Gordon's psychedelic first single, "Fortified Grapes," is beginning to spread its rainbow-colored vibes across radio, and now the Los Angeles-based band will head home for a little R & R after its recent stint of East Coast dates.

As radio begins to catch on, Gordon is preparing to debut its new video for "Fortified Grapes," a clip that was shot by director Mark Racco and features the band frolicking around an L.A. water duct.

Gordon has undergone numerous personnel changes since first forming in 1997 as a part-time side project -- as lead singer Chris Dye (who replaced original vocalist Devin Kamin) and bassist Greg Evanski were both veterans of the Dashboard Prophets, keyboardist Dave Sobel logged time in Sonic Boom, and drummer Lance Porter was a member of several local groups, including Frosted.

When Gordon first inked a deal with 57 Records and 550 Music in '98, many of its L.A. counterparts took issue with the fact that the group secured the contract on the basis of a demo they had recorded over six months -- and especially because the members of the band had never played a live gig together.

"All the friends in town that play in all these other bands are just looking for any reason to dis you," Evanski told MTV News recently, "right off the bat. Just dismiss you."

"There's a lot of player haters in Los Angeles," Sobel added.

"Well, I'm a player hater myself," interjected drummer Lance Porter, who joined the band earlier this year, well after the "Gordon" album was recorded with producer Brendan O'Brien. "But I wasn't unhappy for you guys. I didn't even know you guys existed."

"I was getting the same kind of feedback that I would probably give to a band that got signed without playing a show," Evanski admitted. [RealAudio]

The recent touring with Fuel and Buckcherry has strengthened the group's chemistry, as indicated by the blistering live sets the band has been delivering on the current mini-tour, and Sobel believes that despite the naysayers and the high turnover rate, Gordon remains intact and on the rise.

"Gordon today is a different band than when it first started out a couple of years ago," concluded Sobel, "and that's what matters."

During the upcoming downtime, Gordon plans to demo some material for its next record, as the refurbished band has been rolling out several new cuts during its live set. Gordon will then head back out on the road in September for more touring.