Gary Lucas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gary Lucas (born June 20, 1952) is an American guitarist/songwriter/composer who was a member of
Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
's band. He formed the band Gods and Monsters in 1989. Lucas has released more than 50 albums to date as a solo artist or band leader in a variety of genres, touring internationally. Lucas has collaborated with
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
,
Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
,
John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
,
Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...
,
David Johansen David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...
, and
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
. He has also worked with
Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. H ...
,
Najma Akhtar Najma Akhtar also known as Najma (born 18 September 1962) is a British singer of Indian ancestry. She was born in Chelmsford, England. She is noted for jazz modification of the traditional Urdu Indian ghazal (love songs and spiritual songs). ...
,
DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...
,
Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...
, Amanda Palmer,
Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...
,
The Future Sound of London The Future Sound of London (often abbreviated FSOL) is a British electronic music duo composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. They have been described as a "boundary-pushing" electronic act, covering techno, ambient, house music, trip ho ...
,
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
,
Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
,
Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a ...
,
Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...
,
Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...
,
Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010. Music ...
,
Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American active singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kwe ...
,
Bob Neuwirth Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...
,
Mary Margaret O'Hara Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...
,
Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...
,
Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...
,
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
,
Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...
, Fred Schneider,
Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert event ...
,
John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing technique ...
,
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...
,
Peter Stampfel Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter. Stampfel is best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with ...
,
Damo Suzuki , better known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), is a Japanese musician who has been living in Germany since the early 1970s and is best known as the former lead singer of the krautrock group Can. Biography As a teenager, Suzuki spent the late 196 ...
,
Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...
,
Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...
,
John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...
,
Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...
,
Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...
and the No Smoking Orchestra,
Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...
,
Kip Hanrahan Kip Hanrahan (born December 9, 1954) is an American jazz music impresario, record producer and percussionist. Personal life Hanrahan was born in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in the Bronx to an Irish-Jewish family. His father left when he was 6 m ...
,
Elli Medeiros Elli Medeiros (born 18 January 1956) is a Uruguayan-French singer and actress. Career Stinky Toys Originally from Uruguay, Medeiros moved to Paris, France, at the age of 14, dropped out of high school a couple of years later and joined the ...
, Haydee Milanes, Suylen Milanes,
Los Van Van Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most im ...
, and Alabama Three. In 2020, instead of doing live performances, which was not possible due to the
COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Lucas started a Pandemic Live Streaming every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 3pm EST on his Facebook page, which has gathered fans from all over the world.


Early life

Lucas was born in Syracuse, New York. He obtained a degree in English from
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
(1974), before establishing his career in music first as a college DJ and then as music director at the college radio station, WYBC FM. According to his website, Lucas was encouraged by his father to try the guitar at the age of nine, while simultaneously studying the
French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
, and played in jazz and rock groups during his teens in the 1960s.


Career

His next album, ''The Essential Gary Lucas'' (
Knitting Factory Records Knitting Factory Records is an independent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists, including the music of deceased Nigerian political activist Fela Kuti. The label promotes a variety of music artists including A ...
), a 36-track, two-CD anthology was released in January, 2021, spanned 40 years of Lucas's music. Broadway World wrote that the album, “offers ample evidence of this maverick artist's trailblazing and unique career.... a truly epic body of work that spans psychedelic rock, film music, classical, electronica, jazz, blues, avant-garde, and world music excursions through 1930s Chinese pop, Hungarian folk, raga, and more, all unified by Lucas's virtuosic guitar and ceaselessly questing spirit.” In late October 2020, Lucas was invited with the authorization of the Dutch government to play the So What's Next? Festival in Eindhoven in the Netherlands with his live solo score accompanying the legendary Spanish Dracula on Halloween, and a new duo project with Dutch acoustic bassist and singer Peter Willems. Lucas successfully overrode the travel ban on Americans during the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic to journey to the Netherlands, the first country in Europe to get behind his music in a big way, and his shows were live-streamed on social media from the Eindhoven Muziekgebouw. While there, he recorded a new album with Willems, scheduled for 2021 release.


Le Beast Concrète

On July 1, Gary unleashed his latest project, a new electronica collaboration with producer/dj/beat master extraordinaire David Sisko.' First, up out of the box was their digital single ''Realize It'', with accompanying psychedelic animated clip by 3XA. The new single is available for streaming and download. About their new single, La Ruta (
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
) raved: "Always surprising and unfathomable, Gary Lucas (
Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
,
Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
,
John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
,
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
, etc) presents a new single with producer and engineer David Sisko combining Gary's signature guitar riffs and lines with Sisko's deep 808 trap and relentless dancefloor beats with a result that reflects the guitar player's complexity mixing genres such as blues, rock, dance, trap and avant-garde. More great reviews followed in
UnCut Magazine ''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006 ...
and elsewhere, which are collected with all the video clips to date for the projec
here.
Gary also published several articles at Please Kill Me.com during the pandemic, including an extensive piece about his relationship with
Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
(
Don Van Vliet Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a ...
) and
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
, a memoir of working on a rap record with
Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Diesel began audition ...
and Arthur Russell, and an appreciation of the Bonzo Dog Band's
Vivian Stanshall Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper ...
, the original
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
’s leader Peter Green, and the Rolling Stone’s
Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
. On September 11, 2021, Lucas celebrated his 40th anniversary in music at
Le Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space w ...
in
NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with a 2 hour show featuring Ernie Brooks,
Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...
,
Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...
and other special guests. On September 15, 2021, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine published their revised list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time which included Gary Lucas and
Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
’s ''Grace'', as featured on Jeff Buckley’s two-million selling 1994 album ''Grace''. Some of these collaborations appear on his retrospective 2000 album ''Improve the Shining Hour'', which also features his film and TV music for ''
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
'', ''
20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
,'' and ''Turning Point''. He has produced albums for composer/saxophonists
Tim Berne Tim Berne (born October 16, 1954) is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones. Biography Berne was born in Syracuse, New York, United States. He has said that ...
and Peter Gordon, and for the French avant-rock band Tanger. He co-wrote
Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...
's Grammy-nominated song "Spider Web" from her triple platinum album ''
Relish A relish is a cooked and pickled product made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs and is a food item typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a pickled cucumber jam eaten with ho ...
'' and co-wrote Jeff Buckley's anthems "
Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
" and "Mojo Pin" from Jeff's 2 million selling
Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
album, often cited as one of the Top 50 Albums of All Time.


Captain Beefheart

During his last year in high school, Lucas played for the documentary film unit of the Upstate Medical Center and wrote the musical score on his first film assignment. In 1971, he traveled down from New Haven to New York City to see his childhood hero
Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
, (Don Van Vliet) make his NYC concert debut, and later became close friends. From being a Beefheart fan, he eventually became his co-manager in 1980 with his then wife Ling Lucas, and occasionally performed on stage all over Europe and the U.S. during the 1980–81 tours with Beefheart's band, performing the difficult and complex solo guitar piece "Flavor Bud Living". After gaining his degree, Lucas played for a few years with the O-Bay-Gone Band in Taipei, Taiwan while working for his father after college. He played with them for a few years before gaining a significant step in his career during 1980–82, when he was engaged to record on two Beefheart albums released by
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
, on one of which he was full-time lead alongside
Moris Tepper Moris Tepper, sometimes credited as Jeff Moris Tepper, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and artist. Tepper first came to prominence in the late 1970s with Captain Beefheart. He has also worked with singers Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Rob ...
. Lucas performed over a period of five years with the last incarnation of Beefheart's
Magic Band The 6-meter band is the lowest portion of the very high frequency (VHF) radio spectrum internationally allocated to amateur radio use. The term refers to the average signal wavelength of 6 meters. Although located in the lower portion of t ...
. He performed as a special guest—his first appearance on an album—on Beefheart's 1980  ''
Doc at the Radar Station ''Doc at the Radar Station'' is the eleventh studio album by American band Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, released in August 1980 by Virgin Records. Packaging The album cover was painted by Don Van Vliet. It was placed at number forty-nine ...
'', which had put him on the musical map with critics and fans. He also read one of Van Vliet's poems (“One Man Sentence” or “Untitled”), and joined the Magic band on guitar (“Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles”) and bass (“Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on My Knee”). On 1982's '' Ice Cream for Crow'', he was a full Magic Band member playing twin lead guitar alongside Tepper. In 1982 he became Van Vliet's sole manager as well as a full member of Beefheart's Magic Band. After Captain Beefheart retired in the 1980s, Lucas continued to be associated with the Magic Band's former members. Several of Beefheart's former band members reformed the group, touring as the Magic Band from 2003 to 2006. Their 2007 double album and DVD, ''21st Century Mirror Men'', followed up their debut album ''Back to the Front'', which was chosen as one of the best albums of 2004 by ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...
''. In 1988, Lucas performed at New York's ''
Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
''. Shortly after, he was invited to appear at the 1988
JazzFest Berlin JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included B ...
. In 2006 Lucas co-led with saxophonist Philip Johnston an all-instrumental Beefheart tribute band, Fast 'n' Bulbous: the Captain Beefheart Project etc. Their debut album ''Pork Chop Blue Around the Rind'' was profiled on NPR and charted on college radio in the United States. In Fall 2006, they toured Europe extensively, selling out shows at the London Jazz Festival, in Amsterdam's
Bimhuis The Bimhuis is a concert hall for jazz and improvised music in Amsterdam. With an average of 150 performances a year the Bimhuis is the main stage for these musical genres in the Netherlands. In 2017 it was also a host for the 17th edition of ...
, as well as playing in
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
, Switzerland;
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and
Schwaz Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley. Location Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch a ...
, Austria; and
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. The group released its second album, ''Waxed Oop'', on
Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and electr ...
in 2008, and performed at the
Zappanale Zappanale is an annual music festival held outside Bad Doberan, a German town previously part of East Germany. The festival was first held in 1990, and the program features various bands performing the music of the late composer and guitarist ...
in Bad Doberan Germany in 2012. 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Beefheart's album ''Safe as Milk,'' and saw Lucas engaged in numerous projects to mark the occasion. This included feature coverage in MOJO Magazine that coincided with the Captain Beefheart Weekend in Liverpool, England, where Lucas served on a panel at the participating Bluecoat Gallery. In collaboration with Dutch DJ/producer Co de Cloet, the final interview given by Don Van Vliet was set to music composed by Lucas. Titled "I Have a Cat," t was commissioned by Dutch national radio NPS where it was first broadcast in 1993. Later the project was released digitally by OkayMusic, and the pair performed the work live at the Zappanale in Germany as well as at the BimHuis in Amsterdam. On February 17, 2013, Lucas led the 65-piece
Metropole Orchestra The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...
in a symphonic tribute to Captain Beefheart at the
Paradiso Amsterdam Paradiso is a Dutch music venue and cultural centre located in Amsterdam. History It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch ...
, produced by Co De Kloet. Titled T''he World of Captain Beefheart'', the concert featured soul singer Nona Hendryx (Labelle) as well as vocal contributions from Jolene Grunberg, Tom Trapp and other Dutch singers. In September 2017, the scaled-down 5-piece Captain Beefheart tribute ensemble The World of Captain Beefheart, led by Lucas and Nona Hendryx, performed an album teaser performance at the Public Theater. The self-titled album was released in November 2017 on Knitting Factory Records. January 22, 2018 saw a special multimedia performance of The World of Captain Beefheart at City Winery NYC.


Jeff Buckley/Gods and Monsters

In 1989 Lucas formed his band Gods and Monsters. He took the name from a line from the film ''
Bride of Frankenstein ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karlo ...
'': “To a new world of gods and monsters!” Originally an all instrumental jazz ensemble featuring two bass players, Lucas began writing songs and inviting singers to perform at an ad hoc basis in 1990. Lucas first met Jeff Buckley in New York at the 1991
Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...
tribute concert, mounted by producer
Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...
at St. Anne's Church in Brooklyn. Jeff Buckley stayed in New York and joined Lucas's band, Gods and Monsters. Lucas composed solo guitar instrumentals for "Rise Up to Be" and "And You Will", which later became the musical templates for "Grace" and "Mojo Pin", which Lucas co-wrote with Buckley for his popular and critically acclaimed album ''
Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
''. 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. In the film ''Greetings from Tim Buckley''] (2013), Penn Badgely plays Buckley, and Tony Award winner Frank Wood plays Gary Lucas. In May 2011, Lucas released a new studio album with Gods and Monsters, entitled ''The Ordeal of Civility''. Gods and Monsters celebrated their 25th anniversary in June 2014 with a special performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Early in 2018, Lucas performed a special concert of the dozen songs he co-wrote with Jeff Buckley. He performed with Jolene Grunberg and other singers, was accompanied by the 65-piece Metropole Orchestra at the
Paradiso Amsterdam Paradiso is a Dutch music venue and cultural centre located in Amsterdam. History It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch ...
, and the show was produced by Co de Kloet. In the fall of 2019, Lucas released ''The Complete Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas Songbook'' (Esordisco) with Italian singer The Niro (Davide Combusti). The album was recorded in Rome at the end of 2018 and featured new studio versions of all 12 songs co-written by Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas including five never before officially released. By Christmas that year, the album was voted Best Album of 2019 by Classic Rock Magazine Italia. Lucas has continued to operate Gods and Monsters on and off since 1989. Their last studio album was 2012's The Ordeal of Civility, which was produced by Talking Heads’
Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...
, who was also a group member for several years. The lineup also features Ernie Brooks (
The Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
) on bass,
Billy Ficca William Joseph Ficca (born February 15, 1950, in Delaware) is an American drummer who was a founding member of the rock groups Television and The Waitresses. Career Italian origins, Ficca was a childhood friend of Tom Verlaine (aka Tom Mill ...
(
Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
) on drums, and Jason Candler ( Hungry March Band) on saxophone. The full lineup has performed in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Austin Texas.


