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This page has archived stories for 2008 only. For current news, check the homepage.
For other years, see: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002. |
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11/21/08 - Capitol Centre Imploded
It was renamed the USAir Arena before Phish played there (on 11/22/95 and 12/28/97), but now it's gone.
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11/19/08 - Mimi Auction
For the fifth time in five years, the Mimi Fishman Foundation is conducting an on-line auction to benefit Rock the Earth, including tickets, merchandise, artwork, and more. The auction opens Wed. 11/19 and ends Tues. 12/2.
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11/10/08 - Phish in Puterbaugh, Blakesberg books
 Parke Puterbaugh's Phish: The Biography will be released next May through the Perseus Books Group. This narrative history of the band will be based on interviews Puterbaugh conducted working with the band, staff, management, and fans for more than a decade. You may know Puterbaugh from his work for Rolling Stone, USA Today, Outside, Men's Journal, Stereo Review, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Meanwhile, Phish is one of an uncounted number of artists featured in Traveling on a High Frequency: Jay Blakesberg Photographs 1978-2008, a collection of Blakesberg's fantastic photography over the past thirty years. The 304-page book ($40) will be released tomorrow at a signing party in San Francisco.
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10/24/08 - Merl Saunders, RIP
Merl passed away this morning. We express our condolences to his family and friends, and give thanks for his many contributions to the community and to improvisational rock music. He was a brilliant musician and a loving soul. Hopefully he's jamming again with Jerry Garcia and Martin Fierro!
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10/24/08 - Carved your Pumpkin yet?
 If you're carving something Phish-related, send us a picture of it and we'll post it here. (Be clear, when you send it, whether we may credit you by name; we'll assume we can unless told otherwise.) Here, for example, is Jeff Hannigan's logo design:
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10/23/08 - Mike a Dad?
Between "Wilson" and "Bathtub Gin" tonight (c. 11:20 p.m. EST), Trey indicated -- based on incoming text messages throughout the evening from Mike -- that Mike and Sue's baby was coming "at this very moment".
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10/23/08 - Page's Senior Study Rediscovered
There are some frequently asked questions that remain unanswered. Some get answered but then need updating (check wikipedia, at least until I catch up, lol!) or get broken because cited files disappear.
Many fans have asked for Page McConnell's senior study, "The Art of Improvisation", which I printed in late '92 but haven't found online. Props to Eric Christopher for re-locating it on Google groups!
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10/18/08 - Hampton Simulcast Petition
Greg Doucette started a petition to get the 3/6/09 show simulcast at theaters or arenas. (Some previous Phish shows have been simulcast in theaters around the country.) As of 10/22, there are 6700 signatures!
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10/18/08 - Hamptons Gone
Tickets for Phish's three-night reunion run at Hampton Coliseum next March, sold out in some fraction of a minute this morning.
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10/9/08 - New Mimi Auction
It's no surprise the new Mimi Fishman Foundation charity auction includes items based on the return of Phish to the stage. Three amazing Phish Hampton packages are featured in the auction that benefits the Delta Gamma Center for Children With Visual Impairments. The Phish Hampton packages include 2 tickets to a Hampton show and a meet/greet Jon Fishman for the winner and one guest. The winner will also be handed a drumstick that Fishman used during the show as well as a signed drumhead. The auction concludes November 6, 2008 and features: Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) & Friends Signed Posters, Crosby Stills & Nash Signed Posters, Jack Johnson Signed CD's, Umphrey's McGee New Years Eve VIP Ticket Package, String Cheese Incident Signed Posters, Disco Biscuits Signed Poster (Pollock), and more.
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10/4/08 - Reunion already profitable for Hampton, Google, and Scalpers
Hampton hotels are booked, Phish was the top story on Google News for hours (with 417 articles after only 19 hours), and tickets are already being posted on Ebay for $799 - before they exist.
Those 417 articles range from Associated Press and Rolling Stone to Fox News, and of course, media in Montpelier, VT and Hampton Roads, VA, not to mention blogs from Jambands to Mammoth and Different Stages. And, now, related stories are trickling in - about ticket sales, and about the Mockingbird's two Hampton grants, including the Daily Press. And don't miss Chris Bertolet's essay, A Phish Head Looks at 40.
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10/1/08 - $10K for 2 Hamptons!
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9/30/08 - It's On!!!
Global warming is melting glaciers, the DJIA just had its biggest point dive in history, the US is losing lives and billions in two foreign wars, and a presidential election just weeks away may bring the most votes for a losing candidate in history. But you can rest well, because Phish will reunite (again) at Hampton Coliseum March 6, 7, & 8, 2009!!
