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Gordon James Gano (born June 7, 1963) is an American musician widely known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of American
folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...
band
Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...
.


Early life

Gano was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to actor parents Norman and Faye Gano, and grew up in
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. The Gano family moved to
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
in 1973, when his father opened an
American Baptist American Baptist may refer to: * American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA), formed (as the Northern Baptist Convention) in 1907 * American Baptist Association, formed 1924 * American Baptist College, Nashville, Tennessee, formed 1924 by the National B ...
church in
Oak Creek, Wisconsin Oak Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Milwaukee County, it sits on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and is located immediately south of Milwaukee. The city is one of the fastest growing in Milwaukee County and all ...
, a suburb of
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
. Rev. Gano, an accomplished actor, also formed a community theater group in Oak Creek, and Gordon appeared in many of its productions, notably "Sing Out, Sweet Land" in 1976. His father played guitar, and exposed his son to a wide array of musical genres, including
country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
,
show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...
s, and
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
. The liner notes to the
Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...
's compilation album ''Permanent Record'' describe Gano as ''"a devout
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
"''. In 1979 the Gano family moved to nearby
Hales Corners Hales Corners is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,692 at the 2010 census. History The land in the area that would eventually encompass the Village was first claimed as French, then British, and even ...
, where his father took over an existing American Baptist congregation. At this time Gordon began attending Milwaukee public school—
Rufus King High School Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high school in the ...
, from which he graduated in 1981. After graduating from high school, he worked briefly as an encyclopedia salesman. Older siblings from his parents' previous marriages living in the NYC area exposed the young Gano to such influences as
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
,
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
,
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
,
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...
,
Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
, and
The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...
. His garage band days began with covers of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and moved through the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
songs to Lou Reed and Velvet Underground songs by 1979. He began writing his own songs in the mid '70s, influenced by the vocal stylings of Lou Reed, the story-telling of
Hank Williams, Sr. Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...
and the poetics of Patti Smith. Given his acting background, Gano wrote many of his songs for characters, whom he would portray while performing the associated song.


Career


Violent Femmes

Gano joined
Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...
in Milwaukee in 1981 with bassist
Brian Ritchie Brian Ritchie (born November 21, 1960) is the bass guitarist for the alternative rock band Violent Femmes. Ritchie was born and raised in the United States and is currently a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, with his full-time residence i ...
and drummer
Victor DeLorenzo Victor DeLorenzo (born October 25, 1954) is an American musician, actor and filmmaker who was the founding drummer for the folk-punk band Violent Femmes. Biography DeLorenzo was born in 1954, the son of Victor and Charlotte DeLorenzo, grew up in ...
. They soon developed an enthusiastic following thanks to songs such as "
Blister in the Sun "Blister in the Sun" is a song by American rock band Violent Femmes, originally released on their 1983 self-titled debut album. In 2005, it became the first English-language track to ever be allowed on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, the Republic of ...
," "Kiss Off" and " Add It Up" (all included on their self-titled debut album). The band has experimented with a variety of sounds over the course of its career, such as country and western ('' Hallowed Ground'') and
pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and ...
(''
The Blind Leading the Naked ''The Blind Leading the Naked'' is the third album by Violent Femmes. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and released in 1986. The title is a play on the figure of speech "the blind leading the blind." ''The Blind Leading the Nak ...
''). Gano plays guitar, sings and writes most of the band's songs.


Other projects

During a Violent Femmes hiatus in the late 1980s, Gano formed a gospel-punk group called The Mercy Seat with vocalist Zena Von Heppinstall, bassist Patrice Moran, and drummer Fernando Menendez. They toured internationally for two years and released a self-titled album in 1987 on Warner Music Group's
Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative rock, alternative music, befor ...
. The album was re-released digitally in 2009 on
Wounded Bird Records Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists, including Paul Butterfield, Cactus, Herbie ...
. Gano released his first solo album in 2002, titled '' Hitting the Ground''. He shared vocal duties with Manuel Cruz, lead singer of the Portuguese rock band
Ornatos Violeta Ornatos Violeta are a Portuguese rock band from Porto. The band, often referred to simply as Ornatos, consists of vocalist Manel Cruz, bassist Nuno Prata, guitarist Peixe and drummer Kinörm, with Elísio Donas at the keyboard. Their main period ...
in the song "Capitão Romance," with Gano singing in
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
. Gano also played violin on Ben Vaughn's 1990 album ''Dressed in Black''. Gano contributed to the 2004 multi-artist collaboration '' The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered'' (alongside artists including
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
,
Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
,
TV on the Radio TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and Jale ...
and
Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...
), on which he provides a rendition of
Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...
's "Impossible Love". Gano wrote, recorded and performed with ex-members of
The Bogmen The Bogmen are an indie rock band from Huntington, Long Island, New York. The band was formed in 1993 by Billy Campion, Bill Ryan, Brendan Ryan, Mark Wike, P.J. O'Connor and Clive Tucker. Although they were signed by major label Arista Rec ...
, Billy and Brendan Ryan, under the name Gordon Gano & The Ryans. Their only album, ''Under the Sun'', was released in September 2009 on
Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul We ...
.


Acting

* Gano played Mr. Zank, the first of many substitute mathematics teachers, in an episode of ''
The Adventures of Pete & Pete ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' is an American comedy television series created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon. It centers around two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, and their humorous and surreal adventures in suburbia ...
'', entitled "X=Why?" * Gano appears as a fictional version of himself, under a love spell, in the 1997 ''
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...
'' episode "Hilda and Zelda: the Teenage Years". * Gano voiced a newborn baby singer in the 1998 animated film ''
The Rugrats Movie ''The Rugrats Movie'' is a 1998 American animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''Rugrats''. It was directed by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien and was written by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem. The film introd ...
''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gano, Gordon 1963 births American male singers Baptists from Connecticut Living people Singers from Wisconsin Musicians from Milwaukee Folk punk musicians Violent Femmes members Singers from Connecticut People from Oak Creek, Wisconsin People from Hales Corners, Wisconsin Baptists from Wisconsin American post-punk musicians Rufus King International High School alumni