We echo PhanArt’s thanks to the seven artists who donated wares during the summer tour for auctions to benefit the Mockingbird Foundation.
Two organizations founded and operated by fans of the rock band Phish announced today that they have raised and distributed a combined $1,000,000 for charity. The joint announcement was made by The Mimi Fishman Foundation, which raises funds through online auctions, and The Mockingbird Foundation, which publishes historical information about Phish in print and online. Both organizations are operated on an all-volunteer basis, with no salaries, paid staff, or offices. (Formal release)
The Mockingbird Foundation was organized in 1996, by Craig DeLucia and a dozen other fans, to raise funds for music education for children through the publication of an encyclopedic book about Phish and its music. Expanding its efforts to include the cultivation and distribution of Phish-related intellectual property more generally, the Foundation has published two editions of a 900-page book, released a double-disc tribute album, produced a variety of tour-friendly merchandise, and re-launched the Phish.net website as a comprehensive database with a dozen mobile extensions. As a result of these efforts, as well as direct donations, the Mockingbird Foundation has been able to fund 193 grants (in 42 states) totaling over $613,000.
The Mimi Fishman Foundation was organized in 1998, by Mimi Fishman (mother of Phish drummer Jon Fishman) and family friend David Shulman, to raise funds for vision-related charities through online auctions of Phish-donated memorabilia. While expanding its focus of charitable giving to include women, children, and animal-related charities, the Foundation also expanded its musical reach by receiving donated auction items from other bands, including The String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Umphrey’s McGee. The Mimi Fishman Foundation has administered over 30 online auctions resulting in grants being made to 38 organizations totaling over $390,000.
Communal efforts by Phish fans reflect the history of the band itself. Phish earned commercial success during the 1990s stealthily, with little radio play and a video that primarily aired as joke fodder on Beavis and Butthead. They evolved from a rumored bar band to an idolized arena organization, benefitting from ingenuity and courage as much as from talent. Ingenuity and courage also drove fans of the same period to begin orchestrating charitable works at shows: the Green Crew collected trash from venue surroundings, the Karma Crew and Clifford Care Bears discouraged hard drug use, the Phellowship provided camaraderie for sober fans, and the Phunky Bitches provided support to female fans. While several of those nascent elements continue, the charitable ambitions of volunteer fans expanded alongside Phish’s success. Groups incorporated, boards of directors were formed, and Phish fan philanthropy was born.
The Mockingbird and Mimi Fishman Foundations look forward to many more years of serving Phish fans and grantees alike. Each has already raised the funds for additional grants to be announced this fall, and each is underway with new plans to continue their success.
Artist/fan Richard Pearlman is donating 100% from sales of his “We want you to be happy” stickers to the Mockingbird Foundation.
We join others in mourning the loss of dear friend and avid Phish fan John D. Oberschmidt (aka BlizzardGarcia), and present these words and pictures, provided by friends and family:.
J
ohn David Oberschmidt of Saginaw passed away unexpectedly on Friday, May 21, 2010. He was 30 years old, born on March 10, 1980 in Saginaw. He was a Saginaw Heritage High School Graduate in 1998 and then furthered his education at Northern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration.
He enjoyed his entrepreneurship as a co-owner of Celebration Hall in Saginaw and general manager of West Bay Storage in Bay City. John was a great lover of sports. He was on the golf, tennis and ski teams at Heritage High School, and also competed for the Central United States Ski Association Ski Team.
John’s life was an adventure as he traveled throughout the United States and Europe. He enjoyed all sorts of music and was an avid lover of Phish. John’s greatest joy was his family, especially his mother, father, sister, step-dad and his dog, Blizzard (pictured at right, with John). He loved a good conversation and could easily hold his own about most any topic. John had a heart of gold, was a loyal friend and always championed the underdog. He possessed a quick wit and an amazing sense of humor. John did indeed take the road less traveled and it made all the difference.
J
ohn is survived by his father, David Oberschmidt; mother and step-father, Jeanie (Robert) Quinn, all of Saginaw; sister, Heidi (Scott) Gates of Alhambra, CA; nephew, Oliver Alexander Gates; niece, Vivian Mackenzie Gates; step-brother, Ryan Quinn; step-sister, Kelly (Jim) Hansinger; and his step-nephew, Jackson Hansinger; and his Godfather and Godmother: Dr. Malcom Pike and Janis McMasters. He is preceded in death by his grandparents: John Chester and Eileen Brunette and William and Brigetta Oberschmidt.
