Three days ago on the Phish.net admin group chat:

“You should update your MSG blog post for 2013 and repost”

“Great idea. I don’t think I wrote an MSG history, though.”

It certainly seems like we should have a comprehensive history of the venue that Phish has played more than any other (in the "modern era," anyway). I certainly have been unabashed in my love for the venue. Even though the 2011-13 facelift has produced mixed results (superior amenities and a better experience for fans in the 100 sections and floor; a far worse experience for those consigned to the upper levels), it’s still hard to come up with a better arena sized venue to see Phish. Certainly back in the day of the bowl setup, there was no better venue. Some of my most vivid ‘90s Phish memories are of simply walking into the Garden.

Unfortunately, it’s December 29th, and I don’t have time to write a detailed history that will do justice to the World’s Most Famous Arena. But, in advance of shows 32-35, I can offer up a quick look at highlights from the first 31.

1. 12/30/94: They played a 23-minute “Tweezer” at this show that would be completely justified being the highlight at any number of shows (even if it’s probably, at best, the 4th best version from the Fall ‘94 tour). In fact, for anyone listening 21 years later, it almost certainly is the highlight. But for anyone in the round room that night, what they probably remember is 20,000 fans chanting “Wilson.”

12/30/94 “Wilson” New York, NY

2. 12/30/95: This show bears the burden of sitting between two legendary shows. It’s not a bad show. It’s just not a particularly good December ‘95 show. Great “Hood” though.

3. 12/31/95: Where to begin? This is probably the consensus best show that doesn’t feature a 7.5 hour set. The versions of “Reba,” “Forbin’s” > “Mockingbird,” “Drowned” (with an imaginary “FOTM” tease!), “Runaway Jim,” YEM” and “Mike’s” make nearly any of those songs’ top versions list. But it’s the “Auld Lang Syne” > “Weekapaug” > “Sea & Sand” trio that rises above the others.

12/31/95 Set III New York, NY

4. 10/21/96: Sadly, this is one of the least exciting Phish shows I’ve ever attended. I haven’t listened to it in years, but I remember the “Stash” being mildly interesting.

5. 10/22/96: The “Freakapaug.” You may notice a theme emerging here with great “Weekapaugs” at MSG.

10/22/96 “Mike’s” > “Swept Away” > “Steep” > “Weekapaug” New York, NY

6. 12/29/97: Another show with a multitude of highlights. I’d like to cheat and say “Set II,” but then I wouldn’t be earning my generous salary here at Phish.net. So I’ll give up the funk for the “Tube.”

7. 12/30/97: Another pantheon MSG Phish performance. As many highlights as the previous night, but here we have a clear winner: the mammoth “AC/DC Bag.” That said, I can’t let this show go by without also mentioning the legendary “Harpua.”

12/30/97 “AC/DC Bag” New York, NY

8. 12/31/97: This show never seems to get its due, despite having one of the best sets of 1997. The entire second set smokes, but it's the “Weekapaug” that again rises to the top.

9. 12/28/98: The “Carini” or the “Wolfman’s”? Hmmm… I’ll go with the spacey, ambient “Wolfman’s,” but ask me tomorrow and my answer may change.

10. 12/29/98: Another 12/29 show where “Set II’ would be an acceptable answer, but the winner is the looooong “2001” so many of us still long for.

11. 12/30/98: A somewhat odd show that took a while to get going. The “Disease” is probably the jam of the night, but if we’re grading on a curve, it’s the “Caspian.”

12. 12/31/98: It would be hard to come up with a better opening hour to a Phish show. “1999”!!! So many worthy candidates here, but the “Mike’s” takes it.

12/31/98 “Mike’s Song” New York, NY

13. 12/31/02: The Return! Taking both the music and the moment into account, the only possible answer here is the “Piper.” But let’s also give an honorable mention to one of the most beautiful midnight NYE moments ever: the blizzard in MSG with “Seven Below” as the soundtrack.

14. 12/2/09: These 2009 shows are (mostly deservedly) overlooked in 2015, but there were some great moments. Chief among them is this version of “Light,” one of the first to venture into the stratosphere.

