WOOKIPEDIA: One of the greatest facets of Phish Thoughts to me, is the community that has formed around the website. Not only have fans found new friends to help kill time virtually, but also real people with whom rage Phish with personally. The connections that have been made and friendships formed by so many people on the self-dubbed “Black Board” (the comments section of the blog) has blown me away. I have, similarly, met tons of great people through the site, and continue to do so as Phish fans’ sense of community is unparalleled. And as any good community does, they look for ways to improve things. Last week, one of the regulars on the Black Board suggested an idea for a community-based resource in the vein of Wikipedia. But surrounding Phish culture, soon, the much more appropriate name, “Wookipedia” was born. Instead of introducing it myself, I told the person who came up with the idea to write a blurb on it. And here is what Mitch had too say.
“Power” Pollock 1995
For anyone that’s familiar with the bottom half of Miner’s site, they know that there are a lot of ideas passed around on the board on any given day. Often times you’ll find great nuggets of info regarding the latest music, what food or drink spots to check on tour or how to burn a copy of your bootleg DVD. If you’re like me, you probably try and make a mental note or jot something on a scratch of paper, but the hell if I’m gonna dig through pockets on the road, ya dig? Last week, after some discussion on the “BB,” I threw together the “W00kipedia” where we can all add our knowledge so its easily accessible from anywhere. Just create an account and edit the pages as you wish. Please remember to link your newly created pages to the main page with a blurb about it so people can easily find it. Though the infrastructure is up, there are very few pages up already. This will be a resource that grows in usefulness with the more people who contribute! Enjoy. -Mitch (http://ptbb.wikia.com)
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“The Venues of Summer: Volume I” Utica DVD Raffle
The Winners Are…
First off, thanks to all who contributed. With over 20 entries, the raffle came down to 15 people who named all the tracks on the compilation. The contestants who made it into the raffle were: Matt Stevens, Jeremy Renda, Jason Embry, Mark Hoyt, Soloman Hay, Chris Magnerelli, Michael Aurzada, Brian Richardson, James Emantin, Mario DiPasquale, Brian Brinkman, Randy Hope, Ross Bellenoit, Mike DesJardins, and Mitch Ladd.
And the three raffle winners—as picked by Mrs. Miner—who win a “Live In Utica” DVD/CD box set are: Matt Stevens, Mark Hoyt and Brian Brinkman!! Congrats guys—shoot me an email with your mailing address and I’ll get the packages out to you!
I had never heard this beast until Kevin Shapiro dropped it as part of Live Bait 4 last week. I immediately dubbed it “the best jam I’ve never heard.”
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YOUR SUMMER TOUR PHOTOS ARE NEEDED!!
If you’re going to a show this summer, bring your point-and-shoot cameras! As of last year these are allowed into venues, so snap away and send me your best shots! I don’t have consistent photo contributors for this upcoming tour, so it’s very likely that if you send me some shots after the show that you’ll see them on the site the next morning! You can send photos in zip files (preferred) or as individual email attachments. Let’s see your creativity all over the site the summer! If you’d like to contribute, please email your photos to mrminer@phishthoughts.com before you go to sleep after the show! Thanks! (I will always take shots the next day as well.)
WOOKIPEDIA: One of the greatest facets of Phish Thoughts to me, is the community that has formed around the website. Not only have fans found new friends to help kill time virtually, but also real people with whom rage Phish with personally. The connections that have been made and friendships formed by so many people …
While “Tweezer,” “Birds,” and Chalk Dust” have all drawn their due credit from Phish’s first show in Camden, this “Bathtub Gin” helped craft a stellar opening set.
This recently released nugget from Camden has been a favorite since I walked out of the show. This new SBD allows you to hear the nuances of this dark-themed interplay in “Twist,” while the “Slave took home the 4th of July.
A classic, old-western shredfest that capped the first set at PNC 2000.
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As tour awaits, here’s little history to get us prepared for next week… *** “Mango -> Free” 9.17.00 II One of my favorite highlights from Merriweather history; some outlandish music. *** “Bathtub Gin” 7.10.99 I While “Tweezer,” “Birds,” and Chalk Dust” have all drawn their due credit from Phish’s first show in Camden, this “Bathtub …
As Summer Tour is around the corner, and in the spirit of the new soundboard tracks from the archives that continue to trickle out from “Past Summer Tours,” I decided to combine a compilation of my own with a contest and giveaway. Here’s the deal: in the compilation linked below—”Miner’s Venues of Summer Vol. I”—you’ll find 12 tracks from the history of Leg One venues. Just drop folder into iTunes and the setlist of the compilation will pop-up. But here’s the catch, you won’t see the venues or dates of the selections. Your job is to come up with the correct venue and date for each selection, nothing too hard, and shoot me an email with the subject line “Summer Venue Contest.” All correct responses will be entered to win one of three brand spanking new copies of “Phish: Live In Utica” DVD/CD box set! All winning entries will be put into a hat and the three winners will be drawn at random. You may enter anytime until Sunday at 3pm pacific, and the winners will be announced on Monday! Send your entries to mrminer@phishthoughts.com(FYI: I didn’t get all techie and strip MP3 tags, but just drop the folder in iTunes and play by the honor code. The point is to get as many candidates as possible for the Utica drawing, not to trick anyone.)
Here’s a selection from Great Woods history that didn’t make the compilation, but is a retro-summer treat, nonetheless.
As Summer Tour is around the corner, and in the spirit of the new soundboard tracks from the archives that continue to trickle out from “Past Summer Tours,” I decided to combine a compilation of my own with a contest and giveaway. Here’s the deal: in the compilation linked below—”Miner’s Venues of Summer Vol. I”—you’ll …
Concert art has been a large facet of the Phish scene for quite some time, as legions of fans have transformed into collectors who buy, sell and trade show posters. While this hobby, often bordering on obsession, once centered on official posters sold at the merch stands, in the past few years, more and more independent artists have been issuing their own print runs for shows. And, as a result, unofficial prints have found a legitimate niche in the collecting community. AJ Masthay, one of the leading independent Phish artists, has come into his own since the band has returned in this era, transforming his art into sought after collectibles with a style distinctly his own. The two prints AJ made for the band’s Hampton reunion, in his own words, “represented a turning point” for his work and took his art to “a new level.” Since then, his prints have become favorites of collectors for their bold, engaging imagery and vibrant colors schemes. I recently caught up AJ to talk about his history as an artist, the inspiration behind his work, and the current state of affairs at Masthay Studios.
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MM: So, what came first, Phish or art?
Telluride 2010
AJM: Art came way before Phish—hell, my parents still have my kindergarten show & tell drawings of Spiderman! I was always the quintessential “art geek” throughout school, no interest in sports, proms, [or the more popular activities.] That’s probably one of the reasons I eventually clicked with heads and the counterculture surrounding the Grateful Dead and then Phish.
MM: Growing up, who were artists that you admired and who influenced your early vision?
AJM: When in art school getting my degree, I was heavily influenced by the old Italian Renaissance masters. I’ll never forget my first trip to Italy and just being blown away by Michelangelo’s slaves, unreal. My mentor at that time was a printmaker named Fred Wessel, and he really is the one who spurred on my love of prints and printmaking. As I became more interested in concert posters, I’d say my main influences were the works of Jeff Wood, Stanley Mouse and, of course, Jim Pollock.
MM: Talk a little bit about how you got into printing concert posters.
AJM: Well, I had to pay for going on tour somehow, right? I’m no good at making veggie burritos or French bread pizza, so it made sense to try to sell some artwork on the lots to help get me to the next shows. My absolute first experience selling on the lot was at the Lemonwheel. I had done a couple charcoal drawings of Jerry and made cheap photocopies of them to sell. Sure enough, they did pretty well at $5 a pop, and made me think maybe I had something here.
Fresh out of college I still had access to my university’s printshop, so I’d sneak in there and crank out 50 or so prints for upcoming shows to sell on the lots. Next thing I knew I found my own press and was able to set up my own humble printshop. I think the first works I created specific to the scene were back on TAB tour in 2001. These were small editions done on an etching press. They were well received and things just kind of snowballed from there.
Atlantic City 2010 Triptych
MM: Your prints have gained popularity for their bold imagery, thick use of paint, and vibrant colors. Explain a little how you’re vision and style has developed.
AJM: I’ve always loved dynamic compositions when it comes to artwork, I guess that’s where a lot of the bold imagery comes from. I believe it’s important to create a lot of depth in a print, places where the viewer can crawl into the image and get lost. I also love breaking the borders of an image, again, making parts of the print appear to jump off the page.
The vibrant colors come from my traditional printmaking background and preference for oil based inks over water. I often get comments about the “smell” of opening a fresh tube from my studio, which is due to the oil based inks. Also the fact that I layer my inks on the paper gives the colors more depth and after enough layers, a really nice glossy sheen that you don’t typically find on other prints.
MM: Have you been hired to do official work for any bands?
AJM: Absolutely. Most notably, over the past year, would be the multiple editions I’ve done for Umphrey’s McGee and Widespread Panic. In all likelihood, the lot art will become a thing of the past as my schedule becomes busier with the official work.
Worcester 2010
MM: How did those jobs come about?
AJM: I know the art director from Umphrey’s was a good friend of one of my biggest supporters. He introduced her to my work and the band approached me to do their 12/30/09 print at the Aragon Ballroom. I guess they liked my style; since then I’ve done prints for them at Red Rocks, Minneapolis, Madison, NYC, Boston, Philly, and a full triptych for their last New Year’s Run at the Riviera in Chicago.
Widespread learned about my work through Jeff Wood. They had asked him to recommend some new artists and he turned them on to me. Thanks Jeff!
MM: Explain the process of making a print for people who might not understand.
AJM: The majority of my works are reduction relief prints, also known as “suicide prints.” Each color in a print is created by carving a sheet of linoleum—envision a giant rubber stamp. But because I layer my colors on top of each other and do multiple carvings on the same plate, the plates, themselves, are destroyed in the creation process, hence [the term] “suicide prints.” What this also means is that there will never be any second editions of my work because the plates do not exists by the end of the printing process.
While creating last year’s Summer Camp Festival print, I made a nice little process page on my website that explains the process with tons of photos. Check it out for a better understanding.
MSG 2010 Triptych
MM: These days, how do you decide what Phish shows to make prints for?
AJM: I can’t say there is much rhyme or reason to it. I guess it’s based mostly upon what venues or locations I’m interested in or at least get my juices going. Nine times out of ten these are the shows I’ll be hitting on a tour, but not always.
MM: How do you get your inspiration for your prints? Do you consider location and Phish history? What type of things factor in?
AJM: I’ve learned that inspiration can come from any direction, usually when you least expect it. I have a running note on my iPhone entitled “Print Concepts” and every time something pops in my head, I force myself to stop and jot it down. I know if I don’t, it’ll be gone forever. (Damned short-term memory!) I enjoy doing prints for venues I’ve actually attended and will usually use some type of personal experience I’ve had there to work into the image. Sometimes it resonates with others, sometimes it doesn’t. Phish history can also play into an image. One specific example is my MSG prints from the last New Years Run. My first shows were the ’93 New Year’s Run with the fish tank stage. I’ve always wanted to create something around those memories and it became the basis for the underwater theme of those prints.
MM: What are your favorite Phish prints that you’ve done? Overall?
Hampton ’09 – Bass Bomb II
AJM: That’s a tough question, like who’s your favorite child. My two Hampton prints from 2009—the Bass Bomb and Bass Bomb II—have to be near the top, if not at the top. I think those two prints really represent a turning point in my work, where something “clicked” and my prints went to a new level. Other highlights would have to be my Telluride and Atlantic City prints from last year and the Bethel and Portsmouth prints from this current run. Telluride and Portsmouth because of their classic, dignified images, and AC and Bethel because they are just downright fun.
MM: Let’s go through your Leg One prints for this summer. What was the inspiration for each? (To purchase any prints, simply click on the image!)
AJM: I had a tough time coming up with concepts for Leg One. I pushed myself a bit outside of my comfort zone and chose all venues I’ve never been to so there was no way for me to draw from personal experience.
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Bethel Woods Triptych – 5.27,28,29 : Originally I wanted to do something for Bethel based around the Furthur bus and the whole Woodstock thing, but as I worked out sketches it all felt trite and I knew it wasn’t going to work. So I thought about the fact that the whole place used to be a dairy farm, and imagined what it must have been like back in the early ‘60’s before all the hippies descended; just cows roaming around. What kind of craziness might have happened in those fields back then? Why, alien cow abductions of course…
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PNC – 5.31 & 6.1: PNC was a fun one. Sometimes when I’m stuck on a venue I turn to the good ol’ Internet and see what Wikipedia has to say about the history of a city or venue. It turns out Bell Labs had a headquarters in Holmdel for many, many years. God only knows what kind of freaky experiments went on there, which got me thinking “How would a scientist explain what makes a Phish show special?”. I don’t think it’s a question that can be answered by analyzing the scene, but it sure would be fun to watch them try!
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Alpharetta – 6.14 & 15: Alpharetta is what I affectionately call the “Jabba Frog.” Having never been there, I’m pretty sure there are no swamps in that part of Georgia, but to be honest, that didn’t matter to me. I wanted to make a print that had that feeling of a humid overgrown swamp lake with huge flies buzzing around and a big fat frog getting fatter off them. I enjoyed playing with the borders on this piece, almost making the flies break out of the image to escape being eaten.
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Portsmouth – 6.19: Portsmouth has obvious ties to the nautical history of the town. In Connecticut, we have Mystic Seaport, where they have some of the really old, majestic tall ships, and I thought it would make the perfect image for that town. Again, I think this print has almost a vintage feel to it, something anyone could appreciate whether knowing it’s a concert poster or not. Really, one of my all time favorites.
MM: So, in regard to a possible collaboration with Phish in the future, do you know how they select artists for their official prints?
AJM: I’m not aware of what the process is, but hell yeah, I would love to do official work for my favorite band.
MM: Before signing off, any last words or anything you’d like to add about your craft?
AJM: I just really enjoy creating art. Honestly, I do it for myself. I think I’d still be drawing and printing if no one else were interested in my work. The fact that so many people appreciate it still blows my mind to this day and I appreciate the support of every person that digs my art.
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If you would like to order any of AJ’s prints for only $35, head over to Masthay Studios! AJ is also offering Leg One “subscriptions” for $225, where you will get the same number for each print in the series and get them delivered all at once. Check it out…
A throwback to Summer ’98’s second show of summer in Den Gra Hal and one of the most mind-melting sequences that dropped all season
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Greek Theatre 2010 Triptych
Concert art has been a large facet of the Phish scene for quite some time, as legions of fans have transformed into collectors who buy, sell and trade show posters. While this hobby, often bordering on obsession, once centered on official posters sold at the merch stands, in the past few years, more and more …
Opening a sprawling summer tour on the grounds of the original Woodstock festival, Phish will settle in for three nights in the rural atmosphere before hitting the road. Within three shows, we can be fairly certain some serious stuff will go down. Assuming the band is coming into the summer off of rehearsals—as they did last year, when the first three shows were among the strongest of June—Bethel’s trifecta holds promising possibilities and should kick the summer off in style. Here are some things I feel we may see over the first three nights in New York State.
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Bethel 5.29 (Masthay)
New Songs: Phish came back with Joy in 2009, and we haven’t seen too many new songs beyond those on the album thus far. As the band traditionally debuts new material at the beginning of tour, I would imagine we’ll hear some new songs over the nights in Bethel. Before the band’s comeback, Trey and Tom, allegedly, wrote a large group songs, many of which we’ve yet to hear. One of the duo’s efforts—”Pigtail’—popped out on 12/28 in Worcester, and sounded like one of the most promising new pieces from 2010. Hopefully Bethel will bring out more of these unplayed Anastasio/Marshall selections. Summer Tour will provide the band plenty to develop whatever new material, they have in store, hence the beginning of the season is the perfect time to break it out.
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A New Jam Vehicle: I would also imagine that we’ll hear a new jam vehicle during the first three nights of tour. “Light” has been the band’s sole cosmic launchpad written in this era, with a jam spouting from “Number Line” here and there. It’s high time that the guys add a new vehicle to their repertoire. Whether this new jam takes the form of a comeback song a la “Scents and Subtle Sounds” or “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing,” an expansion of a current song a la “Stealing Time” or “Pigtail,” or a brand new song we’ve yet to hear, I think Phish is ready to add another springboard into the mix. I know we are all ready to hear one!
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12.30.2010 (Graham Lucas)
The Rebirth of “Tweezer”: 2010 was a tough year for “Tweezer,” as the band rarely focused their improvisational energies on the classic song. Producing the most impressive—though still contained—versions at Hartford, Merriweather, Alpharetta and the Greek, the band, subsequently, took the song much farther than any of these instances during the New Year’s Run at MSG. On the 30th, the band used “Tweezer” to push musical boundaries for the first time since Miami (12.29.09) and took the song on its most extensive explorations of the modern era. With a massive summer tour staring them down, I think Phish will get “Tweezer” back into the improvisational mix and, once again, use their seminal springboard to explore new ground again during 2011.
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12.31.10 (George Estreich)
More Staccato Jamming: Phish seemed to hit on something during the New Year’s Run, as several of their standout jams featured staccato leads from Trey and, in response, similarly-styled phrasings from his bandmates. A jamming style that coaxes equitable offerings from all band members and has already sculpted some of the best four-part conversations of the era, the band may have just found themselves a direction to explore come Summer Tour in their staccato interplay. This type of improv has already infused a spectrum of standout jams spanning “Harry Hood” to “Sand,” illustrating its versatility—a key to any stylistic focal point. I can only assume the guys, themselves, have noticed some of these same things.
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With three nights to settle into Summer Tour before hitting the road to PNC, we will get a mini-preview of what the band has in store for us this summer during their first-ever visit to Bethel Woods. Kicking off tour with three-night stands, though a rarity throughout the band’s career, has become their latest M.O., as this will mark their third consecutive tour to start with such a stand (Broomfield, Greek). Giving the band members, as well as their audience, a chance to ease into the rigor of the road, a three-night stand is just what the doctor ordered. Whether camping, staying at a rental property in lake country, or simply raging a hotey, Memorial Day weekend will be far more laid back staying in one place. And we are almost there.
This exploratory version that passes through a staccato segment, hits on two of the day’s themes. Bethel, here we come…
Opening a sprawling summer tour on the grounds of the original Woodstock festival, Phish will settle in for three nights in the rural atmosphere before hitting the road. Within three shows, we can be fairly certain some serious stuff will go down. Assuming the band is coming into the summer off of rehearsals—as they did …
