Some of you may have already heard through the grapevine that a new Phish book project is in the works. The Mockingbird Foundation is pleased to announce that it is indeed true, and we at the Foundation invite your participation.

The Phish community is in need of a book written by the fans and drawing on the experiences of all of us, both netters and non-netters, instead of just one person or small group. It is our opinion that such a book should be written on a not-for-profit basis, with proceeds benefiting charities. We are posting here to let you know about the book and ask for your help in making it the best product in the marketplace.

The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. was formed by fourteen fans who decided to compile a book that would represent the entire fan community. Some are regular PhishNetters, others are Netters from days gone by, and still others are fans whose names will probably not be familiar to you. Some of us are older fans who have been into the band for quite a while. Others are fans who only recently found out about the beauty of Phish. We are a diverse group of people representing various ages and interests. Some of us are adults with jobs; some of us are students. Basically, we represent a cross-section of the Phish community, but we represent the true community that we all love instead of the negative stereotypes that have found their way into newspaper articles and news broadcasts.

We first got together about this project last fall, after there was a thread on PhishNet about the various books that have been written about Phish. A few friends got together and decided to create their own. To show our dedication to producing a high quality product and our commitment to operating for charity, we legally incorporated in the state of New York as a Non-Profit Corporation. By doing so, our contributors and our customers will know that their hard work and money will benefit worthy causes. It is true that Phish’s management company, Dionysian Productions, has been contacted about this project. They expressed enthusiasm about the idea of a not-for-profit, fan-produced work for the benefit of charities, but there are currently no commitments and no agreements between The Mockingbird Foundation and Dionysian on any aspect of this project. We are, however, keeping Dionysian abreast of project developments, and will continue to work passionately for the benefit of charities, Phish, their music, and the fan community.

It is our hope that hundreds of fans, both on and off the Internet, will contribute to this project and that the final lists of acknowledgments and credits will be unbelievably long. By contributing to this book, fans everywhere can know that they helped create a fan-based project that will benefit worthy charities and further spread the word about the band that we all love.  The project can only be a success if all fans, both on and off the net, participate.

Sincerely,
The Board of Directors of The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc.:

Craig DeLucia
Dave Donohue
Eddie Dinel
Charlie Dirksen
Charles Franz
Herschel Gelman
Ellis Godard
Mark Goldberg
Jack Lebowitz
Dan Purcell
Joe Rioux
David Steinberg
Marcie Vogel
John Wood

(Note: This was the original Board membership. The current Board listing may be found in the About section.)