THE PHISH LYRICS INDEX IS BACK!
Want to name a pet something besides Tela? Can't recall which song mentions Aquitana or Elihu? Remember which nine Phish songs mention birds? Now, and once again, you can. Originally published in the second edition of The Phish Companion, extended with input from forum regulars in an earlier (c.2012-2015) version, and now thoroughly rebuilt from the ground up, the Lyrics Index is coming back!
This is a selective topical index of the lyrics to 253 Phish originals1 – 26,835 words2, indexed in 2,393 references3, organized in 51 topical categories4, some more selective than others5. And it's rolling out, though still getting populated with entries (1,117 entered so far - 1,276 OTW!).
The included references follow this logic:
Soundcheck: Stash, Halfway to the Moon, Undermind, Lonely Trip
SET 1: I Never Needed You Like This Before[1], Tube > Free, Bouncing Around the Room, 46 Days, Limb By Limb, Wolfman's Brother, NICU, Drift While You're Sleeping
SET 2: Down with Disease[2] -> Simple > Fuego > Plasma > Runaway Jim -> Weekapaug Groove -> Runaway Jim > Rift, If I Could > Rise/Come Together > Slave to the Traffic Light
ENCORE: Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
This show featured the Phish debut of I Never Needed You Like This Before. Trey teased Let It Grow in Down with Disease, which was unfinished. This was the rescheduled date from the show that had been postponed due to coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 474
Welcome to the 474th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the final and hardest puzzle of July - shout out to @sumac22 for the clip! The winner will receive an MP3 download code courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery clip. Each person gets one guess to start – if no one answers correctly in the first 24 hours, I'll post a hint. After the hint, everyone gets one more guess before Wednesday at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Stay safe!
20 Years Since Sharin'!
Twenty years ago today, the Mockingbird Foundation released the double-disc Sharin' in the Groove, featuring 23 artists who (with their studios, managers, producers, and more) donated their time gratis to record a Phish cover and help fundraise for music education for children. CDs still sell, believe it or not, and the digital tracks continue to raise grant funds every week, even 20 years later - and we encourage you to pick it up, at any of the 80+ outlets for it, from Amazon and the Apple Store to Spotify and beyond.
Sharin' in the Groove was unusual, as "tribute" albums go. Above all, the performers aren't bands influenced by Phish - it's the bands, acts, and genres that influenced Phish, from school bands (high school orchetra and college marching band) to the international champion barbershop quartet, and every manner of jazz, funk, soul, rock, pop, ballad, and more in between: Little Feat (who recorded "Sample in a Jar", then took it on the road) and the Wailers (doing their first track in over a decade, with their original producer); members of Talking Heads and Los Lobos; Son Seals and Arlo Guthrie - and Jimmy Buffet, with his entire Coral Reef Band.
And it's organized like a show, opening with a clean and vibrant cover of "Bouncin'" by Arlo Guthrie playing with a band that includes 2 of his kids, winding its way through a solid first set CD, then diving into some weirdness for set (CD) two - such as drum-n-bass masters Lake Trout reimagining a chunk of Picture of Nectar, and Japanese oddity The Boredoms mashing up "Free" and "End of Session" - before finishing out with the "Golgi" encore.
RUNAWAY, FITZ, AND MUSIC EDUCATION
Runaway Gin - a Tribute to Phish raised over $8,000 for the Mockingbird Foundation over the past year, donated in memory of keyboardist John "Fitz" Fitzgerald, who passed away unexpectedly in January 2020. We appreciate their support of music education for children, and encourage you to check out Fitz (and all of four of them) laying it down...
THE "GOOD KARMA, HOPE YOU GET YOUR TOUR WISH" MOCKINGBIRD FUNDRAISER
Looking for a certain bustout this summer? Hoping to catch a certain song at a certain venue? Looking for more long jams and fewer micro-jams? Create some good vibes towards making your wish come true by making a conditional pledge to a charitable cause!