The Edge of Heaven

Gary has a long history working with Chinese music, stemming back to two years working for the family business in Taipei Taiwan from 1975 to 1977. In 2001, an album titled The Edge of Heaven: Gary Lucas Plays Mid-Century Chinese Pop, was released on the French government sponsored Label Bleu to wide acclaim and received rave reviews in Rolling Stone, WSJ, Chinese newspapers, and on NPR, and reached #1 on the World Charts. This album's a tribute to Shanghai pop music of the ‘30s and ‘40s. Lucas has performed live versions of this material all over the world, including well received concerts in Shanghai during the 2010 Expo Shanghai and also at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam. In 2013, Lucas performed with his 1930s Chinese pop project, The Edge of Heaven, in a sold-out show at the Fishman Space at BAM with vocalists Sally Kwok and Mo Hai Jing and his group Gods and Monsters. The project was also performed as a trio featuring Lucas, Sally Kwok, and Mo Hai Jing at the 1930 Club in Shanghai. October also saw Lucas performing in
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...
's "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" at the Gaia Arts Center in Havana. Lucas began working on a follow-up to his celebrated album ''The Edge of Heaven'' with vocalist Feifei Yang and saxophonist Jason Candler in late 2017, including a version of Lucas and Buckley's "Grace." At the annual Moon Festival, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Lucas and Yang performed with the 70-piece Asian Cultural Orchestra, including the debut of their duet of "The Moon Represents My Heart." In celebration of the Chinese New Year in February 2018, the new Edge of Heaven trio performed at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Yang and Lucas also served as judges on CCTV's "Super Baby" talent competition and a documentary about their collaborations is forthcoming on SinoVision.


Other collaborations

In the mid-90s Lucas performed with
Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert event ...
in series of duo shows and live radio broadcasts in which Barone played
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
. Barone also guested on lead vocals with Lucas in Gods and Monsters and appears on subsequent albums. In 2003–2004 Lucas collaborated with Dutch lutist Jozef van Wissem on ''the Universe of Absence'' and ''Diplopia''. They have performed live on Dutch national TV together. In 2007, Lucas collaborated on an album with underground electronic producer James R Hunter's project The Dark Poets, produced by British label manager Stevo Pearce of
Some Bizzare Records Some Bizzare Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of '' Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, the The, Neu E ...
. The album, ''Gary Lucas vs the Dark Poets – Beyond the Pale'', features an eclectic mixture of moody drum and bass, techno and rock tracks (notably "Prime Time", featuring vocals by Sarah Hilliard and James R. Hunter) as well as many early Lucas tracks and collaborations (including "Procuress from Karmelitska Street" featuring vocalist Pat Fulgoni of
Kava Kava Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi) ...
and original sketches of songs that went on to be used on Jeff Buckley's ''Grace'' album, including "
Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
" and "
Mojo Pin "Mojo Pin" is the first song on Jeff Buckley's 1994 album ''Grace''. It was written by Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas, and was first introduced on his EP, ''Live at Sin-é''. Buckley stated that the song was about a dream of a black woman. Through a ...
"). In 2009, Lucas collaborated on a world music collaboration with Indian vocalist
Najma Akhtar Najma Akhtar also known as Najma (born 18 September 1962) is a British singer of Indian ancestry. She was born in Chelmsford, England. She is noted for jazz modification of the traditional Urdu Indian ghazal (love songs and spiritual songs). ...
. Their album ''RISHTE'' combines rock, blues, folk, and
raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
, on
Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...
/World Village. It was number 4 in the European World Music charts in 2009. In 2009, he collaborated with Juan Galeano on his album ''El Peregrino'', which debuted April 2010. In 2010, Lucas collaborated with vocalist Dean Bowman on their "spiritual roots project" and gospel album, "CHASE THE DEVIL". The duo performed an amalgam of Hebrew and African American blues live in the United States and Europe. In 2013 Lucas performed in several special collaborations in late 2013, including with Mother Falcon and Amanda Palmer, with Richard Mader and Pat Fulgoni as the Ghosts of Prague at Jazz Dock, and with Toni Deszo, deBORT's lead saxophonist, at the Budapest Jazz Club. In 2014, Lucas released an album called ''Otherworld'' on Esoteric Antenna. ''Otherworld'' is a collaborative effort with
Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
of
Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...
. In 2014 ''Fleischerei: Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons,'' a collaboration between Lucas,
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
-nominee
Sarah Stiles Sarah Grace Stiles (born June 20, 1979) is an American singer and actress known for her work in Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre, Broadway theatre. She performed the role of Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut in ''Avenue Q'', and performed in the musi ...
, and Joe Fiedler, is a musical tribute to
Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...
and the jazz and swing scores that accompanied his animated work. Their public debut came at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
Cafe in November 2014. The project features Stiles as Betty Boop. An album of the songs was released on February 5, 2015 on Cuneiform Records. The album was cited as one of the best albums of 2016 in DownBeat Magazine. Lucas has collaborated intermittently with DJ Cosmo (Colleen Murphy) as Wild Rumpus. Having worked together in the Manhattan
rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
scene, their work focuses on incorporating Lucas's
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
work and various other genre influences into electronic dance music. In 2014 the duo released the double-vinyl album ''Musical Blaze-up'' on Bitches Brew. Curious Animal gave the LP a seven out of ten, saying "the international sound is the album's ... big defining feature". I House U called ''Musical Blaze-Up'' a "rawkus musical mash-up" and the video for lead single "Rock the Joint" was named BBC 6 Music Video of the Week. In 2015 Lucas's psychedelic world music trio, Pearly Clouds, released their debut album on Discovery Records on March 15, 2015. The project features Hungarian traditional folk vocalist Enikő Szabó and Serbian saxophonist Toni Dezso. Lucas traveled to England in February 2017 to produce a new album from Ed Laurie. Lucas's celebrated album ''Rishte'' with Najma Akhtar was reissued on OkayMusic, rising to #4 on the World Music Charts Europe. Fall 2017 saw the release of the album "Gary and Toni Go Nutz!", a duo recording of songs and improvisation by Lucas and Toni Dezso of Pearly Clouds, on Rare Lumiere and Okay Records. Rokus Kalapis created an animated feature to accompany the album. In 2018, he opened director Emir Kusturica's long-running Kustendorf Film and Music Festival in Serbia with two live film scores, including the formerly lost Russian fantasy short "Bound By Film" starring Vladimir Mayakovsky and Rene Clair's surrealistic "Entr'acte"; and with Emir Kusturica's Balkan gypsy ensemble The No Smoking Orchestra. Gary returned again to Serbia in July to perform at Kusturica's Bolshoi Classical Music Festival with a third live film score for the famed Russian silent comedy "Chess Fever". While in Normandy, France in 2019, Lucas recorded a new EP with French/Moroccan singer Yass Boud and producer David Konopnicki, scheduled for release in early 2021. On July 1, Gary unleashed his latest project LE BEAST CONCRÈTE, a new electronica collaboration with producer/dj David Sisko. On November 7, GARY LUCAS released a new acoustic duo project on the ZenneZ label featuring award-winning young Dutch acoustic bassist and vocalist PETER WILLEMS entitled DOUBLE DARE VOL. ONE. Gary and Peter met under the auspices of Gary’s old friend Dutch producer Co de Kloet shortly before lockdown and immediately began collaborating and recording in 2020, combining jazz, blues, folk, rock, classical and electronic music. The duo made their official live debut before an audience with a sold-out concert in Maastricht’s Lumiere Cinema, followed by an instore appearance in Hilversum, which was taped for a live broadcast on Co de Kloet’s “CoLive!" program on national Dutch radio NTR. This was followed by a concert at the Parkstad Limburg Theatre in Heerlen. DOUBLE DARE VOL. TWO, focusing on the electric side of their music, will be released digitally on February 7, 2022, followed by a CD and double vinyl release containing both volumes. Gary closed out the year of 2021 with a national Dutch radio retrospective of his work on Co de Kloet's "Co Live!" program on NTR, and four overseas concerts—solo in Tuscany, solo, and with an all-star ensemble including percussionist Lukas Ligeti in Paris, solo and duo with Peter Willems in the Netherlands, and solo acoustic on December 15 in London at regal Winfield House in Regent's Park. This was a private concert by invitation of Acting US Ambassador to the UK Philip Reeker, similar to a private concert he had arranged for Gary when he was Consul General in Milan a few years ago, where he presented Gary with an Award for Cultural Diplomacy. The year ended with ROCKDELUX, one of the most important music magazines in Spain, selecting THE ESSENTIAL GARY LUCAS as one of the best compilations of the year. Coming up in 2022, Gary will mount a special Chinese New Year edition of The Edge of Heaven with Feifei Yang at Joe’s Pub on February 1. The World of Captain Beefheart featuring Gary and the fabulous Nona Hendryx has just been tapped to play Bang On a Can’s new Long Play Festival in Brooklyn over the last weekend in April—venue, date and time TBA.


Solo tours

He has performed at the Venice Biennale, London's Royal Festival Hall, the New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center, as part of a weeklong artist-in-residency at the Quebec City Summer Festival, at the Alien artist H. R. Giger's Retrospective in Prague (home of the Golem), at Atlanta's Dragon Con 2002 (the largest science fiction festival in the world), and at the fifth annual Pop Montreal music and film festival. Other concert appearances include a 2003 concert at the Czech Embassy in Washington, D.C., by invitation of the Czech ambassador spotlighting Lucas's solo guitar arrangements of Czech classical music in honor of the 14th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. During his fourth tour of Russia in 2005, Lucas performed his original solo guitar adaptation of the Lucas/Horn score accompanying the silent classic German horror film '' The Golem'' (1920) in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and appeared on national TV before an estimated 50 million viewers, as well as being feted in the Russian edition of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''. He's played with ''The Golem'' solo globally since the live debut of the duet score he and keyboardist Walter Horn wrote for the movie in 1989 for the
Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
Next Wave Festival. Gary Lucas's January 2012 solo tour of Europe began in Spain with a program on National Basque Radio Euskadi, and a performance of the "Spanish Dracula for Bilbao's Musiketan Festival" in Sala BBK. In England, Lucas conducted his Captain Beefheart Symposium two nights in a row at Liverpool's Philharmonic and record 8 tracks in a collaboration with
Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...
at Olympia Studios. Two solo performances followed in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
and
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, Portugal, with guest performer Diana Silviera. The tour finished in Paris with a surprise performance at La Feline, and solo show at the New Morning with Cheyenne Schiavone, Beatrice Demi-Mondaine, Jean-Francis Pauvros, and Daniel Yvinec, reviewed favorably by E. Corvee in ''Politis''''.'' Lucas returned to Europe for a debut solo in
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
at the Santa Arresi Jazz Festival, and a special concert at the Paradiso in Amsterdam on September 2, 2012, in a collaboration with the
Metropole Orkest The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...
and Dutch singers entitled "The music of Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas" and featuring Italian vocalist Alessio Franchini; this coincided with publication of his first book, ''Touched by Grace—La Mia Musica con Jeff Buckley''. He then performed a week of shows in the Czech Republic, headlining Prague's Alternativa Festival solo, appearing live for three hours of interviews and performance on national Beat Radio, performing in Jablonec,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, with his "Monsters from the Id" music and film project. He also performed at Shakespeare and Company, the legendary
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
bookstore. ''Fleischerei'' was performed throughout 2016 at the Jewish Film Festival in Washington, D.C., the Porgy and Bess Jazz Club in Wien, the Boston Jewish Film Festival, the City Winery NYC and City Winery Chicago seders, as well as at the City Winery NYC klemzer brunch. Lucas headlined the Pisa Internet Festival with a solo acoustic concert at Teatro Lumiere. He also performed with guest vocalist Danae Villanueva Blanco at the Gaia Arts Center Havana Cuba in May 2016. In December 2016, Lucas reunited with members of Plastic People of the Universe, DG 307, and Urfaust at the Blues Bahnof Prague. On October 1, 2016, Lucas performed an acoustic solo concert to close the Jewish Museume of Vienna's exhibition "Stars of David." For Holocaust Remembrance Day 2017, Lucas performed solo before the General Assembly of the United Nations. A solo tour of Europe in 2017 also saw Lucas perform in Czech director Pavel Gobl's forthcoming ''The Supervision of the Interpretation of Dreams,'' as well as performances at the Varnsdorf State Theater and the Danish National Library. Lucas was honored to celebrate the 200th show at Pori, Finland's underground club Validi Karkia. In May 2018, Lucas was featured in a two-part special on Co de Kloet's "Co Live" program on Dutch radio NPO, looking back over Gary's career. That same month, Lucas embarked on a 12-date solo tour of multi-media performances in the UK titled “An Evening with Gary Lucas: From Beefheart to Buckley and Beyond. In 2020, he played a solo show at
Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...
at the Public Theater in Manhattan billed as "Gary Lucas and Frenz", which featured his Gods and Monsters band (Ernie Brooks, Billy Ficca, and Jason Candler) plus special guests vocalists Feifei Yang and Anna Podolak. In March, before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown hit the United States, he played a sold-out performance with The Golem at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. In lieu of all of his live shows being postponed both domestically and internationally, Gary began doing thrice weekly solo concerts live streaming from his apartment on Facebook, which attracted a worldwide audience.


Tribute performances

In 2013, Lucas returned to New York City to play with the Les Paul Trio and singer Jann Klose in NYC's Iridium Jazz Club, with high-profile solo appearances at (Le) Poisson Rouge and
Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...
with M'Lumbo as well as on their new release ''Popular Science'', and headlining a tribute to avant-garde band
The Shaggs The Shaggs were an American rock band formed in Fremont, New Hampshire, in 1965. The band was composed of the sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin (vocals and lead guitar), Betty Wiggin (vocals and rhythm guitar), Helen Wiggin (drums) and, later, Rac ...
at The Bell House in Brooklyn, where he performed with Gods and Monsters. The year wrapped with a trip to Havana—Lucas' fifth appearance there—where he performed three nights at the Gaia Arts Center in a tribute to Michelangelo Antonioni on the occasion of his 100th anniversary; performed live on national Radio Havana and
Radio Taíno Radio Taíno is a Cuban Spanish language radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadca ...
; and was interviewed and filmed performing live by national Austrian television ORF for a program. Additional touring in 2013 included special performances focused on well-known collaborators
Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
and
Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
. Lucas performed a tribute concert to Buckley at the Barezzi Festival in
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
, Italy, with Vinicio Caposella and Alessio Franchini, where he was also presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Lucas performed with the Metropole Orkest at the Paradiso in Amsterdam as part of "The World of Captain Beefheart", a tribute to Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet), that also featured
Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...
, Jolene Grunberg, and Tom Trapp. Lucas returned to Italy in Summer 2015, performing across the country with Italian singer/songwriter Alessio Franchini, including as part of Franchini's ''Touch of Grace'' Tribute to Jeff Buckley at the Teatro della Luna in Milan, as well as an appearance at Italian singer-songwriter Vinicio Caposella's "Moon in June Festival" in Umbria. In 2015 Lucas led Gods and Monsters as Music Director of ''A State of Grace'', a multi-artist tribute to both Tim and Jeff Buckley. The tribute saw Gary perform with singer/songwriter
Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...
,
Steve Kilbey Steven John Kilbey (born 13 September 1954) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for the rock band the Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has released 14 solo albums and has col ...
(of
The Church (band) The Church are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with New wave music, new wave, neo-psychedelia, and indie rock, their music later came to feature slower tempos and surreal soundscapes reminiscen ...
), and other vocalists over 6 nights in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and at the Brisbane Festival. In July 2012, Lucas performed live before an estimated viewing audience of 70 million on CNBC in a segment devoted to Gibson Guitars; later that summer the national French ARTE Channel interviewed him for the documentary ''Rock Attitude''. He was also interviewed and filmed performing live by National Austrian Television ORF for a program which aired in 2013. At the
Peace Hotel The Peace Hotel () is a hotel on The Bund in Shanghai, China, which overlooks the surrounding areas. The hotel has two different buildings. The Sassoon House, originally housed the Cathay Hotel and is today the Fairmont Peace Hotel run by Fairmon ...
in November 2016, Lucas and collaborator Sally Kwok performed a tribute Chinese pop of the 1930s. Later that month, Lucas performed as part of the "Hendrix in Harlem" Tribute at the Apollo Theater, alongside Fishbone, Nona Hendryx, and Ernie Isley. 2017 saw Lucas pay tribute to Buckley over two nights at Recoletos Jazz Club in Madrid alongside Mercedes Ferrer and Miryam Latrece. In September, Lucas performed a sold-out tribute to Buckley in London with special guest Mari Conti. In 2020, Lucas appeared at the legendary
Anthology Film Archives Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema.Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas (; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas' work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwi ...
, on a bill with special guests Jim Jarmusch,
Ed Sanders Edward Sanders (born August 17, 1939) is an American poet, singer, activist, author, publisher and longtime member of the rock band the Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and hippie generations. Sanders is considered to have be ...
(
The Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders. Ku ...
), and
Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert event ...
. On Sept. 11th, Gary mounted a 40th-anniversary show dating from his first-ever appearances onstage with Captain Beefheart in the fall of 1980 at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC. Lucas reassembled his longtime psychedelic band with Ernie Brooks bass (Modern Lovers), Jerry Harrison keyboards (Talking Heads), Jason Candler keyboards (Hungry March Band), and Richard Dworkin drums (World of Captain Beefheart). Special guests for the evening included former Gods and Monsters vocalists Emily Duff, Richard Barone, Felice Rosser, and Thurston Moore on guitar (Sonic Youth). The show got a major writeup in the Aquarian. Gary followed up with a Gods and Monsters 30th-anniversary show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn which featured special guest vocalists Feifei Yang and Angelica Zollo, and original Gods and Monsters members Richard Barone vocals (The Bongos) and Jared Nickerson bass (Burnt Sugar).


Lectures

Lucas has given lectures widely on the mechanics of songwriting, extensive collaborations, composing for film, and the music business at the Amsterdam Music Conservatorum,
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
(his alma mater), the
University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
,
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, and
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He has given guitar master classes since the late 1990s at such institutions as the Amsterdam Music Conservatory and in Honolulu at the
University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
. He has also lectured at
Rogers State University Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through several stages, from its foundation as a stat ...
in Oklahoma, and
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in Montreal, Canada. In 2013, Lucas gave a
TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
talked titled "Blues and the Tuning of the World." In Fall 2012, Lucas gave a masterclass and a concert in Paris with French guitarist David Konopnicki and his band at the Henri Dutilleux Music Conservatoire. In April 2014, Lucas gave a masterclass at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, with students noting that "his guitar playing and compositions were unlike anything else I have heard before" and that "he has some great ideas about life and music." December 2016 saw Lucas giving a Guitar Masterclass alongside a seminar on songwriting at
Conservatorium van Amsterdam The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...
. Lucas has also given masterclasses at the School of Jazz at the New School. While touring Mexico in 2014, Lucas was invited by the United States Ambassador to Mexico
Earl Anthony Wayne Earl Anthony Wayne (born 1950) is an American diplomat. Formerly Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Ambassador to Argentina and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan, Wayne served nearly four years as Ambassador to Mexico. ...
to perform a concert at the Benjamin Franklin Library in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
as part of the ambassador's outreach program for disadvantaged youth. Following the performance, Lucas received an official letter of endorsement and appreciation from Ambassador Wayne. Lucas returned to perform again in December 2015 and November 2016, both at the invitation of the U.S. ambassador. Lucas has continually conducted a popular symposium on his former mentor and collaborator, Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet), both in the U.S. and in Europe. The symposium focuses not only on Van Vliet's music, but also his work as a visual artist. Lucas discusses the history of Vliet's band, collaborations, personality, and techniques in addition to sharing archival footage and unreleased music. His two symposia in Liverpool in January 2012 were sold out. He presented at the Zappanale in Bad Doberan, Germany in August 2012, followed by a reunion of jazz-rock Beefheart tribute ensemble Fast 'N' Bulbous co-led by Phillip Johnston. The symposium has been given at numerous venues, including the
Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
in Brooklyn, the Independent in San Francisco,
Echoplex The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s—it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything else is measured." It was used by some of the ...
in Los Angeles, and Casa Del Lago in Mexico City, and often features notable guests, which have previously included Matt Groening, Robert Williams, Terry Van Vliet, Francis McCarthy, Gary Marker, Kristine McKenna, Bill Moseley, and many others. Lucas was named Artist in Residence at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool England in December, 2015. During this residency, Lucas performed numerous solo works and presented his new Jeff Buckley Symposium.


Media

Lucas was the subject of Klaus Totzler's documentary ''Gary Lucas in Havana'', which aired on Austrian national television ORF and on 3SAT TV in May 2013. In the last few years Lucas has been profiled in the ''
International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...
'', ''Libération'', and featured on the cover of ''
The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...
'' as well as the national Dutch newspaper ''
Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...
''. According to the Beefheart website: "Since the end of the Magic Band, he has been very prolific in his own right, solo and within a band, releasing almost an album a year since 1991. His virtuoso solo live shows are awesome in the sounds he extracts from his guitar." Lucas was a consultant for ''
Greetings from Tim Buckley ''Greetings from Tim Buckley'' is a 2012 American film directed by Daniel Algrant starring Penn Badgley and Imogen Poots. The film follows the journey Jeff Buckley took in grappling with the legacy of his late musician father, Tim, leading up to ...
'' about Jeff Buckley's early days working in New York Cityu, directed by Dan Algrant and starring Penn Badgley ("Gossip Girl") as Jeff. Character of Gary Lucas played by Tony Award-winning actor Frank Wood. Lucas plays his own guitar parts for the film. The film was released worldwide in cinemas in 2013.


Publications

2013 saw the publishing of Lucas's book ''Touched by Grace: My Time with Jeff Buckley'' published in English by Jawbone Press. In support of this, Lucas performed a string of shows in the United Kingdom, as well as two performances and signings at Shakespeare and Company in Paris. Arcana Books (Italy) published Gary Lucas' book, ''Touched by Grace—La Mia Musica con Jeff Buckley'', in September 2012
The book received excellent reviews in the Italian press
Publication was supported with several Italian in store appearances and concerts by Lucas, including Feltrinelli in
Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
, the
Fnac Fnac () is a large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its head office is in ''Le Flavia'' in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. It is an abbreviation of Fédération Nationale d ...
Megastore in Milan, and the Madame Guitar Festival in
Tricesimo Tricesimo ( fur, Tresesin) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about north of Udine. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,471 a ...
(Lucas' third appearance there). ''Touched by Grace'' was published in English by Jawbone Press in October 2013. ''Mojo'' gave the book four stars. Roy Trakin of ''Hits'' (magazine) named the book among his top 10 of 2014. In Italy, Gary was asked to write an article for Italian Rolling Stone entitled "La Via Mia in 10 Canzoni" (Gary Lucas: My Life in 10 Songs). On the occasion of Don Van Viet (Captain Beefheart)'s birthday on January 15, PleaseKillMe.com published a reminiscence by Gary of working with Don and the pair's close encounters with Frank Zappa. Gary also published several more pieces at Please Kill Me over the ensuing months, including a memory of working on a rap record with Vin Diesel and Arthur Russell and an appreciation of the Bonzo Dog Band's Vivian Stanshall, the original Fleetwood Mac's leader Peter Green, and the Rolling Stone's Brian Jones. On September 15, 2021, Rolling Stone magazine published their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time which included Gary Lucas and Jeff Buckley’s anthem "Grace"—the title track of Jeff Buckley's two-million selling 1994 album /. Lucas has written extensively, working in poetry and fiction, as well as reflections on music and his own experiences.


Reception

Lucas draws from the
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
tradition and includes styles such as
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
, world music, and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, as well as classical works. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described his guitar playing: "Gary Lucas plays guitar the way
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
painted, with dazzling displays of technique, wicked humor, and a thirst to completely refashion his art from its basic elements". Lucas has been described as a "guitarist with a global guitar" (Larry Rohter, 9 May 2011, ''New York Times'') "one of the best and most original guitarists in America" (David Fricke, 16 November 2006, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''); a "legendary leftfield guitarist" (''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 24 December 2005); "the thinking man's guitar hero" (''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', 8 January 2007), "perhaps the greatest living electric guitar player" ( Daniel Levitin) and one of "the most innovative and challenging guitarists playing today" (''
fRoots ''fRoots'' (pronounced "eff-Roots", originally ''Folk Roots'') was a specialist music magazine published in the UK between 1979 and 2019. It specialised in folk and world music, and featured regular compilation downloadable albums, with occa ...
'', March 2002). Lucas' style melds easily into rock and blues, has "avant-garde affinities", but is "not easily typecast" according to the ''Wall Street Journal''. February 2014 saw the release of ''Otherworld'', an experimental collaboration between Lucas and
Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
. The album was well received by critics, with ''MAX Magazine Italy'' writing, "Guitars, abstract landscapes, breathtaking texts (as always when a true poet as Hammill gathers in the field), spectral songs, layers, all conspire to create something unexpectedly powerful and disarming". Lucas and Hammill were featured on the covers of ''Guitar Player'' magazine and ''Rock Society'' magazine for the project, in addition to featured coverage in ''Prog'' magazine. ''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
'' gave the album four stars (out of four), and ''Uncut'' marked it seven out of ten. In support of the collaboration, Lucas and Hammill performed together at the Gouveia Art Rock Festival in Portugal and at the
Teatro de la Ciudad The (Theater of the City) was built as the (Esperanza Iris Theatre) in 1918 and is now one of Mexico City’s public venues for cultural events. The theater is located in the historic center of Mexico City on Donceles Street 36. The former Espe ...
in Mexico City. ''The Edge of Heaven'', is an album of Lucas's lush arrangements of classic Chinese pop tunes from the 1930s, with a distinctly bluesy feel. It received positive international reviews from ''Rolling Stone'' to ''The Wall Street Journal'' to the ''Hong Kong Music Weekly''. It was #1 on the World Music Charts in Canada and garnered international attention, England's '' Q'' magazine awarding it 4 stars, and ''Mojo'' writing: "It is simply gorgeous". The album was chosen as one of the best discs of the year in France's ''
Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...
'' newspaper. There was a lengthy profile for the album in ''The Wall Street Journal'', as well as an NPR interview. Lucas released an expanded concert version of ''The Edge of Heaven'' with his band, Gods and Monsters, and vocalists Sally Kwok and Mo Hai Jin, both from Shanghai. The group received standing ovations at the
Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and archite ...
in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
in June 2011. 2016 saw three new releases have a positive critical response. ''Fleischerei: Music from Max Fleischer Cartoons'', featuring Joe Fiedler, Jeff Lederer, Michael Bates, Rob Garcia, and Sarah Stiles, was named "One of the Best Albums of 2016" by
Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
and "One of the Best Indie Albums of 2016" by
Goldmine (magazine) ''Goldmine'', established in September 1974 by Brian Bukantis out of Fraser, Michigan, is an American magazine that focuses on the collectors' market for records, tapes, CDs, and music-related memorabilia. Each issue features news articles, inter ...
. ''Pearly Clouds'', an exploration of traditional Hungarian folk music, featuring saxophonist Toni Dezso and vocalist Eniko Szabo, was called "a record of spiritual longing and timeless musical transcendence" by
FRoots ''fRoots'' (pronounced "eff-Roots", originally ''Folk Roots'') was a specialist music magazine published in the UK between 1979 and 2019. It specialised in folk and world music, and featured regular compilation downloadable albums, with occa ...
and described as "unusual and compelling listening" by
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
. The acoustic folk pop collaboration with Jann Klose, ''Stereopticon'' was given four stars by
Mojo (magazine) ''Mojo'' is a popular music music magazine, magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Ascential, Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer. Following the success of the magazine ''Q (magazine), Q'', publisher ...
.
No Depression (magazine) ''No Depression'' is a quarterly roots music journal with a concurrent online publication. In print, ''No Depression'' is an ad-free publication focused on long-form music reporting and deep analysis that ties contemporary artists with the long ch ...
wrote of the record, saying "the harmonies, vocal interactions, and clear precise acoustic guitar provide the listener with enchanting listening.” 2021 finally saw the release of Gary's 40-year retrospective double album THE ESSENTIAL GARY LUCAS on Knitting Factory Records, after many delays in the previous year due to the pandemic. The critical response to date to the compilation has been tremendous, with 3 high-profile reviews in the UK. MOJO gave the album four stars, calling it an "extraordinary 2-CD retrospective." The Wire said, “There isn't a single item here that doesn't have Lucas's musical personality running through it like quartz. Essential? It's all essential." UnCut called it "A testament to the man's restless energy and imagination." The excellent media coverage continued with an hour-plus appearance on legendary music critic David Fricke's show "The Writer's Block" on the SIRIUS XM radio Feb. 10th, and an interview in Aquarium Drunkard. Gary was Artist of the Week in the second week of February on WPKN in Bridgeport Conn where his track "King Strong" rose to #3 Favorite Track of the Week. Several new clips for the retrospective album include "Out From Under" featuring Haydee and Suylen Milanes and Los Van Van, "Follow" created by Mexican animation whizzes Nadia and Anahi Rubalcava, "After Strange Gods", "Flavor Bud Living", and the latest clip, a Mandarin version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" translated and sung by Feifei Yang. On Chinese New Year Feb. Gary and Feifei streamed a special hour-long concert of their Edge of Heaven Chinese show for the Queens Public Library in Astoria.


Awards and honors

In 2009, ''Classic Rock'' named Lucas one of the "100 Greatest Living Guitarists". In October 2013, Lucas received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Barezzi Festival in Parma, Italy. Lucas was given an Acker Award for Achievement in Avant Garde Music in June 2014. The U.S. Consul General of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Philip T. Reeker, presented Lucas with the Consul General's Award for
Cultural Diplomacy Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose ...
on March 21, 2015, following a special performance and reception at U.S. Consulate in Milan. Lucas received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Premio Ciampi Festival in Tuscany, named for legendary Italian songwriter
Piero Ciampi Piero Ciampi (Livorno, 28 September 1934 – Rome, 19 January 1980) was an Italian singer-songwriter. Discography Single * 1961: ''Conphiteor/La grotta dell'amore'' ( Bluebell, BB 03044; inciso come ''Piero Litaliano'') * 1961: ''L'ultim ...
, in December 2015.


Film and television scores

Lucas has composed and performed live accompaniment for several films throughout his career, the first having been a score to the 1920 silent film '' The Golem: How He Came into the World'', composed with Walter Horn and debuted in 1989 at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
Next Wave Festival. Since that premiere, a solo, guitar version of the accompaniment to ''The Golem'' has been performed at numerous venues and festivals around the world. In Fall 2009, Gary Lucas debuted his new live program of solo guitar arrangements of famous film music at the 5th
Jecheon International Music & Film Festival Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (제천국제음악영화제, JIMFF) strives to be both a celebration of film set in Jecheon City and music for all generations and musical tastes. Jecheon is located in Chungcheongbuk province in ce ...
in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. He was also invited by the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamerica to preview his score for the Spanish version of ''Dracula'' (1931) at the 31st
Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiva ...
in Havana, Cuba. Lucas performed the European premiere of his Spanish "Dracula" project at the 9th
Transylvania International Film Festival The Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF; ro, Festivalul internațional de film Transilvania) is the first international feature film festival in Romania, which is held annually in the historic capital of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca. Found ...
in
Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...
, Romania, on May 30, 2010, in the open-air outside the Banfi Botzida Castle. Lucas returned to Cuba in December 2010 for the 32nd
Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiva ...
, and debuted a new live score accompanying a Brazilian horror classic, ''Esta Noite Encarnerei no teu Cadaver'' ("Tonight I will Possess Your Corpse"). Throughout 2013, Lucas extensively toured his live film accompaniments. His long-running live score to George Melford's '' Drácula'' was performed at the
Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival ( he, פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים, ar, مهرجان القدس السينمائي) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusal ...
, the Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood, the Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City, the
United Palace The United Palace (originally Loew's 175th Street Theatre) is a theater at 4140 Broadway in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The theater, occupying a full city block bounded by Broadway, Wadsworth Avenue, and W ...
Theatre in Harlem, Kino Aero in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, and Kino Siska in
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. Lucas's live score to
José Mojica Marins José Mojica Marins (13 March 1936 – 19 February 2020) was a Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host. Marins is also known for creating and playing the character Coffin Joe (loosely translated from Zé d ...
' "Esta Noite Encarnerei no teu Cadaver" saw its European debut at the
Melkweg Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided int ...
in Amsterdam in May 2013. Lucas has continued to perform his live film accompaniments, including ''Monsters of the Id'' at
Monsterpalooza Monsterpalooza is an American multigenre convention focusing on horror, creatures and makeup work. The convention takes place every spring in Los Angeles, California, most recently in the Pasadena Convention Center. A smaller offshoot conven ...
in Burbank, and ''This Night I will Possess Your Corpse'' at the
Wexner Center for the Arts The Wexner Center for the Arts is the Ohio State University's "multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art". The Wexner Center opened in November 1989, named in honor of the father of Limite ...
. He also premiered live accompaniment to the 1934 silent, Chinese film '' The Goddess'' in early 2014. Fall of 2014 saw the premiere of new live scores to ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'' and ''
Vampyr ''Vampyr'' (german: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Gray, lit=Vampyr: The Dream of Allan Gray) is a 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. She ...
''. In 2016, Gary performed his live solo score to
The Goddess (1934 film) ''The Goddess'' ( Chinese: 神女) is a 1934 Chinese silent film released by the Lianhua Film Company (United Photoplay). The film tells the story of an unnamed woman, who lives as a streetwalker by night and devoted mother by day in order to get ...
, originally premiered at Foundation Botin in Santander, Spain, at
Pioneer Works Pioneer Works is a non-profit cultural center in Red Hook, New York City. The center builds community through the arts and sciences to create an open and inspired world. It encourages radical thinking across disciplines by providing practitioners ...
in Red Hook Brooklyn. His live accompaniment to ''
The Exterminating Angel ''The Exterminating Angel'' ( es, El ángel exterminador, links=no) is a 1962 Mexican surrealist film written and directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Silvia Pinal, and produced by Pinal's then-husband Gustavo Alatriste. It tells the story of a g ...
'', which premiered at the Havana Film Festival in 2011, was also debuted in the United States at Pioneer Works. 2017 saw the premiere at Roulette in Brooklyn of Gary's new live score for
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
' 1938 silent classic ''Too Much Johnson.'' A new film score set to a fragment of the Russian futurist avant-garde short ''Shackled By Film'' (starring
Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...
and
Lilya Brik Lilya Yuryevna Brik (alternatively spelled ''Lili'' or ''Lily''; russian: link=no, Ли́ля Ю́рьевна Брик; née Kagan; – August 4, 1978) was a Russian author and socialite, connected to many leading figures in the Russian avant ...
was premiered at
Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...
's Kustendorf International Film Festival in January 2018. In February 2018, Lucas returned to Roulette to premiere a new live film score to a collection of short films by visionary film director
Curtis Harrington Gene Curtis Harrington (September 17, 1926 – May 6, 2007) was an American film and television director whose work included experimental films, horror films and episodic television. He is considered one of the forerunners of New Queer Cinema. ...
* '' The Golem: How He Came into the World'' with Walter Horn. * ''
The Unholy Three The Unholy Three can refer to the following: * ''The Unholy Three'', a 1917 novel by Tod Robbins * ''The Unholy Three'' (1925 film), directed by Tod Browning * ''The Unholy Three'' (1930 film), a remake of the 1925 film directed by Jack Conway * ...
'', commissioned by
Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a film society based in New York City, United States. Fo ...
). * ''
J'accuse "''J'Accuse...!''" (; "I Accuse...!") is an open letter that was published on 13 January 1898 in the newspaper ''L'Aurore'' by Émile Zola in response to the Dreyfus affair. Zola addressed President of France Félix Faure and accused his govern ...
'' with Dutch-Iranian composer Reza Namavar, commissioned by the Netherlands Holland Festival. * ''
The Exterminating Angel ''The Exterminating Angel'' ( es, El ángel exterminador, links=no) is a 1962 Mexican surrealist film written and directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Silvia Pinal, and produced by Pinal's then-husband Gustavo Alatriste. It tells the story of a g ...
'' * ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
'', the score Lucas has toured most frequently, having been performed at several film and music festivals. * ''
This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse ''This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse'' ( pt, Esta Noite Encarnarei no Teu Cadáver) is a 1967 Brazilian horror film directed by José Mojica Marins. Marins is also known by his alter ego Coffin Joe (Zé do Caixão). It is the second installmen ...
'' * '' The Goddess'' debuted at Fundación Botín in January 2014 as part of the "Golden Age of Chinese Cinema" series curated by
Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a film society based in New York City, United States. Fo ...
Director Emeritus Richard Pena. * ''
Vampyr ''Vampyr'' (german: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Gray, lit=Vampyr: The Dream of Allan Gray) is a 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. She ...
'' was premiered at
AFI Silver AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center or commonly known as AFI Silver is a three-screen movie theater complex in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, north of Washington, D.C. Its main auditorium hosts the DC Metro area's third-largest commercial ...
in fall of 2014. * ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'' premiered at
United Palace The United Palace (originally Loew's 175th Street Theatre) is a theater at 4140 Broadway in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The theater, occupying a full city block bounded by Broadway, Wadsworth Avenue, and W ...
on Halloween 2014. * ''Cinefantastique'' (solo guitar arrangements of famous film music), named one of the Top 10 Roots Albums of 2013 by the Philadelphia City Paper and Best Guitar Album of the year by Gapplegate Guitar and Bass Blog. * ''
Too Much Johnson ''Too Much Johnson'' is a 1938 American silent comedy film written and directed by Orson Welles. An unfinished film component of a stage production, it was made three years before Welles directed ''Citizen Kane'', but it was never publicly screen ...
premiered at Roulette Intermedium Brooklin in January 2017 * ''The Short Films of Curtis Harrington'', a collection of short films accompanied by a live score by Lucas, premiered in February 2017 at Roulette Intermedium Brooklyn. * ''American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi'' an award-winning documentary on
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
, directed by Sebastian Doggart, additional scoring * ''Trust Me'' (a
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
documentary, original score) * ''Bed and Breakfast 9/11'' (an award-winning documentary shown on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
) * ''The Legacy of
Jedwabne Jedwabne (; yi, יעדוואבנע, ''Yedvabna'') is a town in northeast Poland, in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, with 1,942 inhabitants (2002). It is notable for the Jedwabne pogrom of 10 July 1941, during the World War II German oc ...
'' (documentary by Sławomir Grünberg) * '' LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton'' (an Oscar-nominated Maysles Films documentary for
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, screened at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in New York as part of their Maysles Films 50 Year Retrospective;
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
wrote: "Gary Lucas'
Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
guitar music adds vivid color to this report from America's forgotten underbelly") * ''Dragon Boys'' (Canadian "movie of the week") 2007. * ''For Love and Honor'' (Erik Greenberg Anjou's documentary about American Ivy League collegiate football). * ''American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi'' (score, 2010) * In the early 2000s, Lucas performed a guitar rendition of the theme music to
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
soap opera ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
''. * "Farewell Angelina" as performed by Lucas and
Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
was featured on
Roadies (TV series) ''Roadies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Cameron Crowe. The series premiered on Showtime on June 26, 2016. On September 16, 2016, Showtime announced that the series had been canceled after one season. Cast Main *L ...
.


