"A lot of the great songwriters in history have been collaborators, with a separate lyricist." -- Mike Gordon
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.
"Elektra has no control over the live show, at least.""I agree with the rest of the band, that a truly synthesized sound isn't really what I would want to go for.""I don't really have a favorite bass player. I listen to a lot of bluegrass. But then again, I'm not a typical bluegrass bass player. I was really into the Grateful Dead, and I still am - I don't listen to them too much, but for me they are a big influence.""I feel like I want to write some songs and I don't know how to go about doing it. Usually it's the lyrics that are a problem, and I think I am not really cut out to be a lyricist.""I haven't written enough songs to be able to say that I have a system. I've only written a handful.""I like to be sort of grounded with Fish. But, at the same time, I think probably what's unique about us is the way other dynamics happen, where I'll play off Trey for awhile. When we start playing a jam, I don't usually know what's going to happen, I don't have a plan.""I think one thing that helped the sound change, it's a real subtle thing; it's just one switch on my bass, it has three positions, and I usually boost the mid-range frequency, I lowered the frequency that I boost, and that goes out to the sound system, too.""I want to get an handful of spare basses to use first of all if mine breaks, and second, to learn some things about aspects of basses that I like, so Paul can build those aspects into it.""I want to take some jams and really concentrate on hooking up with Page because, since he's the only one not next to me, and his sound is mainly coming from my monitor rather than through the air, it's a little harder for me to hook up with him.""I'm always interested in mixing technology and music. You know, maybe I'll have a MIDI bass pickup at some point, I don't really think that's the direction I would want to go.""I'm not really allowed to talk about the Dead though. I think when we are at our best, we definitely do things that the Dead or no other band could do. We explore things and take things to the extreme.""I'm not really satisfied with anything I have written to date.""If part of the purpose of making an album is to get some radio play, then you might as well think about that. But that's not really how we picked the songs.""It's really important for the bass and the drums to somehow blend.""Last tour my bass rig was breaking down every other night. That was a pain. We would get on stage and Trey would count off the song, and I'd play the first note and nothing would be there. Those guys would just roll their eyes.""Lately Fish and I have been hooking up more, which is a good thing because it's just been a struggle for me as a bass player to play with someone who's so creative on the drums, and lately it's been really good, especially during sound checks.""Surrender to the flow.""The way that we imitate each others' riffs is something that other bands don't do as much. If we're jamming with a jazz band, or I am jamming with a jazz band, I have to catch myself, the tendency is always to do that.""The worst thing I could be thinking is how could I be a cool bass player.""There's no way we could play a country song as well as a country band or a Latin song as well as a Latin band. We could never expect to do that. We just keep doing what we do, what we know how to do. We sound like ourselves.""This is my second bass that Paul built me. There were some changes that were made. Sometimes I think of changes that could be made having to do with both the sound and the feel. It's definitely a beautiful instrument.""Travelling to different countries is a goal. I wouldn't mind playing huge places if we got an opportunity to, but it's nice to play small places too. Fish was saying yesterday that he doesn't ever want to play stadiums, or maybe he would once, he said.""We have been trying to play a lot of different kinds of music, and probably the next album will go back more towards the direction where you couldn't classify each song as a certain kind of music. This album you can."
Gordon met Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, and Jeff Holdsworth at the University of Vermont, where the rock band Phish formed in 1983.
When growing up, Gordon attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston.
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 harmonic 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 original Phish songs and coauthored 22 additional Phish tracks. [1]
On August 11, 2003, Gordon was arrested for endangering the welfare of a minor, following a performance by The Dead. A month later, Gordon was officially cleared of any wrongdoing.
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 TBX bass (similar to the Quantam 6 played by Phil Lesh) in 1997, with two EMG DC pickups, 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. Gordon plays with a pick (Jerry Dunlop 1.5mm triangular graphite picks).
Mike's unique sound is also attributable to a bevy of signal processing equipment including an ADA MB-1 pre-amp, an Ibanez flanger (used at the beginning of "Down with Disease"), a Lovetone Meatball envelope filter (also used at the beginning of "Down with Disease"), and Akai Deep Impact, an EHX Bass Micro-Synth, an EBS OctaBass and a Boss SYB-3, a Boss BF-2 flanger, an Eventide 4500 Harmonizer, an Eventide Eclipse and a Lexicon LXP-15.
Mike has used a variety of amplifier and speaker combinations including the SWR SM-900 amp/Goliath 4x10" enclosure but lately has been playing through Eden WT-800 amps, a Meyers CP-10 parametric EQ, and onward toward a Meyers powered speaker system (two 750P 2x18 cabs and two UPA-1Ps with 12" low frequency drivers and 3" compression drivers).
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. Mike Played an Inferno Bass during "Frankenstein" at the East Troy, WI show on 6/21/2009.
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 his film 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. The interactive show appeared at the Boston Children's Museum beginning in January 2010.
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 2, 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 21 with Kimock and Kreutzmann, and on November 2, 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 5, Gordon again teamed with Kreutzmann and Scott Murawski in Jaco, Costa Rica for a gig at Doce Lunas, playing a range of covers and originals including "Keep On Growing," "Estimated Prophet," "Twist" and "Intensified." After this gig, Gordon began a year-long retreat from public performance to focus his time on writing and recording a new album, and forming a new touring band.
Mike emerged from touring hibernation in 2008 and performed with his own solo band for the first time since 2003 at The Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA on June 30, 2008. He joined Trey Anastasio at the first annual Rothbury Music Festival in July during his solo acoustic set. Anastasio and former Phish bandmate Jon Fishman joined Mike for part of his set during the same day. Mike released an album entitled The Green Sparrow on Rounder Records on August 5.
On March 6, 2009, Mike reunited with Phish at the Hampton Coliseum. The band has toured regularly since Summer 2009.
His current touring band includes Scott Murawski on guitar, Brooklyn drummer Todd Isler, keyboardist Tom Cleary, and percussionist Craig Myers. Mike completed at 25-date supporting tour across the US with his band in Summer 2008 and a short four-night stint in December of that year. They ventured on a 22-date US tour on September 8, 2009 and again in March 2010. On September 7th, the band announced a November Tour.
Gordon finished writing and recording his next solo-album, Moss, at his home studio in Vermont in May of 2010. The album will be released by Rounder Records on October 19th.
He explains that many of the songs on the new album "began as bass and drum jams" adding that it's "kind of bass-oriented. Not in that the bass is the lead, but that the rhythms and the patterns are bass centric. The uniqueness is centered on the bass. So the bass is the key instrument. On Inside In, the pedal steel is the key instrument and if you had to say it for Green Sparrow, maybe electric guitar. But this time it’s the bass."
