Michael Eliot Gordon was born on June 3, 1965. He is an American musician who plays the bass guitar and sings. He is best known as one of the original members of the band Phish. In addition to the bass guitar, Gordon also plays the banjo, piano, and guitar. He works as a filmmaker, creating movies such as Rising Low and Outside Out, and he is also an author, writing a book called Mike's Corner. Gordon has released six solo studio albums and three studio albums with Leo Kottke, a famous acoustic guitar player.

Biography

Gordon was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, to Marjorie Minkin, an artist who paints abstract art, and Robert Gordon, who started and led a chain of convenience stores called Store 24. Gordon went to Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in Arts from the University of Vermont. Initially, he studied Electrical Engineering, but he later changed his major.

Gordon met Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, and Jeff Holdsworth while attending college at the University of Vermont. The rock band Phish was formed in 1983. Gordon joined the band after responding to a flyer posted in the dorms at the university, which asked for a bass player.

Gordon had many responsibilities in Phish. Before the band grew too large to manage itself, he handled most public relations and communication with fans, such as answering letters, managing money, and arranging performances. In the 1990s, he wrote a column called "Mike's Corner" for the band's newsletter.

Musically, Gordon's influence is most noticeable in Phish's performances of bluegrass, calypso, and traditional Jewish songs (Gordon is Jewish). He also sang and wrote lyrics for the band. Gordon wrote 19 original songs for Phish and co-wrote 27 others, including "Mound," "Train Song," "Round Room," "Sugar Shack," "Yarmouth Road," "555," "Say Something," "Waking Up Dead," and the band's third most-performed song, "Mike's Song." Gordon also practices transcendental meditation.

Instruments and gear

Mike Gordon, a bassist for the band Phish, once played bass guitars made by Paul Languedoc. He used two of these guitars, one of which was called a "dragon" bass. These guitars had special pickups made by Mørch guitars from Denmark.

In October 1994, Gordon started using a Modulus Quantum 5 bass guitar during Phish performances. He made this guitar his main instrument during a concert in Hamburg, Germany, on March 1, 1997. At that time, the guitar had two EMG DC pickups. Later, he got a TBX model, which is a version of the same guitar with a solid neck. Gordon uses triangular graphite picks made by Jim Dunlop and strings called Ken Smith Slickround™. In 2023, he began using bass guitars made by Serek.

Gordon’s unique sound comes from special equipment, such as an ADA MB-1 pre-amp, an Ibanez flanger, a Lovetone Meatball envelope filter, an Akai Deep Impact, an EHX Bass Micro-Synth, an EBS OctaBass, and a Boss SYB-3, Boss BF-2 flanger, Eventide 4500 Harmonizer, Eventide Eclipse, and Lexicon LXP-15.

He has used different amplifier and speaker setups, including the SWR SM-900 amp with a Goliath 4×10" enclosure. Recently, he has used Eden WT-800 amps, a Meyer Sound CP-10 parametric EQ, and a Meyer Sound powered speaker system with two 750P 2×18 cabinets and two UPA-1Ps with 12" low-frequency drivers and 3" compression drivers.

As of December 2012, Gordon uses equipment like the Source Audio Bass Envelope Filter Pro, Source Audio Bass Distortion Pro, Eventide Eclipse, Eventide Space, MXR graphic EQ, Boss graphic EQ, Electro Harmonix Super Ego, Lovetone Meatball envelope filter, Ibanez stomp box flanger, and Eventide 4500 Harmonizer.

Currently, he uses an Eden WT 800 amp connected to a Meyer CP-10 parametric EQ and a Meyer powered speaker system, including one 750P 2×18, one 750 PL 2×18, and two UPA-1Ps. He sometimes uses a single Eden 4×10 cabinet and adds more Eden 18s and power when needed.

In 2014, Gordon worked with a luthier named Ben Lewry to create custom moiré instruments for his 2014 Spring Tour. These instruments, made for Gordon and guitarist Scott Murawski, had hollow bodies with glowing LEDs inside and moiré screens on the front. The LEDs were controlled by the lighting director to change colors and create flashing patterns during performances.

Since 1994, Gordon has played the electric banjo. He has performed it with Phish and Phil Lesh, and he played it on the 2007 album Improvisczario by Bernie Worrell.

Projects

Mike Gordon’s current touring band, named "Mike Gordon" in official listings, includes Scott Murawski on guitar, Robert Walter on B3 Organ & Synth, drummer John Morgan Kimock, and percussionist Craig Myers. These musicians have performed with Gordon regularly since 2015, except for a tour in June 2023, when keyboardist Rachel Eckroth replaced Robert Walter because he was touring with Roger Waters. Gordon chose to tour as a group of five musicians to make his music sound different from the band Phish.

In April 2017, Gordon and his band recorded OGOGO, his fifth studio album, at Q Division in Boston. The group decided to create music that was fresh and focused on their individual styles. The album was produced by Shawn Everett, who has won a Grammy Award, and was released on September 15, 2017.

In February 2023, Gordon announced his sixth solo album, Flying Games, which he wrote and recorded during the 2020 lockdown in his home studio called Megaplum. The album was produced by Gordon, recorded by longtime collaborator Jared Slomoff, and mixed by Shawn Everett, who has won six Grammy Awards. Bandmates Scott Murawski, Robert Walter, Craig Myers, and John Morgan Kimock contributed to the album. It was released on May 12, 2023.

