Now, when you shop at Amazon, you can have 0.5% of your purchases directed to the Mockingbird Foundation, the all-volunteer Phish fan group funding music education for children. Just click here to select Mockingbird as the beneficiary of your purchaases, then bookmark smile.amazon.com and start your shopping there.

Despite a mild distaste for mathematics, I have developed a curious interest in the power and symbolism of numbers and their use in ritualistic occult practices, engineering, and their most natural expression in the multivariate artform known as music. The number 555 is known alternately as the “highest death” and the numerologic symbol for mankind. When the number 555 appears before you, it is a sign for a life changing thought or event having just occurred. You may not like it, or you may. Whatever the case, your Spirit Guides are notifying you that a change in your life path direction has just occurred, and it is time for you to change too. Move with it, hop on this new train of thoughts. The universe is making changes for you whether you ask for it or not. Allow the rails to unwind before you and travel to a new future full of possibilities still hidden from you at this point of seeing. Hold the vision until you land at the next station. ...

"Only a Dream" tells the story of someone who is having trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. Worse, he seems unsure which of these realms he'd rather inhabit. Struggling with relationship problems apparently of his own doing, he at first seems relieved to discover that a series of unfortunate events – such as being swallowed by a spiral staircase and being spit out in the woods – is only a dream. Our narrator attempts to repent for trading his lover's trust for lust, but is ultimately left alone. This would seem to be a bad thing, but instead it just "confirms his fears" that "it's only a dream." So we're left at the end of this Mobius strip of a song not really knowing what's real and what isn't and why he's so disappointed to find out that his being left alone was only a dream. In other words, just another journey into the mind of Mike Gordon....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Fire On the Mountain” Tease Removed from Phish.net Setlist File

The Judge Decreed It, The Clerk He Wrote It

NEW YORK, NY, April 1, 2014 – In a surprise ruling that sent shockwaves throughout the Phish community, phish.net Tease Tsar Scott Marks has removed the “Fire On the Mountain” tease from the 12/31/95 “Drowned.”

“It was always a jamakinto, at best” said Marks, who exercised his omnipotence in all matters tease-related to override the established consensus. “This ‘tease’ was never solid, and if anything, it was a precursor of ‘Meatstick’, but it’s really just improvisational musicians jamming in the moment. Not everything is a ‘tease,’ brah.”

“We’ve collectively come to our senses; our long national nightmare is finally over” said phish.net senior editor Phillip Zerbo. “This ‘tease’ was always just a pet project of Charlie Dirksen, and despite his deafness and terrible pitch, people listened to him. Those days are now in the past, and we can move forward into a Brave New World.”

Dirksen was unavailable for comment at press time, but was heard to be muttering that he would “sue those deaf asshats back to the stone-age.”

“We considered Dirksen’s range of potential responses carefully,” said Marks. “His first response will be a lawsuit, of course. But as the President of The Mockingbird Foundation he would, in essence, be suing himself, a conflict of interest even his brilliant legal mind could not possibly overcome. We’re clear. It’s done. Finally!”

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During an interview/solo-acoustic performance on XM Radio, recorded 3/7/06, Trey spoke frankly about the recent breakup of Phish, bearing the anger of the fans, and where it might have gone wrong. He also debuted one, exquisite, delicate, bittersweet lament that would later be called “In Spirals.” What was first titled “Sweet Peace” would be played on just this one occasion, solo acoustic....

The opening theme of “Meat” is a hybrid of the basic groove core of the “old” “Ghost” and a stop-on-a-dime break-down jam – reminiscent of the Worcester (11/28/97) and Philadelphia (12/2/97) “Ghosts” and the Albany (12/13/97) “Mike’s” -> “Groove.” In the breakdown jams of fall 1997, one band member would be the featured funk-master, getting down with his bad self while the rest of the band looked on in amusement. Unlike those breakdown jams, the full stops in “Meat” are deafeningly silent. They leave the listener hanging, with the sound of their heartbeat ringing in their ears. ...

Our online community started 24 years ago this week, with the original PhishNet email list. It's evolved - through a Usenet newsgroup, various website incarnations, and more - and continues to grow and (hopefully) improve each day. Whether you're newly arrived, have been here from the start, or anything in between, we appreciate your interest, interactions, and support; and we look forward to many more years, many more shows, and many more friends. Huzzah!

Phish’s one-set show at Lowell Memorial Auditorium on 5/16/95 (audio) was the main attraction for a Voters For Choice benefit. It was an unusual gig, the first of 1995 but preceding their summer tour by almost a month away, so fans were unsure what to expect. Further, renowned feminist Gloria Steinem delivered an extended speech immediately preceding the set, adding to the odd-for-a-Phish-show feel. Phish then unleashed a ground-breaking set featuring a whopping ten debuts, compared to only four familiar tunes. ...

We are very pleased to announce the winners of the Phish.net Mike Gordon Overstep contest! We had several entries arrive via our blog, our forum, and Instagram. The admins narrowed the field down to about 10 worthy of serious conversation and are pleased to share the winners with you:

Grand Prize Winner: @bouncingaroundtheroom

@bouncingaroundtheroom wins two tickets to any show on Mike's Overstep tour. Great job incorporating the album cover into your photo! This was our nearly unanimous vote for contest winner.

Runner Up: @HilmBill

There were several that got us to smile or laugh, but this one was a fantastic visual. @HilmBill wins a signed copy of Overstep.

Runner Up: @gratephul_67

Even though Mike tours under the name "Mike Gordon", @gratephul_67 incorporated "MGB" for "Mike Gordon Band" into snow, something the Northeast has seen plenty of lately. He'll also win a signed copy of Overstep.

