The board of the Mockingbird Foundation announced today that it has assembled a group of Phish luminaries and professional colleagues who will serve as advisors to the Foundation’s board, officers, and operating committees. The fourteen members of the new Advisory Panel will help, on an individual basis, guide and inform the Foundation going forward, to ensure that its efforts and successes continue well after Phish’s career as a band ends.

The members were selected based on their ability to provide expertise in specific areas, including fundraising, grantmaking, project development, product development, public relations, and fan interests. Their affiliations include band management and staff, fan resources and publications, and other nonprofit and charitable efforts, including representatives from each recipient of the Mimi Fishman Award for community service, given annually at the Jammy Awards. (The Mockingbird Foundation was the first recipient of that award.)

The members of the Mockingbird Advisory Panel are:

  • Andy Gadiel (Jambase.com founder, Gadiel’s Phish Page)
  • Brad Serling (founder of nugs.net and livephish.com)
  • David Shulman (Mimi Fishman Foundation Exec.Director)
  • Dean Budnick (Jambands.com founder, Relix editor)
  • Jason Colton (Dionysian Productions)
  • Joshua Stack (Panic Fans for Food founder)
  • Judith Ranger Smith (Singing for Change Exec.Director)

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  • Justin Baker (Conscious Alliance founder)
  • Kevin Shapiro (official Phish archivist)
  • Mike Wren (FLAC, FurthurNet, etree.org, et al.)
  • Paul Glace (Phantasy Tour creator)
  • Syd Schwartz (Virgin Records VP Interactive Marketing)
  • Ted Kartzman (Jambase.com co-founder)
  • Tom Marshall (Phish lyricist, Amfibian founder)

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    Many of these individuals have provided significant behind-the-scenes support to the Foundation in the past. Each has expressed a willingness to share suggestions and recommendations to help shape and maintain the Foundation’s efforts.

    The Mockingbird Foundation is a leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music. Conceived in 1996, and founded in 1997, the Foundation is operated entirely by volunteers, without any salaries or paid staff. It fundraises for music education for children by celebrating the music of Phish. Its comprehensive books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, and special events for the Phish fan community have raised more than $250K and funded scores of grants so far. The Foundation will release a second edition of The Phish Companion this summer, will announce its next round of grant recipients in October, and will announce some important management changes in one week.

    Phish is a rock band from Burlington, VT. They began on December 2, 1983; became one of the highest grossing and most beloved touring acts in history; and will perform their final show on August 15, 2004, in Coventry, VT. The band’s net proceeds from its livephish.com music distribution service are donated to the Mockingbird Foundation.

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