(Rickey Lamb - March 31, 2009 - BluegrassJournal.com Article

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In 1973, I met a couple buddies in college who were from Mount Vernon, Ill. These guys were big music fans, the kind of people I’ve surrounded myself with my whole life, and they talked and talked about a band from their area by the name of “Farm.” Farm, I discovered, was a terrific rock band that was way ahead of the times, especially for southern Illinois.

 

Farm had a southern rock sound more along the lines of the Allman Brothers Band. Farm’s album was recorded back in the early 70s at the legendary Golden Voice studio in Pekin, Ill. This is the same place where Dan Fogelburg recorded some of his early material as did countless other bands.

 

You’re thinking to yourself, “What the heck does this have to do with a bluegrass Web site?” Good question. The answer is Gary Gordon. Gary was the gentleman who played bottleneck and guitar, as well as provided vocals with Farm. This is the same Gary Gordon, along with his wife Roberta, who had a huge folk disc on the charts this past year.

 

The Gordons started their careers back in the early 70s with very strong folk overtones. Their first album was Southern Illinois Bluegrass, released back in 1976. Their music has lots of influences, folk, country, blues, rock, bluegrass, etc. These are two individuals who embrace a massive amount of influences. It can deal a fatal blow to an artist if they sound plagiaristic, something that sounds exactly like another artist, but The Gordons seem to always make the sound their own.

 

I recently did a phone interview with Gary Gordon that was absolutely delightful. We seemed to connect on so many levels musically it was amazingly refreshing. I asked him what lessons he learned from the Farm days. Gary responded, “I learned what it means to have an enthusiastic crowd. … I learned what it means to play from the seat of your pants and to never play a song the same way.”

 

He recently has been at work on a new blues CD with old Farm bandmates, Del Herbert, Jim Elwyn and Roger Greenwalt. Gary admitted it was fun playing electric and fun to “get it back.”

 

I asked what his influences were and he immediately said his grandmother, who played gospel piano. Gary admitted to loving her so much, she really formed at an early age his love for music. Alongside her sway, there was the influence of his father. Gary’s dad listened to all kinds of folk. In those days, folk encompassed so many styles of music.

 

In the Gordon household, they were listening to the Everly Brothers, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Bob Gibson and the Kingston Trio.

 

Gary also had an older guitar teacher, who was quite influential as well. Here he developed a love for Mel Tillis, who according to Gary, had a real swinging country, “great band.” Also this is where he developed an affection for Porter and Dolly, Buddy Emmons and the legendary Ernest Tubb.

Suddenly the Beatles came along and influenced Gary, as well as everything Pete Townsend did, Not only were there the rock influences, but also blues, folk and country. He continued on his musical journey listening to the Byrds’ “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.” This is where Gary Gordon discovered how important it is to dig deeper in the music he loved, to find what has been termed the “roots” stuff.

 

By the age of 4, he remembers listening to artists like Flat and Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers. With age, he grew to appreciate Bill Monroe as well. How’s all those things add up for esoteric influences?

 

Here is where Gary and Roberta have found their uniqueness. He likes to be one of those artists who people will find recognizable in 5 to 10 seconds. He discussed if you listen to Bill Monroe, the Kinks, or Neil Young, those are examples of artists who people will recognize immediately. The fact that The Gordons have reached that status with their audiences extremely pleases Gary.

 

A few years ago, at a Decatur Ill., music celebration, I was privileged to listen to The Gordons live. Gary is quick to point out how bad the sound system was on that particular day, but still I found their sound exceptionally appealing. When I told him they reminded me of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, he seemed pleased. He said when he and Roberta were starting out, they were listening to Parsons/Harris records all day and playing some of that material along with their own songs in the clubs at night.

 

On The Gordons newest CD, Our Time, which was released in 2008, Gary feels they both have really progressed as artists. This disc was No. 1 on the folk charts for quite a while this past year. He is quick to point out that the folk stations really embraced this disc. Gary comments, “We never copy anyone. We like to take the listener several places.” He also mentions that his wife Roberta is always writing. This means they always seem to have a wealth of material to choose from.

 

In the coming months, they hope to branch out to more festivals and even television. They plan to go to Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. I am quick to point out to him that they are a really popular in that part of the world. He humbly makes mention that it is very nice to be regarded that way. He talks about some gigs they have done on TV that transmits out of Dublin, Ireland. These, he says, goes out to all the Irish people around the world.

 

At this point in our conversation Gary wanted to talk about his family. You can tell he has an unbelievable amount of love for them. He makes sure I know Roberta’s influences, which are her church background, and the Grand Ole Opry. Gary also talks about taking his son, Noah, who is an excellent recording artist in his own right, to see Ernest Tubb when his son was just a little guy.

 

Throughout our conversation, Gary’s dialogue always returned back to the sound he wants in the studio. They have a top notch accommodation, Inside-Out Studio in Sparta, Ill. Since those early days of recording at Golden Voice in Pekin, Ill., Gary has been meticulous about sound. This is quite evident on every disc he puts out as a solo artist, as the duo with Roberta or as anyone he records. There have been many mainstream artists who have found the studio in Sparta as a wonderful setting to record.

 

For more information, check out insideoutstudio.ning.com. While you’re at it find some of the Gordon’s fine videos on youtube.com/user/TheGordonsMusic, as well as pick up any of their outstanding discs.

 

The timing of this article points to a wonderful event taking place this coming weekend (April 3 and 4), at Kirkland Center, in Decatur Ill. On Friday, the Gordon’s will open for Special Consensus.

 

Don’t miss this opportunity to see three world-class groups. While you’re at, it try to track down Gary and Roberta and find out for yourself how terrific these folks are. Catch their show and discover why they are also outstanding global artists.