Bruce Gordon (11)

Bruce was born in Southern California when the surf was up and the days were good and full of sunshine. When he was 10, his family moved from the warm California sun to the Bad Bad Lands of Australia. Lennon-McCartney melodies and Brian Wilson harmonies were supplanted by wobble boards and tuneless flamin’ jungle music. Eventually, the need for guitars brought the young Bruce back to America. Specifically, to Phoenix, and the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. (It’s not a religious term — it translates roughly as, “wooden-stringed-instrument-building.”) In the '80s, Grand Junction, Colorado was not normally considered one of the hotbeds of new wave rock, but it was — it's just that nobody ever heard the music that came out of there. Nevertheless, Shoblit and the Bush Pilots were two bands which were at the forefront of the G.J. new wave scene, and Gordon was a key figure in both bands. It is undisputable that songs like "Solitary Confinement", "Cans and Bottles", "Another Good Year" and "Alienate Yourself" have influenced countless artists ever since. That is to say, all those artists could never be counted. Gordon returned to Southern California in the late '80s and formed the Cyphers, a pop/rock/demolition foursome which cut a swath of broken guitar strings and splintered harmonies across the L.A. music scene. It was during this time that Bruce wrote the score to the beloved cult film, SHOCK! SHOCK! SHOCK! (Rhino Home Video). Gordon has resurfaced in the new millennium as the writer and co-producer of the new album by Mr. Encrypto, HERO AND VILLAIN! (In fact, some claim Mr. Encrypto and Gordon are one and the same! Of course, if this were true, it would mean Gordon played every instrument and sang every vocal on the album. Surely, this stretches plausibility to the breaking point!)