Mike Gordon Turns Tables On Tom Marshall For ‘Under The Scales’ Podcast

The second part of Phish bassist Mike Gordon‘s appearance on Tom Marshall’s Under The Scales podcast is now live. Marshall started the episode by discussing Mike’s solo albums before the conversation turned to peak improvisation. Then, Gordon turned the tables on Tom by asking him a few questions.

Marshall spoke with Gordon about Mike’s 2008 solo album The Green Sparrow and noted how the album’s “Andelmans’ Yards” seems influenced by the bassist’s collaborations with guitarist Leo Kottke. The conversation moved on to 2010’s Moss, an album Gordon feels is underappreciated. Eventually, the pair dug in to Mike’s most recent album, 2017’s OGOGO and the crazy production methods Shawn Everett brought to the table.

The next part of the chat focused on Mike’s favorite recent jams from both his five-piece band and Phish. Gordon talked about how sometimes his favorite improvisation differs wildly from what the fans appreciate. The bassist gave the example of the “Simple” Phish played at Hampton last October and how Mike was put off by how much time the band spent noodling rather than finding eureka moments.

Mike and Tom ended the episode by switching roles. Gordon asked Marshall a few questions about Tom’s songwriting process. Mike feels Tom “comes from a place of laughing” and asked how he gets to serious topics when it’s time to write. Marshall responded he’s giddy because songwriting is his favorite thing to do but doesn’t have any issues writing about heavy subject matter. Gordon also asked if Tom thinks the length of time it takes him to write a song has anything to do with the quality of the final product. Listen to the latest episode of Under The Scales to hear Tom’s answer and the whole second part of his chat with Mike Gordon: