Over the past five decades acclaimed photographer Bob Minkin has captured bassist Phil Lesh in action on-stage and off with both the Grateful Dead and many of the projects that followed including Furthur and various Phil Lesh & Friends incarnations. Minkin went through every photo he took of Lesh, chose the most special images and has included hundreds of them in Just Phil, a forthcoming +200-page coffee table book slated to ship in May 2024. A recently-launched Kickstarter campaign for the tome is underway now.
Just Phil comes on the heels of Just Jerry and Just Bobby featuring Minkin’s snaps of GD guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir respectively. The forthcoming volume includes many previously unpublished photos and is a hard cover large-format coffee table book (9.25″ x 12.75″).
“This project is borne out of love for Phil and The Dead, respect for the passion and creativity of the music, and for the significance that the Grateful Dead has brought to our lives,” wrote Bob Minkin. “Created by a Dead Head for Dead Heads, it’s my desire to have our community be a part of this book’s creation.”
“These indelible images capture peak moments from concerts at Red Rocks, Winterland, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, Capitol Theater, Shoreline, Oakland, and even Europe, along with Terrapin Crossroads, Sweetwater Music Hall with live onstage, and intimate behind the scenes captures,” Minkin added.
Just Phil Page Mockup
Just Phil is available in two formats. Each “Signature Edition” book will be hand-signed by Bob Minkin with tomes printed on high quality, heavyweight, acid-free matte paper. Spot varnish on the photos make them stand out. The “Deluxe Collector’s Edition,” limited to 150 copies, comes packaged in a black cloth covered slipcase with embossed foil. An additional six-page gatefold will be bound inside the book with each hand signed and numbered by Minkin. Plus, a signed and numbered print of “Phil at Oakland Coliseum – 1992” printed on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Paper will be included.
A variety of packages are available on Kickstarter with each level featuring different rewards. Bob Minkin previously produced successful Kickstarter campaigns for 2014’s Live Dead, The Music Never Stopped in 2017 as well as Just Jerry (2019) and Just Bobby in 2022. The Just Phil campaign, less than a week since launch, is nearly at its goal as of press time.
Just Phil Page Mockup
