03/01 8:00 PM & 10:00PM - $25.00

Gary Lucas solo

A world class guitar hero, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and composer, an international recording artist with over 20 acclaimed solo albums to date, and a soundtrack composer for film and television, GARY LUCAS is on the move in 2011. He was just profiled in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the International Herald Tribune to coincide with the May 2011 release of his psychedelic supergroup Gods and Monsters new studio album “The Ordeal of Civility”, produced by Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) and distributed by Sony/Red, which is receiving rave reviews everywhere—including 4 Stars in the upcoming MOJO. He was just invited to perform July 20th at the Grammy Museum in LA as part of their “Great Guitar” Series—previous participants include George Benson, Richard Thompson, George Thorogood and Jonny Lang. Gary is in the midst of recording a new album in Havana with the cream of young Cuban musicians, including Haydee and Suylen Milanes, daughters of legendary Cuban singer/songwriter Pablo Milanes, and the #1 Cuban dance band Los Van Van. He’s just wrapped recording the debut album of his psychedelic dance music project Wild Rumpus with his partner Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy, and their latest 12 inch vinyl single “Cloudhopping” sold-out its first pressing in one week. He rocked the 48^th New York Film Festival last fall with the US premiere of his Spanish “Dracula” project performing his original solo guitar score live to accompany a screening of the legendary 1931 film. His debut of the project last year was a significant hit at the 31^st Havana Film Festival, and he repeated this success at the Transylvania International Film Festival last spring. He received a standing ovation for his Spanish “Dracula” score at the Spanish premiere at the 7th Sevilla Film Festival in Nov. 2010 and followed that with a triumphant UK premiere of the work at Queen Elizabeth Hall closing the London Jazz Festival, which netted Gary a 4 star review in The Guardian. Last year he made successful performing debuts in China, Cuba, the Canary Islands, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico alongside his usual relentless touring in Europe and North America. He was recently cited as one of the “100 Greatest Living Guitarists” by Classic Rock magazine (UK). His latest album, a collaboration with Indian vocalist Najma Akhtar, made #4 on the World Music Charts Europe and the pair just returned from a European tour that garnered a 4 star review in The Financial Times. He recently returned from a second acclaimed appearance in Cuba at the 32nd Havana Film Festival in December 2010 where he debuted his new live score accompanying Jose Mojica Marins (Coffin Joe)’s 1967 Brazilian cult horror classic “Esta Noite Encarnerei no teu Cadaver” (This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse), and he will perform the US premiere of his new score with the film at the LatinBeat Festival at Lincoln Center this August. He is also taking his Captain Beefheart Symposium on the road to NYC, Boston, LA and SF to celebrate the visionary genius of his late mentor Don Van Vliet, and he is bringing his Symposium to Pop Montreal this September. He’s also performing at and organizing tributes to his late friend and collaborator Jeff Buckley in Italy and America. He just released his first ever coloured vinyl single “Music for the Eden Project” on 5nakefork Records. He is scheduled to perform at the Zappanale in Bad Doberan, Germany and at the Rochefort Festival in France in August. And his new live expanded concert version of his celebrated album of arrangements of 30’s Chinese pop, “The Edge of Heaven”, featuring his band and two female vocalists he auditioned in Shanghai last year, just received standing ovations at both the 64th Holland Festival in Amsterdam and the Nijmegen MusicMeeting in early June.

Dubbed “The Thinking Man’s Guitar Hero” by The New Yorker, “The world’s most popular avant-rock guitarist” by The Independent (UK), “Legendary Leftfield guitarist” by The Guardian (UK), “Guitarist of 1000 Ideas” by The New York Times, “a true axe God” by Melody Maker, and “One of the five best guitarists in the world” by the national Czech newspaper Lidove Noviny, the British world music magazine fRoots recently described Gary Lucas as “without question, the most innovative and challenging guitarist playing today.” Rolling Stone’s David Fricke wrote: “Gary Lucas is one of the best and most original guitarists in America…a modern guitar miracle.” Best-selling author/producer Dan Levitin (“This Is Your Brain On Music”) recently cited Gary as “the greatest living electric guitarist”.

Gary Lucas tours the world relentlessly both solo and with several different ensembles, including his longtime band Gods and Monsters, whose ranks once included the late singer Jeff Buckley. Gary co- wrote two of Jeff Buckley’s most famous hits, “Grace” and “Mojo Pin”, which opened Jeff’s double platinum Sony album “Grace”, which MOJO magazine named the #1 Modern Classic Rock Album. Their early collaborations can also be heard on the Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas album “Songs to No One”, which charted internationally with worldwide sales approaching 100,000. Other notable Lucas albums include his recently reissued 2001 album “The Edge of Heaven”, an album of Gary’s lush arrangements of 30’s Chinese pop songs, which made #1 on the World Music charts and received rave reviews around the world. A new production based on the album will premiere at the Holland Festival in June 2011. Gary’s compilation of the best of his early band and solo work entitled “Operators are Standing By” garnered a 4-star MOJO review: “This album confirms Gary Lucas as THE psychedelic guitarist for the post-modern set.” Most of Gary’s extensive back catalog as well as his current releases were recently licensed for digital distribution by IODA, and are now available on iTunes and digital portals worldwide.

Gary continues to lead his longtime NYC-based band Gods and Monsters, a psychedelic super-group  based around Gary’s guitar playing, singing, and songwriting, featuring Billy Ficca (Television) , Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers)., Jason Candler (Hungry March Band) and Joe Hendel (Gods and Monsters). They recently played a Live Nation sponsored 20^th Anniversary Show in NYC, and have a new live DVD and studio album wrapped, produced by Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) due out in spring 2011.

Gary Lucas makes his home in NYC.    http://www.garylucas.com