The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. announced today that it has reached an agreement with Miller Freeman, Inc. to publish an encyclopedic desk reference about the band Phish. The book will be available for pre-order this summer, in warehouses by November, and released next January.
The Mockingbird Foundation has been working for nearly four years to produce the definitive tome about the jazz-oriented rock band known for its blazing improvisation and cult following. The final product will include the most complete and accurate collection of setlists from the band’s known performances, as well as literary show reviews, creative essays, in-depth song histories, and much more.
The book includes contributions from thousands of fans, and has received support from the band’s management company and colleagues. Archivist Kevin Shapiro assisted in verifying many of the nearly 1200 setlists, and lyricist Tom Marshall will write the book’s foreword.
Miller Freeman, based in San Francisco, publishes the All Music Guides as well as Guitar Player, Bass Player, and Keyboard magazines, among others. The deal is being arranged by literary agent Christian Crumlish of Waterside Productions.
The Mockingbird Foundation is a group of ambitious fans who incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1997 to undertake several Phish-related projects for charity. The Foundation is also producing a tribute album, of diverse acts covering Phish originals, also for charity. The foundation and the book take their name from a character in several Phish songs, the Famous Mockingbird, who helps wayward society by retrieving the book of knowledge from an evil invader and returning it to the people. The Mockingbird Foundation website is www.mbird.org.
Phish was founded in 1983 at the University of Vermont and moved to its current lineup in 1985. Guitarist Trey Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Mike Gordon, and keyboardist Page McConnell have been touring the country for the past 16 years, slowly becoming one of the nations largest live acts. They recently released a 6-CD live box set recorded in 1998 at two concerts in Hampton, Virginia. Phish’s millennium celebration at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in Florida was the largest and top-grossing millennium concert in North America. The band’s official website is at http://www.phish.com.