None of the five guys in LA-based Gordon are named Gordon, or Flash, or even Lightfoot. But they do relate to "guys who kind of operate outside of society's predictable standards -- "Gordons," as they say. They're definitely operating outside of the music industry's unpredictable standards, however. The band, who describes their style as "moody, psychedelic hop rock," signed with Sony's Fifty-Seven/550 Music label less than three years out of the chute, after having played out on stage exactly zero times. Their self-titled CD debuted in 1999. Vocalist Chris Dye and bassist Greg Evanshi played with the Dashboard Prophets before signing on with the Greg Evanshi, Dave Sobel, and Lance Porter of Dive Styler, Shining Path, and the Freewheelers. Although Gordon had made an initial "typical Indie deal" with Delicious Vinyl for a short run in 1998, the deal became undone at almost the same time they'd made contact with Stewart Management of Los Angeles. Wunderkind producer Brendan O'Brien, impressed with their demo and glad to hear of Gordon's break with DV, arranged an eleven-song recording at Southern Tracks studios in Atlanta. The album project survived frontman replacement of Josh Kamin by Dye, and the band acquired drummer Porter before commencing its first tour of the western states in December of 1998. The good news began pouring in: USA Today named Gordon's first album one of the most anticipated of the year, and the BPI's new Billboard Weather Bureau featured them on their cover, characterizing them as "outstanding ... pure enjoyment" in the "new music climate." ~ Becky Byrkit