Phillip Hong
23 November, 2007

With a calming voice that puts souls to rest and soothing guitar riffs that remind us of the more sensual side of the instrument Gordon Rutherford, also known as Gordo, has branded a release of his own for Toronto Experimental Artists' latest collaboration, TEA Volume 10.

The song is called "How Many Ways" and it's a great piece of audio to wind down to. We recently had an interview with the artist with music through his existence.

PHIL: How did you get into music?

GORDON: I got into music naturally. By the age of eight I was playing air piano on my dresser, and by twelve I had nailed the recorder part to "Stairway to Heaven". By eighteen I was a concert Cellist, and by twenty-something I was fully exploring the tortured singer/songwriter thing ('cause you can't get screaming co-eds to come to a Cello recital).

It wasn't so much a way to express myself as perhaps a way to escape. Sit down and make music, and the whole world slips away.

PHIL: Has the road to realising your career been a tedious one for you?

GORDON: The road to realizing my career has been anything but tedious.

The journey is the thing. I know where I'm going. I have a goal, a destination, but exactly how I'm going to get there is, well... a day to day thing.

At times the road has been like a fast moving smooth highway, with me in the fast lane. Other times it's more like I'm on a bumpy mountain road, eating a lot of dust. Both have their virtues.

PHIL: Has the internet helped you in the promotion of your material?

GORDON: The internet has been a great tool to promote myself. I have only begun to understand some of what it can do for me.

I began just a few months ago with a page on a CBC website, and from that I have been getting calls and e-mails from industry people, and fans I never knew I had.

"Oh I saw you in Whistler up on the mountain this summer, you were ...blah blah blah bah...." I love it.

PHIL: What is the background behind your song "How Many Ways"? There's quite an instrumental within the song.

GORDON: The background of "How Many Ways" is pretty typical. Guy loses girl, guy pines like crazy for her return. Did I tell her enough that I love her?

Great thing is she heard the song, and I got her back. Now she's my wife.

PHIL: What are your future plans?

GORDON: The future has all sorts of plans in it. I have an album coming out in the new year of all original material. The title of the album is "Toes in the Mud". It is coming out through Indie Pool Records.

I have been contacted for a few festival type shows for this summer, so I'm looking forward to the larger audiences, and some new places to play.

But the immediate future will be playing my heart out in Whistler and skiing like mad on Blackcomb and Whistler mountains. Powder to the People.

PHIL: "How many ways" can you end this interview on an amicable note?

GORDON: Remember, it's free to dream. You never know what might happen..... PlayTheMusic, Gordo

Phillip Hong is a co-host and reporter on Centre Street, our current affairs programme featuring alternative stories and interviews.