Branch Gordon

Thanks Banner Graphic!

2010-03-06T10:12:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Jared Jernagan from the Banner Graphic in Greencastle, IN for writing up this wonderful piece.

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Gordon brings complex sounds to Greencastle
Thursday, February 25, 2010
By JARED JERNAGAN, Music Critic

GREENCASTLE -- Local music fans were rewarded by staying right here in our humble little city on Saturday night, as Branch Gordon brought his live set to the Swizzle Stick for a three-hour show.

Gordon offered an engaging, energetic set, showcasing his talents as both an arranger and performer of poppy, bluesy indie rock.

Combining covers with a few originals, Gordon's music takes listeners on a journey through the past, while his performing techniques remind them exactly what era we live in.

While the sound of just Gordon's voice and a guitar provided organic simplicity, the most intriguing moments of the show came from Gordon's use of his pedal/synthesizer workstation. By creating a number of loops, the artist produced a sound it would have taken a band of four or five to produce.

These flights of fancy would generally start with a simple beat. From there, Gordon might play a melody on his guitar, recording a loop of exactly what he wanted. When he had what he wanted, that loop would join the original beat, playing over and over again.

From there, he might add a number of layers. He could record a couple of keyboard pieces or more on the guitar. On his first such song, he even added a number of additional percussion layers by drumming on the sides and top of his guitar.

To a music lover, watching him build these songs, layer by layer, was the highlight of the show. Once Gordon had what he wanted, there was a complex, multi-textured piece over which he could solo, sing or even rap. He did the latter after an extended and impressive guitar solo, lighting into "American Idol" sensation "Pants On the Ground," much to the crowd's delight.

Gordon admitted afterward he has a weakness for the song.

"That's my ringtone now," he said with a grin.

As impressive as these moments were, Gordon also connected with the audience through the simple use of good music. He went as far back as the early sixties for "Last Kiss" and "Under the Boardwalk," and kept it current with Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody."

Gordon also displayed a keen ability to rework favorites in less-than-familiar forms, such as a folked-up version of Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" and a barely recognizable cover of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side."

Gordon seemed most at home playing the pop-rock of Rob Thomas and Matchbox 20 ("I Don't Wanna Be Lonely No More" and "3 a.m."), Hootie and the Blowfish ("Hold My Hand") and Jason Mraz "I'm Yours."

And, of course, Gordon is a singer-songwriter. He peppered his set with a number of originals, including a fun story song called "Station Blues," about a gas station worker propositioned by a female patron.

A Gordon live show is a lot of fun and worth checking out. Putnam County will again have this opportunity on Monday, when Gordon plays at the grand re-opening of the Blue Door Café.

Learn more: www.myspace.com/branchgordon or www.reverbnation.com/branchgordon
© Copyright 2010, Greencastle Banner-Graphic
Story URL: http://www.bannergraphic.com/story/1613616.html

Download my free song!

2010-02-16T08:19:00.002-05:00

Exciting news. I've been accepted into the "Playlist 7" program...which is an event hosted by Windows 7 and Reverbnation.com. Basically I'm giving away one of my songs online for people to download. If my song is in the top 7 downloaded, then I become a featured artist. This is a HUGE deal as we all know how much press Windows 7 is getting...so would be nice to be featured ANYWHERE on their website.

You can download "Island Song" FOR FREE by following this link. You have to become a fan of Windows on facebook, twitter, or myspace. Other than that, no catches or gimmicks here folks, just an exciting opportunity. As of this morning I am in the top 10 out of 50. Help me move on up! :)

IDSNews.com Interview

2009-12-13T21:55:00.003-05:00

Thank you so much to Derrick Parker over at Bear's Place and also to IDSNews.com to lining up this piece for Adrian Kolbo and I. Wonderfully written, and it's made me even more excited about our upcoming show on Dec. 15th (Tuesday).

http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=72651

Windows 7?

2009-11-30T15:42:00.001-05:00

Quickstar All-Stars compilation

2009-11-30T15:26:00.003-05:00

I've been included on the "Quickstar All-Stars" compilation CD from Quickstar Productions! Thanks to those folks for helping me out. Here is a link to their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/qstarallstars

Quote from their Myspace page:

"Quickstar’s All Stars is a compilation CD brought to you by Quickstar Productions that features music from up and coming artists in today's music scene. Concerned with the plight of the planet, Quickstar Productions has established this project to raise awareness and funds for the Go Green Initiative and A Brighter Planet. To hear some of the projects that we have done in the past, please click on the iTunes or Amazon links to the left. We look forward to working with all of the artists selected to participate with this project. For more information, please visit our website, quickstarproductions.com."

If you have iTunes, and want to buy this compilation, click here.

Review with Heard Magazine

2009-08-27T13:22:00.001-04:00

Featured on today's Westsidewill.com Unsigned Artist Showcase

2009-08-06T15:35:00.002-04:00

My song "That's What She Said" is being featured on the WestSideWill.com Unsigned Artist Showcase today.

WestSideWill.com was built on one main idea - unsigned musicians should have their own radio station that is a closed shop to signed musicians, kind of like the majority of FM stations are the other way around.

-From the West Side Will website.

If you like the tune and want to help keep this song spinning, please visit the site and vote for my song. The song with the most votes will be placed on their Top 10 show at a later date.

So, here's the site to listen to the showcase (will have to listen to all the artists): http://www.westsidewill.com/artistshowcase/index.php

Here's the page you can use to vote: http://www.westsidewill.com/artistdirectory/1415-Branch-Gordon

** Use Internet Explorer for the above pages. Firefox has issues **

Featured at IndyInTune.com

2009-08-06T14:03:00.002-04:00

I've been featured over at the Indy In Tune website. Thanks to Darrin Snider for his excellent podcasting work! The interview is about an hour long, and you will hear all the music from my new E.P. Take a listen, and browse around the site to check out some of the other amazing artists here in Indianapolis.

http://indyintune.com/artists/branchgordon

http://myspace.com/indyintune -- Here's the Myspace page for Indy In Tune if you would like to visit and add them.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/indyintune/IIT_049_Branch_Gordon.mp3 -- If you want just an MP3 of the show.

And if you want, you can subscribe to Indy In-Tune via iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=151366728 ... this will guarantee you get all the new shows as they come out as well.

Elephant Radio.org

2009-07-19T14:41:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the great folks at elephantradio.org for including me in their Indie Channel show!

There are quite a few great sounding artists on the radio station. I took some time to listen to their Indie channel a few nights ago and liked every song I heard. If you are looking for some great new music, visit their site.

Welcome to the Blog!

2009-04-28T15:18:00.000-04:00

Hello all! I'm currently starting work on a new album that should be out Fall of this year (2009). The title will be "30 Days". I've been working hard at booking more shows so expect to see me out at a bunch more places.

There's some new video posted as well over on Youtube.com/branchgordon (or just click the sidebar on your right).

Hope all is well!