REGISTRATION OPEN FOR THE PHILOSOPHY SCHOOL OF PHISH
For the eighth year in a row, Dr. Stephanie Jenkins will teach the “Philosophy School of Phish” course—more formally called the “Philosophy of Art and Music”—via Oregon State University’s Ecampus program. Using the band as a case study, students will explore canonical theories about art and its meaning, from ancient to modern times. Registration is open now and class begins on March 29th!
Space is limited. To enroll, follow instructions for registering through OSU’s ecampus and enroll in PHL 360: Philosophy & the Arts (CRN 59716). (Because this class is a special section of a regular course offering, you will not find PHL 360 listed online as “Philosophy School of Phish.”) Make sure Dr. Jenkins is listed as the professor. Note: You do not have to be a current OSU student to take this course. You’ll need to apply and enroll as a “non-degree seeking student.”
NEW TO CIRCULATION (COMPLETE?): APRIL 9, 1990
Thanks once again to Niel Ringstad for the SBD1 cassettes, and the generosity of @Jeff_Goldberg with The Audio Specialist and Jeff's skills and time, Phish's show on April 9, 1990, at the Fly Me To The Moon Saloon in Telluride, Colorado, is now circulating in as complete a form as is believed to be possible.
You may review the setlist and notes if you Read More below. And you can download the show at this handy link here, and now, or tomorrow instead, or perhaps next week or month, courtesy of @ucpete, who conformed the files to etree community standards, because that's just the kind of thoughtful gentleman he is. And if you missed the release of April 8, 1990, and April 8, 1992, also from Niel's tape collection, check out this blog post from three years ago (which coincidentally is almost how long it took me to remember to circulate 4/9/90 as well, whooops!).
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 456
Welcome to the 456th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the third of March. 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!
5/3/93 SOUNDCHECK RELEASED, FEATURING "WILL I DANCE (ON GRAVE)"
For decades, some fans believed that the lyrics of "Guy Forget" included:
Basking in the silence
Soaking up the violence
Will the good lord save
Or will I dance on grave?
This has proved mistaken; the only lyric of "Guy Forget" is---you guessed it---"I've never met a man that I could not forget except for Guy Forget." How do we know this?
After conferring with Dave Abrahams about "Guy Forget" (whose lyrics he authored), and after unearthing the never-circulating-until-now 5/3/93 soundcheck---thank you Eric Becker for the recording, and Jeff Goldberg of Audio Specialist for the transfer!---which you can download here and which contains the only known (and hilarious) performance of what we're calling "Will I Dance" with Tom Marshall's permission, it has been determined that "Will I Dance" and "Guy Forget" are entirely different uhm "songs."
Accordingly, the "Guy Forget" song history has been revised and amended with ZZYZX's consent, and the "Will I Dance" history created from part of the former "Guy Forget" history. The histories of these two "songs" are thus forever, albeit ridiculously, linked.
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 455
Welcome to the 455th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the second of March - thanks to MJM HoFer @WayIFeel for 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 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!
LANDING WITH A TWIST
[We'd like to thank @paulj for once again contributing a thought-provoking analysis piece to the blog - ed.]
Since its introduction in June of 1997, "Twist" has been a welcome addition to the Phish catalogue. With just a couple of exceptions during its early years, "Twist" has never been out of regular rotation, averaging an appearance about every five shows.
With only 10% of its appearances in the first set, "Twist" has fulfilled a variety of roles in the second set. First, "Twist" made its debut as a second set opener and, in its 145 total appearances, has been a set opener 15 times.
Second, although "Twist" does not generally enjoy the big jam reputation of its contemporaries such as "Piper" and "Ghost," it has a top ten ranking in total number of Jam Chart entries during the 3.0 era. "Twist"’s 23 Jam Chart entries for 3.0 were, I’ll happily admit, a bit of a surprise as I’d always pigeon-holed the song into its third role: maintaining the second set groove.
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 454
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 454th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the first and easiest of March. 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!
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 453
Welcome to the 453rd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the final puzzle of February. 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 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET. Stay safe!
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 452
Welcome to the 452nd edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the third of February. 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!
RIP, JIM STINNETT
We learned of Jim Stinnett while putting together the second edition of The Phish Companion, which had forewords from those who were music teachers to Phish: Jane Ambrose, who taught Trey at the University of Vermont; Paul Asbell, Trey’s guitar teacher at the University of Vermont; Dave Hanlon, Fishman’s only music teacher; Lois Harris, who taught all of them but Mike; and Jim Stinnet, Mike's bass instructor.
Jim taught hundreds of other students, primarily at Berklee College Of Music, before he passed away last Sunday. His family has invited celebration of his life on a Facebook post, and JamBase has assembled some videos including Mike's rememberances and Jim's guest appearance 12/29/95.
Here, we'd like to share Jim's part of that education-focused Foreword from nearly 17 years ago:
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 451
Welcome to the 451st edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the second of February. 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!
GARCIA PEOPLES FEBRUARY 18TH LIVESTREAM TO BENEFIT MOCKINGBIRD
Combining tightly written indie-rock songs with a groundswell of onstage improvisation and psychedelic flourishes, Garcia Peoples are one of the brightest lights of the nascent "indie-jam" scene. The New-Jersey-based band’s late 2020 release Nightcap At Wit’s End (released on Beyond Beyond is Beyond) was their fourth full-length album, and arguably their strongest to date, featuring Rush-ian prog-rock flourishes with Fairport Convention-style folk jams and Pavement-esque 90’s indie; often all within the context of a single song. They’re a force to be reckoned with onstage, but like nearly every band, the pandemic curtailed what would have been extensive touring plans.
Fortunately, on February 18 2021 at 9:00 EST, Garcia Peoples are doing a two-set livestream from Sony Hall in New York City, tickets for which can be purchased here to partly benefit The Mockingbird Foundation: https://www.showclix.com/tickets/garcia-boston
EARLY DAYS OF PHISH EXPLORED IN NEW PODCAST
How did a band with no major label from a small city in Northern Vermont become one of the biggest bands in music within a decade? What were the origins of Phish and what laid the foundation for their cultural timeline and organic growth? In the first episode of Undermine, Phish lyricist Tom Marshall brings in the perspectives of fans and collaborators who saw their rise in Vermont and helped to create the scene that was critical as the band found their groove and structure in the early 80s.
MOCKINGBAND SUPPORTS MOCKINGBIRD
Phamous Mockingband has just just released some of their favorite live recordings on Bandcamp, and they're donating half of all the proceeds directly to The Mockingbird Foundation. In their words, "Time to make a difference and get your Phish tunes in!" Streaming, downloads, and donations are available here: https://phamousmockingband.bandcamp.com/releases.
"Phamous Mockingband aims to recreate the energy, feels, jams and intricate catalog of the jam legends Phish. These seasoned musicians bring their love for music and Phish together to form a unique take on the songs. Their deep improvisational jams, experimental ideas and creative transitions really set this group apart from your typical tribute act." (Facebook - Instagram - Twitter)
MYSTERY JAM MONDAY PART 450
Welcome to the 450th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, the first and easiest of February. 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!
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation