Gary Lucas :: gods and monsters

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#222222" LINK="#000000" VLINK="#444444"> <HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>Untitled</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#FFFFFF" LINK="#000000" VLINK="#444444">  <TABLE WIDTH=100% BORDER=0> <TR><TD NOWRAP ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP><IMG BORDER=0 WIDTH=184 HEIGHT=36 ALT="Gary Lucas" ALIGN=LEFT SRC="/www/grfx/gl_head.jpg"> </TD><TD NOWRAP ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=middle><IMG SRC="/www/gods/godsheader.jpg" BORDER=0 WIDTH=184 HEIGHT=36> </TD></TR> </TABLE> </BODY></HTML> <HR><BR> <HTML><HEAD> <TITLE>Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters</TITLE></HEAD> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#3F3F3F" VLINK="#444444">  <BR> <TABLE CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT> <TR><TD WIDTH=1 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="/www/pict/image/0705amst4.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=1 SRC="/www/pict/image/0705amst4.jpg" WIDTH=275 HEIGHT=183></A></TD></TR> <TR><TD WIDTH=275 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gods & Monsters in Amsterdam, May 2007<BR>(l-r: Jerry Harrison, Ernie Brooks, Jason Candler, Billy Ficca, Gary Lucas)<BR> photo by Arjen Veldt</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE> <FONT SIZE=5><B>Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters</B></FONT> play intense psychedelic art-rock centered around the formidable virtuosity and Grammy-nominated songwriting of former Captain Beefheart/Jeff Buckley guitarist and songwriter <B>Gary Lucas</B>: <BLOCKQUOTE> <B> "THE THINKING MAN'S GUITAR HERO...AN UNDERGROUND ROCK FAN'S DREAM TEAM"<BR>       --The New Yorker<BR><BR> "THE GROUP IS MIND-BLOWING!"<BR>       --Time Out New York<BR><BR> "YOUR BAND IS REALLY AMAZING!"<BR>       --Mike Lang, founder of the original Woodstock Festival, after seeing Gods and Monsters perform at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on October 6, 2007 </BLOCKQUOTE> Gods and Monsters is an avant-rock supergroup/jamband featuring Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart, Jeff Buckley) on guitars and vocals; Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) on keyboards and vocals; Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers) on bass and vocals; Jason Candler (Hungry March Band) on alto sax; and Joe Hendel (Gods and Monsters), trombone and keyboards.<P> Scheduled for release in spring of 2008 is the new live double-sided Gods and Monsters DVD/CD "One Man's Meat" -- recorded at CMJ in NYC and mixed in 5.1 surround sound by Jerry Harrison.<P> Scheduled for release in fall 2008 is a new Gods and Monsters studio album, produced by Jerry Harrison.<P> Check out a clip of "Swamp T'ing" <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdvUB5QdPTo" TARGET="_blank">here</A> -- a track from the forthcoming Gods and Monsters live DVD/CD.<P> Check out a rave review from Variety of Gods and Monsters live <A HREF="http://garylucas.com/www/rvw/rvw_07.html#VARI0107" TARGET="_blank">here</A> -- and reviews of the band live at SXSW 2007 <A HREF="/www/quots/qtsLIVE.shtml#SXSW" TARGET="_self">here</A>. </B><P> <TABLE CELLSPACING=10 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT> <TR><TD WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="http://garylucas.com/www/pict/image/07melk7.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=1 SRC="http://garylucas.com/www/pict/image/07melk7.jpg" WIDTH=240 HEIGHT=159></A></TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH=240 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters live at the Milky Way, Amsterdam, 5/2007<BR>photo by Arjen Veldt</FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="http://garylucas.com/www/pict/image/07melk6.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=1 SRC="http://garylucas.com/www/pict/image/07melk6.jpg" WIDTH=240 HEIGHT=159></A></TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH=240 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters live at the Milky Way, Amsterdam, 5/2007<BR>photo by Arjen Veldt</FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="http://static.flickr.com/53/131432820_829eb9d39f_b.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=1 SRC="http://static.flickr.com/53/131432820_829eb9d39f_m.jpg" WIDTH=240 HEIGHT=180></A></TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH=240 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters (l-r: Ernie Brooks, Billy Ficca, Gary, Carole and Jerry Harrison, Jason Candler, Natasha Pliousnine), St. Petersburg, Russia 4/11/06<BR> photo by Alexei Pliousnine (hosted by <A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/" TARGET="daughter">flickr</A>)</FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><P> <B>Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters</B> current album <b><a href="/www/disc/clean/cleanDESC.html" target="_self">Coming Clean</A></B> was unleashed last year on Mighty Quinn Records in the US, Canada and Japan; on Side Salad/Universal in the UK; in France through Productions Speciales; in the Benelux through DAWA Records; and in Russia on Exotica Music; and will be released in Germany and Scandinavia in January 2008.<P> It has received uniformly excellent reviews worldwide, with 4 star reviews in <A HREF="/www/rvw/Gods_and_Monsters_Mojo_Nov2.jpg" TARGET="_self">MOJO</A>, <A HREF="/www/rvw/uncut_11_06.jpg" TARGET="daughter">Uncut</A> and <A HREF="/www/rvw/rvw_06.html#RECOL" TARGET="_self">Record Collector</A>, a rave from David Fricke in <A HREF="/www/rvw/rs_10-16-06.jpg" TARGET="daughter">Rolling Stone</A>, and raves in <A HREF="/www/rvw/krinein.pdf" TARGET="daughter">Krinein</A> (France), <A HREF="/www/rvw/rvw_06.html#CROSS" TARGET="_self">Crossroads</A> (English translation), <A HREF="http://www.tokafi.com/newsitems/cd-feature-gary-lucas-gods-and-monsters-coming-clean/view" TARGET="daughter">Tokafi.com</A> and <A HREF="http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/12/14/061422.php" TARGET="daughter">blogcritics.org</A>. Below are excerpts from some of these reviews:<BR><BR> <TABLE CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT> <TR><TD WIDTH=1 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="http://static.flickr.com/37/125219469_fd7866bad1_o.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=1 SRC="http://static.flickr.com/37/125219469_fd7866bad1_m.jpg" WIDTH=240 HEIGHT=157></A></TD></TR> <TR><TD WIDTH=240 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters, 2006 (l-r: Billy Ficca, Ernie Brooks, Gary, Jerry Harrison, Jason Candler)<BR> photo by Dave Bias (hosted by <A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/" TARGET="daughter">flickr</A>)</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE> "GARY LUCAS IS ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST ORIGINAL GUITARISTS IN AMERICA--A MASTER SYNTHESIST OF DEEP BLUES, AVANT-ROCK AND MADRIGAL-LIKE FOLK WHO WAS A VITAL MEMBER OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEART'S LATE-PERIOD MAGIC BAND AND AN EARLY MUSICAL PARTNER OF THE LATE JEFF BUCKLEY. LUCAS IS ALSO A SONGWRITER OF ESTABLISHED INVENTION--HE CO-WROTE BUCKLEY'S SIGNATURE SONGS 'GRACE' AND 'MOJO PIN'--AND HIS LATEST ALBUM 'COMING CLEAN' MADE WITH HIS BAND GODS AND MONSTERS IS AN ACTION-PACKED INTEGRATION OF HIS GIFTS. HE PLAYS ASTOUNDING GUITAR THROUGHOUT, BUT ALWAYS FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG."<BR>       --Rolling Stone, 11/16/2006<BR><BR> "4 STARS--LUCAS' SONGS CARRY HIS CHARACTERISTIC WARMTH AND WIT...AND THE BAND--WHICH FEATURES BILLY FICCA FROM TELEVISION ON DRUMS, EX-MODERN LOVER ERNIE BROOKS' BASS, AND ONE-TIME TALKING HEAD JERRY HARRISON ON PRODUCTION DUTIES--ARE A FORMIDABLE UNIT. HIS GUITAR PLAYING IS SUPERB THROUGHOUT--WHEN HE LETS FLY IT'S BREATHTAKING."