www.phish.net Newbie Central

Greetings and welcome, new Phish fans! This is the place you've been looking for, my friends. If you're reading this, chances are that you've just recently discovered the marvels and magic of Phish, and are looking for all the information you can about the band, its community, and its culture. Cool, `cause that's exactly what Newbie Central is for! You are not alone, and we at Phish.Net want to make it as easy and fun as possible for all newbies to find lots of helpful information about Phish. It is our plan that Newbie Central will be THE source for where to find that information.

As a new member of the Phish community (yes, we are a community, not a fan club), you will no doubt be hearing and/or reading certain Phishy terms that you won't understand at first. One of the first terms you've already heard is "newbie". This, as you can probably guess, refers to people who have only recently become fans. This is NOT a derogatory term, nor should it be taken as such. It is merely a word that helps explain someone's depth of knowledge and length of appreciation for Phish to another fan. For instance, if you were sending e-mail to a trader asking for copies of live Phish shows (sometimes called "groveling", but that'll be covered later), he or she would most likely be extra-willing to help you if they knew that you were a newbie just starting out. You'll find that the community is full of friendly people who are happy to spread the music of Phish by helping newbies get started. There are, unfortunately, some veteran fans who resent newbies, but this resentment most often stems from the desire to keep Phish "secret" to themselves and not have to share it with an ever-expanding fanbase. But our goal is to spread the word about Phish and share their magic with as many people, newbies and veterans, as possible, so wear your "newbie" label with pride. You are the latest member of the Phish phenomenon that keeps growing and growing, and one day you'll be in a position to help the next wave of newbies that will inevitably come down the road.

The following picture depicts what Phish looks like on stage.

In a nutshell, Phish is a band of four members: Trey Anastasio on guitar, Mike Gordon on bass, Page McConnell on keyboards, and Jon "Fish" Fishman on drums.

Their music is a blend of jazz, rock, bluegrass, folk and funk, with a lot of improvisational jamming mixed in. They formed in 1983 while attending the University of Vermont in Burlington. Page was not an original member. At first there were two guitarists; Trey and Jeff Holdsworth. Jeff left the band in 1986. Page joined shortly before Jeff left, and the lineup has remained the same since then. The band's popularity started slowly, and even as recently as 1993, they were playing in small venues to crowds under 1000. But their popularity has snowballed, and on New Year's Eve 1999, they drew roughly 70,000 fans to a remote Indian reservation in southern Florida for a three-day camping and music festival, as well as selling out nearly every venue they played on their tour.

In the wake of this popularity grew many Phish-related web sites, one of which was www.phish.net. The Phish.Net started out as a mailing list for a small group of e-mailers in 1990. As time passed, it grew and evolved as the band's popularity grew, and today a small army of dedicated, loyal fans strive to make Phish.Net as current, informative, and fun as possible. Everything you read on the site is the result of someone's hard work, but the motivation is purely out of love and respect for the band. The site is maintained entirely on a volunteer basis, and is completely non-profit.

How can I hear Phish's music?

There are three main ways to experience Phish's music.

1. You can buy a Phish album. They are:

The White Album -- 1986

Junta -- 1988

Lawn Boy -- 1990

A Picture of Nectar -- 1992

Rift -- 1993

Hoist -- 1994

A Live One -- 1995 (double live album)

Billy Breathes -- 1996

Slip Stitch and Pass -- 1997 (live album)

The Story of the Ghost -- 1998

The Siket Disc -- 1998

Hampton Comes Alive -- 1999 (6-disc live album)

Farmhouse -- 2000

You can buy these albums at your local music store, or from Phish Dry Goods.

If it isn't one of the above albums, or if it doesn't have the Elektra label, it's an illegal bootleg and you should not buy it!

2. You can go to a Phish Show.

Phish's upcoming tour dates are available online.

