Episode 227 - Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon has been entertaining music lovers throughout Central New York for over three decades. Beginning in the early 90’s, Jeff fronted the all original band, Free at Last, who were semi-finalists for the Yamaha National Songwriters Competition and Jeff received a nomination at the very first SAMMY awards for Best Rock Vocalist.

Jeff then became lead singer for Joe Bonamassa and toured the east coast opening for many blues legends including B.B. King and Buddy Guy.

Upon Jeff’s return to the Syracuse area, Jeff was offered unique opportunities to keep his hand in music including a foray into musical theater which included four highly successful mountings as Joseph in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”.

Jeff’s comeback to live music in the early 2000’s paved the way for the formation of Hard Promises, known as Central New York’s top classic rock band. Hard Promises’ tribute to Tom Petty’s music has solidified their presence on major festival stages across CNY. This annual Tom Petty Tribute show, the largest and longest running in New York State, now attracts over 1,800 attendees to the Vine Theater at the del Lago Resort every fall.

In 2021, Hard Promises performed on the nationally syndicated show, “Tribute Wars USA”. Hard Promises has opened shows for Loverboy, Cheap Trick, Starship, and Brett Michaels.

Jeff was fortunate to perform with Benny Mardones’ Hurricanes (Into the Night) from 2016 until his retirement from music, and he also had the privilege of joining Eddie Money’s backing band on multiple occasions in New York. In both cases, Jeff moved seamlessly from frontman to rhythm guitarist and primary harmony vocalist able to cover vocal parts spanning four octaves.

The magnetic pull of creating original music drew Jeff back, resulting in the release of his first full-length solo album, Local Boy, in 2021. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2021 Syracuse Area Music Awards. On “Local Boy”, Jeff played most rhythm guitars (some lead), bass on several tracks, and sang all lead and backing vocals.