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Minutes With Mimi

by David Shulman

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Hi all... and welcome to this months "Minutes". This month we will focus on a few different items.....the first being the information for Charity Auction # 3, followed by an interview with Brandon Berry (President, High Peaks Productions). Brandon has been responsible for booking and producing the last few Mimi Fishman B-Day shows. He is a promoter on a full time basis and I thought it would be interesting to hear some of his thoughts on some of the work he has done with Mimi as well as some views on the industry in general.

Let's start with the Charity Auction. This is the 3rd auction of what looks like will be an ongoing tradition, and as with the other two auctions, we have some exciting items that will be up for bid.

The items for bid will be listed first, followed by the auction rules. This months auction, as in the past, will continue to benefit The American Glaucoma Society. The prior auctions have raised over $3000 total, and we hope to be able to keep adding to that total.

I would like to offer my continued thanks to both Phish and Dionysian Productions for their kindness and generosity with the auction items they have donated!!

Item #1 Drumstick autographed by Jon Fishman (Minimum bid $50)

Item #2 Pair of tickets/aftershow backstage passes good for any fall show or the winners choice. (Minimum bid $150)

Item #3 Pair of tickets/aftershow backstage passes good for any fall show or the winners choice. (Minimum bid $150)

The auction begins now, with bids accepted until July 14, midnight, central time.

The Auction Rules

1. When you find the item(s) that you want to bid on complete the form below and send to David Shulman at ds0623@aol.com.

2. Include with your form the amount you are comfortable bidding. Some items, especially feature items will have a minimum bid, as well as a minimum amount that bids must be increased by. We will try to keep the minimum bids current to save time from bids that fall below the lowest bid.

3. You will receive a response to your bid within 24 hours. You will be given the detail whether your bid is the highest or not. If not, you will be given the current high bid number as well as the amount you would have to increase it by to be the highest bidder. If you do not receive confirmation to your bid then please assume for some reason the bid did not make it to it's destination and re-submit.

4. If you had a leading bid that was outbid by someone else, you will be notified so you will have the opportunity to re-submit another bid.

5. There will be no limit to the amount of bids you can re-submit.

6. The auction will continue for 4 weeks, during which we will try to update the high bids at jambands.com. This will reduce the amount of bids that are below the current high bid, thus saving you and I time.

7. The winner will be notified within 72 hours of the auctions end. You will be given payment (money order) instructions at that time. Payments (donations), minus shipping expenses, will be made out directly to The Mimi Fishman Foundation.

Special Rules for the tix/passes auction

This will be auctioned off as 2 separate packages, thus the 2 leading bidders will each win 2 tickets and 2 back stage passes to 1 show.

Here are all the necessary disclaimers and specific rules:

1. Due to how quickly the summer tour is upon us, the winners must send their winning money order in within 3 days of being notified as one of the winners.

2. You will need to let me know the show you pick with your money order.

3. For those of you that have had the privilege of backstage passes you realize that sometimes the members of Phish make an appearance, and at times they do not....or maybe one or two of them hang out backstage while the other one or two don't. Bottom line is that no guarantee can be made that just because you have backstage passes, does that mean you are guaranteed to meet the band. By bidding on this item you are acknowledging that you have been made aware of this. Sorry to overstate this issue, but I feel it's important to mention.

4. I will also need to know when you mail in your money order the name of the person that will be picking up the tickets. The tickets would be available at the will call of the desired show, and IDENTIFICATION WILL BE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE TICKETS. The person picking up the tickets will be listed on the Phish guest list, and this procedure if very important.

5. Sometimes guest list tickets are awesome... in terms of the seat location... but not always. I can suggest however, that I have yet to see "bad" seats (if there is such a thing at a Phish show) given out on a guest list, but I must state that no guarantees of seating location can be made.

Ok, now that the rules are out of the way... let me say you will be bidding on what I feel is truly a unique opportunity. You, or someone you might be bidding to give the prize to, is going to have an incredible Phish concert experience. And let's not forget, this auction's purpose is to raise money for a very good cause... The American Glaucoma Society! So bid often, bid high, and best of luck!

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AUCTION BID FORM:  Bids accepted until July 14, 1999, midnight, central time

ITEM BID ON:

DOLLAR AMOUNT BID:

NAME:

ADDRESS:

CITY:

STATE:

PHONE NUMBER (DAY):

PHONE NUMBER (EVENING):

EMAIL ADDRESS:

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Interview With Brandon Berry

by David Shulman

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DS: Let's start off by talking about your background a bit. Can you share with us your current status in the industry as well as how you got started?

BB: I started working in the industry in 1994. At the time, I was a college student with no idea what I wanted to do. I knew that I enjoyed aspects of the entertainment business, but wasn't sure in what capacity I could be successful in. I met a band through some friends named Sons of Papaya. They were the first jam band I ever saw besides Phish. I thought that their music was completely new, and they had a great sound. One night, after seeing them in a bar in Syracuse, I posted something to phishnet and soon after, they ended up on a compilation album. They asked me to manage them shortly thereafter, and I met a lot of bands through them. After Sons of Papaya broke up, I still wanted to help the bands that I had met, so I starting promoting shows as favors. I worked a long time for free. Now, I promote an average of 18 shows a month, mostly booking at No Borders, No Boundaries in Syracuse and Styleen's Rhythm Palace. I also host a jam band radio show on Monday nights.

DS: What are some of your highlights over the years?

BB: I've been lucky to meet many people while I've been doing this. I think one of the best highlights that I can remember was pulling off my first real successful show. I always loved New Year's Eve (Ominous Seapods in 1998 and 1999). Also, breaking someone new in Syracuse is always a great thing. Anytime that I feel as though I added anything to the show, it always feels like a highlight.

DS: Have you had the chance to work with anyone that has blossomed into a National act...but you had them while they were unheard of?

BB: The first time I heard from moe., they called Sons of Papaya to see if they could open for us (Sons of Papaya) in Syracuse. Now, when moe. plays the market, it's got to be either in a theatre or outdoors.

DS: What was the "craziest" situation you have run into?

BB: The craziest situations usually involve some kind of technical or production problem. I actually had a band request that they wanted their sax player to ride into a club on a camel. I got him a horse instead. Camels are difficult animals to locate in Central New York for some reason.

DS: Let's talk for a bit about your relationship with Mimi Fishman. How did the two of you first hook up?

BB: I first met Mimi in 1994 at a "midnight madness" sale for "Hoist" at a local record store in Syracuse, NY. After that, she started showing up at gigs that I was working with Sons of Papaya. Mimi used to come on the road with us for long weekend shows, often outlasting us at the after-show party. Since then, Mimi has become something of a surrogate mother to me, especially when it comes to the music industry. She's really a great motivator, and I probably wouldn't still be doing what I've been doing if it hadn't been for her and Leonard (Fishman).

DS: "You have been involved in Mimi's charity concerts for several years now....how have they progressed over the years?

BB: Mimi's Birthday started in 1994 when SoP thought it would be fun to have a show where that they referred to as "Mimi's birthday." At the time, it wasn't done for charity, it was just a way to recognize the fact that Mimi was an important person to the band. The next year (1995), Jon actually showed up to the show and played with the band. By the time 1996 came around, there was no more SoP, so Chris Ragan (now moe.'s lighting engineer) put moe. and Aquarium Rescue Unit on the bill. That year was the first one that was for charity. Since then, we've had Ominous Seapods, Michael Ray and the Cosmic Krewe, String Cheese Incident, Jazz Mandolin Project, and viperHouse on the bills in Syracuse. Now, all of a sudden, we're about to be in our 7th season of doing Mimi shows. With the added help that you've been doing through jambands.com, David, we've already raised over $7,000 for Glaucoma research this year alone. So more money has been raised this year than all prior years combined!.

DS: What do you see in the crystal ball when you look at future Mimi B-Day party shows?

BB: In the future, I hope that Mimi's shows can grow to become bigger money-makers for Glaucoma. Hopefully next year, we'll be able to grow into a larger venue, or add another night (this year was the first year it was two). We've also been really fortunate to have all of the bands help us out by coming to support the shows. In return, Mimi's shows have arguably broken a lot of the bands coming in to Central New York.

DS: Ok, now is your chance to embarrass the heck out of Mimi. Please go ahead and share some stories.

BB: I remember during her second annual birthday party celebration, Mimi came on stage wearing tassels on the front of her top half and err...umm....the back of her bottom half as well. Now she did have clothes on beneath...however, she got up on stage and started singing "I want to scratch my itch, I want you to be my bitch". It was interesting, to say the least, to see this. The scary part is that tapes of that show actually exist and are still in circulation somewhere, as Jon (Fishman) played sat in on drums for several songs that year.

DS: Back to the production business.....what words of advice would you give someone inspiring to enter your field?

BB: I would start by talking to some of the bands that come to your area and see if any of them need posters or fliers to put up or hand out at shows. The grassroots approach to promoting is one of the most vital type there is. Make sure to stay on top of whatever project you decide to undertake. This job can be stressful, but it can also be a blast if you execute things right.

It's the promoter's job to represent the fans make sure that the people that are spending anywhere from $5.00 to $50.00 for tickets are going home happy as well as the act that you are working with.

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Contact info for Brandon:

High Peaks Productions
PO Box 655
University Station
Syracuse, NY 13210
highpks@aol.com (315)472-2665-phone