'Inside In' pushes boundaries for Phish bassist October 9, 2003 - Worcester Telegram & Gazette By Scott McLennan When you're in a band often described as "quirky" and "eccentric," what do you do for a side project? After all, side projects usually are designed to free artists from their normal confines. In the case of Phish bass player Mike Gordon, you get even more quirky and more eccentric. Gordon recently released the solo CD "Inside In" and is bringing his new side band to the Avalon Ballroom in Boston on Wednesday. "Inside In" has been four years in the making and is a companion of sorts to Gordon's independent film "Outside Out," a tale of a young guitarist who tries to unlearn all the music he knows at the hands of a teacher played by Col. Bruce Hampton. "Inside In" is no less weird, as songs clatter along describing oddball characters such as "Soulfood Man" and pondering myriad "what ifs" that subvert the normal order of things. The music is loose- limbed and even less linear than the typically wiry Phish jam. The whole notion of thinking about one's possibilities serves as a subtext for "Inside In," as Gordon positioned himself in a group stripped of the familiar formulas he helped cook up with Phish over the last 20 years. "With Phish it's four people that share similar backgrounds. In this situation we're finding there is so much to learn from each other," Gordon said during a break from the rehearsals he was conducting with his touring ensemble. The band Gordon has on the road features keyboard player James Harvey, pedal-steel guitar and banjo player Gordon Stone, guitarist Scott Murawski from Max Creek, tap dancer and singer Jeannie Hill, trombone player Josh Roseman, singer and flute player Julee Avallone and drummer Doug Belote. The brief tour opened Sunday in San Francisco and wraps up next Thursday in New York City. The instrumentation alone provides Gordon a forum quite different from the one he works in with Phish. This group allows the bassist to play up his love of the pedal-steel sound and craft some crazy/ hazy jazz jams. "Josh Roseman has come up with some very syncopated fusions. He's brought in these three-bar patterns that are a new kind of groove and pretty intricate. It's a whole new situation for me," Gordon said. Stone will likely get plenty of time in the spotlight as much of "Inside In" features the sound of pedal-steel, an instrument Gordon described as his favorite to hear. "It's such an emotional sound. I used three different players on the album," he said. (Stone and Buddy Cage did the hard stuff, while Gordon himself picked and strummed some parts.) Gordon started "Inside In" as "Outside Out" in 1999. He took a break from the film when he started shooting a documentary about the band Gov't Mule. Phish then ended its self-imposed two-year hiatus late last year to record a new album, "Round Room," and commence a tour in February. Had things gone smoothly, Gordon would have wrapped up his summer tour with Phish in high style at the band's festival staged in Maine, seen "Inside In" come out on Rope-A-Dope Records in August and hit the road for this tour before ramping up for Phish's 20th anniversary tour happening this winter. But things did not go smoothly. The release of "Inside In" was overshadowed by news of Gordon's ill-conceived decision to snap photographs of a 9-year-old girl in a secluded area after both had attended a concert by the Dead. At a post-concert gathering, the girl's parents gave her permission to ride Gordon's Segway scooter but then panicked when the pair did not immediately return. Gordon and the girl were found in a boathouse near the concert site. The incident at first drew criminal charges of child endangerment, but they were later dropped. Though nothing illegal transpired, Gordon has been roundly criticized for showing poor judgment regardless of any artistic pursuits he claimed were at hand. Gordon is not discussing the episode in interviews. The personal misstep aside, Gordon is in a good place artistically. A duo record made last year with guitarist Leo Kottke, the "Inside In/Outside Out" projects and pending 20th anniversary of Phish's first show (which will be commemorated with a Dec. 2 concert at the FleetCenter in Boston) are all impressive feats for a musician many wouldn't recognize walking down the street. Gordon said the diversity of work he undertook over the past couple years all bled together, and projects influenced each other. While some may find that confusing, Gordon found it to be exhilarating. Speaking of the marathon rehearsals Gordon was conducting last week in New York City, he said, "what's feeding this is enthusiasm." And that sentiment seems it could easily apply to the breadth of work Gordon finds himself involved in. Article Copyright © 2003 Worcester Telegram & Gazette