Gordon fights off Phish nostalgia to play in the moment
Piano Lesson
Gordon fights off Phish nostalgia to play in the moment
The day after Mike Gordon played a gig in Bethel, N.Y., at a new concert venue built where the original Woodstock was held, he was high-spirited, in a talkative mood. The show Sunday had been great, he said.
Gordon is on tour with Trey Anastasio, his longtime bandmate from Phish, and the Benevento/Russo Duo. The group is sharing a bill with Phil Lesh and Friends, a show that comes this afternoon to the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.
"Trey and I are always going to have a certain magical chemistry, as is probably the case with any two Phish band members," Gordon said, "cause it was so many years of getting all attached."
Gordon talked Monday afternoon about what it's like for him and Anastasio to play in a quartet with different musicians on drums (Joe Russo) and keyboards (Marco Benevento). He described the acoustic challenges of being a bass player, and the joy when the sound is right.
He spoke about being "a big fan" of Lesh, and spending time each night listening to the former bassist for the Grateful Dead, whom he said has been a big influence. He admires the "flow and confidence" of Lesh's playing.
And Gordon said it was essential that musicians stay focused on the now; otherwise the music suffers. "We're really not focused on the past too much," Gordon said. "Being a musician really requires you to be present in the present moment. We don't think too far into the future, either."
But the past -- and the gig in Gordon's future today -- will perhaps be difficult to set aside when he and Anastasio come together on a hometown stage just miles from the Barn, where Phish played together for so many years.
Asked if drummer Jon Fishman and keyboardist Page McConnell might join him and Anastasio on stage at the fairgrounds, Gordon had a moment's uncertainty.
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe. But that would be too predictable."
Still, he acknowledged that returning home to play without Fishman and McConnell would be "a little strange."
"We have so much respect and longing for Page and Fish and so it's a little strange to come back to play near home and not be playing with them," Gordon said. "It's strange to be playing anywhere without them. We love their playing so much."
The quartet with Benevento/Russo represents a different approach to jamming, Gordon said. This has meant some ups and down, "but generally is very joyous."
"Joe is a very, kind of, wild and thrashy drummer and Marco is almost a jazz piano player," Gordon said. "They come from very different backgrounds. They're younger than we are, and filled with excitement. ...
"It's been sort of a feeling out situation, in terms of figuring out how to get to those deeper places in the music with a new quartet."
Gordon said that he thought Phish was still reaching deep places and discovering new places in the music when they band stopped.
"At the same time, I'm glad we stopped when we did," Gordon said. "I've had a lot of time and opportunity to do things that I might not have done."
Both he and Anastasio have "twinges of nostalgia," Gordon said, but mostly he's excited by the promise of new musical experiences and challenges.
"I personally got to a really good place with the ending of Phish, and I was the one who didn't want it to happen at first," Gordon said. "For some reason, I had a really successful grieving process, in a natural kind of way.
"I loved my career so much -- everything about it. It was the most incredibly joyous way to make a living that I could ever imagine. I was able to say: 'Well, it's been fun and I learned a lot and my whole adult life was spent being the guy in Phish.' ... At a certain point it makes sense to branch out. Each of us is going to have greater creative challenges because we won't have the other ones to lean on."
He's having a lot of fun these days, but Gordon feels he hasn't "scratched the surface" of what his solo career can be.
Still, on the nights when the acoustics are right and the music sails, he feels the possibilities and glories.
"If I'm accepting every note that I'm playing and that everyone else is playing, it's like being in a utopia," Gordon said. "If I'm not, it's like the most horrible thing. I'd rather be collecting garbage in a garbage truck."
"I really like it when there's a stage where the people aren't covered," he said. "The sound is going to be much more even.
"Fairgrounds, in general, end up being a fun situation. You can crank it up if you want. Whatever you do, it's got a clarity to it. I'm looking forward to it."
About today's show
WHAT: Phil Lesh and Friends and Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon with the Benevento/Russo Duo; Anastasio and Gordon will close the show
WHERE: Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction
WHEN: 4 p.m. today; lot opens at 8 a.m.; doors open at 3 p.m.
TICKETS: $56.50
AVAILABLE: Flynn Regional Box Office; 863-5966; www.flynntix.org Contact Sally Pollak at spollak@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com or 660-1859.
Printer Friendly Version
E-mail this article to a friend
|