The funeral program included the words to Robert Frost’s “The Road Less Travelled” on the inside and the lyrics to Phish’s “All of These Dreams” on the back. (The latter debuted 1/3/03 at Hampton Colliseum; John is pictured there with best friend Don, at below right).
Donations may be made via Paypal (using Paypal directly, or a credit card through a Paypal account) via the link below; or by sending a check, payable to the Mockingbird Foundation, c/o The Godards, 6948 Luther Circle, Moorpark, CA 93021. The Mockingbird Foundation is an all-volunteer nonprofit (501c3) founded by Phish fans to support music education for children through small strategic grants to scores of special programs. The Foundation is all-volunteer – with no paid staff, office, or honoraria, and administrative costs below 1% – and has been founded and managed entirely by Phish fans, including a geographically dispersed board of directors.
New Image Community sells Concert-Friendly Glow Sticks to Fund Music Education
Today, the Mockingbird Foundation launches a partnership with a new website dedicated to celebrating the sky-filled light festivities that fans have come to known as “glow stick wars”. The site will feature specially branded products with fan-friendly packaging, and a percentage of proceeds will be donated to Mockingbird to support music education.
While “glow stick wars” sometimes entail heavy, pointed, injury-inducing items, GlowStickWars.com distributes only thin, concert-friendly, 8″ loops, and they’ve branded their own just for fans: Show Sticks. A percentage of all sales go to The Mockingbird Foundation, whose logo and website URL appear on the customized packaging. The packaging itself was designed just for fans, including a recycleable, reuseable tube with a cap that pops off and on, ready to store collected Show Sticks for the next toss, or to serve some other purpose on tour.
GlowStickWars.com will bring together pictures, videos, discussion, planning, and more, and aims to build a “first-of-breed concert photo and video sharing community”, where members own their own content. The site is offering a pre-sale discount on tubes of 100 concert-friendly glowrings for $5.99, plus entry into a Bonnaroo ticket giveaway. Plus, those who pre-register now to reserve a username will receive an emailed coupon for a free tube with their first order of Show Sticks.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online. It fund-raises through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, special events, and the Phish.net website. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in 1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries, or office, and disburses more than 99% of funds raised to charity.
Funds solely support music education for children. Most are distributed through a two-tiered application process intended to add critical support for important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Currently, only about 1% of the thousands of inquiries received each year can be funded. Please consider helping raise that percentage!
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation before performing a “final show” August 15, 2004. They returned last March, and are now as strong as ever. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
The Mockingbird Foundation acknowledges, and expresses appreciation for, the many individuals and corporations who have provided generous tax-deductible donations to support our efforts in funding music education through all-volunteer nonprofit projects. Contributions are recognized at listed giving levels.
The following made contributions during 2010:
-
Supporters (up to $50)
- Amy Booth
- Art Hoffman
- Craig Tuokkola
- Cristie Ayers
- Elizabeth M. Pierce
- Eric Reichard
- gophish1982
- Jason Carpenter
- Jason Mollicone
- Jeffrey Bowling
- Jennifer Moore
- Jennifer Oconnor
- Jessica Chismar
- Karen and Gary Becker
- Kenneth Pivor
- Lacy Boughn
- Lane Tobias
- Lisa Lanza
- Matthew Gecan
- Maxine Wight
- Michael Babb
- Natalie R. Parry
- Rachel Klugman
- Richard A. Rusin
- Rick & Lynne Palmer
- Simon Ossitt
- Suzanne Brannon
- Thomas Kish
- Vivian Wurster
- William L. Staats
- William Olshefski
-
Sponsors (up to $100)
- Andrea Drummond
- Carl Graves
- Craig L. Daniels
- Deborah Holley
- Denise and John Zieske
- Elayne Best
- J.M. Shar
- John Michael Diresta
- Joseph Salem
- Kimberly Couture Rist
- Laura Gray
- Marilyn D. Couture
- Martha Delgadillo
- NY District Office of the U.S. Geological Survey
- Richard Pottenger
- Scott Marks
- Stephen Kratowicz
- Thomas Bullota
- Wilma J. Dufour
-
Advocates (up to $250)
- Calvin Thorne
- Craig & Helen Bryce
- David Cluett
- FanManager Marketing & Promotions
- Laura Channing
- Matt Schwartz
- Parker Harrington
- Pete Mason / Phanart
- Phil Friedman
- West Islip Middle School (Long Island) Unplugged
-
Donors (up to $1000)
- Brick Wall Management (Phanatic app)
- Conestoga High School, B Grateful Dead Music Appreciation, from the Student Activities Account
- Erik Cortright
- Theresa Bradt
-
Patrons (up to $5000)
- Massey Software
- Nicholas Ribis
Today, Setlistics released Phanatic, an app for the iPhone and iTouch which provides setlists, statistics, YouTube links, and more. The app utilizes Phish.net setlists data provided under license from the Mockingbird Foundation, an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit that will direct 10% of net sales to music education for children.
Setlistics describes Phanatic is enabling users to…
- Search every show by song, tour, date, venue, city, or state; watch YouTube videos with 1-click access from any setlist page; and email any setlist (real or fantasy) to friends with 1-click.
- Ever wondered how unique the setlist is that you’re currently seeing? Or how many times certain songs have been played in the same show, the same set, back-to-back, etc.? Phanatic allows you to type in the setlist during the show and calculate these stats in real time, with immediate updates on openers, closers, encores, bustouts, debuts, last seen dates, and more.
- A Set-Shake feature allows you shake the device to get a random real setlist, or to randomly generate a fantasy setlist.
- A Links section provides a comprehensive list of fan sites, official band links, and Phanatic App links to stay in the loop and find what you need.
The App will soon be upgraded to v.1.0.1, including setlists from Fall Tour and a new ability to download setlists after each show, and will cost $1.99. However, users are encouraged to buy it now, because v.1.0 is available for 99 cents for a limited time, and all software upgrades are free. Phanatic is currently supported by a Twitter Feed and Facebook page.
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The Phish.net setlists are the definitive collection of information about Phish’s performance history, and the result of decades of all-volunteer work by untold numbers of fans, including ongoing interaction with band management and colleagues. The comprehensiveness, accuracy, consistency, and integrity of the current dataset surpass even the Foundation’s own 928-page book. The data is the core intellectual property of the Foundation, actively protected by copyright, and provided to third-parties in limited fashion through a set of APIs as well as comprehensively under a standardized licensing agreement.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online. It fundraises through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, special events, and the Phish.net website. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in 1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries, or office, and disburses more than 99% of funds raised to charity.
Funds solely support music education for children. Most are distributed through a two-tiered application process intended to add critical support for important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Currently, only about 1% of the thousands of inquiries received each year can be funded. Please consider helping raise that percentage!
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation before performing a “final show” August 15, 2004. They returned last March, and are now as strong as ever. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
We join others in mourning the loss of dear friend and avid Phish fan Nicole Griffith, and present these words and pictures, provided with her family’s input and approval through a dear friend..
Our dear friend Nicole Camille Griffith (“Niki”, June 5, 1977 – December 6, 2009) passed away peacefully in her sleep during the early morning hours of December 6, 2009 due to complications from a respiratory infection. Though she only graced this earth briefly, she was able to touch the lives of many people in her 32 years. Her infectious laugh, kindness and sense of mischief always made her someone you wanted to be around.
Music, specifically Phish, played a huge roll in Niki’s life. She spent many days getting tickets and logged countless miles on her car all to get to the next show. She loved their music as it brought her pure joy. Even more than just the music, Phish gave Niki a community where she belonged. Phish provided the soundtrack to her life, and the friends she made because of the band contributed to her happiness. Over the years she played an active role in many Phishy communities including the Phunky Bitches, Phantasy Tour & The Jam Girlz. Through these groups she was able to connect with some of her closest friends who are all thankful that she touched our lives.
N
iki had a sticker on her mirror which read ‘I’m not nice, I’m kynd’ and she lived up to this adage throughout her life. She had compassion for others and was always sharing her smile and giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. While Niki caught a lot of tough breaks in her day, she never let it break her beautiful spirit. She wanted people to feel good, to have hope-and she always found a way to make that happen for them.
Those who love Niki ask that you continue to honor her spirit and remember her kindness by donating to the Mockingbird Foundation. We believe that Niki would have found this as the ultimate gesture of kindness. Educating children on the beauty of music and giving them sense of community through it is something we know she would have found important. Music changed her life for the better and brought her joy. We ask that you help create the joy that will changes the lives of others by making this donation her name.
N
iki is survived by her loving father Mark Griffith, mother Nancy Goforth and her sister Claire Goforth as well as her boyfriend Chris and long time feline companion, Jazzy, as well hundreds of friends all over the country.
“When we were young we thought life was a game, but then somebody leaves you and you’re never the same. All of the places and people belong to the puzzle but one of the pieces is gone and it’s you , it’s you, It’s you, Joy, it’s you.” -Phish
Donations may be made via Paypal (using Paypal directly, or a credit card through a Paypal account) via the link below; or by sending a check, payable to the Mockingbird Foundation, c/o The Godards, 6948 Luther Circle, Moorpark, CA 93021. The Mockingbird Foundation is an all-volunteer nonprofit (501c3) organization of Phish fans that supports scores of special programs that provide music education for children. The Foundation is all-volunteer, with no paid staff or office, and founded and managed entirely by Phish fans.
Today, the first Phish-related iPhone app became available at the Apple store. iDIDN’TKNOW: Phish Games, which includes five Phish-related games, is also the first of two produced by Tour Buddy Systems that will Phish.net setlists data provided under license from the Mockingbird Foundation, an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit that will direct 10% of net sales to music education for children.
As described by its developers, iDIDN’TKNOW Phish Games “will challenge your knowledge of Phish while keeping you and your crew entertained for hours” with five different games: Phinal Exam, Phanagrams, Phuzzy Math, Tour Libs, and Wookipedia. A portion of the sales (not just of the profit) will go to the Mockingbird Foundation, and the app has already been upgraded to v1.1.”
The Phish.net setlists are the definitive collection of information about Phish’s performance history, and the result of decades of all-volunteer work by untold numbers of fans, including ongoing interaction with band management and colleagues. The comprehensiveness, accuracy, consistency, and integrity of the current dataset surpass even the Foundation’s own 928-page book. The data is the core intellectual property of the Foundation, actively protected by copyright, and provided to third-parties in limited fashion through a set of APIs as well as comprehensively under a standardized licensing agreement.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online. It fundraises through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, special events, and the Phish.net website. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in 1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries, or office, and disburses more than 99% of funds raised to charity.
Funds solely support music education for children. Most are distributed through a two-tiered application process intended to add critical support for important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Currently, only about 1% of the thousands of inquiries received each year can be funded. Please consider helping raise that percentage!
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation before performing a “final show” August 15, 2004. They returned last March, and are now as strong as ever. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
Today, a group of Phish fans mailed an unsolicited $1,000 check to three music education programs in the area immediately surrounding the Empire Polo Grounds, site of Festival 8: the Coachella Valley High School Band, the Cahuilla Desert Academy (middle school) Advanced Band, and the Westside (Elementary) School After-School Music Program.
The recipients, chosen based on their proximity to the venue, share several things, notes Executive Director Ellis Godard: "proximity to the tour, an understanding of the magic and wonder of music, a commitment to convey that understanding to children, and the earnest need for your support."
Distributed by the all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation, the $3,000 in grants are part of a concerted effort to support communities touched by Phish tours, to encourage support for music education, and to help generate that support in press surrounding Phish shows. With these grants, the Mockingbird Foundation has distributed a total of $612,750.40, through 194 grants, in 42 states.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online. It fundraises through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, special events, and the Phish.net website. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in 1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries, or office, and disburses more than 99% of funds raised to charity.
Funds solely support music education for children. Most are distributed through a two-tiered application process intended to add critical support for important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Currently, only about 1% of the thousands of inquiries received each year can be funded. Please consider helping raise that percentage!
Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation before performing a “final show” August 15, 2004. They returned last March, and are preparing to embark on a fall tour, after Indio, leading into December. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.
