Mike Gordon Talks Solo Work, Phish Pre-Show Prep & More On ‘Inside The Musician’s Brain’ Podcast

Phish bassist Mike Gordon was the guest on the latest episode of JamBase partner Osiris Media’s Inside The Musicians Brain podcast with The Infamous Stringdusters‘ Chris Pandolfi. Gordon and Pandolfi discussed Mike’s solo work, Phish pre-show prep and much more.

Chris opened the episode by talking about his own Phish fandom and receiving a Lawn Boy cassette from his older brother Jono for Christmas, which altered the course of his life. He also shared some of his live Phish experiences.

The interview with Mike began with the bassist talking about his recent solo tour around his new album, Flying Games, new touring keyboardist Rachel Eckroth as well as some funny and serious names for his solo band. The conversation then naturally turned to the banjo, both host and guest are banjo players, as well as bluegrass music and New York City’s bluegrass scene.

Gordon also discussed what Phish does to prepare for tour along with guitarist Trey Anastasio’s prolific ways. More specifically, Mike talked what the band does pre-show.

“Everyday, we’ll have rehearsals for at least half an hour… sometimes 45 minutes before the show, where we review all the songs and if there’s new ones we review new songs.”

Chris then asked about how Phish draws from a pool of songs for each show, to which Gordon replied.

“I don’t know how specifically I’m supposed to talk about this, but since no one told me it’s taboo I’ll just say it.”

Find out what Mike had to say about pre-show rituals and more in the complete interview below: