1. Michael Eliot Gordon was born on June 3,1965 and is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish.
34 Facts About Mike Gordon
1. 2.
Mike Gordon has released six solo studio albums and three studio albums with acoustic guitar pioneer Leo Kottke.
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Mike Gordon was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, the son of Marjorie Minkin, an abstract painter, and Robert Mike Gordon, founder and former President and CEO of New England convenience store chain Store 24.
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Mike Gordon attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.
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Mike Gordon holds a bachelor's degree in Arts from the University of Vermont.
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Mike Gordon met Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, and Jeff Holdsworth while attending college at University of Vermont, where the rock band Phish formed in 1983.
7.
Mike Gordon answered a posted flyer hanging in the dorms at UVM by Trey Anastasio, looking for a bass player for a new band.
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Musically, Mike Gordon's influence is the most obvious in Phish's many different renditions of various bluegrass, calypso, and even traditional Jewish songs.
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Mike Gordon contributed by singing, as well as writing lyrics.
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Mike Gordon played two Languedoc bass guitars, including a "dragon" bass.
11.
Mike Gordon began experimenting with a Modulus Quantum 5 bass guitar on stage with Phish as early as October 31,1994.
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Mike Gordon made the switch to this instrument as his main bass at Phish's March 1,1997, show at Markthalle in Hamburg, Germany to a Quantum 5 with two EMG DC pickups.
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Mike Gordon later acquired a TBX model which is the through-neck version of the same guitar.
14.
In 2014, Mike Gordon commissioned custom moire instruments for himself and guitarist Scott Murawski to work with stage props being used on his 2014 Spring Tour.
15.
Mike Gordon has played banjo since 1994, performing the instrument in concert with Phish and [Phil Lesh] and in the studio on the 2007 Bernie Worrell album Improvisczario.
16.
Mike Gordon decided to tour as a quintet to differentiate his project's instrumentation from Phish.
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In February 2023, Mike Gordon announced his sixth solo record Flying Games, which was written and recorded during 2020's lockdown, in his makeshift Megaplum home studio.
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The album was produced by Mike Gordon, recorded by longtime collaborator Jared Slomoff, and mixed by six-time Grammy-winning engineer Shawn Everett.
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Mike Gordon brought in contributions from bandmates, Kimock, Walter, Myers, and Murawski.
20.
Mike Gordon's past touring band was billed as "Mike Gordon" and included Scott Murawski on guitar, drummer Todd Isler, keyboard player Tom Cleary and percussionist Craig Myers.
21.
Mike Gordon toured with this band from Summer 2008 through April 2014.
22.
In 2002, Mike Gordon recorded the album Clone with acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke.
23.
In 2004, Mike Gordon performed with The Benevento-Russo Duo for several shows benefiting Headcount, a voter registration organization.
24.
Mike Gordon has originally met Joe Russo through Ropeadope founder Andy Hurwitz from in 2003 and jammed together in a few informal settings, leading to the Headcount benefit.
25.
Mike 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.
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Mike Gordon formed his own solo band featuring Josh Roseman, Scott Murawski, Julee Avallone, James Harvey, Mike Gordon Stone, Jeannie Hill and Doug Belote in 2003.
27.
Mike Gordon released his first solo album outside of Phish in 2003, entitled Inside In.
28.
In summer 2004, Mike Gordon produced musician Joey Arkenstat's first album, Bane.
29.
In December 2005, Mike Gordon formed SerialPod with Anastasio and Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann.
30.
Later in 2006, Mike Gordon formed a honky-tonk band called Ramble Dove, consisting of himself, Brett Hughes, Neil Cleary, Marie Claire and Scott Murawski.
31.
On January 2,2007, Mike 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.
32.
Mike Gordon released an album entitled The Green Sparrow on Rounder Records on August 5,2008.
33.
On March 6,2009, Mike Gordon reunited with Phish at the Hampton Coliseum.
34.
Mike Gordon finished writing and recording his next solo album, Moss, at his home studio in Vermont in May 2010.