The announcement was made via a time-lapse video at www.phish.com. There will be a lottery (hosted by MusicToday) for "a limited number of tickets", ending Friday 10/8. Public sale begins 10/18 via TicketMaster.
The shows will come 1663 days after their last (a.k.a. "final") show. The earlier hiatus ran 815 days, making this second return more than twice as long.
See more at Associated Press - Jambands.com - and Rolling Stone.
Later today, the Mockingbird Foundation will announce a special grant funded entirely by a Reunion Fund. Last fall, the volunteer Phish fan organization created a separate account for contributors who wanted to express their hope for Phish's return while supporting music education for children. More than half the donations in the last year were designated in that way, a level of optimism that raised close to the Foundation's maximum grant size!
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9/24/08 - JEMP to release 3-night Roxy Run!
CD release of the legendary three-night run at the Roxy Theater in Atlanta is apparently set with a street date of 11/18/08. The first complete multiple-show release since "Hampton Comes Alive" and the magical "Island Tour" of 1998, these eight discs cover the entire 8 1/2 hours from three shows that included Fishman's birthday on Friday, one of the craziest sets of segues in Phish history for Saturday, and a special bluegrass extravaganza on Sunday.
The official site doesn't have any thing listed yet, but other sites list the UPC as 825084987326 and the list price as $49.98. CD Universe is already taking pre-orders, for #39.98.
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9/23/08 - 1500 Days and counting...
Coventry happened 1500 days ago. Let's hope it's not another 1500 'til the next show...
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9/9/08 - (Late) Little Feat Contest [OVER!]
We've been negligent, we got so excited by it - but we have ten copies of Little Feat and Friends' Join the Band, featuring Mike Gordon on "This Land is Your Land", as well as Dave Matthews, Bob Segar, Vince Gill, Jimmy Buffett, Bela Fleck, Brooks & Dunn, Chris Robinson, Emmylou Harris, and Sam Bush. The first ten people to send the correct answer to ellis@netspace.org get a copy in the mail the next day, gratis.
Find the the length of Little Feat's track on Sharin' in the Groove (in seconds). Add the number of days that have passed since Coventry (the last public Phish show). Multiply that sum by the number of Little Feat songs that Phish has covered, and then divide by 12.7. No groans, please.
UPDATE: The contest is closed, after more than 200 entires in only a few hours! Very few gave what was intended as the correct answer, but more than enough got very close and accounted for their math. Little Feat's "Sample in a Jar" is 4:52, or 292 seconds. Add the 1486 days since Coventry (although the Phish.net for some reason lists 1485), multiply by three (for Times Loves a Hero, On Your Way Down, and Skin It Back), and divide by 12.7 (for which I searched but couldn't find any relevance) and you get 420. Congratulations to the winners, whose CDs will be in the mail within 24 hours...
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9/7/08 - Phish reunited (privately) last night
All four members of Phish performed together last night at the wedding of stage manager Brad Sands at at Midtown Loft and Terrace in New York City, for Julius, Suzy Greenberg, and Waste. Stewart Copeland was also in attendance, and pounded away at the drums a bit. See video of Julius solo, with bride groom dancing up front, Jamtopia story & pictures, and Rolling Stone story.
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9/4/08 - Trey's Accidental Nod to Palin?
 Trey's new single is called "Alaska", his upcoming tour is called "Northern Eexposure", and the tour has promo materials with the outline of Alaska and a star for "Wallingford" in the middle. (Sarah Palin, named as John McCain's Republican Party Vice Presidential Nominee six days ago, was mayor of Wassilla, Alaska.)
That star, and the others on the map, are the mostly-northeastern (and all non-Alaskan) cities Trey will hit on his upcoming eight-stop tour, which starts October 16. The graphic was almost certainly designed before McCain's announcement of Palin - but the tour stories broke yesterday, so the press materials were probably sent out after the announcement - whether with a "damn, can't change it now" or "yay, free attention", we'll never know. But given his past statements, stances, and support, it's a safe bet he's not a Palin supporter - and is more likely to milk any connection to poke fun at her.
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8/19/08 - Leroi Moore, RIP
We join millions of others in honoring and remembering the life and music of saxophonist Leroi Moore, best known as part of the Dave Matthews Band - though don't miss side projects such as Code Magenta!
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8/8/08 - Trey Shine's in Brooklyn
Rolling Stone has reviewed Trey's show last night in Brooklyn.
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8/7/08 - Fishman speaks out against Fossil Fuel Addiction
Phish drummer and vacuumist Jon Fishman was interviewed by MTV's Choose or Lose and addressed his various environmental concerns, particularly dependence upon fossil fuels.