15. 12/3/09: Anytime you play the same venue 31 times, there are bound to be a few forgettable shows. This is one of those. The “Disease” is quite good, though.

16. 12/4/09: Grading on the 2009 curve, this is a very good second set, culminating in the best “YEM” of the year. Is that enough backhanded compliments for you?

17. 12/30/10: The forgotten great “Tweezer” of 3.0. So much Plinko…

18. 12/31/10: The so-called “Holy Ghost.” Is this version a bit overrated? Probably. But I also know this: I’ve experienced few more intense moments at Phish shows. I may not have jumped quite as high as Michael Jordan during the many peaks of this “Ghost,” but I definitely out-jumped Patrick Ewing.

12/31/10 “Ghost” New York, NY

19. 1/1/11: Just a stunningly beautiful jam in this “Simple.”

20. 12/28/11: The “Carini” > “Tweezer” combo in the second set probably provided the most meat of this show, but the “Cities” that headed straight to bliss before grinding to a halt probably symbolizes this much maligned run as much as anything.

21. 12/29/11: Another show where you need a compass and a pack of bloodhounds to find the highlight, but there it is, buried deep in the second set. No, not the “Juan Pierre” tease in “Character Zero.” What the segue from “Chalk Dust” into “Hydrogen” lacks in execution it makes up for in surprise. It’s a small moment, but a nice one nonetheless.

22. 12/30/11: The “Piper” is the highlight of, not only this show, but the entire run. Which is good, since the rest of the show has little to offer.

23. 12/31/11: At every NYE show, you’re pretty much assured of a memorable midnight gag. So it was with this show. Best “Steam” ever, aided by dancers rappelling from the rafters. The rest of the show? Let’s just move on…

24. 12/28/12: This “Tweezer,” particularly the last five minutes, deserves so much more credit than it usually gets. Just pure hose.

25. 12/29/12: I guess the “Golden Age” is our highlight here. I guess. Maybe it can borrow the previous night’s “Little Drummer Boy”-infused “Wolfman’s”?

26. 12/30/12: The “Disease” or the “Carini”? We’ll ponder this question again shortly. For now, I go with the “Carini.”

27. 12/31/12: This is one of those shows where the execution of the theme makes up for the lack of a true musical highlight. Just a great time from start to finish (so much fun we couldn’t bear to recap it!). The runaway golf cart marathon “Tweezer Reprise” was tremendous… one of the reasons even the most jaded among put ourselves through the NYE ticket shitshow year after year.

12/31/12 Set III New York, NY

28. 12/28/13: Even looking at this second set now, it seems like it should be better than it was. The “Steam” is probably the highlight.

29. 12/29/13: The “Disease” or the “Carini”? This time I’m going with the “Disease.” As an aside, and given the events of today, I can’t help but look back and laugh at the fact that I spent parts of the second set watching the Eagles/Cowboys game with such hope. Good riddance, Chip, and my fault for not realizing it’s always better to cast my lot with Phish. At least as long as I root for Philadelphia teams.

30. 12/30/13: There’s only one right answer here, and that’s the “Chalk Dust.”

31. 12/31/13: There’s only one right answer here, and it may be a cop-out, but I’m taking it: “Set II.” It will be tough to top the flatbed truck this New Year’s, but I can’t wait to see them try.

12/31/13 Set II New York, NY

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Welcome to the 204th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. The winner this week will receive two MP3 downloads 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 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 on your quest, and keep an eye out and an ear open at all times!

Answer: Congratulations to @schvice, who by correctly identifying the 11/20/94 David Bowie from the Dane County Exposition Center in Madison, WI, receives two download codes in his second victory. Nice work by the other folks who figured out how to continue on with @Lemuria's puzzle quest -- I chose this clip because Mike's play sounds a bit like Morse Code. Have a blast attending or webcasting MSG, and stay tuned for the first MJM of 2016 next week!

The answers go in circles, starting from the "R".
But there's no indication how long any of them are.
Answer each in order, to know where the next one starts.
We've given you a diagonal, so at least you have some parts.
Either a letter or a number could fill each beanied fish.
And if you're careful with your capitals, you'll get to the next dish.

1. She cooked in a tub
2. Llamas minus Lizards
3. Gladiators first entered Llama here
4. I'm falling in a well that's this
5. Careful, Eugene; it's not small, like Bob's
6. SPACs minus Red Rocks
7. He never listens to what I say
8. New Year's Eves minus Halloweens
9. Atlanta venue that no longer Remains
10. Wriggled in the earth and this
11. Debuted (began its descent?) at the Flynn
12. Phil's guitarist Robben
13. Lushingtons minus Shaftys
14. Farcial punk "song", minus arch

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Plenty of exciting events are planned for art loving fans heading to NYC for this NYE run! Here are a few of the big ones that we highly recommend you check out:

David Welker Charity Reception for The Mockingbird Foundation at the Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery

Please join David for a special reception at the Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery in celebration of his acclaimed Subconcious Narratives show. A special limited edition print and new original art will be released at the reception, with proceeds to benefit The Mockingbird Foundation. Refreshments will be served, art will be sold and appreciated, and both David and representatives from Mockingbird will be there to hang out and enjoy your company.

When: Wednesday, 12/30/15. Noon - 4pm.
Where: Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery, 527 West 23rd Street, NYC

NEW ART: A special very limited edition print titled "Rutherford Drowned Again" will be available at the reception, with proceeds to benefit Mockingbird. This 2-layer Line Art Variant of David's "Rutherford" measures 22" x 17", and is a super-limited hand-pulled edition of 50. This will ONLY be sold at the gallery reception, no online sales. In addition, David will be making available on 12/30 previously unseen original art for sale. Any pieces purchased during the reception, either at the gallery or via David's website, will see a portion of the sales price donated to Mockingbird.

Also available at the reception from The Mockingbird Foundation will be a new Rutherford basketball jersey, created in conjunction with David Welker and Boyer Art. This will be the first opportunity to get your fingers on and torso into this awesome new limited edition jersey, so be sure to come down to the gallery before hitting the Phish show!

Next up is an exclusive Phish after-party: META & the Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery Present: David Welker’s Subconscious Narratives: A Late Night Art Meltdown

In collaboration with Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery and Welker Studios, META presents an introspective and moody Phish after-party at Hoerle-Guggenheim on January 1st, 2016, celebrating David Welker and the conclusion of his Subconscious Narratives exhibit.

For more information and to order tickets, visit WelkerShow.com. Don't delay; only a limited number of tickets will be available, and this is sure to be an amazing party, going deep into the Welker subconscious!

Finally, The Mockingbird Foundation will be participating in the PhanArt Skyscraper is Grand Art Show on 1/2/16 at the Hotel Penn. We will have new jerseys featuring art from David Welker and AJ Masthay, art prints from the upcoming The Phish Companion 3rd Edition, and rare print variants for sale. Watch this space for more information, and visit the show page on Facebook.

The Mockingbird Foundation wants to thank the artists, collectors, promoters and fans who make up the fan art community for your unwavering support, and for bringing more beauty into our world and scene. We hope to see you in NYC!

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Welcome to the 203rd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. The winner will receive an MP3 download 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 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, and happy holidays to you and yours!

Tuesday hint: Triple Double.

Answer: It took a couple months, but The Blog 3.0 has finally broken through with a win, improving the record to 14 wins, 168 losses, and 21 hint-aided losses! Many of you quickly realized that the date of this MJM would be a double double, but no one caught the fact that the song this MJM was played in completed the triple double: 9/9/00 My Friend, My Friend (> Jam). Have a safe and happy holiday, and be sure to check in next week for a special meta-MJM, for which we will award a pair of download codes.

Here's a crossword to get you going, today and beyond. (Also avail., higher res image and PDF version.)