Thank you all for participating, we had a lot of fun judging the entries. Stay tuned for more news about Phish and Mike Gordon's solo efforts.

Phish bassist Mike Gordon's new solo album is entitled "Overstep." But what exactly does "Overstep" mean? Is it pushing, as in overstepping ones bounds? Or crossing those scary sewers by taking an extended stride, refusing to touch your foot to the grates? We think one of you can put your genius to work explaining overstep - by photo. That's right, fire up your smart phone, dig up your trusty DSLR, or load up or your 35mm film (you hipsters) and show us "Overstep" in one photo.

How to Enter

We'll be accepting entries in two ways:
1. Post a comment on this item with a link to your image. If you need a place to upload your photo, we recommend imgur.com.
2. Post your photo to Instagram using the hashtag #PhishNetOverstep.
3. Embed an image in the forum.

The Rules

1. It must be an original work of art.
2. You must post it as a comment on this blog entry or on Instagram. No other entries will be considered.
3. Your picture must be family-friendly. No drugs or boobies, you nincompoops.
4. The funnier and more original, the better!
5. Your photo should be taken for this contest. Don't be lazy. We're looking for something original and inspired!

The Prizes

So what can you win? The Grand Prize winner will receive two tickets to any show on Mike's Spring 2014 tour. You can also have a bite of my pizza sometime, if we're ever hanging out and I have pizza and you're hungry. Also: internet karma and fame in a sub-community for a day!

Two runners up will received a signed copy of Overstep on compact disc. To be clear, it's signed by Mike Gordon. He plays the bass guitar on the album!

The Phish.net site team will review the entries and decide on a grand-prize winners. All entries must be submitted by Wednesday, February 19th. We'll announce the winners shortly thereafter.

Good luck, Oversteppers!

Updated: the contest has been extended! We will now be accepting entries until next Wednesday, the 26th. Also, you can now enter by posting to this thread in the Phish.net forum. Fire away!

For those of us who crave the music of Phish during that long annual drought between New Years Eve and Summer Tour in June, tribute band Uncle Ebenezer is holding a benefit for The Mockingbird Foundation at The Europa, 98 Meserole Avenue in Brooklyn, this Friday, February 21st. Doors are 9:30 and the venue is 21+. Tickets are $10 and any additional amount you'd like to donate to Mockingbird.

More information on the band, event and preordering tickets on Ticketweb is available on the band Facebook page link above and the Facebook event page here.

The Mockingbird Foundation (all volunteer, all fans, all for music education) is now accepting donations in bitcoins!

Welcome to part 176 of Phish.net's Mystery Jam Monday! Thanks to the very generous folks at Ghostlight Records, we still have one Hands on a Hardbody CD signed by Trey Anastasio that we're awarding to a Mystery Jam winner! Please read below for more information on this exciting prize, including updated prize rules:

Hands on a Hardbody was adapted for the Broadway stage from the 1997 documentary directed by S.R. Bindler, and garnered a Tony nod for “Best Original Score” for Trey and co-writer Amanda Green. Trey’s work on the show also got him two Drama Desk Award nominations, he and Green for “Outstanding Music”, and his collaboration with Don Hart for “Outstanding Orchestration”.

A music video, in part culled from the album recording sessions, that shows Trey in the studio working with the cast, caught the attention of and premiered alongside interviews on rollingstone.com. In one of their articles “Exclusive: Phish’s Trey Anastasio Talks About His First Musical,” Trey speaks of his musical writing experience as “certainly affecting future songwriting” for him. For fans of Trey Anastasio and fans of Phish, interested in brand new material, as well as the growing and changing artist in Trey, it may be of interest to hear his work in this different medium. To check out samples from the Hands on a Hardbody soundtrack on iTunes, or to purchase if you like what you hear, click here.

We will be awarding the CD to the next unique winner. Therefore, if the winner of a previous CD is the first to correctly identify this mystery jam, they will win the MP3 download, but the CD prize will carry over to the next week's contest. The MP3 download is courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. Previous MJM emeritus @RabeldyNugs is still eligible to win a CD; however, his MP3 prize would carry over to the following week's contest.

To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery jam clip. Each person gets one guess per day, with the second “day” starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. Good luck!

Answer: Another first-time winner for this one, as @justino was the first to answer with the 12/31/98 Ghost. He wins the last of the Trey-signed Hands on a Hardbody CDs, plus an MP3 download.

“Anybody singing the blues is in a deep pit yelling for help.” - Mahalia Jackson In 2009, Trey Anastasio spoke in front of a gathering of drug court supporters in Washington, D.C. Trey talked about the period between Coventry and his 2006 arrest in Whitehall, NY. “My life had become a catastrophe,” he said. “I had no idea how to turn it around. My band had broken up. I had almost lost my family. My whole life had devolved into a disaster.” Many songs from that time carry the weight of those struggles, but the heavy blues of “Dark and Down” is Trey’s cry from the pit....

Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall succeed as songwriters for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that their songs leave plenty of room for interpretation. That said, a few of their tunes are not so playfully ambiguous, and most observers seem to agree that "Kill Devil Falls" is not a secluded cascade of Jamaican Rum, a town on a map, or a stop on a pub crawl, but a pointed metaphor for the seductive oblivion of addiction that Trey came to know in recent years....

"Free" was one of six Phish originals that debuted at the Lowell benefit concert on 5/16/95. Fans quickly took to the song, which tells of a man who contemplates throwing his wife from the boat on which they sail. In fact, a minor lyrical change from earlier versions was released on the Billy Breathes version of the song and all subsequent live performances; this change from “as we go sliding by” to “as the ship goes sliding by” cemented the song’s imagery....