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January 2001 Issue

Mike Gordon Brings a Jewish Flavor to Phish

By Jacob Horowitz

Nobody could have predicted in the1970s that the halls of the Solomon Schechter Day School in Newton, Mass., were the breeding grounds for one of modern music's most dynamic musicians.

It was there that Sudbury native Mike Gordon embarked on an educational and spiritual quest that has lead him to the pinnacle of his musical profession.

For the past 17 years, Phish, with Mike Gordon on bass, Jon Fishman on drums, Page McConnell on keyboards, and Trey Anastasio on guitar, have been ascending the ladder toward cult icon status.

They have, according to many, solidified their place atop the mountain of jam-based, improvisational music.

Without a Top 40 hit or any extensive radio airplay, Phish has grown into one of the top grossing acts in the country, and has developed an intensely devoted fan base that thinks nothing of traveling a many day journey just to see one more show.

Despite relocating to Vermont, Mike "Cactus" Gordon has never drifted too far from his Beantown roots. Gordon has always been fond of the city in which he was raised, and over the years Boston-area concerts have served as an outlet for him to perform not only for fans, but also for the extensive family he has in the region.

A Jewish Flavor

In addition to his local roots, how Mike Gordon was brought up has affected him as much as where. The Gordon family belonged to Congregation Beth El in Sudbury.

Judaism played a significant role in Mike's upbringing. "In addition to attending Schechter," he says, "when I was little we lit Shabbat candles, went to temple, and celebrated most Jewish holidays."

With the exception of the occasional seder here and there, Mike admits that he has not been a practicing Jew for several years.

That, however, does not lessen the obvious role that Judaism has played in his life, both as a person and as a musician.

"Music," he explains, "fills many of the holes that religion leaves open. The philosophical feeling behind religion, a religious upbringing, and even the notion of praying to God is very abstract. This transfers directly to my relationship with music. While you cannot necessarily touch music, you can feel it and it is something to believe in."

"I've always compared my movements on stage to davening [praying]," he added. "To me, music has always served as that type of religious release."

"Michael is an effortlessly spiritual person," says Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, the current rabbi in residence at Hebrew Union College in Manhattan, who years ago performed Gordon's bar mitzvah at Beth El and with whom Gordon is still in contact. "It naturally flows out of who he is."

Gordon's Jewish background has also left an indelible mark on his music with Phish. He and his bandmates, in fact, incorporate Jewish and Hebrew songs into their regular on-stage repertoire.

Since the late '80s, 'Avenu Malkenu' has woven its way onto Phish's permanent songlist, and it is not uncommon to see amphitheaters and arenas full of Jews and non-Jews alike belting out the lyrics to this traditional Jewish prayer.

"At Schechter," Gordon explains, "we always had morning services, sang the 'birchat ha'mazon' [prayer over the bread], and everything else. A handful of melodies circulated and 'Avenu Malkenu' stuck in my head. It was pretty much my idea to start playing it as a band."

Another tune that has found its way onto Phish's stage is "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" (Jerusalem of Gold) by Naomi Schemer-Sapir. The song, which has been sung in its entirety on stage as well as recorded in part at the end of their 1994 album "Hoist," was originally commissioned by the Israeli government to be performed at Israel's National Song Festival in May, 1967.

"It was amazing," Gordon recalled, "to see Trey and Page, who had never studied or attempted to speak Hebrew, learn it [Jon comes from a Jewish background].

"I contacted an old classmate of mine, Jill Goldman. She found a choral recording somewhere in her grandmother's house. We all got together, studied the transliteration, practiced and learned it."

The first time Phish sang it in its entirety was at Greatwoods in Mansfield, Mass., in 1993, Gordon remembers, "My nanny was there and it was kind of for her. She was a wonderful woman, my grandmother.

"It was not until later in her life that I really got to know who she was. The more I learned about her, the more I realized how involved she was with the Jewish community in Cambridge."

Phish Fans

Whether it can be attributed to the overt Jewish influence in their music or not, there is no denying that Phish has attracted a significantly large Jewish fan base. Religion aside, however, the fans of Phish are in a class of their own.

"We are very lucky in that regard. We feel like we have the best fans out there," Gordon is quick to acknowledge. In fact, they are so lucky that more seasoned musicians praise the fans that attend Phish shows as much as they do the shows themselves.

"Trey was talking to somebody recently, Graham Nash, I think. Before he even commented on our music, he was telling Trey how fortunate we are to have the fans we do. We are very thankful."

In many ways, Phish fans redefine what it means to be loyal and respectful, and the band has responded in kind with relentless touring schedules and never a dull show.

Last summer, for instance, just a week before the debacle that would become Woodstock '99, Phish hosted its own, two-day music festival (the fourth in as many years and the first of two that year) in Oswego, N.Y., with over 65,000 fans attending.

Despite repeated extreme attendance records such as this, however, there is rarely, if ever, a serious incident of violence or public disturbance, let alone destruction or all-out anarchy.

What is it that attracts such a peaceful crowd and an unusually high percentage of Jewish fans to Phish? Jewish people tend to be very analytical, Gordon believes.

"I am [analytical], and the band certainly has been. In fact, it got so bad that a couple of years ago we even instigated a "no analyzing" rule during band practice."

Phish fans, too, seem to be very analytical. It is not uncommon to see people taking note not only of each song that is played each night, as every show is invariably different, but also recording every action that band members make and each word that is spoken both on and off stage.

As far as what Gordon has to say about the composition of Phish fans, "It is great to have all types of people in the parking lot and at our shows. It is also nice to know that my own heritage is represented." "Represented," however, may be a little of an understatement as not only are there hordes of Jews flocking to Phish shows, but throughout Israel, T-shirts can be purchased with the is even an Orthodox rabbi on Phish tour. For several years now, Rabbi Shmuel Skaist and his group, the Gefilte Fish (www.gefiltefish.org), have been traveling to shows, spreading kindness, and trying to promote spirituality to people of all faiths.

"Our goal is to connect with people," says Rav Shmuel. "There are beautiful people at Phish shows, and we hope to bring people closer to themselves through the common bond of music."

Taking a Break As for a future concert in the Promised Land, Gordon says, "It has been discussed. It won't happen any time too soon because we are planning on taking a break for a while, but it has definitely been talked about."

This break that Gordon mentions is long overdue. While a hiatus from touring has been discussed in the past, this time it is a reality. Having just finished writing and directing his first film (Mike was a film major in college), Outside Out, Gordon plans to use this extended vacation to rework the movie's soundtrack and possibly begin work on his next big-screen project.

This is also the first time in 10 years that fans will have to make other arrangements for New Year's Eve. Rather than try and top last year's Big Cypress spectacle in the Florida Everglades, which attracted over 80,000 fans from around the world, Phish decided that their October 7 show in Mountain View, Calif., was their last one of the year.

Nevertheless, this final tour will no doubt temporarily, at least, satisfy fans, and leave everybody on the edge of their seats, waiting for this vacation to be over. For most, however, this break can not end soon enough.

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