DOWN:
1 __-oplast
2 It's __
3 46 __
4 Let's __ Downtown
5 Frankie does it
6 Mine's poor; don't steal it.
7 Body part mentioned most often in Phish lyrics
8 To blaze on, put these on; they’re nice.
11 My Sweet __
17 Whose sack held a puppet?
19 And So __ Bed
20 All of __ Dreams
23 Lemonwheel's 4th set nickname (abbrev.)
24 Siht morf sesir nam yreve.
26 Fee flirts with it
28 Tequila, a __ lost friend
29 This pillow wanderer swerves?
30 Monarch's sequined __
31 Trey played this house benefit
33 Punch mentions a tender one
35 I'm __ that they're dead
37 Punch you in the this
38 __ these demons
39 It’s insufficiently this for you
41 Aboard a craft bereft of this
43 Who's face does the exile want to see?
44 The middle of what we're down with
47 My Left __

ACROSS:
1 I'm doing this to a pyramid
9 Roses __ Free
10 Who enjoys myself?
12 I love meatballs, so be this
13 Missing from Rip joint or Flown Bird
14 Taken from The Name Slick
15 It's __ A Dream
16 Belongs in Walls of Cave
18 We all __ out small
21 Taken from Jane's Iction
22 Part of 8/14/04 (not the show)
25 Followed by birds, dogs, horse, lizards, and sloth
27 Once free, we’ll do this in the sea (with a p)
29 Hendge, or henge?
30 If a slice (as to a nipple) was long and sweeping.
32 Blood to boil, or betrayal with trust
34 Texted mouth at another Rocky Top encore :/
36 Where comes the joker?
40 Born Run or Highway Hell
42 The boys from Vermont (don’t call them that)
45 The plural was on a large poffy bun
46 One way to catch fish
48 Trey gerunds this at the sky in Greyhound Rising
49 Forbin went on one, to save…

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In or near NYC? Looking for something phishy to do in the brief hiatus between the NYE run and Riviera Maya? Consider heading to the City Winery on Saturday, January 9.

Writer Wally Holland, with whom I recently spoke about his new book, will be discussing Phish's music with journalist/artist Mike Hamad and musicologist Jake Cohen. Phish's music will also be played at the symposium, and Mike will even be "live mapping" some of it.

This event, sponsored by Blank Space Media, will also be webcast by Relix, and Wyllys will perform a short DJ set. In addition, Wally will be signing copies of his book, and Mike will have setlist map prints of MagnaBall's "TweezerPants" available for purchase as well. For more information, please see:

FB Event Information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1043674135683604/

City Winery Ticketing Link: http://www.citywinery.com/newyork/blank-space-presents-a-live-one-an-interactive-musical-discussion-w-author-walter-holland-1-9.html

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Welcome to the 202nd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. The winner will receive an MP3 download 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 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: I saw it again! By correctly (and obscenely quickly) identifying the 2/21/03 Mike's Song from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH, @yunkfunk has won his seventh Mystery Jam Monday, and will now join the other MJM emeriti and is prohibited from participating henceforth. We'll be back next week with another crunchy jam, so stay tuned!

Welcome to the 201st edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. The winner will receive an MP3 download 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 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: Congrats to @yunkfunk, who by identifying the "Julius" from Brad Sands's wedding on September 6th, 2008 -- the only known time Phish played together in front of a crowd between Coventry '04 and Hampton '09 -- wins his sixth MJM, and thus, his sixth free MP3 download from LivePhish.com. Never in my life had I been more excited by a low-resolution 90 second YouTube clip of a band playing a song I'm not particular fond of... One more win and @yunkfunk will be pushed out on the icebergs to float away with the other emeriti!

If you're unable to stream the above audio properly, try the SoundCloud link here.

Welcome to Phish.net's Mystery Jam Monday Part 200! As we did when MJM hit the century mark and the CL mark, the winner will be awarded an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net, along with an additional prize. For MJM #200, the kind folks at the Mockingbird Foundation will be giving the winner a copy of each of the three editions of the The Phish Companion: TPC1, TPC2, and the soon-to-be-released TPC3!

Regarding the Mystery Jam itself, as with MJM #100, #150, and the Hampton/Winston-Salem MJ, this clip has multiple songs on it that you'll need to identify. Therefore, we will not be using the comments to guess this week. Instead, send an email with your guesses (for all of the clips) along with your .net username to [email protected]. If you have any questions, you can post those in the comments section. Do not post guesses in the comments section, or your comment will be deleted and you'll be subject to banning from future MJM participation. Also, no "trading" of answers is allowed: figure this out on your own. The first person to correctly identify the song and the date of each jam will be the winner. One guess per person per day, with the second "day" starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Wednesday if necessary, and if necessary, again on Friday, and the answer will be posted by next Monday. In the event that no one guesses all of the Mystery Jams, the winner will be selected by the Blog at its sole discretion -- partial credit can take home the prize, so don't be shy. Note the number of blank slots for this week's contest in the MJM Results spreadsheet, and be assured that each of this week's jams has not been used previously. Good luck!

Juicy Hint: The clips are in chronological order, and no two clips come from the same year. Also, there are no clips from 1.0.

Update: I still haven't received any submissions, so if you know even one of the jams, you could be the winner come Sunday if you send it in and no one else does. I'll accept submissions up until the end of the Sunday Night Football game, or approximately 8:30 PM PT / 11:30 PM ET.

Final Mega Hint:

• Three of the jams were played in July and three of the jams were played in August. The other four jams were all played in different months -- different months from one another and different from July and August (e.g. January, February, March, April would meet this requirement). Add the numerical representation of all the months together and you get 79. Do the same for the days of the month and you get 172 -- also, half the jams were played in the last week of the month, and three of the jams were played in the first week of the month.
• Four of the jams were played in the state of New York and two of the jams were played in the state of Wisconsin. One of the jams was played in a state where recreational marijuana use is now legal, but this jam wasn't played at Dick's. Two of the remaining three jams were played in (ocean) coastal states; the third state accesses the coast only via river.
• Three of the jams come from songs that are covers, two of the jams come from the same Phish original. Three of the jams come from songs debuted in 3.0, one of the jams comes from a song debuted in 2.0, and the other six jams come from songs debuted in 1.0.
• One of the jams comes from a song on Junta, one of the jams comes from a song on Billy Breathes, one of the jams comes from a song on Story of the Ghost, two of the jams come from a song on Farmhouse, one of the jams comes from a song on Round Room, and one of the jams comes from a song on Joy.
• Eight of the ten jams are on the Phish.net Jam Charts, but I didn't write any of the descriptions. Three of those eight jams are "Highly Recommended".

To download a .zip file containing each of the clips as a separate MP3 track, click here.

Update: Congratulations to @LucyDarkstar24, who managed to correctly identify all 10 clips and send his correct answer in before anyone else. In doing so, he not only wins a free MP3 download code, courtesty of LivePhish.com, but he wins all three editions of The Phish Companion! A hell of a prize for a first-time winner. Even though I dropped some seriously juicy hints, this was no walk in the park. Major props to the other folks who managed to identify them all too: @garcia17, @ChalkDustTeacher, @mcnastycasty, and @12_29_97_4eva. I hope you had as much fun as I did! Find the answers in the MJM results spreadhseet, and check back in the morning for MJM Part 201.

We recently re-discovered this word search, designed in 2000 by Pete Sitzman - a friend, Phish fan, and Phish Companion contributing photographer, who passed away in 2007. The puzzle never made it to a flyer or website, until now.

There are 83 Phish-related words hidden forwards, backwards, up, down, and diagonally. See how many you can find:

Amys farm, Anastasio, Antelope, Bathtub Gin, BBFCFM, Bouncing, Bowie, Clifford Ball, Contact, Dirt, Dog Log, Driver, Esther, Faht, Fee, Foam, Forbin, Free, Gamehendge, Ghost, Glide, Golgi, Gordon, Greenberg, Groove, Guyute, Hampton, Harry Hood, Helping Friendly Book, Hoist, Horn, Hot Dog, HYHU, Ice, Jon, Junta, Landlady, Lawn Boy, Lizards, Llama, Maze, Mike, Moma, Mound, Nectars, NICU, Noel, Oswego, Page (twice), phans, Piper, Possum, Poster Nutbag, Reba, Rift, Ruthaford (sic), Simple, Sleeping Monkey, Sloth, Stash, Stash (twice), Suzie (sic), Tela, Timber ho, TMWSIY, Tom Marshall, Trey (thrice), Tubbs, Tube (twice), Tweezer, UFO, Wedge, Weekapaug, Weigh, Wilson, Yamar, YEM

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As an alternative to its traditional online auction format, the Mimi Fishman Foundation has introduced a “buy it now” donation format featuring posters from the Phish 2015 summer tour. The official show limited edition posters are signed by all four members of Phish - wonderful gifts, for yourself or someone else.

