An all-volunteer group of Phish fans today announced that it has donated more than a thousand drumsticks to two music education programs in Burlington, Vermont: The Burlington School District and the 242 Main Street Center. Each recipient is being given approximately two hundred and seventy-five (275) pairs of Zildjian drumsticks – 1,100 total sticks, including a variety of sizes and styles, all made from selectively logged Alabama hickory, and with an estimated value of nearly $5,000.
The sticks were presented to the Mockingbird by David Whiteside, a University of Vermont student and founder of Black Warrior Riverkeeper, which helps protects watersheds in Alabama. Whiteside recently worked with Phish drummer Jon Fishman and others on an event to benefit Black Warrior Riverkeeper, which protects and restores the Black Warrior River and its tributaries in Alabama. (Though Fishman currently uses a different brand of drumstick, fans will recognize Zildjian as the name on half of the ten cymbals in his drum kit.) The sticks were first given by Zildjian to Whiteside, who asked Mockingbird to find appropriate recipients for them.
The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music. Since its inception in 1996, the Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans of the band, without any salaries or paid staff. It fundraises for music education for children by celebrating the music of Phish through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, and special events for the Phish fan community. Funds are distributed through a two-tiered application process that is one of the most competitive in the country and that has so far resulted in over 120 grants, in 33 states, totaling nearly $420,000.
The second edition of The Phish Companion (the Foundation’s 928-page authoritative encyclopedia) is available from major book outlets nationwide. Its double-disc tribute album Sharin’ in the Groove is available in CD format through Amazon, CDBaby.com, and Homegrown Music Network, as well as in digital format from iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Napster, BuyMusic, MusicMatch, Sony Connect, MusicIsHere, Liquid Digital Media, PassAlong, MusicNet, Puretracks, MusicNow, and LoudEye! For more information about Mockingbird, or to make a donation, please visit www.mbird.org.
Phish was a rock band that started in 1983 and performed its final show on August 15, 2004. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.