Kevin Gordon

Singer, songwriter

Louisiana singer/songwriter Kevin Gordon writes country songs that combine poetic lyrics and heavy rhythms. His music reveals a blend of what Bob Mehr in the Chicago Reader called "economical but finely etched narratives" with "an earthy mix of backwoods country, big-city blues, and febrile Cajun sounds." In Playback, Bryan A. Hollerbach wrote that Gordon "makes music thrilling in its multifarious resonance—believe it."

"It Hit Me Hard"

Gordon was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and grew up in the town of Monroe, in a family that loved music. His parents frequently had parties where they played lively records, including Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles. Gordon wrote on his website, "That music—it hit me hard. I loved it so much—that's what drove me to want to sing, play, and write."

He began teaching himself to play guitar, and evolved through a variety of styles, including punk, rockabilly, and blues. At the same time, he went through college and graduate school, studying poetry at the prestigious University of Iowa Writers Workshop. While he was in college, he played at an open mic jam in Iowa City, where singer Bo Ramsey heard him and offered him a spot in his band. Gordon played with Ramsey for two years.

In an interview in On Milwaukee, Gordon told Jeff Bentoff that it was not easy to choose between poetry and music. "It almost feels like the battle of the personalities at times," he said. "For me personally, [poetry and songwriting are] two entirely different things." He also commented that he avoids "calling great songwriters poets and all that … Let's face it—poets probably don't have nearly as much fun as I do, getting to play songs in front of people, playing in a band. Poetry is a much lonelier enterprise."

He also noted that once out of the Iowa Workshop he did not miss his "wonderful little aesthete sort of existence," as he described it to Bill Friskics-Warren on the No Depression website. "You go to the bookstore, you go to the bar and you drink, and you talk about writing and you get up in the morning with a hangover and you write your poems. Part of that's really wonderful, in that people are so passionate about ideas, but part of it's just silly to me now."

Gordon's first album, Cadillac Jack's #1 Son, was made as a result of a conversation he had with coproducer and guitarist Joe McMahan. "I called Joe and said, 'Let's make a record—next week," he reported on his website. In a Popmatters.com review, Sarah Zupko wrote that the artist's songs told "vivid narratives" of life along the Mississippi River, and that it was "great story-telling country music."

Down to the Well was coproduced by Bo Ramsey, who played or sang on seven of the tracks. The title song is a duet with Lucinda Williams that, according to a reviewer in Puremusic, "sets the bar high and it never comes down." The reviewer also added that there was "not a weak song on the disc."

O Come Look at the Burning

In 2000 Gordon made another album, O Come Look at the Burning. It was done with the same spontaneity as his first record. He commented on his website that he wanted to record while he still felt his creative fires burning. The album was recorded in a home studio in a rented house in East Nashville, using 15 tracks of an old 16-track machine. Unlike many contemporary albums, which are recorded one track at a time, usually starting with the rhythm track and building up from there, this one was recorded live. Gordon noted on his website that "for this record, we wanted the sound of the band playing together—a performance of the song, with everybody playing and interacting as it went down. Nothing felt as good as the vocals that were cut with the band—so we stuck with them." The songs on the album feature Gordon's trademark of intensely poetic lyrics delivered in a down-to-earth style. Ten are original, written by Gordon, but he also does covers of Willie Dixon's "Crazy Mixed-Up World" and Eddie Hinton's "Something Heavy." Mehr praised these two cover songs, but noted that the original songs are what "truly show his mastery of American vernacular music."

Frank Goodman wrote in Puremusic.com that on this album, "The music jumps less and digs deeper. It's more trancelike, more hypnotic, but in a bluesy way." He added that the album "has a visceral live sound reminiscent of the electrifying show Gordon throws down." In Popmatters.com Steven Horowitz commented, "The ability to craft songs that combine the real and surreal has always been one of Gordon's strengths." He added that "Gordon's gift comes from a deeper place. Maybe his Louisiana upbringing is responsible. Gordon's guitar playing seems like it came out of the swamp. His strings seem to go chuggin' and chompin' like an alligator chasing after a shifty water rat."

In the blog on his website Gordon wrote that he is tired of this type of description of his music and his background: "Please, no more Cajun food metaphors, okay? You know, 'swampy gumbo of sound' and all that crap. I'm not a Cajun; I grew up in northern Louisiana, which is about as generically redneck a place [as anyone could find]." About his style, he commented on his website, "I'm a self-taught guitar player who studied poetry in grad school—I take my John Lee Hooker with a side of Gerard Manley Hopkins; it leads you to some interesting places."

Selected discography

Illinois 5 A.M. (EP), Orchard, 1997.
Cadillac Jack's #1 Son, Shanachie, 1998.
Down to the Well, Shanachie, 2000.
O Come Look at the Burning, Crowville Collective, 2005.

For the Record …

Born Kevin Gordon in Shreveport, LA; married; two children. Education: University of Iowa Writers Workshop, master of fine arts degree in poetry.

Released Cadillac Jack's #1 Son, 1998; released Down to the Well, 2000; released O Come Look at the Burning, 2005.

Addresses: Record company—Shanachie Records, 37 E. Clinton St., Newton, NJ 07860.

Sources

Periodicals

Chicago Reader, October 21, 2005.

Playback, St. Louis, June, 2006.

Online

"Gordon Brings Inspired Louisiana Rock to Milwaukee," On Milwaukee, October 13, 2005; http://www.onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/kevgordon.html?7639 (November 8, 2006).

"Kevin Gordon: Cadillac Jack's #1 Son," Popmatters.com, http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/gordonkevincadillac.shtml; (November 10, 2006).

"Kevin Gordon," No Depression, http://www.nodepression.net/issues/nd11/tc.html (November 8, 2006).

"Kevin Gordon: O Come Look at the Burning," Popmatters.com, http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/gordonkevin-ocome.shtml (November 10, 2006).

Kevin Gordon Official Website, http://www.myspace.com/kevingordonmusic (November 7, 2006).

"Kevin Gordon," Puremusic.com, http://www.puremusic.com/kevin/html (November 8, 2006).

"O Come Look at the Burning: Kevin Gordon," Puremusic.com, December 15, 2003, http://www.puremusic.com/54kevin.html (November 8, 2006).