Selected discography

* '' Skeleton at the Feast'' (1991) * '' Gods and Monsters'' (1992) * '' Bad Boys of the Arctic'' (1994) * '' Pražská Strašidla (The Ghosts of Prague)'' with
Urfaust ''Faust'' is a tragic play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as '' Faust, Part One'' and ''Faust, Part Two''. Nearly all of Part One and the majority of Part Two are written in rhymed verse. Although rarely st ...
(1996) * ''
Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...
'' (1997) * '' Busy Being Born'' (1998) * '' @ Paradiso'' (1999) * The Du-Tels – ''No Knowledge of Music Required'' with
Peter Stampfel Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter. Stampfel is best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with ...
(2000) * ''
Street of Lost Brothers ''Street of Lost Brothers'' is an album by Gary Lucas. It was released on October 24, 2000, through Tzadik Records. Track listing Personnel ;Musicians *Ernie Brooks – bass guitar *Jason Candler – bass guitar, engineering *Pete ...
'' (2000) * ''Level the Playing Field: Early HurlyBurly 1988–1994'' (2000) * ''The Edge of Heaven'' (
Label Bleu Label Bleu is a French jazz record label founded by Michel Orier. Orier established the label in the mid-1980s in Amiens and soon after took over directorship of Amiens's cultural center, where he was able to build a recording studio. Label Bleu ...
, 2001) * '' Songs to No One 1991–1992'' with
Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
(2002) * '' Operators Are Standing By: The Essential Gary Lucas 1989-1996 '' (2003) * '' Diplopia '' with Jozef van Wissem (2003) * ''The Universe of Absence'' with Jozef van Wissem (2004) * Fast 'n' Bulbous – ''Pork Chop Blue Around the Rind'' (2005) * ''Coming Clean'' (2006) * ''Musical Blazeup'' with DJ Cosmo (2007) * The Dark Poets - ''Beyond the Pale'' (2008) * ''Chase the Devil'' with Dean Bowman (2008) * ''Rock the Joint'' with
Beardyman Darren Alexander Foreman (born 14 May 1982), better known as Beardyman, is a British multivocalist, musician and comedian from London known for his beatboxing skills and use of live looping. Early life After studying at Queen Elizabeth's Gra ...
(2008) * ''Down the Rabbit Hole'' with Gerald Zbindin (2008) * ''Purple Somersault'' with DJ Cosmo (2008) * Fast 'n' Bulbous – ''Waxed Oop'' (2009) * ''Rishte'' with
Najma Akhtar Najma Akhtar also known as Najma (born 18 September 1962) is a British singer of Indian ancestry. She was born in Chelmsford, England. She is noted for jazz modification of the traditional Urdu Indian ghazal (love songs and spiritual songs). ...
(2009) * "Music for the Eden Project" / "Q & A", solo single (2010) * ''The Ordeal of Civility '' (2011) * ''Gary Lucas Plays Bohemian Classics,'' Czech Republic (2012) * ''Popular Science'' with M'Lumbo, (Pursuance, 2013) * ''Cinefantastique'' (Northern Spy, 2013) * ''
Other World The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' ( Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwo ...
,'' duo with
Peter Hammill Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
(Esoteric Antenna, 2014) * ''Fleischerei'' (
Cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
, 2016) * ''Pearly Clouds'' (Trapeze, 2016) * ''Stereopticon'' with Jann Klose (Cosmic Trigger, 2016) * ''The World of Captain Beefheart'' (
Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
, 2017) * ''The Complete Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas Songbook'' (Esordisco, 2019) * ''The Essential Gary Lucas'' (Knitting Factory, 2021)


References


External links


Official website

Quotable Quotes about Gary Lucus

Press for The Essential Gary Lucus


* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/arts/music/gary-lucas-has-a-new-cd-the-ordeal-of-civility.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all "Songwriter with a Global Guitar"''NY Times'' Review * * *
Gary Lucas Uses Film Music 'To Shed Light On Obscure Corners Of Culture
' on NPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Gary Northern Spy Records artists American blues guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Songwriters from New York (state) Musicians from Syracuse, New York Living people 1952 births Tzadik Records artists The Magic Band members Enemy Records artists Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American guitarists Knitting Factory Records artists Label Bleu artists