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, show tunes, and gospel.

[2] Older siblings from his parents' previous marriages living in the NYC area exposed young Gordon to such influences as The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Brian Eno, Patti Smith, Jonathan Richman, and The B-52's.

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. and the poetics of Patti Smith.

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.