Mike Gordon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mike Gordon | |
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 Mike Gordon on stage at the Gorge on July 13, 2003.
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Cactus |
| Born | June 3, 1965 |
| Origin | Sudbury, Massachusetts |
| Genre(s) | Rock, bluegrass, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, piano |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Label(s) | Rounder Records |
| Associated acts | Phish, Rhythm Devils, Benevento-Russo Duo, Ramble Dove, Leo Kottke, Grappa Boom, SerialPod, Joey Arkenstat, Tombstone Blues Band |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| bass guitar, banjo, piano, guitar | |
Mike Gordon (born June 3, 1965 in Sudbury, Massachusetts) is a bass player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion. He is also an award-winning filmmaker.
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[edit] Biography
Gordon met Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, and Jeff Holdsworth at the University of Vermont, where Phish began in 1983.
In the music, Gordon's influence is the most obvious in Phish's many different renditions of various bluegrass, calypso and even traditional Jewish songs (Gordon is Jewish). He also contributed by singing, usually adding to the lower end of the harmony spectrum, as well as writing off-beat lyrics to amusing but thought-provoking songs.
Gordon played many roles in Phish. Until the band became too big for self-management, he dealt with practically all public relations and fan communication, such as answering fan mail, managing funds, and booking gigs. Gordon wrote 17 Phish original songs and coauthored 22 Phish tracks. [1]
On August 11, 2003, Gordon was arrested for endangering the welfare of a minor after an alleged photo shoot involving a nine-year-old girl inside a deserted boathouse behind Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, following a performance by The Dead. The girl's father was a leader of a Hell's Angels chapter. While being held before police arrived to arrest him, the Angels "were not gentle with the sensitive areas of the rock star's body." After his arrest, he told officers, "I may have shown bad judgment, but I am not a pedophile." [1] A month later, Gordon was officially cleared of any wrongdoing. [2].
[edit] Filmmaker
As Phish's de facto filmmaker, Gordon directed the band's only music video, 1994's "Down with Disease". During the making of Hoist, Mike shot film in the studio of performers, walls, tables, recording equipment, smoke, sounds and other gases of various compounds and released it as the short film Tracking. He produced Phish's 20th Anniversary Retrospective, which was aired in between sets at the band's December 2, 2003 concert. Mike is also a filmmaker, releasing his full-length feature film, Outside Out, in 2000. He also directed Rising Low, a documentary about Gov't Mule and their late bass player, Allen Woody. In 2006, Gordon's 7-minute short film Cabin Thing premiered at the DC Shorts Film Festival.
[edit] Instruments
Like Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, Gordon played custom-made basses built by Paul Languedoc. Mike played two Languedoc basses, including a "dragon" bass, but switched to a Modulus Quantum 5 bass (similar to the Quantam 6 played by Phil Lesh) in 1997 and has relied on it ever since. This instrument is known for deep tones and a "futuristic" sound, largely attributable to a unique construction including a neck that is made entirely of a lightweight, extremely robust carbon-graphite compound, not dissimilar to a material selected by NASA for use on the Space Shuttle.
Mike's unique sound is also attributable to a bevy of signal processing equipment including an ADA MB-1 pre-amp, a Lexicon reverb unit, an Ibanez flanger (used at the beginning of "Down with Disease"), a Lovetone Meatball (also used at the beginning of "Down with Disease") and a Boss SYB-1 Bass Synthesizer.
Mike has used a variety of amplifier and speaker combinations including the SWR SM-900 amp/Goliath 4x10" enclosure but has been seen most recently using David Eden amps and cabinets. He has played banjo since 1994, performing the instrument in concert with Phish and Phil Lesh (albeit an electric banjo) and in the studio on the 2007 Bernie Worrell album Improvisczario.
[edit] Other musical projects
Gordon has played in several side-projects apart from Phish, including Grappa Boom with Jamie Masefield of the Jazz Mandolin Project, The Chieftains with Rosanne Cash, and Doug Perkins of Smokin' Grass.
