Phish.net
Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by Phish fans and for Phish fans under the auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.
This project serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish and their music.
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The Mockingbird Foundation
The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.
And since we’re entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we’ve distributed over $1,000,000 to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.
I find these threads very interesting, and enjoy this discussion for reasons such as the exchange quoted here. When you add in the fact that there is an objective lack of sophistication in some of the lyrical structure of these songs it's valid and logical to say that the quality has dipped, or that trey lost his fastball because of "x" reason, or that it's straight up dad rock.
However, I LOVE a lot of these new songs, and here is why:
I came to phish not initially as a music fan but as a seeker who was a fan of psychedelic high flying - the music I chased was the grateful dead. I heard about this band who was making an attempt to do something interesting, and like Frank Stallone says as far as I was concerned the weirder the better was where it was at. And that is where it was at, because it was great. But for me the changes in the nature of the music of this band are evolutionary in nature - this is the human experience if you live bravely and with an open heart - eventually you see that it is a fact that there is only love. All of the other things out there are toys that we get to play with, for good or ill.
The path that I see isn't that of the ex-psychonaut as much as it is the path of a elder traveler, who gave all of what there was to give, and was given the gift to come out the other side in order to see how much enjoyment there can be in walking that path.
So I say keep on arguing about these things 'cause it's fun and nobody gets hurt tossing these ideas around; but you'll find me out there boogieing whether the music gets thick and heavy or if it's all love and light.