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Hungerthon is an annual Thanksgiving radio tradition started in 1975 by WhyHunger to raise awareness about hunger and poverty and to invest in long-term solutions that help people in need in communities across America. To support this important cause, Phish has generously donated a pair of tickets for the four-show NYE run to the Hungerthon Charity Auction. While you're getting stuffed this fine Thanksgiving day, why not satisfy your hunger for New Year's tickets and bid generously.

Several other Phish-related charity auctions are currently underway at Charitybuzz, so check these out and bid high while doing good:

• Trey has donated a pair of Phish tickets and pre-show party passes for the 1/1/16 MSG show, to benefit the David Lynch Foundation.
• Win a lunch with RLM Manager Patrick Jordan (who manages Phish, Trey, Ween and more), to benefit HeadCount.
• Win a lunch with SiriusXM Jam On host Jonathan Schwartz (host of Gone Phishin'), to benefit HeadCount.
• Win a lunch with talent buyer Don Strasburg (the force behind Phish's shows at Red Rocks and Dick's), to benefit HeadCount.
• And for the big one...win a lunch with Andy Gadiel, founder of Andy Gadiel's Phish Page, to benefit HeadCount.

These auctions all end soon. You guys know the drill: bid early, bid often, and support some really great causes!

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@FrodoPiano is a 12-year-old composer who grew up listening to lots of Phish, thanks to parents who are fans. That exposure inspired an arrangement of 22 Phish songs (plus a reprise) in a mammoth 269-measure medley, his 45th posted score. You can hear and watch the arrangement here (or visit the host page to read his introduction), followed by a short Q&A with the prolific songsmith.

Phish Medley by FrodoPiano

How many Phish shows have you seen, and what was the first?

I have seen Phish some six times, and I have seen Trey with an orchestra twice, at the Hollywood Bowl and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. My first concert was on November 1, 2009. When I was younger, I listened to Rift a lot, as my dad had a copy that he kept in the car, so you could almost say I “grew up with it,” which might be why I am a bit biased toward it. ;)

What’s your favorite Phish song, and why?

I don’t want to sound cliche, but my favorite has to be "Divided Sky". It has so many movements, with so many great themes, and I love all of them. (It was also apparently the song my mother wanted to hear instantly after I was born, so maybe that means something …) My favorite albums, though, are Junta and Rift.

How long have you been composing, and why do you enjoy it?

Well, first of all, I’d like to make clear that I certainly did not compose this, and all writing credits go to the members of Phish, respectively. However, I do compose regularly, and I have been for … say … 4-5 years now. I really like it because there are so many possibilities, and so many different concepts and ideas to explore. For example, I just learned about polyrhythms, so I just did an “experiment” to see how they worked within a piece, and that turned into my 6th prelude! I actually compose more than I arrange, and I’m now working on a piece called "Sinfonia Pangaea", one called "Song of Life", and the score for a friend’s game, of which the opening piece is called "Solitaire."

You’ve also written a seven-movement suite, somewhat inspired perhaps by Holst’s “The Planets.” Can you tell us about that?

Yeah, somewhat going off the idea of The Planets (which I love, and have seen in concert), and The Four Seasons, I decided to write a suite entitled The Days of the Week. At first, I realized that the seven days could correspond with the seven musical modes (Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aiolian, Phrygian, and Locrian), but I decided against it, both to give myself more compositional freedom, and to prevent writing in Locrian, what with “resolving” to a diminished chord being … difficult. If you want to check that out, it’s here, and my favorite movements are "Wednesday" and "Friday."

What role has music education played in your life?

Music has, among other things, given me something to think about. There are so many different concepts in theory, and they’re so thought-provoking that you could spend ages just thinking about them. Also, if I’m ever stressed, I can just start snapping out a cool rhythm (or polyrhythm), or come up with a new theme or concept for a piece. It’s also just a lot of fun! Composing, for me, is a great outlet for creativity, because there are always new … possibilities, and new ideas that can be made reality through composing. I have also played piano for almost 6 years, and I just started playing the oboe.