In 2002, Gordon recorded the critically acclaimed Clone album with acoustic guitar master Leo Kottke. The duo reunited in 2005 for Sixty Six Steps.
Gordon formed his own solo band featuring Josh Roseman, Scott Murawski, Julee Avallone, James Harvey, Gordon Stone, Jeannie Hill, and Doug Belote in 2003 and released Inside In based loosely on Outside Out.
In the summer of 2004 Gordon produced musician Joey Arkenstat's debut album, Bane. Gordon is also credited with providing vocals and shofar accompaniment.
In 2004, Gordon performed with The Benevento-Russo Duo for several shows benefiting Headcount, a voter registration organization. The trio played a number of dates throughout late 2004 and 2005 including the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June 2005 and a New Year's Eve series of shows in Florida and the northeast.
In December 2005, Gordon formed SerialPod with Anastasio and Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. The group debuted at the 17th annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in Asheville, North Carolina.
In early 2006, Gordon teamed up with his mother, artist Marjorie Minkin, to present Another Side of In — a visual and audio art show featuring interactive sculptures created by Minkin and set to the music of Inside In.
Later in the year, Gordon formed Ramble Dove. The band came into fruition after Gordon's long-time stint as bass player in a honky tonk band led by Brett Hughes that performed each Tuesday night at the Burlington, Vermont club, Radio Bean. The group performs a number of classic country songs and a few Gordon originals, such as "Ramble Dove," "Loosening Up The Rules," and the rare Phish song "Weekly Time."
That summer, Gordon, along with Phish bandmate Trey Anastasio, again joined the Benevento-Russo Duo for a co-headlining tour with Phil Lesh and Friends before finishing the final leg of the tour on their own. The group performed various songs from each members' catalog, as well as a handful of brand new originals. The quartet parted ways after the tour ended in July.
In August, Gordon joined the Rhythm Devils - a group featuring Kreutzmann, Dead drummer Mickey Hart, guitarist Steve Kimock and a host of backup players.
On January 2nd, 2007, Gordon appeared with a group billed as The House Band containing many former members of The Grateful Dead playing at a party in honor of the new leadership of the United States House of Representatives hosted by Nancy Pelosi. The group included Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby, and Warren Haynes.
Gordon performed at a concert in Hawaii on September 21st with Kimock and Kreutzmann, and on November 2nd, appeared during the second set of a Ratdog concert at the Memorial Auditorium in Burlington Vermont, joining the band on the songs "Stuff," "Bird Song," and "Cassidy." On January 5th, Gordon again teamed with Kreutzmann and Scott Murawski in Jaco, Costa Rica for a gig at Docelunas, playing a range of covers and originals including "Keep On Growing," "Estimated Prophet," "Twist" and "Intensified."
According to his recent bio, Mike emerges from hibernation this year and will perform with his own solo band for the first time since 2003, playing new original songs, composed in his home studio over the better part of 2007. He will release a new album entitled "The Green Sparrow" on Rounder Records on August 5th with a supporting tour to follow.
[edit] Albums
- Clone (with Leo Kottke) (October 8, 2002)
- Inside In (August 19, 2003)
- Sixty Six Steps (with Leo Kottke) (August 23, 2005)
- Live From Bonnaroo 2005 (with the Benevento-Russo Duo) (July 18, 2006, recorded live in 2005)
- The Green Sparrow (to be released August 5, 2008)
[edit] Books
- Mike's Corner (May 1997)
[edit] Films
- Tracking (Phish, 1994)
- Outside Out (2000)
- Rising Low (2002)
[edit] Awards
- Sixty Six Steps won album of the year at the 2006 Jammy Awards.
- Rising Low was the winner of the Joe Jarvis Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the 2002 Newport International Film Festival.
- Outside Out garnered the audience award at the South by Southwest festival.