3. You can trade for live shows.

Phish allows and encourages people to tape shows, on the condition that the shows are traded freely and not for profit. The Phish.Net is a great place to learn about how to obtain copies of these shows. Dan Mielcarz has compiled some excellent trading instructions. The two easiest ways to get started are:

Join a Tree/Vine

One person makes copies for a few people, and those people make copies for a few people, and so forth. If you don't have anything to trade, you can join the tree as a "leaf" which means you get a copy of the tape but you don't have a responsibility to get copies to other people on the tree. (Of course you can make copies for other people any time you want.) You can find tree signups frequently on the rec.music.phish newsgroup, People for a Clearer Phish (PCP) or E Tree. For full details, visit the Trading section of the Phish.Net.

Respond to a Newbie Offer

Generous people post offers to the these groups often, offering to dub copies of shows in exchange for blanks. Look for offers on rec.music.phish, and don't forget to thank these generous people! They're going out of their way to get you, a stranger, the music, so please treat them with the respect they deserve.

See more info below. Phish shows are readily available. Please do not sell or buy live shows, bootleg CDs, or in any way encourage profit making from Phish's music.

Newbie territories to explore:

There are many places on the Net that go into great depth detailing the band's formation, development and history. The official web site for Phish is found at http://www.phish.com/. This site is maintained by the Phish organization and all information found there, especially late-breaking news, can be counted upon to be true and reliable. If you hear rumors about tours, schedules, new albums, et cetera, et cetera, they can be verified by checking http://www.phish.com/. You can also order Phish merchandise (called Dry Goods), subscribe to the Döniac Schvice newsletter, and get a copy of an official mail-order form from http://www.phish.com/. However, the official Phish web site is not especially broad-based, is not maintained on a daily basis (except on time-critical stuff like tour schedule announcements) and is limited to a few general categories. Most other sites have a lot more to offer. Going to a search engine (Yahoo, Altavista, Infoseek, Webcrawler, Lycos and Excite are common search engines on the Net) and typing "Phish" in the search line will take you to a list of sites to explore. Among the most informative sites our own FAQ (http://www.phish.net/faq/) and Helping Phriendly Book (http://www.phish.net/hpb/) web sites. In fact, you could spend A LOT of time and learn A LOT of information about Phish simply by cruising through all the pages that make up Phish.Net FAQ and HPB. But don't feel you have to stop there. After you've visited a site, scroll to the bottom of the page. Most web site pages will have one or more links, buttons or hotspots at the bottom. By clicking on any one of those buttons, you will be whisked off to another page or shown a list of other Phishy sites that you can visit just by clicking on the specific site names.

Another option is to go to a newsgroup and type rec.music.phish into the appropriate space. It may be necessary to set up your browser to receive newsgroups first. Look under Help from the Menu bar across the top of the screen if you're not sure how to do it. You will then be connected to the rec.music.phish newsgroup. Just for background information, 'rec' stands for the subject 'recreation', 'music' identifies the recreational category, and 'phish' identifies specifically whose music is the topic of that particular newsgroup. rec.music.phish is a cyber-bulletin board where fans can post requests, offers, comments, opinions or whatever else they want for all to read and/or respond to. rec.music.phish is a great place for newbies to find tape traders making offers of copies for shows, or to post a request for tickets to shows. It is not, however, to be used to defame, abuse or slander other people. For the benefit of all those reading the newsgroups, please keep your posts (a message sent to a newsgroup is called a 'post') relevant to Phish, their tours, their music, and the like. It's not out of order to post a request for tickets or tapes, but please only post once or twice with your request. Also, try to add real content to rec.music.phish. Being a newbie doesn't mean you have nothing valuable to add; in fact, the opposite may be true. Many fans and regular readers of rec.music.phish would like to see the fresh reflections of someone at his or her first show, or receiving one of his or her first Phish live shows on tape or CD. Contribute - it's fun!

Late-breaking news sites:

http://www.phish.com/hotline.html - This is an official Phish site (maintained by the Phish organization) that contains the latest information about tour announcements, new albums, projects, etc. It is generally geared toward specific, short-term events and is updated regularly.

http://www.phish.com/news2.html - This is another official Phish site that contains information relevant to longer-term events (such as complete tour schedules, long-term traveling and recording plans for the band, etc.) and is not updated as frequently as http://www.phish.com/hotline.html. It is especially helpful in planning for shows in the months ahead.

http://www.phish.net/ - We can't forget Phish.Net's homepage! Bookmark this site. Any late-breaking news will promptly be posted here.

Phish-News - The current events mailing list of the Phish.Net. People who sign up for this list ("subscribers") have updates of the latest Phish news delivered directly into their email boxes (when there is news to report, of course). This is one of the easiest ways to keep up with the latest in Phish and PhishNet news. To subscribe, send an email message (from the account you wish to subscribe) to listserv@netspace.org with the following on a single line in the body (text) of the message:

General info sites:

http://www.phish.com/ - The home page for the official Phish web site.

http://www.phish.net/faq/ - The home page for Phish.Net's Frequently Asked Questions. From it, you can connect to each section of FAQ by clicking on the appropriate icon. There's more stuff here than you can possibly imagine. Save this one on your Favorite Places file!

Non-electronic Communication:

Yep, it still exists! If you want to contact Phish via phone or snail-mail, here are the phone numbers and addresses that you'll need to use:

To contact the band, or to sign up for the Phish Newsletter (the Döniac Schvice) write to:

Phish

P. O. Box 4400

Burlington, VT 05406

To order Dry Goods merchandise by phone, call (802) 862-5400 or fax (802) 862-5494

The Tickets-by-Mail Problem line is: (802) 865-6959 (for use only for problems with mail order tickets). Additionally, you can send email to tickets@phish.com

In the manner of the Grateful Dead, who pioneered the unusual practice of allowing freelance tapers to record their concerts and distribute copies to the public free-of-charge, Phish allows their shows to be taped and distributed to anyone who wants a copy. This provides a wonderful opportunity to amass some of the greatest musical experiences ever performed, and there are fans who have literally hundreds of hours of music.

A great site to visit in order to learn more about tape trading and starting your own collection is The Phish.Net's How to Trade CDs and Tapes. There is a small amount of trading done on Digital Audio Tape (DAT) and Mini-Disc (MD) as well. As a newbie, it's unlikely you have any CDs or tapes yet that would be valuable to a tape trader for a trade, so the most common way to pick up a show or two is by sending blank tapes and return postage (referred to as B&P) to a trader who is willing to help you out. When seeking out a trader to help you get started, avoid begging, pleading, and otherwise self-depreciating behavior just to get tapes. This is called "groveling" and is generally frowned upon by the Phish community. You'll find most traders will more readily make copies for you if you ask nicely without promising the moon in return. One thing to be aware of...never trade with someone who asks for cash or extra blanks in exchange for CDs or tapes. This is called bootlegging, and is not condoned by Phish or the community. If someone asks for cash, don't trade with them. They're trying to make money off of the Phish name illegally. They are unscrupulous and not true members of the Phish family.

After selecting the show(s) you want, the trader will copy them onto your blanks and mail them back to you. Be patient. Traders have lives beyond Phish and often cannot make copies immediately. Some traders are trading with many people at once, and can only copy so many shows at a time. Two weeks is a reasonable amount of time to expect a trader to make your copies. If it's taking longer, you could send a reminder message to your trader, but be polite. They're doing you a big favor, after all. One word of caution, though...as is true everywhere, some people who claim to be traders are just plain nasty and will keep your tapes or discs and not send you anything. Fortunately those folks are few and far between. Almost everyone who offers trades is a good, honest, considerate person. Once you get a few shows in your collection, create a list that can be e-mailed to traders or posted on the web so they can see if you have any shows they want. If so, and they have a tape that you're interested in, then you can do a straight trade, in which you copy the show they want and mail it to them while they copy the show you want and mail it to you. Check out the following sites for further information on trading, taping (if you're so inclined), covers for your new collection, and more. There are also sites that are specifically set up for making covers (also called "jewel inserts" for CDs or "j-cards" for tapes) for your new tapes. There is some pretty impressive artwork out there, so give `em a look! Before you know it, you'll have to build a new tape case to hold all your Phish collection. tapes. Phish has performed more than 1000 shows, and almost all of them are available. So what are you waiting for? Let's get started!

