Mike Gordon first achieved recognition through his position in the legendary jam band Phish, handling bass duties and occasional lead vocals while simultaneously building an independent path as a recording artist, frequent collaborator, and director. His contributions as a songwriter helped shape numerous Phish albums during the group’s intensive touring years of the late 1980s and 1990s. Outside that setting he has explored bluegrass and folk traditions on multiple duo projects with guitarist Leo Kottke, issued a sequence of wide-ranging solo records—The Green Sparrow in 2008, OGOGO in 2017, and Flying Games in 2023—and participated in additional ensembles such as Ramble Dove and Rhythm Devils. He has also directed several Phish videos along with the feature-length films Outside Out and Rising Low.
Born in Sudbury, Massachusetts in 1965, Gordon started his first band while still in high school. He formed Phish in 1983 at the University of Vermont with guitarists Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth and drummer Jon Fishman. Apart from the band he maintains a strong interest in bluegrass and Jewish folk music and regularly switches among guitar, banjo, and piano. An enthusiastic filmmaker and photographer, he has produced Phish music videos and directed the 2000 feature Outside Out.
Gordon joined Leo Kottke for the distinctive folk album Clone in 2002 and released his solo debut, Inside In, the next year. When Phish went on hiatus in 2004 he concentrated more fully on solo material and side projects, resulting in a second Kottke collaboration, Sixty Six Steps, in 2005, and the Rounder release The Green Sparrow in 2008. The arrival of his stylistically varied Moss album in 2010 coincided with Phish’s reunion, once again dividing his schedule between band and solo work. A reinvigorated Phish then maintained a demanding concert calendar that included annual sold-out New Year’s Eve runs at Madison Square Garden, while Gordon issued his fourth solo studio album, Overstep, in early 2014.
After Phish’s 2016 album Big Boat and its supporting tour, Gordon returned to performing with his own band, recording OGOGO for ATO Records in 2017. He reunited with Kottke for the 2020 duo album Noon. Flying Games followed in 2023, showcasing a heavier, rock- and funk-oriented direction highlighted by the single “Mull.” The record features contributions from longtime associate Jarded Slomoff and engineer Shawn Everett.