Why did you arrange for this particular dectet, and for what other ensembles have you arranged or composed?

To be honest, I don’t completely know. I guess I just wanted woodwinds, and I chose some, and came out with this double wind quintet (with handclaps, because no performance of "Stash" is complete without handclaps). The bassoons are extremely versatile, and, in this case, work great as Mike’s part, throughout the medley. Other than that, different instruments get the melody throughout the medley, sometimes multiple kinds of instruments, sometimes just one. However, whenever an instrument gets a melody, both of the players of that instrument get the same part. In fact, only in certain harmonic cases do the two players of each instrument get a different part than their “counterpart.” Some instances of this are "Divided Sky," "Rift," "The Lizards," etc. Other ensembles I have arranged for include a piano with a violin and a cello, a piano with two violins, a piano duet, and solo piano. I have composed for many ensembles, including: solo piano; piano four hands (that’s four hands on one piano); violin and orchestra; oboe and bassoon; solo oboe; brass sextet; string quartet; guitars and an accordion; along with other small ensembles.

What songs did you not include, and why?

Well, that’s a long (and, in some cases, unfortunate) list, but there are good reasons behind most choices. The most common reason, of course, is that I can’t include every Phish song - that would take hours of music. Another reason is that some songs didn’t really … fit anywhere very well, and by the time I was wrapping the medley up, they just weren’t there. The third reason is something some of you may have noticed already - there’s no percussion! This was, frankly, an odd choice on my part, but I prefer, in general, composing with very little percussion, which typically doesn’t pose much of a problem. Now, for an arrangement of Phish songs, this gets a bit tricky, and on some songs, typically the “rock-ier” songs, this got a bit too tricky, so I left some out. Now for some reason, while I was arranging the medley, I completely forgot about "Fee," which would have worked, and now I’m really mad at myself.

What other adjustments did you have to make without a drummer?

Let’s face it - Fishman is amazing, and none of the songs sounded as good without him. But, both by choosing (mostly) more melodic songs and by laying down a clear rhythm with the bassoons, it wasn’t too hard to get a beat in there. As for the handclaps, you can’t do "Stash" without handclaps, and I decided to use them in "Mound" too. On the topic of "Mound," it provided a new problem in terms of rhythm, because of its polyrhythmic intro, which happened to be all I used. It’s just a simple 3:4 polyrhythm, but without a percussion section to lay down a beat, I had trouble keeping it sounding like a polyrhythm, and not just a time change. "First Tube" also has a polyrhythm, but that one wasn’t as hard to lay down.

You mention choosing more melodic songs. What can you say about what that excludes - songs you’d otherwise like to arrange, how you’d describe them, and where Phish’s arrangements lean, if anywhere?

This excludes, as I said, the “rock-ier” songs, meaning the songs that are more rock-and-roll(-ish), or more Fishman-heavy. This might include "Chalk Dust Torture," "Run Like an Antelope," "Weekapaug Groove," (dare I say) "Meatstick," etc., which unfortunately are some of Phish’s greatest songs, but would not be a good use of precious time in this arrangement, because they wouldn’t sound nearly as good with only woodwinds. Some of these might be fun to arrange if I added, maybe, some percussion/brass, and maybe strings or keyboards for fun.

Are there any Phish songs you would NOT want to arrange, or that you think are beyond re-arrangement, either by a woodwind dectet or otherwise?

Well, that’s a difficult question, but the one answer that comes to me is "Also Sprach Zarathustra." This is simply because it was arranged to be a Phish song, so to re-arrange it would be silly.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I know, this MIDI patch sounds awful, but hey, if one of you knows a woodwind dectet who’d like to play this, go ahead! (Just credit me.) :)

Shouldn’t you be playing with a ball or getting a job instead of poking a keyboard?

No.

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Welcome to the 199th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. The winner will receive an MP3 download 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 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: Congrats to @yunkfunk for nailing this one within an hour of my posting it, collecting his fifth win by correctly identifying the outro to Horn from 6/20/97. Have a safe and happy holiday this week, and we'll be back next week with our 200th MJM! It'll be an MJM extravaganza, with extra difficulty and extra prizes. Stay tuned...