<BR>       --MOJO (UK), 10/2006<BR><BR> <TABLE CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT> <TR><TD WIDTH=1 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="http://www.garylucas.com/www/pict/image/gmnew2.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=1 SRC="http://www.garylucas.com/www/pict/image/gmnew2.jpg" WIDTH=294 HEIGHT=200></A></TD></TR> <TR><TD WIDTH=294 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gods and Monsters (l-r: Gary Lucas, Ernie Brooks, Billy Ficca), NYC, 10/2004<BR>photo by Dave Bias</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE> "4 STARS--HIS PLAYING CAN BARELY BE CONTAINED, SPEEDING AND BURNING WITH INTENSITY AT ALL TIMES."<BR>       --Uncut (UK), 12/2006<BR><BR> "4 STARS--RISK-TAKING HAS LONG BEEN A FULL TIME JOB FOR GARY LUCAS. GODS AND MONSTERS ARE A SUPERGROUP FROM THE NEW YORK UNDERGROUND IN MUCH MORE THAN NAME. 'COMING CLEAN' TREATS ALL WHO VENTURE ITS WAY TO AN UNSETTLING RIDE THROUGH A LANDSCAPE OF EXPRESSIONISTIC BLUES CREATIONS, ART-ROCK, AND BURSTS OF RAMPANT PSYCHEDELIA. REVELATORY IS THE WORD."<BR>       --Record Collector (UK), 12/2006<BR><BR> <B>Gods and Monsters</B> has been Lucas' baby since 1989, and has featured such luminaries as <A HREF="http://www.jeffbuckley.com/" target="daughter">Jeff Buckley</A> and <A HREF="http://www.matthewsweet.com/" target="daughter">Matthew Sweet</A>. In Gods and Monsters, Lucas' exceptional songwriting talents get a thorough workout, and with the help of Ernie, Billy, Jerry, Jason and Joe, Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters becomes an all-out jam, blowing the roof off of virtually every show they play.<P> For Booking:<P> <B>Panache Booking</B><BR> Agent: <B>Michelle Cable</B><BR> <SCRIPT TYPE="text/javascript">  </script> <NOSCRIPT> <em>Email address protected by JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript.</em> </NOSCRIPT><BR> 415-246-5405<BR> <A HREF="http://www.panacherock.com/" TARGET="_blank">www.panacherock.com</A> <HR NOSHADE> <TABLE CELLSPACING=10 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT> <TR><TD WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="http://www.garylucas.com/www/pict/image/gmnew1.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=0 SRC="http://www.garylucas.com/www/pict/image/gmnew1.jpg" WIDTH=204 HEIGHT=300></A></TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH=204 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gods and Monsters (l-r: Gary Lucas, Ernie Brooks, Billy Ficca), NYC, 10/04<BR>photo by Dave Bias</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE> <B>Gary Lucas</B> put the first version of <B>Gods and Monsters</B> together in 1989 as an all-instrumental aggregation, who made their debut at the <B>Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival</B> in Prospect Park. <BR> <TABLE CELLSPACING=5 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT> <TR><TD ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="http://static.flickr.com/47/136591274_69de7902c9_o.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=1 SRC="http://static.flickr.com/47/136591274_69de7902c9_o.jpg" WIDTH=300 HEIGHT=193></A></TD></TR> <TR><TD WIDTH=308 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gods and Monsters go for the glory at Brestkaya Club, Moscow, Russia, April 2006<BR>photo by Ekaterina (hosted by <A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/" TARGET="daughter">flickr</A>)</FONT> </TD></TR> </TABLE> <P>Envisioning a loose collective of instrumental (and later vocal) provocateurs along the lines of groups like Material and The Golden Palominos, Lucas dubbed his band of merry pranksters Gods and Monsters from a line of dialogue in the 1932 horror film classic "The Bride of Frankenstein" (mad scientist Ernest Thesiger toasts the equally mad Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive): "To a new world of