Mike Gordon - OGOGO (2017)

The Phish bassist recorded OGOGO with his touring band of guitarist Scott Murawski, drummer John Kimock, keyboardist Robert Walter and percussionist Craig Myers. Mike tapped Grammy Award-winning engineer Shawn Everett to produce the follow-up to 2014’s Overstep.

“Victim,” the third track on OGOGO, is the album’s second single. “Steps” was previously released. Four of the LP’s 13 tracks were debuted live by Mike and his five-piece at the High Sierra Music Festival on June 30: “Whirlwind,” “Marissa,” “Up & Down” and “Victim 3D.” The album’s fourth track, “Crazy Sometimes” was first played live by the quintet in early 2016.

OGOGO also includes a studio version of “Let’s Go,” which Phish recorded for Big Boat but didn’t make the final cut. “Let’s Go” was originally premiered by Phish on July 1, 2016 at SPAC and played a second time by the quartet last fall. Mike’s five-piece debuted their version of “Let’s Go” at last September’s Catskill Chill festival and it has become a staple of the group’s repertoire.

Both Gordon and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio discussed Big Boat producer Bob Ezrin’s decision to cut “Let’s Go” in an October interview with Rolling Stone:

Gordon had high hopes for one of his songs, “Let’s Go,” which Anastasio thought had commercial potential, but others, including Ezrin, argued to leave it off. “I was a little sad when it was cut,” says Gordon. “But once Bob said it, I just had to respect it.”

“It’s a sore spot for me, too,” says Anastasio. “I was jumping from the rafters for it.” He grows concerned when he hears that Gordon mentioned the song in our interview. “What did Mike say?” he asks. “I still feel bad for him. But we invited someone in with very strong opinions. Sometimes that’s a good thing, but sometimes you think, ‘Maybe I should have just stood up.'”
Gordon will lead his solo band on a Fall Tour that begins at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia on September 22. Next up, the quintet will play Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, New Haven, Syracuse and Toronto to end September. The October portion of the tour includes stops in Detroit, Kalamazoo, Chincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Omaha, Kansas City and Boulder.