All posts by Pete Mason

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‘The Open Source Phish Code’ by Benjy Eisen (Excerpt from PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish)

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In celebration of PhanArt’s 2nd Anniversary of being published, this week we are sharing excerpts from select articles written exclusively for PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish. To read more of this article and other great reviews of the Phish community and unique style of art, pick up the book here

An excerpt from ‘The Open Source Phish Code’ by Benjy Eisen, writer for jambands.com and many other fine publications, originally published in PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish (2009, Allegra)

Unless you know how to see in Technicolor, I admit, it may seem a little thin: For much of my 20s, I followed around a rock band. Thousands of others did too. We spent entire summers traveling all over the country to watch the same band play night after night. When we weren’t at the concerts, we spent our time collecting recordings of the concerts, discussing the concerts (past and present), and preparing for the next batch of concerts. It’s okay, you can think it — it sounds shallow. Like we missed the mark. But we didn’t.

You see, we didn’t merely follow a band around the country; sometimes we led them. Sometimes we led each other, sometimes we fed each other, and always we fed off of each other. Phish was always fond of acknowledging from the stage that tours took more than just the four musicians. You see, when you stepped into a Phish show, you stepped into a different dimension — one in which you became a creative, artistic, free participant. An active participant. You engaged while also being engaged.

Other concerts go something like this: You meet up with your friends, have dinner somewhere near the arena, pay $10 to park, drink a few beers, go inside, dawdle during the opening band, find your seats, watch the concert and go home.

Phish shows weren’t like that. At Phish shows, you were expected to do more. It was in the contract. Part of the deal, you see. Part of the appeal, you see. And if you toured with the band, forget it — you were in deep!

Between 1993 and 2004, I saw somewhere around 150 Phish shows, stretched over 11 years, 25 states, and two countries. I spent the best nights of my life with Phish and I have a hell of a lot to show for it. Most of it is intangible — it’s in my eyes, the way I walk, the manner in which I carry myself, even in my sigh. But physically, apart from a box full of ticket stubs and photographs, I have artwork in myriad forms picked up along the way. The art — whether primitive or skilled — serves as a concrete reminder of all that is divine in my life. They’re sacred objects. I have a silk-screened t-shirt bought on 7/5/94 in Ottawa, Canada from a guy who reminded me of a cartoon drug dealer. The shirt no longer fits, but I look at it and remember getting lost in French-speaking Canada on the way to the show.

To read more, check out the book here

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‘Inaugural Ball’ by Amy Pedatella (Excerpt from PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish)

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In celebration of PhanArt’s 2nd Anniversary of being published, this week we are sharing excerpts from select articles written exclusively for PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish. To read more of this article and other great reviews of the Phish community and unique style of art, pick up the book here

An excerpt from ‘Inaugural Ball’ by Amy Pedatella, originally published in PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish (2009, Allegra)

The year was 1996 and I was quickly becoming a Phish fan. As winter ended, the band made the announcement that they would be hosting a weekend festival in northern New York. The show was slated to be called The Clifford Ball and scheduled for the end of summer, without hesitation I was “in” and anxiously awaited ticket sales. Talking this phenomenon up with my friends, I found two eager participants. We purchased our tickets, made preliminary preparations and awaited mid-August.

Submitted by Noah Phence for PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish

Apparently my friends were not as into Phish as I was, and purchased H.O.R.D.E. Tour tickets for the Friday of that same weekend. Wanting to forgo the H.O.R.D.E I was unable to find any takers for their tickets. I was left no choice but to attend the show at Randall’s Island, New York with them and immediately following travel directly to The Ball. Halfway through the Spin Doctors set, my friend decided to pass out and land in First-Aid after ingesting who knows what?

Always the optimist I thought, ‘she’ll shake it off.’ This is the point when my other friend at the show decided to piss in my Cheerios and pull the plug on the whole operation, taking our other friend home.

The H.O.R.D.E. was had, the hour was zero, and I found myself under the Triborough Bridge with three Clifford Ball tickets, a station wagon and nobody up for the mission. I had to beg and plead with anyone who will listen in a futile attempt to gain candidates. I had no choice but to go it alone. My rather straightedge brother had been at the H.O.R.D.E. also and got wind of my antics. Being the supportive older brother that he is, my brother refused to let me travel alone and decided to join me. He and I had seen Phish about three weeks prior in Rome, Italy, as part of an audience of less than 200 as they opened for Santana. He would have liked people to believe that he was going to escort me, but I knew better. He had experienced

To read more, check out the book here

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‘Hippies Understand Capitalism’ by Dan Greenhaus (excerpt from PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish)

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In celebration of PhanArt’s 2nd Anniversary of being published, this week we are sharing excerpts from select articles written exclusively for PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish. To read more of this article and other great reviews of the Phish community and unique style of art, pick up the book here

An excerpt from ‘Hippies Understand Capitalism‘ by Dan Greenhaus, originally published in PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish (2009, Allegra)

Capitalism. It is the central theme that underpins just about everything in our country. Standing in stark contrast to other social systems such as communism and socialism, capitalism manages to bring out the most ingenious concepts and products, as the lure of a potentially unlimited payday will forever lead humans to push further and further, and reach higher and higher.

Capitalism, and the concepts of supply and demand and free markets, exist all around us. Once can find these ideas in many places, whether in its purest form (as most would assert) by way of the stock market, or at the local deli, toy store or, a little more surprisingly if you’ve never been there, the lot before a Phish show. The latter might be a surprise to some people who, when queried about the idea of a “hippie,” would sooner imagine a dreadlocked stoner smoking too much pot while following a band around the country than a businessman earning a living pursuing a passion the likes of which most people would, and could, never understand.

But when one looks closer, what they’ll find along the famed “Shakedown Street” is the economic incarnation of Capitalism in a pure form. People sell goods priced at a level pursuant to the demand in the marketplace set before them, with the underlying intention of earning a profit. In “The Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith portended that the essence of a “trade” was the person obtaining an item felt that item obtained was of equal or greater value than whatever they may be relinquishing the right to in exchange for the item. It is that underlying concept that pulsates through the lot, and through the subconscious of that same dreadlocked hippie, regardless of whether he realizes it or not. It’s the lifeblood of the mini-society that has been built up around both The Grateful Dead and more recently, Phish and as such, a case could be made that the communities, much like our country, could not exist without it.

To read more, check out the book here

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It’s the Two year Anniversary of PhanArt!

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Two years ago this week, PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish held its book kickoff at Revolution Hall in Troy, NY (RIP). Featuring music from The McLovins and The Flow, the long awaited arrival of PhanArt, a comprehensive collection of the art made by fans over the first 20 years of Phish was finally here. Over the course of the week we will be excerpting articles from the book that discuss the Phish community, art scene, and events throughout Phish history.

Featuring art from Ryan Kerrigan, Tripp, AJ Masthay, Jason Lees, Isadora Bullock, and dozens of other artists over the years, this 400+ page full-color coffee-table book is a walk down memory lane that is unlike any other book in that it is made up of the art of the FANS. Because of the Fans, Phish is a stronger band with a large community encompassing it.

To celebrate our 2nd year, we are offering for one week only the book at it’s original cost of $60 – this is a limited time offer and will last until Sunday night. Pick up the book while it is in it’s second printing and READ The F$%&ing Book!


All net profits from the sale of PhanArt will benefit The Mockingbird Foundation which supports music education throughout the country.

Read some reviews of PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish

“I always love reading lot tales, its all part of the Phish experience, even stories from the road. Thats why PhanArt is so damn cool, cause it fully captures that aspect of Phish.” –Sam Davis of Dogoneblog

“It’s an amazing book that clearly took a tremendous amount of effort to create. Great job Pete!”- Prof. Robert J. Thompson, Director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, S.I. Newhouse School of Communications,Syracuse University

“Get that book. I love it. So much” – Kim Mancini

“I really like it, fun to look at all the art, really brings back some memories” – Baltimoeron77

“This is really a must have for anybody who ever appreciated the lot scene” – Ryan Kerrigan, artist“We have ours and it’s awesome!!!! Everyone get a copy of PhanArt!” – Taraleigh, The Healthy Hippie

“Love this book, great conversation pieces in it, great memories form seeing this stuff on lot are conjured up, and you are contributing to a good cause. So worth buying this book.”- Mark Hanzsche – Phan since ’94

“Think its a great book, I got #233!!! I leave it on my coffee table and my friends love it. They love going through and remembering what “lot” stuff we’ve seen or have from Stickers, t-shirts, and posters. Good Stuff!!!” – Dan “Danimal” Viall

Posters, shirts, stickers and pins

Ian Millard’s ‘Pronghorn Antelope’ and Colorado Animal Triptych

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The Pronghorn Antelope print is the final of three native Colorado animal prints in a triptych set. The first print is the Saw Whet Owl and the second is the Cutthroat Trout. Each print is the same size (20″x20″) and can be displayed individually or as a triptych set. A limited amount of matching number sets of all three prints in the triptych are available now at IansPrints.com/available-art.php for $125 shipped. If you purchase a set of prints Ian can offer to make them a custom color scheme that you choose.

The Pronghorn Antelope print was created using 7 hand cut stencils and spraypaint. Prints come signed, numbered, embossed and with a hand made Certificate of Authenticity. The Pronghorn Antelope print will be available for $50 shipped on Monday January 7th at 10am Mountain Time USA at IansPrints.com

Ian K. Millard is an artist from Denver, Colorado (USA) specializing in original stencil and spraypaint art. My prints and originals are created using multiple intricate hand cut stencils and spraypaint layered on top of each other to create an image. All of Ian’s prints are hand sprayed and I strive to make all my print editions unique. Never one the same. Prints come signed, numbered, embossed with the IansPrints.com seal and come with a hand made Certificate of Authenticity (COA).You can watch a little video Fuel TV / Mtn Dew Green Label put together on Ian’s art by clicking here

Follow Ian on Twitter at www.twitter.com/iansprints

charitable orgs, Posters, shirts, stickers and pins

Winter Wall Makeover : Art GIVEAWAY! (Tripp content)

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Bubby and Bean is run by Melissa Baswell from Mountains of the Moon, which we’re sure your familiar with. The blog is a great art site and with daily inspirations for a living a creatively.  The giveaway started yesterday and runs until Sunday night.

From Info on the contest……

Do your walls have a case of the winter blues? Are you sick of staring at the same boring space?  Here’s your chance to give your walls a fresh + beautiful makeover with this amazing giveaway package full of gorgeous artwork!  One lucky Bubby & Bean reader will win ALL of the following:

Tripp’s art print “Autumn Blossom” is included in the giveaway.

Autumn Blossom, a limited edition, hand-pulled silkscreen art print of an original illustration by TRiPP.  This vibrant, retro-style print was created with archival inks on beautiful cotton watercolor paper, and is signed and numbered by the artist.  I wish I could keep this gorgeous piece of art for my living room! Measures 15″ by 22″ and sells on TRiPPsPrints.com for $40.

Entering is easy as pie!  Just FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE TO BUBBY & BEAN, then leave a comment at Bubby & Bean stating how you follow/subscribe (Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin’, or reader) –and– YOUR FAVORITE COLOR. That’s it!
–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
Optional – You can also gain one additional
entry for each of the following:
+ Become a fan of Bubby & Bean on Facebook
+ Follow me on Twitter
+ Post about this giveaway on your blog and include
the link to your post in your comment.
(***Make sure to list additional entries in your comment,
or post a new comment for each one.)
–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
The winner’s name will be drawn on Monday, February 7th, so make sure to check back on Tuesday to see if you won!

This Week in PhanArt

This Week in PhanArt History – ‘I Survived Hiatus’ shirt by John Street Graphics

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New from PhanArt in 2011 is our weekly Friday Feature: This Week in PhanArt History. Each piece of art we share is from days of Phish in the past, typically from the 1.0 and 2.0 eras, something of note that fans of all ages can appreciate that is featured in the book PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish, with some commentary on the piece by PhanArt Pete.

This shirt was made by John Street Graphics and designed by Ryan Donaghy for the Hampton shows in January 2003. The shirt was sold in Hampton and throughout Winter Tour 2003. The 3 word ‘I Survived Hiatus’ conveyed a grand message regarding the incredibly long absence of the band from 10/00 till 12/02. Those 26 months were a lifetime for most and unprescedented in the bands career up until that point. This shirt summed it all up nicely – Survived was hardly an understatement at the time. It was an unexpected warmup in preparing for the unexpected breakup of the band a year later in 2004.

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I’ll tell you about Donald Driver….

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I’ll tell you about Donald Driver
who lives inside Green Bay.
Catches touchdown passes, mostly on Sundays.
He’s moving to the open field and he’s thinkin’ ’bout this catch
and hoping when he gets there, he won’t be second best

Keeps his eyes open, most of the game
Catches touchdown passes, mostly on Sundays
Adds to Cheesehead History with each and every play
The Packers will beat the Steelers Sunday and ‘I’m goin’ to Disney Land’ is what Driver will say

Like that Sunday when they beat Chicago
24 to 10
Bit of a rout if you ask me
But Cutler got sacked so it was in the can

They were moving through the rounds
And thinking bout the next
And hoping when they get there
Donald Driver will be the best

He keeps his routes open,
most of the day,
adds to his touchdowns,
every time he plays.
When he runs a post pattern
To throw, you don’t have to wait

Ill tell you about Donald Driver,
Who lives inside Green Bay

We’re going with Green Bay over Pittsburgh, 28-24

(revised from an original, author unknown)