Mockingbird Foundation

The Mockingbird Foundation is a charitable organization founded by fans of the jam band Phish in 1996 (legally incorporated the following year) to support music education for children. Unconventional in structure, it exists almost entirely online, allowing a higher percentage of income to be distributed directly to deserving organizations.^[1] Projects include the publication of The Phish Companion and the production of the Phish tribute album Sharin' in the Groove.^[2] As of November 13, 2006, the foundation had provided over 150 disbursements (through grants and other awards) totalling over $500,000; sold over 60,000 copies of The Phish Companion; and sold over 25,000 copies of Sharin' in the Groove.^[3] The organization was recognized officially by Phish when, in 2004, the band donated all proceeds from their Livephish download service to the Mockingbird Foundation.^[4]

The Phish Companion

The Mockingbird Foundation is a leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music. The Foundation's book project, The Phish Companion, is a comprehensive and authoritative reference chronicling Phish and their music, including years preceding and following the band's own history. It was researched with the help of all official Phish sources, including band archivist Kevin Shapiro, bassist Mike Gordon, lyricist Tom Marshall, and others. Over 1,500 named fans contributed to the First Edition, with several hundred more augmenting the second.^[3]

With over 900 pages and weighing 4.20 pounds, the book features setlists, show notes and statistics on 1,426 live performances; setlists and reviews on nearly 700 sideshows; history and statistics on over 670 songs; detailed notes and advice on various bootlegs in circulation; and a redesigned discography, venues table, tape notes, lyrics index, essays, interviews, poetry, and photography.^[5] The second edition's forewords were written by all of the people credited as having taught the members of Phish how to play music. Phish lyricist Tom Marshall has called the Companion "Truly an epic piece of work."^[6]

Sharin' in the Groove

A Phish tribute album, Sharin' in the Groove, features nearly two hours of music from 23 individual acts including The Wailers, Dave Matthews, Jimmy Buffett, John Scofield, Arlo Guthrie, the Stanford Marching Band, The Vermont Youth Orchestra, Tom Marshall, as well as members of the Trey Anastasio's band, Jefferson Airplane, Talking Heads, and Los Lobos.^[3] It was produced independently on an all-volunteer basis: none of the artists, managers, studios, or others involved received compensation for their contribution. The tracks are arranged like a live show, including two sets and an encore.^[7]

Phish.net

The Foundation formally adopted the fan website Phish.net as a project January 17, 2005.^[8] The site had begun in 1991^[9] and served Phish fans for nearly two decades as static HTML pages. It was re-launched as an integrated database - of setlists, song histories, reviews, and more - in fall 2009.

DeLucia Awards

In 2004, the Foundation announced plans to acknowledge innovative work in music education through the institution of the DeLucia Awards, named for Mockingbird founder and originator of The Phish Companion, Craig DeLucia.^[10] The first DeLucia Awards were announced in May, 2006.^[11]

External links

• The Mockingbird Foundation

References

1. ^ "Mockingbird Entirely Volunteer". http://mbird.org/2000/11/all-volunteer/. Retrieved 2011-02-03. 
2. ^ "Mission Statement". http://www.mockingbirdfoundation.org/about/#mission. Retrieved 2006-05-13. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "The Mockingbird Foundation Homepage". http://www.mockingbirdfoundation.org. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 
4. ^ "LivePhish to Benefit Mockingbird". http://mbird.org/2003/12/livephish-to-benefit-mockingbird/. Retrieved 2011-02-03. 
5. ^ "Phish Companion facts". http://mbird.org/book/. Retrieved 2011-02-03. 
6. ^ "The Phish Companion". http://www.mockingbirdfoundation.org/book/. Retrieved 2006-05-13. 
7. ^ "Sharin' in the Groove". http://www.mockingbirdfoundation.org/album/. Retrieved 2006-05-13. 
8. ^ "Mockingbird Adopts Phish.net". http://mbird.org/2005/01/phish-net/. Retrieved 2011-02-04. 
9. ^ "Phish.net Timeline". http://phish.net/special/timeline.php. Retrieved 2011-02-03. 
10. ^ "DeLucia Announcement". http://mbird.org/2004/06/delucia-award-established/. Retrieved 2011-02-03. 
11. ^ "DeLucia Announcement". http://mbird.org/2006/06/delucia-awards-announced/. Retrieved 2011-02-03.