Draft:Myk Gordon
Myk Gordon is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist based in Vancouver, BC Canada. Gordon has drawn comparisons with Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe[1] and Bruce Springsteen[2], and is associated with the Americana and AAA genres.
Gordon got his start performing solo and with various bands on the Queen Street circuit in Toronto in the late '80s along with other emerging artists such as Ron Sexsmith. Gordon has received various grants/awards and toured actively across Canada peforming at music festivals and sharing stages with notable artists including Joan Osborne and Emmylou Harris.
Subsequent independent releases garnered him airplay on college radio across Canada and the US. In 2001, Gordon spent close to a year in London, UK, performing frequently at the infamous 12 Bar Club[3], which billed him as "the leading light of the Vancouver folk-pop scene." Notable artists performed at the venue in London's 'Tin Pan Alley' on Denmark St before reaching wider acclaim, including: Adele, KT Tunstall, Jeff Buckley, Keane and Regina Spektor. Gordon's band members at various times have included members of Blue Rodeo, Bob Dylan and Bryan Adams. In 2003 Gordon drew the attention of Grammy Award-winning producer, musician and current president of Blue Note Records Don Was (Bonnie Raitt, Rolling Stones) and long-time David Bowie producer and musician Tony Visconti.
In 2008 Gordon began an ongoing collaboration with multiple Grammy-winning producer Steve Berlin (Tragically Hip, Los Lobos). Their first effort, Set Free (2009)[4] was released independently to rave reviews, and featured drummer Drew Shoals (Train) and another ongoing collaboration with fellow Vancouverite guitarist Paul Rigby (Neko Case, Jakob Dylan). The album received rave reviews with No Depression saying: "Myk Gordon’s warm and resonant Set Free, is a testament to both the production expertise of Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin and the humble virtuosity of Gordon and his band. Recorded in Portland, Oregon with echos of everything from southwestern border-town flavor to NYC song circle sophistication, Set Free is a cast iron pot of homemade gumbo, bubbling and churning with rich layers of rootsy goodness."[5] The Vancouver Sun hailed Set Free as "nothing short of a country-soul tour de force...loose and effortless."[6]
In 2010 Gordon's success enabled him to obtain an 01 visa into the US for the maximum term of three years as an 'artist of extraordinary talent'--an accomplishment only attributed to artists of exceptional achievement and notoriety. This allowed Gordon to tour across the US and spend extended time in Nashville, TN performing and collaborating with notable talents such as in-demand guitar virtuoso Guthrie Trapp.
In 2023 Gordon collaborated for the second time with Steve Berlin resulting in the 2024 album and lead single/video of the same name, Born To Be[7], featuring members of Neko Case, New Pornographers, NRBQ, Mavis Staples and renowned bassist Damian Erskine, nephew of jazz drummer Pete Erskine. Gordon and Berlin are set to return to the studio to record their third album together.
Gordon is also a TV/film actor with credits including The L Word (scene with Pam Grier) and Masters Of Horror (The Screwfly Solution directed by Joe Dante.[8]
- ^ https://tinnitist.com/2024/01/29/myk-gordon-is-looking-for-a-brand-new-love/
- ^ Bob Segarini, Don't Believe A Word I Say column, 2010. fyimusic.ca
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjZzQhZOR4o
- ^ Myk Gordon, Set Free (2009) Boundless Music, CD, digital release
- ^ https://nodepression.com/5-reviews-in-10-sentences-or-getting-around-to-things-on-my-desk-by-j-hayes/
- ^ Marchand, Francois. Myk Gordon Travels A Long Road To Freedom. Feb 16 2010
- ^ Myk Gordon. Born To Be. Go/NoGo Records. Jan 2024
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2481398/