On March 5, the Syracuse Area Music Awards will honor Phish drummer Jon Fishman with the Lifetime Achievement Award, an accolade earned by just 18 artists including Ronnie James Dio, Dick Clark and Jimmy Van Huesen.

On the honor, Fishman told Syracuse.com, “I’m a little embarrassed. Let’s put it this way: My dad, who has donated tons of of his time, is way more deserving of a lifetime achievement award. My friend Roger is…at the forefront of figuring out ALS. My wife has raised five kids…Everybody else in that room deserves a lifetime achievement award for what they’ve done…Do I deserve a lifetime achievement award for being the luckiest kid in the world?”

Throughout the interview, Fishman reflected on various points of Phish’s career, noting the band’s December 30, 1994 show at Madison Square Garden. “There’s the marquee that says ‘Madison Square Garden welcomes Phish’. It’s a big moment. After the concert [my Dad] comes to me and goes, ‘I’m really glad you stuck to your guns.’”

He also spoke about the band’s farewell shows at Coventry in 2004, calling it “the real crash and burn.” He added, “I thought we were never coming back. How many bands have we seen come and go in a heartbeat?”