GODS AND MONSTERS!" -- a line of dialogue that Gary sampled and played during these early shows). The group then featured two bassists, <B>Paul Now</B> and <B>Jared Nickerson</B>, and drum ace <B>Tony "Thunder&#34 Smith</B> (Jeff Beck, Lou Reed, Nina Hagen). <P>Realizing that despite the positive response he received he would need to develop his songwriting in order to expand his audience beyond the rock / jazz / experimental / instrumental crowd, Lucas began writing his own twisted brand of art-pop songs and bringing in male and female singers (and even a rapper and scratcher!) to augment his live shows. <P>The results can be heard on two albums he recorded for Enemy Records, 1992's <A HREF="http://www.garylucas.com/www/disc/gods/godMAIN.html" target="_parent"><B>Gods and Monsters</B></A> ("4 stars,&#34 Rolling Stone) and 1994's <A HREF="http://www.garylucas.com/www/disc/bad/badMAIN.html" target="_parent"><B>Bad Boys of the Arctic</B></A> ("Lucas reinvents Led Zeppelin III,&#34 Guitar Player), reissued as the compilations <A HREF="http://www.garylucas.com/www/disc/oper/operMAIN.html" target="_parent"><B>Operators are Standing By</B></A> (Knitting Factory) and <A HREF="http://www.garylucas.com/www/disc/level/levelMAIN.html" target="_parent"><B>Level the Playing Field</B></A> (Last Call). <TABLE CELLSPACING=10 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT> <TR><TD ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=BOTTOM><A HREF="/www/pict/image/kf11-06-4.jpg" TARGET="daughter"><IMG border=0 SRC="/www/pict/image/kf11-06-4.jpg" WIDTH=300 HEIGHT=200></A></TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH=308 ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=TOP><FONT SIZE=1>Gods and Monsters get serious at the Knitting Factory, Plastic People show, 11/13/06 (Jerry Harrison, Gary, and Ernie Brooks--not pictured, Jason Candler and Billy Ficca)<BR>photo John Bentham</FONT> </TD></TR></TABLE> Among the talented members who have passed through the ranks of Gods and Monsters are singers Rolo McGinty (Woodentops), <A HREF="http://www.matthewsweet.com/" target="daughter">Matthew Sweet</A>, drummer Keith LeBlanc, Sonya Cohen, <A HREF="http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPagesO/ohara.html" target="daughter">Mary Margaret O'Hara</A>, Dina Emerson, <A HREF="http://richardbarone.com/" target="daughter">Richard Barone</A> (The Bongos) <A HREF="http://www.jeffbuckley.com/" target="daughter">Jeff Buckley</A>, and longtime drummer <A HREF="/www/gods/godsKANE.shtml" target="daughter">Jonathan Kane</A>. <P>The title song of Jeff Buckley's album <B>"Grace"</B> and the first track "Mojo Pin" were both co-written by Gary Lucas who also played on both tracks. Both were originally in the Gods and Monsters songbook of 1991-92. "Grace" was recently named the #1 Modern Classic Album in MOJO magazine, over albums by U2, Radiohead, and others.<BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <CENTER> <TABLE CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 BORDER=0 BGCOLOR="#909090" WIDTH="95%"> <TR BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <TD ALIGN=right><FONT SIZE=1>Click <SCRIPT TYPE="text/javascript">  </script> <NOSCRIPT> <em>Email address protected by JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript.</em> </NOSCRIPT> to contact us. </FONT></TD></TR> <TR BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <TD ALIGN=right><FONT SIZE=1>Copyright &#169 1996-2008 by Gary Lucas. All rights reserved.</FONT></TD> </TR> <TR BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <TD ALIGN=left><FONT SIZE=1>Page design by <A HREF="http://www.abbydigital.com/" TARGET="_blank">a b b y d i g i t a l a n i m a t i o n</A>.</FONT></TD> </TR> </TABLE> </CENTER><BR>  </BODY></HTML> <CENTER> <A HREF="http://www.garylucas.com/cgi-bin/imagemap/www/glbuttons.map"> <IMG SRC="/www/grfx/glbuttons.gif" ISMAP BORDER=0 WIDTH=440 HEIGHT=72></A></CENTER><BR> </BODY>