SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- When Mike Gordon wore electric blue lipstick at a Phish show last July, he didn't expect the commotion it would cause.

Of the four members of Phish, bassist Gordon may be the glammiest. With his threadbare scarfs and swirl of silver hair, his fashion choices often light up music forums for better or worse -- and people went nuts over the blue lipstick.

Fans wrote think pieces suggesting the blue lips meant Gordon felt "dead inside." Some said he was paying tribute to the late David Bowie. One blog incorrectly reported it was a campaign to bring awareness to nitrous oxide abuse. Blue lip T-shirts sold for $24.50.

But it didn't have a deeper meaning at all.

"I just like trying new things," Gordon told syracuse.com. "The drummer Simon Lott has a really interesting way of dressing. I saw him wear bluish-greenish lipstick in a picture, and thought I could do that...to mix it up."

But when you're part of an internationally-known jam band with a rabid fanbase, every little choice spurns on waves of reactions, discussions and criticism.

It's overwhelming. That's why Gordon has spent more than a decade using another band as his creative outlet. It's his safe place to experiment musically, away from the masses who want to hear "Fluffhead" and "Waste."

Separately from Phish, Gordon tours with guitarist Scott Murawski, percussionist Craig Myers, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter.

They will play the Westcott Theater on Friday, to perform new music from the new album "OGOGO," which dropped on Sept. 15. It's Gordon's fifth solo album, following 2014's "Overstep," 2010's "Moss," 2008's "The Green Sparrow" and 2003's "Inside In."

Gordon chatted with syracuse.com about the new album's messages, his favorite character on "The Simpsons" and how his own band taught him to care about lyrics as much as notes.

In pursuit of balance

Many "OGOGO" songs (like "Whirlwind," "Equilibrium," "Up and Down" and "Pendulum") suggest Gordon is searching for balance. The lyrics unpack attempts to find his center and stop swaying from extreme to extreme.

"I could walk down the street and think, 'Oh, I'm a rock star!' but I realize how fallible that is," Gordon said. "The second I think that is when I'll trip on the curb and fall on my face and everyone will be laughing at me."

While producing the album, he also thought often about the balancing act in his own relationships.

"It can be so nice with a friend or spouse or daughter, and then all of a sudden we're pulling each other's hair out," he said.

But fans don't need to worry about Gordon's relationships, particularly those with his popular jam bandmates. He's simply digging into the ups and downs of life. That's why he loves the song "Pendulum," which opens with the line, "Thank you for letting me break down."

"When we played that song on tour, I thought every molecule of my soul was vibrating in honesty with what we were singing," he said. "If there's even a tiny inkling of a lie in the lyrics, I can't sing it."

Mike Gordon will perform on Friday at the Westcott Theater. He will play a free, three-song show and sign autographs at The Sound Garden on Thursday. (Provided photo)

Fans who listen to "OGOGO" will notice a clear departure from Phish's long jams. Gordon keeps his solo work light and funky, with gentle vocals and lots of ambient, aural warping.

It's easy to tell each song once had a simple, normal tune, before churning through the Mike Gordon sound factory.

For instance, "Crazy Sometimes" could have been a Taylor Swift hit, if it wasn't so...off. Gordon even re-recorded some songs by playing them through a tin can.

"We wanted to be a little more experimental than before, down to the instruments, down to the hi-hat," Gordon said.

Meet Mike Gordon at Sound Garden

Gordon will arrive in Syracuse early this week, before his Friday concert.

On Thursday, Sept. 28, Gordon will play a short, three-song show at The Sound Garden (310 W. Jefferson St.) in Armory Square. The free show will take place at 1 p.m. Space is limited.

Fans who purchase "OGOGO" on vinyl or CD at The Sound Garden will get a wristband that guarantees them entry to the performance and autograph signing. You must have a wristband to be part of the autograph session.

The Sound Garden also has a contest to win a rare test pressing of "OGOGO" with a drawing Gordon made of "The Simpsons" on the cover.

Phish and "The Simpsons" have an ongoing friendly relationship. The band occasionally slips in a few bars of the "The Simpsons" theme song into their shows. Creator Matt Groening is a Phish fan and even brought in the band for a "Simpsons" cameo in season 13.

"Once we [he and Groening] drove around on a golf cart at a Phish show and he drew little Barts for people," Gordon said.

Currently, he and his daughter Tessa are breezing through every season of "The Simpsons" on Amazon Prime. Gordon's favorite character on the show is the baby, Maggie.

"I like when people don't have to rely on language to be funny," he said. "I have a great relationship with Tessa now, but before she learned to talk, her facial expressions were magical."

After all, nonverbal communication made up most of Gordon's career. Onstage, his bass lines did all the speaking.

"For many years, I didn't even hear lyrics," he said. "There are Beatles songs or even Phish songs I've heard 800 times, but I couldn't tell you the lyrics if my life depended on it. I knew they were important, but I couldn't recall them."

When he became his own band's songwriter, he started listening harder to lyrics. He began to read poetry.

"Doing a 15-minute jam where you reach Nirvana by the end of it -- that's the world I come from, with more notes than words," he said. "Now I'm getting those same elated feelings from what words can do. I've been basking in that."

See Mike Gordon at Westcott Theater

Where: 524 Westcott St., Syracuse.

When: Friday, Sept. 29 at 9 p.m.

How much: Tickets are $27.50 online. All ages are admitted. Gordon's last show at the Westcott sold out, so buy tickets early.

Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook

