Jay Gordon
Encyclopedia
Jay Paul Gordon is a producer, journalist and lead singer of rock alternative band Orgy
, Gordon is the vocalist in the synth-industrial band
Orgy
, which rose to prominence through their signing to Korn
's fledgling label, Elementree Records, their appearance on the first Family Values Tour
, as well as mainstream reaction to their cover of New Order
's signature song, Blue Monday
. His enigmatic, glam-styled appearance and energetic stage presence have been major factors contributing to his popularity, turning him into a pop music pinup of sorts.
, and had collaborated with a few other popular rock musicians on a project called The Wondergirls
. He has collaborated with several musicians during his musical career such as Jonathan Davis
of Korn and the bands Crazy Town
, Coal Chamber
, and Linkin Park
. Gordon has also worked extensively with Coal Chamber as the producer of their first self-titled album. Gordon and Coal Chamber's Meegs used to share an apartment before their respective bands grew in popularity. He is also the producer for the bands Hello Machine and Eye Candy, and is one of the vocalists in the band Trick Factory. All three bands are based out of Los Angeles.
, would prove to be a huge success, primarily fueled by the popularity of Blue Monday, as well as that of their first single, Stitches. The band would release singles of both during this period, which would contain numerous remixes of the songs, some of which were created by Gordon himself, a trend which would continue to occur throughout all of Orgy's subsequent single releases.
In 2000, Orgy released their second full-length album, Vapor Transmission
, which, despite gaining a quite respectable sales performance, did not repeat the wild success of its predecessor.
. Drummer Bobby Hewitt left the band in order to join his brother Fab Fernandez in the group Snake River Conspiracy
, although he would eventually return. It would be four years between the release of Vapor Transmission and Orgy's third album, 2004's Punk Statik Paranoia
.
In 2002, he performed the song Slept So Long for the Queen of the Damned soundtrack, due to contractual limitations which restricted composer Jonathan Davis from performing the vocals to his composed songs as they appeared upon the actual soundtrack (although Davis did, in fact, perform all musical tracks within the movie itself). Gordon has also appeared with his band Orgy on other soundtracks such as Zoolander
, which featured the previously unreleased song Faces. Jay also remixed "Points of Authority", a song by Linkin Park
from their album Hybrid Theory
, for the latter's remix album Reanimation
. This was entitled "Pts.OF.Athrty", which was released as the first and only single of Reanimation, and has achieved moderate success at the Billboard
charts.
In 2004, he voiced several characters for the PC game "Vampire the Masquerade" Bloodlines.
. In March 2009, Gordon produced a five song E.P. with the band Settings from Buffalo, NY.
Jay is the producer of the group Trick Factory.
Gordon provided composition assistance to the band Escape The Fate
's third album
.
In October 2010, after six years of silence about Orgy, the news suddenly hit. All members of Orgy (save Jay Gordon) collectively brought accusations against Gordon of having "fired the band." In response, Jay released this statement to the public.
"This has NOT been about breaking up the original band ORGY.
"I owned the name ORGY and licensed it to the band at the beginning.
"Although Ryan [Shuck, guitar], Amir [Derakh, guitar], and I had been talking about ORGY touring this summer (which now has come and gone), it didn't feel to me that was going to happen. JULIEN-K [which features Ryan and Amir] had decided to go on tour to Europe instead.
"Now that everyone is working on different projects (some have SEVERAL), I needed to be able to move forward to revive the ORGY brand. In order to make that happen, for legal reasons, I had to send them a letter to inform them that as of October 26, 2010 the partnership would be terminated. In the letter I stated that if we were to tour, that everyone would still be paid equally, with no changes. So honestly, I can't see how they would arrive at what they wrote.
"Everyone has been so busy with their different projects I figured this was the only way for me to continue on with the name. I started this band, and I don't want to let it fall to the wayside completely.
"They mentioned being my brothers, so I am a little confused on why they did not call me about the situation before putting out a press release, implying things based on speculation that simply aren't true."
, deadmau5
said that he got the idea of using his mouse head from Gordon, after one day he was "talking with him (Gordon) online and I showed him my logo, and he said 'Dude, if you ever do live stuff, you've gotta make that as a head and wear it."
Orgy (band)
Orgy is an American synth rock band formed in 1996, from Los Angeles, California. Orgy described their music as "death pop".-History:Orgy was formed in 1996 by vocalist Jay Gordon and guitarist Ryan Shuck. Bassist Paige Haley, guitarist Amir Derakh, and drummer Bobby Hewitt soon completed the line-up...
Early life
Originally from the Excelsior District of San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Gordon is the vocalist in the synth-industrial band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Orgy
Orgy (band)
Orgy is an American synth rock band formed in 1996, from Los Angeles, California. Orgy described their music as "death pop".-History:Orgy was formed in 1996 by vocalist Jay Gordon and guitarist Ryan Shuck. Bassist Paige Haley, guitarist Amir Derakh, and drummer Bobby Hewitt soon completed the line-up...
, which rose to prominence through their signing to Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
's fledgling label, Elementree Records, their appearance on the first Family Values Tour
Family Values Tour
The Family Values Tour was created by the band Korn in 1998 to be an annual rock & rap tour.The tour began in 1998 and would take the year off in 2000, due to heavy competition from other tours, such as the Anger Management Tour and the Summer Sanitarium Tour. After a four year hiatus, the Family...
, as well as mainstream reaction to their cover of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
's signature song, Blue Monday
Blue Monday (New Order song)
"Blue Monday" is a single released in 1983 by British band New Order, and later remixed in 1988 and 1995. The song has been widely remixed and covered since its original release, and became a popular anthem in the dance club scene.-Background:...
. His enigmatic, glam-styled appearance and energetic stage presence have been major factors contributing to his popularity, turning him into a pop music pinup of sorts.
Previous and outside projects
He previously worked as a musician with the bands Lit and DeadsyDeadsy
Deadsy is an American synth rock band from California. The band is known for its visual iconography and signature characteristics assigned to each band member. Each musician is identified by a specific color, stage name, and graphic tied into the band's theatrical nature. The band has released...
, and had collaborated with a few other popular rock musicians on a project called The Wondergirls
The Wondergirls
The Wondergirls were a short-lived rock supergroup and side project formed in 1999. The band featured Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Ian Astbury of The Cult, Shannon Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars, Jay Gordon and Ryan Shuck of Orgy and Julien-k, Doug Ardito of...
. He has collaborated with several musicians during his musical career such as Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Houseman Davis is the lead vocalist and frontman for the nu metal band Korn. Davis was ranked 16th on Hit Parader 's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".-Early life:...
of Korn and the bands Crazy Town
Crazy Town
Crazy Town is a rap rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer. The band is best known for their 2001 single, "Butterfly", which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart...
, Coal Chamber
Coal Chamber
Coal Chamber is an American alternative metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993. Prior to Coal Chamber, Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón formed the band She's In Pain in 1992. The two decided to create Coal Chamber. They disbanded in 2003 after ten years together, but announced a reunion in...
, and Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
. Gordon has also worked extensively with Coal Chamber as the producer of their first self-titled album. Gordon and Coal Chamber's Meegs used to share an apartment before their respective bands grew in popularity. He is also the producer for the bands Hello Machine and Eye Candy, and is one of the vocalists in the band Trick Factory. All three bands are based out of Los Angeles.
1996-2000
Orgy's first release, 1998's CandyassCandyass
Candyass is the debut album of the rock band Orgy. It was released on August 18, 1998.- Track listing :# "Social Enemies" – 4:05# "Stitches" – 3:18# "Dissention" – 3:31# "Platinum" – 3:42# "Fetisha" – 4:02# "Fiend" – 4:29# "Blue Monday" – 4:26...
, would prove to be a huge success, primarily fueled by the popularity of Blue Monday, as well as that of their first single, Stitches. The band would release singles of both during this period, which would contain numerous remixes of the songs, some of which were created by Gordon himself, a trend which would continue to occur throughout all of Orgy's subsequent single releases.
In 2000, Orgy released their second full-length album, Vapor Transmission
Vapor Transmission
Vapor Transmission is the second album by American synthrock band Orgy. It was released on October 10, 2000.Some packages of this album included an enhanced CD that contained a demo version of the song "Stitches," a remix, and a video for the single "Fiction ." The aforementioned single received...
, which, despite gaining a quite respectable sales performance, did not repeat the wild success of its predecessor.
2000-2004
The period following the release of Vapor Transmission proved to be a tumultuous period for the band. Orgy left Elementree and Reprise RecordsReprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
. Drummer Bobby Hewitt left the band in order to join his brother Fab Fernandez in the group Snake River Conspiracy
Snake River Conspiracy
-Former members:*Martina Axén *Bobby Hewitt *Neil Taylor *Eric Hendrikx *Fab Fernandez *Tobey Torres *Mitch Doran...
, although he would eventually return. It would be four years between the release of Vapor Transmission and Orgy's third album, 2004's Punk Statik Paranoia
Punk Statik Paranoia
Punk Statik Paranoia is the third album by the synth rock band Orgy. It was released on February 24, 2004.The album's style is a big departure from the industrial and electronic sound that was present in Candyass and Vapor Transmission, leaning more to a nu-metal sound similar to bands like Korn...
.
In 2002, he performed the song Slept So Long for the Queen of the Damned soundtrack, due to contractual limitations which restricted composer Jonathan Davis from performing the vocals to his composed songs as they appeared upon the actual soundtrack (although Davis did, in fact, perform all musical tracks within the movie itself). Gordon has also appeared with his band Orgy on other soundtracks such as Zoolander
Zoolander
Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
, which featured the previously unreleased song Faces. Jay also remixed "Points of Authority", a song by Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
from their album Hybrid Theory
Hybrid Theory
Hybrid Theory is the debut album by American rock band Linkin Park, released on October 24, 2000 through Warner Bros. Records. The album was a huge commercial success, having sold over 10 million units in the United States alone as of 2010 and peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 while also...
, for the latter's remix album Reanimation
Reanimation
Reanimation helped the many underground hip-hop artists that it featured reach a larger audience, as well as changing the nature of the work so significantly that it could be considered an entirely new album...
. This was entitled "Pts.OF.Athrty", which was released as the first and only single of Reanimation, and has achieved moderate success at the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts.
In 2004, he voiced several characters for the PC game "Vampire the Masquerade" Bloodlines.
Present
He currently owns and runs the record label D-1 Music with his father Lou Gordon, from which he produced and released Punk Statik Paranoia, as well as releasing their DVD, Trans Global Spectacle DVDTrans Global Spectacle DVD
Trans Global Spectacle is a documentary DVD released by Orgy after the release of their last album Punk Statik Paranoia, directed and edited by Bobby Hewitt and his company Image Industry...
. In March 2009, Gordon produced a five song E.P. with the band Settings from Buffalo, NY.
Jay is the producer of the group Trick Factory.
Gordon provided composition assistance to the band Escape The Fate
Escape The Fate
Escape the Fate is an American post-hardcore band from Las Vegas, Nevada formed in 2005 and originally from Pahrump, Nevada. They have released three EPs and three full-length studio albums. Dying Is Your Latest Fashion was the band's debut album and only album to feature vocalist Ronnie Radke...
's third album
Escape the Fate (album)
Escape the Fate is the third studio album and major label debut by American post-hardcore band Escape the Fate, the second with vocalist Craig Mabbitt. It is the band's first album released on Interscope Records following their departure from Epitaph. It was released worldwide on November 2, 2010...
.
In October 2010, after six years of silence about Orgy, the news suddenly hit. All members of Orgy (save Jay Gordon) collectively brought accusations against Gordon of having "fired the band." In response, Jay released this statement to the public.
"This has NOT been about breaking up the original band ORGY.
"I owned the name ORGY and licensed it to the band at the beginning.
"Although Ryan [Shuck, guitar], Amir [Derakh, guitar], and I had been talking about ORGY touring this summer (which now has come and gone), it didn't feel to me that was going to happen. JULIEN-K [which features Ryan and Amir] had decided to go on tour to Europe instead.
"Now that everyone is working on different projects (some have SEVERAL), I needed to be able to move forward to revive the ORGY brand. In order to make that happen, for legal reasons, I had to send them a letter to inform them that as of October 26, 2010 the partnership would be terminated. In the letter I stated that if we were to tour, that everyone would still be paid equally, with no changes. So honestly, I can't see how they would arrive at what they wrote.
"Everyone has been so busy with their different projects I figured this was the only way for me to continue on with the name. I started this band, and I don't want to let it fall to the wayside completely.
"They mentioned being my brothers, so I am a little confused on why they did not call me about the situation before putting out a press release, implying things based on speculation that simply aren't true."
Trivia
In a recent interview with MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, deadmau5
Deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman , better known by his stage name deadmau5 , is a Canadian progressive, electro, and house producer based in Toronto...
said that he got the idea of using his mouse head from Gordon, after one day he was "talking with him (Gordon) online and I showed him my logo, and he said 'Dude, if you ever do live stuff, you've gotta make that as a head and wear it."