Mike Gordon

Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He is also a filmmaker (Rising Low, Outside Out) and author (Mike's Corner). He has released six solo studio albums and three studio albums with acoustic guitar pioneer Leo Kottke. Gordon was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, the son of Marjorie Minkin, an abstract painter, and Robert Gordon, founder and former President and CEO of New England convenience store chain Store 24. Gordon attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. Gordon holds a bachelor's degree in Arts (he was originally an Electrical Engineering major) from the University of Vermont.Gordon met Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, and Jeff Holdsworth while attending college at University of Vermont, where the rock band Phish formed in 1983. He answered a posted flyer hanging in the dorms at UVM by Trey Anastasio, looking for a bass player for a new band.Gordon played many roles in Phish. Until the band became too big for self-management, he dealt with practically all public relations and fan communication, such as answering fan mail, managing funds and booking gigs. Gordon wrote a column titled "Mike's Corner" for the band's newsletter in the 1990s.Musically, Gordon's influence is the most obvious in Phish's many different renditions of various bluegrass, calypso, and even traditional Jewish songs (Gordon is Jewish). He also contributed by singing, as well as writing lyrics. Gordon wrote 19 original Phish songs and co-authored 27 additional Phish tracks, including "Mound", "Train Song", "Round Room", "Sugar Shack," "Yarmouth Road," "555," "Say Something," "Waking Up Dead," and the band's third most-performed song historically: "Mike's Song."

Gordon also practices transcendental meditation.