Tape Trading URLs:

http://www.phish.net/archives/tapes/howto.html - this comprehensive guide should be your first stop when learning about how to start a collection

http://www.gadiel.com/phish/tapetrading.html - a listing of sites set up by traders complete with their tapelists. Pick and choose!

http://pcp.gridpoint.com/ - People for a Clearer Phish (PCP)

http://www.etree.org/ - E Tree

http://home.earthlink.net/~mzupanek/cdrlinks.htm - MZ's CDR Resource Page

http://www.resourcesfortapers.com/newbies/newbies.html - this page is specifically designed to help newbies start their collections

http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/ccw/phish/ - This page is for our Canadian friends who want to trade or begin collections.

http://livephish.org/ - Check this one out for its message boards that allow you to post your requests or offers for tapes, CDs and DATs (as well as general discussion).

Setlists, reviews and tape covers:

http://www.phish.net/hpb/ - An informative site that attempts to list accurate set lists for every show Phish has played. Links to specific show and song reviews are included throughout the set lists. Indispensible for tape collectors.

http://www.phish.net/reviews/ - Your one-stop shop for Phish reviews on the Internet. Dan Schar's archive files reviews from several sources, including the Phish.Net and Andy Gadiel's Phish Page.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/j/jjs277/tape2.html - Another tape cover site. Lots of great artwork!

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ttphish/homepage.htm - Even more fabulous tape covers.

Places to find music online:

High-speed internet connections, large hard drives, and powerful computers have opened up a whole new world for live music trading. MP3 Phish shows are traded free (as all Phish recording should be) and there are are vast resources on the web for finding these MP3's. (Note that Phish's new taping policy does allow MP3 trading.)

Some great links to help you get started:

http://www.mp3.com

Phish.Com has even jumped on the MP3 bandwagon serving up a previously unreleased studio version of Strange Design, available via This Month in Phish History: February 1996.

You can find other sound files (MP3, RealAudio) of Phish's music at :

SugarMegs Audio - a huge site of live shows in RealAudio

Beyond the general information about Phish, like the band members' biographies, discography, history, and so on, there are plenty of fun articles about the band that have been saved in text form, organizations that are set up to inform and advise fans about certain aspects of Phish (ie. The Mockingbird Foundation, People for a Louder Mike), newsgroups that you can use to read for fun or post your own thoughts and comments (rec.music.phish), sites that sort through all the newsgroup postings and keep the best and/or most interesting posts in a digest form (Phish.Net Digest), and related sites that inform readers about other bands that dwell in the Phishy realm. Many of these sites can be found by using search engines or through links to other pages.

Occasionally, in discussion by email or on the newsgroup rec.music.phish, you'll find other Phish fans using unfamiliar abbreviations. For some help, visit the Phish.Net FAQ's page about abbreviations and acronyms.

When you go to a Phish show, part of the overall "scene" can be found in the parking lots that service the venues where Phish plays. Summer lot scenes are experiences by themselves, with vendors peddling all sorts of edibles, wearables and collectibles. If you don't have a ticket to a particular show though, Phish asks that you stay away from the lots to help reduce the crowd as much as possible. Please honor this request. If crowds of ticketless fans become too large, the venues will not let Phish come back for future shows, and that would hurt us all. It's not very difficult to obtain tickets for shows, even if they're sold out. Check rec.music.phish for offers, or post a request of your own. Of course, beware of counterfeiters, and again, don't pay anything over face value for a ticket. True fans who have extras will sell them at cost.

Cool fan-maintained sites to check out:

The Phunky Bitches:

http://www.phunky.com/ - Phish women unite! This site was set up to enable women who love and appreciate Phish music to meet and communicate with one another, but guys are welcome to visit, too. Take a look!

Phish.Net Digest:

http://www.phish.net/online/phishnet-digest.html - a compilation of the most interesting posts on rec.music.phish in one easy-to-read format.

The Mockingbird Foundation:

http://www.phish.net/mockingbird/ - The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization created to produce the most factually accurate and delightfully literary book on Phish's music available. See how you can help!

The Phellowship:

http://www.phellowship.org - An organization for fans who choose to remain sober

Operation Minnow:

http://www.geocities.com/opminnow/ - Here's a site for the Under-17 crowd. Who says Phish is just for big kids?

People for a Louder Mike (PLM):

http://www.netspace.org/users/dan/plm/ - Think Mike's bass gets drowned out by the other guys? You're not the only one! Find out what can be done about it.

You want statistics? We got statistics!

http://www.ihoz.com/PhishStats.html - Stats out the wazoo about everything you could imagine that has to do with Phish. Definitely worth a look.

CK5: The Chris Kuroda Appreciation site:

http://members.home.net/ck5/ - This site was created to see that Chris Kuroda, the lighting designer for Phish, receives the recognition that he deserves.

Andy Gadiel's Phish Page:

http://www.gadiel.com/phish/ - A great one-man operation, Gadiel's site is always on top of the latest Phish news. He provides great links to articles, hosts message boards (as well as ticket boards and ride boards for the tour-inclined fan), and his rumors page is unique on the web. A favorite of online fans.

Phans.Com:

http://www.phans.com/ - A great site chock full of Phish news, articles, setlists, reviews, polls, and more. Fun and informative!

Tabs/Chords:

http://www.redmedia.com/chords/

Summary:

If you want to learn about the band, check these sites out. Just click and go!

Band/History:

http://www.phish.net/faq/qs-band.html - Another Phish.Net FAQ page that has a detailed history of the band, its accomplishments, friends, projects, etc. A must-read for every newbie!

http://www.phish.com/bios.html - The official history and biography of the band members as offered by the Phish organization.

Discography:

http://www.phish.net/faq/discography.html - An informative listing of Phish releases, side projects, demos and singles.

If you want to read some articles on and interviews with Phish members and supporting cast, check these sites out.

Articles/Interviews:

http://www.phish.net/archives/ - lots of articles and interviews for your reading pleasure.

http://www.gadiel.com/phish/ (go to Articles and Interviews) Links to lots of articles and interviews that will delight and educate you about the band.

How about clothes and stuff? Everything Phishy from hats to T's to patches to posters can be ordered through Phish Dry Goods.

https://www.phish.com/catalog/cat.html - The official merchandise web site

http://www.freeyellow.com/members2/givingtree/index.html - hemp clothing, accessories and jewelry.

Ok, you've got your new duds, you know all about the band, but when can you see them again? The moment a Phish tour is officially announced, it will be posted at http://www.phish.com/tourdate.html. There's also a Phish hotline web site with the latest news at http://www.phish.com/hotline.html. Both places can be relied upon to give current, accurate information. Other sites that are also reliable, up-to-the-minute, and informative include...

Tours/News:

http://www.phish.net/faq/qs-shows.html - general information about buying tickets from ticket outlets, mail ordering, travel and touring information. Not intended to be a latest-news source, although Ellis keeps his pages very current.

http://users1.vastnet.net/mt/phish.html - a complete guide for making your travel plans for the upcoming tour, including info on places to stay, travel routes, share ride offers, gatherings, and much more.

Lots/Venues:

http://www.phish.net/faq/venues.html - information on the various places Phish plays, directions on how to get there (yes, you CAN get there from here!), costs, local hotel and camping info. Updated as necessary to accommodate future tours once the schedule is official.

http://members.home.net/seabass420/venue.html - Seating charts for the latest Phish tour.

Maps/Directions

http://www.mapsonus.com/ - This site will give you detailed directions along with a highlighted map to help you get from here to there. Never get lost again!

http://www.mapquest.com/ - Much like the Mapsonus site. Just enter the starting and ending points of your trip and it will give you complete directions and a map.

The Phish.Net web site is the work of Phish fans and has no official affiliation with the band or the official Phish web site at http://www.phish.com/. Please direct comments, suggestions and questions to webmaster@phish.net.