Legends of Rock Bass, Mike Gordon September 1, 2004 - Bass Player By Staff When is a band a band? When it's communicating. Long before Phish split up, Mike Gordon and his group had far outgrown the burden of being viewed as "the new Dead" by jam-band fans. constant attention to Phish's ever-changing dynamics and a unique view of his role, aided Mike's development of a conversational playing approach that relied heavily on improvisation and intricate, ever-evolving bass lines flat-picked on a Modulus 5-string. How hard does Phish have to work to develop cohesiveness? It's funny, because the first time we jammed together, it didn't really click; there were other people I had jammed with where I felt it had clicked better. Now, in retrospect, I think that was a good thing, because it made us work at it. We still practice a lot when we're not on the road, but we used to do it all the time-after school, every day. For hours and hours we would jam, write music, and experiment; we tried to zero in on certain things and push them-rhythms we weren't good at, or grooves, or styles. The listening exercises were the culmination of all that. Our favorite thing to do was just to throw all caution to the wind and jam without expectations. But we also realized how easy it is for the four of us to lapse into our own little worlds, playing up and down scales or whatever, not necessarily in the group mind. By getting together and just allowing this group mind to exist, we grew together. Also, our relationships when we weren't playing developed the same way. When we're jamming we're communicating, but if we're just having a meeting we're also communicating, and it's sort of the same dynamic. The other guys in the band would say music is communication; I'd rather say communication is the vehicle, and music is motion. Either way, communication is the first step, and if one person is thinking, How do I look? or, Is this a cool bass line? or, Are we having food on the bus later? it throws the whole thing off. What happens in that case is it feels as if we're mocking ourselves-pretending to be Phish. Do you ever get lost? All the time. These great journeys are the ideal, but there's another side. Sometimes we get off the stage and fight with each other about who wasn't concentrating. It always comes down to hooking up and communicating. Jamming is definitely the most important thing for me. There are other important parts, like songwriting and arranging, but all I really care about is going on these journeys. It's impossible for people-let me rephrase that-it's impossible for me when I'm not on one of these journeys to remember how ecstatic it feels and how much of a celebration life becomes. On the other hand, it's the worst feeling to get together and play bad music, and we definitely do that sometimes. The good side, though, makes it all worth it. ESSENTIAL GEAR Modulus Quantum and TBX 5-strings with EMG pickups, National Reso-Phonic WB bass, Countryman DI, Lovetone Meatball envelope filter, EBS Octabass, Boss BF-2 Flanger, Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer, Boss SYB-3 and Akai SB-1 Deep Impact Bass Synth Pedals, ADA MB-1 preamp, Eden WT-800 head, Eden D-410XLT cabinets, Meyer Sound P750PL powered 2x18 subwoofer, Smith Slick Rounds strings, Dunlop 1.5 mm Stubby nylon picks Article Copyright © 2004 Bass Player