Jeff Gorman, Musician
💭 Thoughts on consciously engaging with technology, Thanksgiving on the Eastern Shore, and artists who actually focus on art.
Jeff Gorman is a Virginia-based musician and the guitarist and vocalist of American rock duo Illiterate Light. Formed in 2015 with drummer Jake Cochran, Illiterate Light recently released their third album, Arches, on November 1, 2024. Alongside his music career, Gorman also manages an organic farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, where he earned a Permaculture Design Certification.
🎯 Current focus
We’re about to release our third record Arches and we’re working on bringing all of the songs from the studio to the stage. When we’re in the studio, I don’t like to impose too many limitations. I like to bounce between instruments, sounds, genres, and feels. Every song is fluid and I like to overdub a lot of parts. But then when we play live, we have intense limitations (being a rock duo) - so some songs translate with ease, but others need to be completely re-imagined. There are 2 songs in particular on the new album - “Montauk” and “Black Holes” - that are some of my favorite recordings we’ve ever made. But I have no clue how we’ll play them live. I’m really excited to figure that out. Secondly, for the last 4 years I’ve been committed to minimalist fitness training. Physical work and exercise is hugely important to me and I just bought some new kettlebell books that I’m excited to dive into. My goal is to be able to exercise on tour with a single kettlebell and a mat.
🧐 Consciously engaging with technology
I’ve been listening to and reading a lot of Kevin Kelly recently. I just ordered his book called What Technology Wants – I share the feeling that many artists feel, which is that our cultural cellphone and social media addiction needs to change. Kevin Kelly founded Wired magazine and wrote an influential blog post in the mid 2000’s called “1000 True Fans.” He’s written extensively on AI, community, technology, and the future. I spent several years working on a farm, unplugged from social media and emails, milking cows and growing my own food. My relationship with technology is constantly changing, and at this very moment I’m bringing a sense of curiosity to the future of technology. There is a concept called Transhumanism, which ultimately says that technology will fulfill what religion has (historically) promised. I don’t believe technology is going to fill the holes in our society, but I am reading a lot about where we are going as a species and I’m trying to make conscious decisions for my own life about how I engage with the new forms of tech that are emerging.
🦪 Thanksgiving on the Eastern Shore
I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Most people don’t even know the Eastern Shore exists and I kinda dig that. Harvesting oysters, cold-plunging in the Chesapeake Bay, writing, reading, just breathing in the sweet Virginia air. I spend so much time on the road and I can’t wait to have some down time there.
Nerd time – I’m a huge fan of “Integral Theory” – which aims to unify a broad spectrum of Western theories and models and Eastern meditative traditions within a singular conceptual framework. I really love the integral movement that is growing across the globe – there is a revolution in human consciousness that is happening right now. Ken Wilber’s Integral Spirituality and A Brief History of Everything are amazing.
🥁 An inspiration and a mentor
My uncle Steve Gorman has always been a huge inspiration to me. He’s a founding member of The Black Crowes (drums) and was with them for 25+ years. He left the band a few years back because of the nature of other members, but he’s always been extremely helpful to me and Jake as we navigate the music industry. And he’s a complete beast of a drummer. Love him to death.
My preferred way to consume content is Substack. I don’t use X, Tiktok, or Youtube in any sort of scrolling way. I end up a good bit on Instagram for the band. But for the most part I’ve tried to limit all social media intake. Most of it is garbage. I listen to a lot of audiobooks on Audible too because I’m often on the move. Thomas Merton, 20th century American mystic and monk, has a lot of great teachings on Audible.
🍺 N/A beer options
I’ve been paying attention to Athletic Brewing and Guinness. I personally love Guinness but I’ve also been doing plenty of booze-fasts recently, and I’ve really enjoyed all the N/A beer options that are emerging. I think Guinness 0 is incredible, and I love to see the amount of Athletic Brewing that is popping up in the music world.
🎶 Artists who actually focus on the art
Both IDLES and King Gizzard are really killing it with their online presence and marketing. I think they just focus on the music and the live show and don’t follow the trends of the moment. They just share cool moments from their shows and people want to be there. Also, Khruangbin has done a great job at that. They just post photos of fans. I love it. I’m not into the oversharing of so many artists, and am mainly attracted to the artists that actually just focus on the art.
Follow Jeff on Instagram & Substack and check out his band here.
💭 Share your thoughts ➡️ DM on IG or Email us.
✅ Make Thought Enthusiast better by filling out a quick reader survey here.
 | A guest post by
|