His earlier touring band, which was his longest-running project, was also named "Mike Gordon" and included Scott Murawski on guitar, drummer Todd Isler, keyboardist Tom Cleary, and percussionist Craig Myers. This group toured from Summer 2008 through April 2014. They first performed on a late-night television show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, in February 2011, to promote Gordon’s album Moss.

The band played a few shows in New England and one in Albany, New York, in late 2011, including a concert at The Egg in Albany on December 11, 2011. This performance became the basis for a live album titled The Egg, released in 2013. The group toured again in March 2014 and later in April 2014 to support Gordon’s last solo album, Overstep, which he co-wrote with bandmate Scott Murawski.

In 2002, Gordon recorded the album Clone with acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke. The two musicians reunited in 2005 for Sixty Six Steps, followed by a tour. In August 2019, Gordon confirmed they were recording a new album together. In August 2020, they released Noon, their first collaboration since Sixty Six Steps. This was also Kottke’s first studio album since 2005. Phish drummer Jon Fishman contributed to several tracks on the album.

In 2004, Gordon performed with The Benevento-Russo Duo for shows supporting Headcount, a voter registration organization. The group played multiple dates in late 2004 and 2005, including the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June 2005 and New Year’s Eve shows in Florida and the northeastern United States. Gordon met Joe Russo through Andy Hurwitz, a founder of Ropeadope, in 2003, and they jammed together in informal settings before joining the Headcount benefit.

In summer 2006, Gordon and Phish bandmate Trey Anastasio joined The Benevento-Russo Duo for a co-headlining tour with Phil Lesh and Friends. The group performed songs from each member’s catalog and some original compositions. They parted ways after the tour ended in July.

Gordon has participated in several side projects outside of Phish, including Grappa Boom with Jamie Masefield of the Jazz Mandolin Project, The Chieftains with Rosanne Cash, and Doug Perkins of Smokin’ Grass. In 2003, he formed his own solo band featuring Josh Roseman, Scott Murawski, Julee Avallone, James Harvey, Gordon Stone, Jeannie Hill, and Doug Belote.

He released his first solo album outside of Phish in 2003, titled Inside In. In summer 2004, Gordon produced musician Joey Arkenstat’s first album, Bane, and contributed vocals and shofar accompaniment. 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 collaborated with his mother, artist Marjorie Minkin, to create Another Side of In, a visual and audio art show featuring interactive sculptures set to the music of Inside In. The exhibit appeared at the Boston Children’s Museum starting in January 2010.

Later in 2006, Gordon formed a honky-tonk band called Ramble Dove, which included himself, Brett Hughes, Neil Cleary, Marie Claire, and Scott Murawski. The band began after Gordon played bass guitar in a honky-tonk group led by Brett Hughes at the Radio Bean club in Burlington, Vermont. The group performs classic country songs and some of Gordon’s original compositions, such as "Ramble Dove" and "Loosening Up The Rules."

In August 2006, Gordon joined the Rhythm Devils, a group featuring Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart of The Grateful Dead, guitarist Steve Kimock, and other musicians. On January 2, 2007, Gordon performed with a group called The House Band, which included former Grateful Dead members, at a party hosted by Nancy Pelosi to honor new U.S. House leadership.

Gordon joined Trey Anastasio at the first Rothbury Music Festival in July 2006 during Anastasio’s solo acoustic set. Anastasio and Phish drummer Jon Fishman joined Gordon for part of his performance that day. Gordon released an album titled The Green Sparrow on Rounder Records on August 5, 2008.

On March 6, 2009, Gordon reunited with Phish at the Hampton Coliseum. The band has toured regularly since Summer 2009.

Gordon completed writing and recording his next solo album, Moss, in his Vermont home studio in May 2010. The album was released by Rounder Records on October 19. He explained that many songs on the album began as bass and drum jams and that the music

Discography

• Clone (with Leo Kottke) – released October 8, 2002
• Inside In – released August 26, 2003
• Sixty Six Steps (with Leo Kottke) – released August 23, 2005
• Live From Bonnaroo 2005 (with the Benevento-Russo Duo) – released July 18, 2006, and recorded live in 2005
• The Green Sparrow – released August 5, 2008
• Moss – released October 19, 2010
• Moss Remixes 7" vinyl – released April 16, 2011, for Record Store Day
• The Egg – released April 30, 2013, and recorded live in 2011
• Overstep – released February 25, 2014
• The Last Step EP 10" vinyl – released April 7, 2015
• OGOGO – released September 15, 2017
• Noon (with Leo Kottke) – released August 28, 2020
• Flying Games – released May 12, 2023

Live releases

• August 29, 200

Films

• Tracking by Phish (1994)
• Outside Out (2000)
• Rising Low (2002)
• Music video for "The Down with Disease" by Phish

Awards

• Sixty Six Steps received the Album of the Year award at the 2006 Jammy Awards.
• Rising Low received the Joe Jarvis Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the 2002 Newport International Film Festival.
• Outside Out received the audience award at the South by Southwest festival.