Here’s how it works:
1. Go to this form: Google Form For Good Karma Hope You Get Your Tour Wish Fundraiser
The only personal information we ask for in the form is your first name and an email address to reach you if your conditional pledge comes to fruition.
2. Enter the donation amount you would like to conditionally pledge. Your choice.
3. Tell us the condition you want to attach to your pledge. We created six ideas (below), but there is an option to create your own. (For example: "I want "Tweezer" to open Deer Creek night 1" or "I want "More" to encore at Walmart" or "'Dog Log' at Dicks" or "For 'Guelah Papryus' to go Type II").
4. If the condition you selected comes true, we will reach out to you and ask you to honor your pledge. It is a strictly voluntary pledge and we ask for no payment or payment information up front.
5. Spread the word!
LOST GAMEHENDGE CD-ROM FOOTAGE RELEASED 30 YEARS LATER
Thanks to John Greene, Matt Laurence, and Clinton Vadnais, Phish.net is pleased to announce the release of the previously-uncirculated video footage that was shot 30 years ago last week for the planned-but-never-completed Gamehendge CD-ROM. This video comes from a VHS cassette labeled "John's Special Tape":
I had the pleasure of interviewing John Greene (formerly of yeP!, currently of Chum) over beers last week in Marin County to get the straight dope on the backstory of this footage. I transcribed the important details and worked them into a more linear narrative, with John’s blessing of course. Here's what John told me:
When I was a college student at UMass (‘88 to ’93), I worked in this animation lab – this is where I met Jack [Carson] from yeP! – my concentration was computer animation, and Jack and I wound up doing music and sound for all these computer animated educational videos. That’s what funded the lab, we made these videos, and that’s how Jack and I essentially started yeP!. Back then, in 1990, the computer software for the Mac IIfx was terrible. These guys in the animation lab had started their own software company to make a better computer animation package for the Mac than what existed. The short version is that they got to demo their software in the Apple booth at MacWorld in San Francisco – this was like January ’91.
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 473
Welcome to the 473rd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the second (and second-to-last) of July. The winner will receive an MP3 download code courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery clip. Each person gets one guess to start – if no one answers correctly in the first 24 hours, I'll post a hint. After the hint, everyone gets one more guess before Wednesday at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Stay safe!
LOST GAMEHENDGE CD-ROM FOOTAGE WORLD PREMIERE SATURDAY @ 8 PM EST!
In celebration of the 30 year anniversary this week of the video footage taken by John Greene (formerly of yeP!, currently of Chum) in July 1991 (7/12/91 - 7/19/91) that was slated to be included in the planned-but-never-completed Gamehendge CD-ROM, Clinton Vadnais (@cleantone here / @cleantones on Twitter and YouTube) will be streaming the footage he restored and cleaned up on his YouTube channel (youtube.com/cleantones) for the fanbase for the first time Saturday (tomorrow) at 8 pm EST / 5 pm PST!
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 472
Welcome to the 472nd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the first and easiest of July - note that the n00b rule is NOT in effect this week: anyone can answer on the blog. The winner will receive an MP3 download code courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery clip. Each person gets one guess to start – if no one answers correctly in the first 24 hours, I'll post a hint. After the hint, everyone gets one more guess before Wednesday at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Stay safe!
TREY ANASTASIO OPENS UP ABOUT SOLO CAREER ON ALIVE AGAIN
All four episodes of Alive Again, a limited series featuring Trey Anastasio, are now available. The show is available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We've all heard Trey talk about Phish in print, audio and video, but his solo career has remained largely unexamined—until now. And with the return of live music, the time has come for fans to be alive again.
NEW TO CIRCULATION (PARTIAL SET 2): DEC. 2, 1990 FRONT
Today, July 8th, is the anniversary of the fabled 7/8/94 Great Woods Gamehendge show. This is serendipitous indeed, because during last week's Attendance Bias podcast, Brian Weinstein had Jeff Goldberg (our resident sound archeologist), join him on the show. While they took a deep dive discussing that famous show, their analyses were preceded by a discussion about... you guessed it... previously uncirculated Phish material. Here is the link to the show where Jeff and Brian discuss the process and what it’s like to work on Phish material which so few people have ever heard:
Attendance Bias: 7/8/94 Great Woods, with Jeff Goldberg
Why is this significant? Well, thanks once again to Jeff's audio engineering efforts (Phish.net handle: @Jeff_Goldberg), we have some more uncirculated Phish music for your listening pleasure. No recordings were known to exist of the December 2nd, 1990 show at The Front in Vermont… until now. Jon Trafton graciously provided the only known recording of part of Set II of the 12/2 show to Jeff to digitalize and clean up so it could finally circulate.
Mockingbird Celebrates Pride
In celebration of Pride Month, an all-volunteer nonprofit founded and run entirely by Phish fans has announced an unsolicited $1,500 grant to the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Youth Services. The Mockingbird Foundation grant will support musical arts programming for approximately 120 youth.
Mockingbird Tops 500 Grants!!
The Mockingbird Foundation has announced fifteen new grants totaling $113,600 to support music education of children nationwide. These grants - the 26th round of competitive grants considered and awarded by Mockingbird - brings to 508 the total number of grants (and $1.9M the total granted) in the history of the all-volunteer charity started by Phish fans in 1996.
Mockingbird Sessions Lineup Released
The Mockingbird Foundation has announced the schedule for this weekend's free, 3-day livestream celebrating 25 years of music education! Follow more news here, at mbird.org/mbird25, and on Twitter with the hashtag #mbird25.
Mockingbird Grants, Mapped
The Mockingbird Foundation has put all 493 of its grants (so far) into an interactive map. Find one (or more) near you, supporting music education and funded by Phish fans. Explore at mbird.org/grantsmap – or start with this intro tour:
Mockingbird Sessions Announced!!
The all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation is proud to commemorate 25 years of providing music education to America’s young people by presenting The Mockingbird Sessions, a three-day celebration of music, education, and community. This free event - livestreaming on Fans.live June 4, 5, and 6 - will bring together a diverse group of musicians, educators, and foundations to promote music education throughout America.
Thanks to the efforts of dozens of people and multiple studios across the U.S., Mockingbird Sessions includes artists such as Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, and Christian McBride in a once-in-a-lifetime quartet with harpist Mikalea Davis; The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio; The Yonder Mountain String Trio; Paul Hoffman (from Greensky Bluegrass); and many others in unique pairings and groups that were curated specifically for this event.
Masterclasses will also be presented, showcasing the artistic philosophies of various artists and instruments, like the bass panel featuring Reed Mathis, Karina Rykman, and Chris Wood and hosted by Dr. Stephanie Jenkins (noted host of the Phish Studies Conference in 2019). Testimonials by grantees will be sporadically shared during the weekend as well, and a limited edition print from artist Cory Rowe will be available for purchase.
And we're hoping other Phish fans, especially our community here at Phish.net, can help spread the word on social. We're using the hashtag #mbird25, of course, and we've created two URL shortcuts: mbird.org/mbird25 is an evolving splash page for attendees, and mbird.org/25 goes to a conventional press release for journalists. (Please send it to a couple; you might be surprised when they get back to you!)
Reworked Phish Summer And Fall Tour Announced!
After much anticipation, Phish has announced a reworked Summer and Fall tour beginning in Arkansas and ending with a four night run in Vegas. Some shows are onsale now, and a request period has opened for others. If you already have tickets, they will be transferred to the new dates unless you ask for a refund in the next month. See the announcement on phish.com for details.
4,000 Donors To Mockingbird!
A few weeks ago, we announced an approaching milestone, and promised a Mockingbird t-shirt and sticker to the 4,000th unique donor to the Mockingbird Foundation. That milestone's been passed, and we'd like to thank user @wharfrat1, to whom we'll be sending those thank yous this week.
This is a year full of milestones for Mockingbird. The 10,000th donation came on January 1st, and disbursements will surprass 500 grants and $2M total distributed sometime this summer. We appreciate everyone's ongoing support for music education. Grants for the 26th competitive round will be announced this June.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation