HOW TREY TOPPED A ROLLING STONE POLL
Decades ago, Rolling Stone had a web-based poll for best guitarist ever, with a long list of choices. For a younger guy eager both to spread love for Phish and to explore the developing web, well... that was just an open challenge.
It was difficult to vote for anyone (such as Trey) more than once, because submitting a vote went to another page, so you'd have to go back to the voting page, argh. The web then was simpler and mostly static, but bandwidth was smaller and slower, so moving forward and backward, well... that was just wasting time.
But I soon realized that I could copy the source code of that page, to create a page that instead directed back to itself. And voted for Trey by default, rather than needing to make a choice. And had no graphics, very little other text, and only one choice in the voting list (Trey, already selected) so was much simpler and so quicker to load. But... I still had to click a button, sigh.
Then I discovered that, instead of submitting by mouse action, I could have it automatically submit after a few seconds. And I learned that it worked for only a single second. And even 0.5 seconds. I eventually settled on 0.25 seconds, arbitrarily. Voting more than four times per second seemed excessive, regardless of His Crimsonness' greatness, amirite?
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 485
Welcome to the 485th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the final puzzle of November. The winner will receive TWO MP3 download codes courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of both mystery clips, which are connected by a theme. 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 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET. Stay safe!
PHISH & ART AUCTION IN SUPPORT OF MICHAEL HUNT
This year, over Dick's weekend, a member of the Phish community, Michael Hunt (@mjhunt) was diagnosed with stage IV hodgkin lymphoma. In lieu of a formal go-fund-me to help raise funds to support, Mike wanted to host an auction curated from his personal art and memorabilia collection.
Phish fans and photographers rallied around him and donated items that are now up for auction. The auction is full of signed Phish memorabilia, posters, vinyl, concert photography and collectibles as well as items from the Grateful Dead, the String Cheese Incident and more. They've included a complete set of TPC (including a brand-new, still in the box TPC) as well as the posters from the book.
Bid now through Sunday, November 28th at 1PM MT at ConsciousAlliance.org/InnerChi or you can make a donation to Mike's Support Fund at any time here. Every dollar raised through the auction and direct donations will benefit Mike via a grant from Conscious Alliance, a 501©(3) that supports communities in crisis.
To learn more about Mike, head here.
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 484
Welcome to the 484th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the fourth puzzle of November - shout out to MJM Emeritus @wforwumbo for the puzzle and for mastering the clips! 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 all three mystery clips, which are connected by a theme. 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!
Hint: Will you take a cup of kindness yet?
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 483
Welcome to the 483rd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the third puzzle of November - shout out to MJM Emeritus @experiencechuck for the puzzle! 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 both mystery clips, which are connected by a theme. 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 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET. Stay safe!
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 482
Welcome to the 482nd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the second puzzle of November. 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 both mystery clips, which are connected by a theme. 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!
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 481
Reminder: For the first MJM of each month, only folks who have never won an MJM are allowed to answer on the blog before the hint. If you have never won an MJM, please answer as a comment below. If you have previously won an MJM, but you'd like to submit a guess before the hint, you may do so by PMing me; once the hint has been posted, everyone should answer on the blog. If that's confusing to you, check out the handy decision tree that I threw together for you. If you're not sure if you've won before, check in the MJM Results spreadsheet linked below.
Welcome to the 481st edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the first of November - shout out to @Zands 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 jam. 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!
VEGAS 4 RECAP: 10/31/21 NEVER CAME MY WAY
Halloween! It's the 5th most played date in Phish history, trailing just 12/28-31, and perhaps the second most sacred. We go into every show hoping for something unique that we will remember for the rest of our lives, but Halloween and New Years are the only nights where we are promised that something weird will happen.
While one of those nights revolves around midnight and whatever stunt might happen then, All Hallows Eve's focus is on an entire set. It started out straightforward enough. Phish would play an album of a band they loved. During the third one, they decided to create an ode to the release, something to explain why exactly they chose it.
But Phish evolve endlessly. They tried variants of it. We've gone from Phish covering an existing album to debuting a new one to turning a sound effects release into a series of songs to creating an entire fake band complete with back story, and playing as them. The Phishbills morphed from explaining the importance of the album to rock history to surreal flights of fancy. Would they find a way of topping that, or would we see the return of the already beloved tradition of covering a currently existing album? There are still many people would love.
VEGAS 3 RECAP: IT DOESN'T MATTER
Who could have predicted a show that was made entirely of songs about animals? Many people did, and with last night's show, we finally uncovered the complex equation that reveals Phish's Halloween plans, once and for all. The answer is: they're fucking with us. They are always fucking with us.
If you can believe it, I actually didn't realize that the set was all animal songs until deep into the first set. My excuse is that I was just really into the music, man. But with "The Dogs" opener, clocking in at about nine minutes, we knew we were being subjected to another elaborate plan. The "Ocelot" brought us further into the animal kingdom, and "Turtle in the Clouds" gave us some much needed on-stage choreographed dancing.
By this point in the set, we were wondering if we were going to get another thematic show, with serious improv, like 10/28/21. But on this night, the service was to the bit, the bit led the music, and although we didn't see the levels of improv we saw on the other nights, it gave us a show with 25 songs and 201 minutes of music, and the kind of show you're not likely to see again. And you can always tell, when the band is doing a bit, when they know what's in store and we don't, they absolutely love it. They were relishing it. All night.
VEGAS 2 RECAP: DON'T SHINE THAT THING IN MY FACE, MAN!
The crowd went into night two of the four-night Vegas Halloween run with high expectations. After night one of the run, where the setlist literally went “backwards down the number line," the rumors swirled that there would be another theme---colors? Animals? Fans were caught up in a Lost-like mythology trying to decipher the number 4680, the total of the numbers from the prior night's song selection, in hopes that the band was leaving a trail of breadcrumbs leading to the Halloween surprise. Fitting, since hordes of fans descended on the nearby Meow Wolf, which itself is an augmented reality mystery within a a psychedelic playground.
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Phish Returns To Madison Square Garden, Four Nights, Dec. 29 - Jan. 1
Phish will be performing four shows at Madison Square Garden, December 29, 2021, through January 1, 2022, to bring in 2022. The Phish Tickets By Mail request period is underway and ends on Monday, Oct. 4 at noon e.t.
The public onsale begins Friday Oct. 8 at noon e.t. on Ticketmaster, and a limited number of travel packages (hotel and tickets) will go on sale Oct. 7 at noon e.t., here.
Mockingbird Adds More Tour Grants
The Mockingbird Foundation is announcing its 20th round of Tour Grants, in celebration of Phish's 34 shows this summer and fall. Unsolicited $1,000 checks will be sent to a music program near each venue at which performs, part of a long-standing effort to help bring music from the Phish community to the local communities Phish touches. The $25,000 total continues a celebration of Mockingbird's 25th year, and is being announced in six batches.
The third group of recipients, in celebration of the last third of the summer tour (and including Dick's, arguably the third leg?), are:
- Chelan High School of Chelan, WA (near Gorge Amphitheatre, August 27th, 28th, 29th)
- Carson High School (via Carson City Band Association) of Carson City, NV (near Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena, planned but canceled for August 31st and September 1st)
- Carson Middle School Bands of Carson City, NV (near Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena, planned but canceled for August 31st and September 1st)
- Leigh High School (via Leigh Parents of the Performing Arts) of San Jose, CA (near Shoreline Amphitheatre, August 31st and September 1st)
- Adams City High School Band of Commerce City, CO (near Dick's Sporting Goods Arena, September 3rd, 4th, 5th)
Mockingbird Announces More Tour Grants
The Mockingbird Foundation is announcing its 20th round of Tour Grants, in celebration of Phish's 34 shows this summer and fall. Unsolicited $1,000 checks will be sent to a music program near each venue at which performs, part of a long-standing effort to help bring music from the Phish community to the local communities Phish touches. The $25,000 total continues a celebration of Mockingbird's 25th year, and is being announced in six batches.
The second group of recipients, in celebration of the second half of the first summer tour leg, are:
- Noblesville East Middle School (via Noblesville Schools) of Noblesville, IN (near Ruoff Music Center, August 6th, 7th, and 8th)
- Hershey Elementary School (via Hershey Music Boosters) of Hershey, PA (near HersheyPark Stadium, August 10th and 11th)
- Ventnor Middle School (via Ventnor Board of Education) of Ventnor, NJ (near Atlantic City Beach, August 13th, 14th, 15th)
Mockingbird Announces Roggae Rose
We are beyond thrilled to announce The Roggae Rose, produced and sold by one of California’s top winemakers and fellow phan Pax Mahle! This delicious rose is a blend of 60% Gamay and 40% Pinot Noir, which are the two traditional red grape varietals in France’s Burgundy and also thrive in California. The wine was made using whole clusters, which adds an extra dimension of complexity. It is 12.5% alcohol, which is perfect when you need something a bit on the lighter side.
Pax Mahle has generously committed to donate 100% of the profits to The Mockingbird Foundation to help support children’s music education. The wine is $24 per bottle and can be ordered here.
Pax started Pax Wines in 2000 working with cooler climate vineyards in Sonoma County and Mendocino. At Pax Wines, winemaking is approached holistically. This is done by taking care to use only grapes that are grown without the use of chemicals and by hand-making their wines with as little intervention as possible.
The full lineup of wines currently available can be found here. If you order 12+ bottles, you receive 50% off shipping. Please note, it is a good idea to air ship the wines as it is still warm outside these days. Further details can be found on the order page.
We hope you enjoy this wine as much as we do. It should pair beautifully while listening to a wonderful Summer or Fall concert!
Mockingbird Back To School Campaign
The Mockingbird Foundation hopes you are enjoying the Summer, and staying healthy and safe. As of now, it appears that the majority of schools will be having students back in the classrooms this Fall. Luckily, many places are still taking precautions where warranted to help ensure the safety of students and teachers.
Meanwhile, however, the music programs at many institutions have had their budgets cut significantly these past 18 months. It was already a struggle for them, and now the need is becoming rather dire. It is sad to see so many schools deem programs such as music education almost unnecessary. We know that is not the case, as we have observed firsthand how music education improves the lives of children. We have seen just that hundreds of times.
We at The Mockingbird Foundation have started a Back to School Campaign to help ensure that music programs will be coming back on the right track. We aim to raise $50,000 this August to help support children's music education throughout the country. An incredibly generous donor has agreed to match the first $25,000 of donations, and a donation of any amount will help us reach our goal. Thank you.
$25k In Tour Grants Coming!
The Mockingbird Foundation is announcing its 20th round of Tour Grants, in celebration of Phish's 34 shows this summer and fall. Unsolicited $1,000 checks will be sent to a music program near each venue at which performs, part of a long-standing effort to help bring music from the Phish community to the local communities Phish touches. The $25,000 total continues a celebration of Mockingbird's 25th year, and will be announced in six batches.
The first group of recipients are:
- Rogers High School Band Boosters of Rogers, AR (near Walmart Arkansas Music Pavillion, July 28th)
- Carver High School Band Program of Birmingham, AL (near Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, July 30th)
- Midtown High School Bands of Atlanta, GA (near Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, July 31st and August 1st)
- Springfield Middle School of Springfield, TN (near Ascend Amphitheater, August 3rd and 4th)
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.
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.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation