the last half of the '90s, and their ceaseless touring had helped make them indisputably one of the top concert draws in the nation. In the spring of 2000, Phish delivered the pastoral studio effort Farmhouse, which was hailed as one of their finest and tightest to date; they also landed some mainstream exposure thanks to the single "Heavy Things."

However, exhausted by touring and separation from their families, Phish decided to take an extended break, announcing a temporary breakup in October 2000. A month later, Elektra reissued The Siket Disc, which was previously available only through mail order; it featured improvisational tracks from the band's 1997 Story of the Ghost sessions. Each member branched out into different direction with mostly successful results during this period. Anastasio released a series of demos before hooking up with Primus bassist Les Claypool and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland for their bizarre Oysterhead project. Despite all the touring he put into these projects, he also released an eponymous solo album during the spring of 2002. Jonathan Fishman worked with his side project Pork Tornado and the touring jazz combo Jazz Mandolin Project. Page McConnell released the first few recordings from his other band, Vida Blue, as well as contributed keyboards to Tenacious D's first record. Mike Gordon did some work with friend and former employer Col. Bruce Hampton and dabbled in film work both in front of and behind the camera. And both Gordon and McConnell worked on Gov't Mule's The Deep End, Vol. 1. As far as the band, Phish was more a part of American culture than ever when they made an appearance on The Simpsons before releasing a massive set of live albums and a DVD in the spring of 2002. By the end of the year, the group bowed to pressure and came back with the announcement that they would begin to play live again starting at the end of December.