Bruce Gordon (born 1968 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is an English-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rock musician, best known as the bassist for I Mother Earth. He was born to parents of Scottish and German heritage. He immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with his family at the age of six. They first moved to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

but after only a year relocated to Oakville,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, a suburb of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. His exposure to bands such as the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing p ...

, Black Flag and

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...

inspired him to pick up the

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

at the age of fifteen. He quickly took to the instrument and within a few months had joined a Toronto punk band called Intensive Chaos. Primarily self-taught, Gordon continued to play in a string of basement bands and soon graduated to the independent scene where he started playing local gigs with Jonathan Cummins (Bionic, Doughboys), and Cam and Brad Maclean in Circus Lupus. After finishing high school, Gordon enrolled in the jazz program at

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

to further his musical knowledge. Around the same time the demise of Circus Lupus led him to join the newly formed Rocktopus. Rocktopus released several independent cassettes and an EP on Lone Wolf Records. The band toured regularly across Ontario and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and successfully completed two cross Canada and one North American tour before finally calling it quits. In 1993, only one month after Rocktopus split, Gordon joined I Mother Earth, who had already signed a worldwide deal with Capitol records. A few short weeks after he joined the band, they embarked on a pre-album release tour across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Gordon was credited with bass duty on 1993's '' Dig'', though he did not actually record it. However, he did record on 1996's ''

Scenery and Fish ''Scenery and Fish'' is the second album by the Canadian rock band I Mother Earth, released by Capitol and EMI in 1996. It is the band's most commercially successful album, going double platinum in Canada. By April 1999, the album had sold 320, ...

'', 1999's '' Blue Green Orange'', and 2003's '' The Quicksilver Meat Dream''. In 2003, the band parted ways to pursue different projects. Gordon expanded his teaching practice, both privately and at the Twelfth Fret, and began to explore new musical endeavors. He tried his hand at as many different musical styles as possible, including various jazz and blues artists, and for a year worked with songwriter Alison Maclean in her band Fourstar. He also performed with the funk improv band Hot Fo' Gandhi and the lo-fi jazz combo the Tiny Specks. In early 2005, Gordon was hired by

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...

to help open up a new Toronto-based show. He continues to perform with the eclectic ensemble on a variety of instruments that include electric zither, chapman stick and talking drum. Gordon joined with fellow Blue Man musicians Dave Steele and Steve Ballstadt to form the instrumental spy-go-go-surf-noir trio Experiment In Terror. His newest project is the live electro groove collective called Ostrich. Gordon now lives in Florida, where he continues to work for Blue Man Group. In 2012, he reunited with the rest of the most recent I Mother Earth lineup for several live performances across Canada. They have also recorded a new song.

References

External links

Official Bruce Gordon PageBlue Man Group WebsiteOfficial Tiny Specks Band PageOfficial Hot Fo' Gandhi Band PageOfficial Ostrich Band Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Bruce 1968 births Living people English emigrants to Canada Canadian rock bass guitarists Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian people of German descent I Mother Earth members