Mike Gordon
Mike Gordon |
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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.
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 Wantaugh, 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]
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 December 2, 2003, gig in Boston.
Besides his musical talent, Gordon is known for his bizarre sense of humor exemplified in his 1997 book of short stories, Mike's Corner. 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.
Instruments
Like Anastasio, although to a lesser extent, Gordon played custom-made basses built by Paul Languedoc. He used two Languedoc basses, including a "dragon" bass, but switched to a Modulus Quantum 5 bass (as used by Phil Lesh) in 1997 and has relied on it ever since. This instrument is known for their deep tones and "futuristic" sound, largely attributable to a unique construction including a neck that is made entirely of a carbon-graphite compound, not dissimilar to a material selected by NASA for use on the Space Shuttle.
Other musical projects
Gordon has played in several side-projects apart from Phish, including Grappa Boom with Jamie Masefield of the Jazz Mandolin Project 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 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 joined Ramble Dove — a honky tonk band led by Brett Hughes that formed out of a regular Tuesday night jam session at the Burlington, Vermont, club Radio Bean. The group performs a number of classic country songs and a few Gordon originals, such as the rare Phish song "Weekly Time."
That summer, Gordon joined the Benevento-Russo Duo and Anastasio 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.
Albums
File:Mikeleocloner.jpg 1. Clone (with Leo Kottke) (October 8, 2002)
2. Inside In (August 19, 2003)
3. Sixty Six Steps (with Leo Kottke) (August 23, 2005)
4. Live From Bonnaroo 2005 (with the Benevento-Russo Duo) (July 18, 2006, recorded live in 2005)
Books
File:0821223895.01. SCLZZZZZZZ .jpg Mike's Corner (May 1997)
Films
File:1track.jpg Tracking (Phish, 1994)
File:B000087F60.01.LZZZZZZZoutside.jpg Outside Out (2000)
File:Govrising.jpg Rising Low (2002)
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.
References
- ^ 'Phish' Bassist Arrested; Allegedly Found In Secluded Area With 9-Year-Old August, 19, 2003; local6.com
- ^ Phish Bassist Gordon Cleared Prosecutors drop child endangerment charges; RollingStone.com; September 19, 2003