Mike Gordon quotes:

Right after I graduated, my girlfriend, who I had been going out with for five years, dumped me, and my grandmother died.

The guy we want to get is the guy who did the Aerosmith album which is coming out in two days, and a Chili Peppers album, and a couple of Pearl Jam albums. We want to get someone that will sort of bring out the high energy aspect more than the dreaminess that was on the last album.

I don't really have a favorite bass player. I listen to a lot of bluegrass. But then again, I'm not a typical bluegrass bass player. I was really into the Grateful Dead, and I still am - I don't listen to them too much, but for me they are a big influence.

Travelling to different countries is a goal. I wouldn't mind playing huge places if we got an opportunity to, but it's nice to play small places too. Fish was saying yesterday that he doesn't ever want to play stadiums, or maybe he would once, he said.

The worst thing I could be thinking is how could I be a cool bass player.

I'm always interested in mixing technology and music. You know, maybe I'll have a MIDI bass pickup at some point, I don't really think that's the direction I would want to go.

There's no way we could play a country song as well as a country band or a Latin song as well as a Latin band. We could never expect to do that. We just keep doing what we do, what we know how to do. We sound like ourselves.

Elektra has no control over the live show, at least.

I want to take some jams and really concentrate on hooking up with Page because, since he's the only one not next to me, and his sound is mainly coming from my monitor rather than through the air, it's a little harder for me to hook up with him.

I like referring to the saxophone and having a guitar lick instead. Same with the cymbals; having the cymbals and not playing cymbals.

Actually, it's great to play with someone who tries to come up with interesting drum beats because it pushes the music in different directions.

I feel like I want to write some songs and I don't know how to go about doing it. Usually it's the lyrics that are a problem, and I think I am not really cut out to be a lyricist.

Lately Fish and I have been hooking up more, which is a good thing because it's just been a struggle for me as a bass player to play with someone who's so creative on the drums, and lately it's been really good, especially during sound checks.

I'm not really satisfied with anything I have written to date.

I'm not really allowed to talk about the Dead though. I think when we are at our best, we definitely do things that the Dead or no other band could do. We explore things and take things to the extreme.

Last tour my bass rig was breaking down every other night. That was a pain. We would get on stage and Trey would count off the song, and I'd play the first note and nothing would be there. Those guys would just roll their eyes.

A lot of the great songwriters in history have been collaborators, with a separate lyricist.

The way that we imitate each others' riffs is something that other bands don't do as much. If we're jamming with a jazz band, or I am jamming with a jazz band, I have to catch myself, the tendency is always to do that.

As long as we keep learning new music and getting better musically, there's a good chance that the record deal won't change anything.

I built all the speaker cabinets myself.

This is my second bass that Paul built me. There were some changes that were made. Sometimes I think of changes that could be made having to do with both the sound and the feel. It's definitely a beautiful instrument.

I agree with the rest of the band, that a truly synthesized sound isn't really what I would want to go for.

I think one thing that helped the sound change, it's a real subtle thing; it's just one switch on my bass, it has three positions, and I usually boost the mid-range frequency, I lowered the frequency that I boost, and that goes out to the sound system, too.

It does make sense to put on some songs that are relatively short, because radio usually only plays songs that are less than 4 or 5 minutes.

I guess there are two things that make me like songs generally, of ours, and that is if they groove well, or if they have a jam that can go somewhere.

I haven't written enough songs to be able to say that I have a system. I've only written a handful.

In order to have that incredible groove that makes you dream you have to think not of the groove, but of the dream.

It's really important for the bass and the drums to somehow blend.

I've written some poetry, but... songs have to be more poetic, and I've really gotten to this non-poetic sort of writing.

Usually I don't think much in terms of interesting sounds. Although I think I want to get one of those whammy pedals, I forget what it's called and who makes it. It's got a whole bunch of different settings. You can play a note and it will raise the pitch when you push the pedal.

We have access to more resources in general, and they are not going to force a situation on us, whether its the producer, or the cover, or what songs we have to play. And it's a small enough company that it seems like the people there care about music and not just about business.