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8/5/08 - Trey's Nashville show on sale
Pre-sale for Trey's upcoming show at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, on September 27th, has sold out. Regular tickets are now on sale.
Trey Trey will unveil a new project entitled, "Time Turns Elastic," and perform alongside Orchestra Nashville. Tickets are $45.00, $35.00 and $25.00 reserved seating; and tickets are available through Ticketmaster or the Ryman box office. Showtime is 8 p.m.
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7/23/08 - Mike on Little Feat Album
Phish bassist Mike Gordon is featured on Little Feat's new album. It's already out on iTunes (where it reached as high as no. 11 on the rock album charts and no. 35 on the overall album charts) and is shipping in hardcopy soon. There's an ecard you might enjoy, and we'll be hosting a contest soon to give away 10 copies!
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7/15/08 - Mimi Foundation offers Meet'n'Greet with Fishman!
The Mimi Fishman Foundation has launched another online charity auction that ends next Tuesday (July 22nd), and just added a meet and greet with Jon Fishman at the Up North Festival, as part of a VIP package which already included a meet/greet with Bob Weir. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Delta Gamma Center for Children With Visual Impairments as part of their capital campaign. Specifically the money raised will be directed towards the Music Therapy room in the Centers new building. The Music Therapy program supports children from birth to three years of age who are visually impaired.
Other auction items include Phish posters, a Dave Matthews Band ticket/pass package, a Mike Gordon tickets / signed CD package, Scramble Campbell artwork, signed posters by moe., tickets to moe.down, a Phish Doniac Schvice package, a one-of-a-kind Red Rocks Michael Kang Memento (benefits Kang's "Our Future Now" charity), and more!
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6/26/08 - Page Weighs In
They are talking. They do plan to get together before the year's out. And a reunion is on their minds - or, his, at least. But nothing's definite, nothing is planned, and he advises against giving much credence to rumors.
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6/25/08 - The Rumors are True (?)
Well, some of them, anyway. For a week or so, blogs and message boards have giggled at a story Billboard & Rolling Stone carried from a blog, based on an email, reporting that Phish would be in the studio with Steve Lillywhite, who produced previous Bearsville work. Today, Rolling Stonefollowed up after hearing from Mike that the band has had several dinners, have talked with Lillywhite, and may indeed get together... for something. Stay tuned - this second hiatus doesn't seem permanent, and the death of the band has been (in the words of Mark Twain) greatly exaggerated.
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6/4/08 - Trey wants Phish back
On the heels of widespread rumors that Phish had their first conference-call in four years last Friday (3pm to 420pm), prime lyricist Tom Marshall has told PopMatters.com that "Trey wants to come back" and "No one wants Phish back more than Trey", that he has written more than 15 songs with Trey over the last four months, that the two have "a new energy, a spark", and that they are "bright-eyed and bushy tailed
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5/27/08 - Phanart Begins Pre-orders
Attention Phish Community: An amazing book has been compiled on the artwork of the Phish community, entitled PHANART: The Art of the Fans of Phish. The 400+ page book includes over 1600 of your favorite lot shirts, posters, stickers, and other assorted Phanart. All net proceeds benefit the Mockingbird Foundation, the all-volunteer Phish fan organization that funds music education for children. You have a chance to pre-order PHANART now, with no money or commitment required. Sign up today, so can we gauge your interest!
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5/16/08 - Phish accepts, HeadCount Allstars rock!
Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein, Disco Biscuits guitarist Jon Gutwillig, String Cheese Incident keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth, Umphrey's McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger, and Mark Russo played a series of Phish covers under the name the HeadCount All Stars at the Jammys, including Wilson and Maze. Phish accepted (Mike, Page, and Jon briefly; Trey a bit more verbosely, speaking of musicians being "servants" and Phish having been "bigger than the four of us" due to "a cultural timing thing") and Trey played While My Guitar Gently Weeps and .
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5/21/08 - Trey gets Tres
Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio has been sentenced to three years probation, following completion of a treatment and supervision program. According to the Post-Star, Judge Kelly McKeighan vacated Anastasio's felony plea to attempted fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, substituting it with the misdemeanor of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Trey told NewsChannel 13, "I'm very, very grateful for what has happened."
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4/20/08 - It's 4/20
Celebrate. Dream. Count. Read. Hope. Duck.
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4/6/08 - MFF Auctions Festival Passes!
The Mimi Fishman Foundation has launched another in their continuing series of on-line charity auctions, this time an all-festival auction - most of which includes VIP passes. The auction, which concludes April 24, 2008, will benefit Rock the Earth and the Delta Gamma Center for Children With Visual Impairments. The auction items include VIP packages to Bonnaroo, 10,000 Lakes Festival, Summer Camp, Northwest String Summit, and Gathering of the Vibes, as well as a Rothbury package.
In addition, a very special guitar with tons of signatures (to benefit The Victory School) is still available for bidding through April 9. David Crosby, Graham Nash, Yonder Mountain, Billy Nershi, and many other signatures are included.
To view and/or bid on the auction, as well as read about the charities the auction supports, please visit the Mimi Fishman Foundation auction page http://www.mimifishman.org/auctions/
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3/31/08 - Imagined phone call to Trey...
Phunny blogger Wayne Fontes has imagined Mike, Fish, and Page calling Trey about the upcoming Jammy event, lol.
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3/26/08 - MFF Auctions Guitars
The current Mimi Fishman Foundation auction features signed guitars among other items. Many of the guitars are a benefit for the Station Family Fund. Just added to all the "Phoenix Rising" guitars are the signatures of 2 original members of BOSTON (Tom Scholz and Gary Pihl). In addition, there is a signed guitar with all proceeds to go to The Victory School for Children with Autism. This guitar is signed by many artists including David Crosby, Graham Nash, all of Yonder Mountain String Band, all of Railroad Earth, Michael Franti, Billy Nerhsi (String Cheese Incident), Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers, DTB), STS9 and others. The bidding ends on all Station Family Fund items on April 3. The bidding on the Victory House item ends April 9. Check it out at www.mimifishman.org/auctions/.
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3/14/08 - Phish sighting in Porn Catalog
The Winter 2008 catalog (no. 423) for TLAraw.com includes this description, on page 54, for Snatch Patch (2007, 120 min, discounted from $19.99 to $9.99): "The only place you can get two hours of hairy snatch for this cheap is tailgaiting at a Phish show, but then you'll end up on a bad trip that ends in Crabcrotch U.S.A. Save yourself the trouble and get your muff fix from us!"
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2/29/08 - "Fans of the band Phish allegedly consume marijuana"
This shocking revelation appears as the photo comment in a broader story: "God Smiles on Stoners, Eases Drought in Kentucky".
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2/27/08 - Langerado at Big Cypress
The Langerado Festival will be at the home of Phish's millenial New Year's celebration, and will include REM, Beastie Boys, and the Wailers.
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2/6/08 - Metallica and Lez Zeppelin @ Bonnaroo!
Okay, there's no Phish connection - it's not Led Zeppelin - but it's a damned fine lineup, announced just hours ago!
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2/6/08 - Dude of Life Spotted in Company of Small Children
New York Press' Becca Tucker tracked down Phish lyricist Steve Pollak, now a schoolteacher and suburban dad, and interviewed him alongside his three-year-old daughter Jamie (not to be confused with Jim) and five-year-old son Jesse. Good stuff, and some surprises - from him now being "the responsible one" to his continued plans to conquer the rock world (or at least his "mid-life crisis"). .. And, by the way, it is "just a matter of time"... dammit!
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2/4/08 - New Mimi Fishman Foundation Auction
The Mimi Fishman Foundation has just launched another auction, which concludes February 21 and includes rare and signed memorabilia donated by Phish, Oysterhead, moe., Michael Kang (String Cheese Incident), and artist Scramble Campbell among others. To view and/or bid on the auction, as well as read about the charities the auction supports, please visit the Mimi Fishman Foundation at www.mimifishman.org.
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1/30/08 - Trey plays for Road Recovery Teens
Phish frontman Trey Anastasio - just a few weeks out of prison for missing a drug counseling sessoin - spent three hours with recovering teens, and performed a new untitled song, last night in Schuylerville, NY, near where he now lives.
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1/31/08 - Run Run Run Run Running for Mockingbird
Mockingbird Foundation board member and marathon maven Charlie Dirksen will run in two more long dashes in coming weeks to help raise funds for music education. If anyone else is running and would like to help raise funds, or just get some encouragement from mention here, please let us know!
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1/28/08 - Phix to Reunite at Big Cypress for Langerado Festival
Mesmerizing tribute band, and longtime Mockingbird supporters, Phix will take the stage together once again, at the site of Phish's millenium mayhem!
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1/23/08 - The Bad Lieutenant Jailed
Trey spent January 16th-18th in jail after he failed to show up for a court-ordered appointment.
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1/22/08 - Gordon Plays Weekly @ Nectar's
Upbeat article about the Burlington music scence mentions that Phish bassist Mike Gordon "sits in on a weekly jam known as Honky Tonk Tuesday at the Radio Bean".
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1/8/08 - Page on Nightline
Phish keyboardist Page McConnell was featured on Nightline, discussing favorite songs, musical influences, and more. Site includes article, interview clips, and a video clip.
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