In a recent feature published by jambands.com, an online affiliate of Relix Magazine, which highlights the titans and up-and-comers of the improvisational jam scene, Editor-in-Chief Dean Budnick transcribes his conversation with Phish bassist Mike Gordon about Gordon’s developing solo career amidst the madness of Phish’s March 2009 reunion. As the conversation progresses, Gordon reflects on the amount of energy that needs to be driven into a project like Phish which requires constant maintenance in order to keep the library of songs sounding fresh and precise (Budnick). As a result, Gordon explains, “I do have a lot of creative ideas but I don’t always follow through with them,” meaning that many of Gordon’s ideas don’t get developed because they don’t mesh well within the framework that Phish has established (Budnick).
Hence, much of the rest of the article describes the great lengths that Gordon goes to to develop, record, and catalogue all the different musical ideas he has so that even if they aren’t adopted into Phish’s selection of material, he can still explore them in a variety of side projects, or creative outlets in which musicians can step outside their traditional range to explore different musical roles and sounds.
This is especially true for Gordon, whose funky bass lines often take a backseat to the more ostentatious sound of Trey Anastasio’s piercing guitar notes within Phish’s dynamics. Therefore, while he might quietly follow Anastasio’s trail during an average Phish performance, within his own group he can spearhead rhythms and melodies that might not otherwise be appropriate. This allows Gordon to remain passionate about his role within Phish because he doesn’t need to compromise any of his other musical aspirations to do so.
While this notion of using side projects to explore uncharted musical realms is apparent within Phish’s history, it plays an even greater role within the dynamics of The Disco Biscuits. While The Disco Biscuits are hitting the road harder than any group in the jam circuit with 76 individual performances in 2009 alone, they always leave room in their busy touring schedule for the different side projects the members are affiliated with. This allows the individual members to pursue different styles that interest them, but that don’t necessarily fit into The Disco Biscuits’ established formula. For example, while The Disco Biscuits incorporate a balance of raging peaks, blissful valleys, and soulful lyrics into their material, bassist Marc Brownstein and keyboardist Aron Magner developed the side project Conspirator, a lyric less project based in the “trance” genre that allows the core duo of Brownstein and Magner to focus exclusively on hypotonic dance rhythms. By contrast, Biscuits’ guitar player Jon Gutwillig has embarked on a project called M80 Dubstation in which he exchanges his guitar for turntables to play “dubstep,” a dark, melodic, bass-heavy genre that incorporates elements of reggae. Finally, Biscuits’ drummer Allen Aucoin performs under the alias “Dr. Fameus” in which he loops electronic beats over his impressive, tireless drumming skills.
These various outlets give the members of group the freedom to step outside their normal roles, and experiment in the channels that are ignored in much of The Biscuits’ material. This in turn gives the members of the band a greater cohesiveness when they’re together because rather than worrying about expanding their musical horizons, they can do what they do best…play as The Disco Biscuits.
References:
Budnick, Dean. (2009, Sept. 22). Collecting Firewood with Mike Gordon. Jambands.com, Retrieved from http://www.jambands.com/features/2009/09/22/collecting-firewood-with-mike-gordon
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