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Gary's Millennial Message

On this, the dawn of a new beginning for everybody on this little blue top spinning crazily out of control in the frozen tracts of space—I want to thank everyone who enjoys my music for their continued support, from the innermost recesses of my heart and soul. That's what I try to expose and put on the line for y'all each and everytime I play and record, and your feedback is what has sustained me over ten years now as a fulltime professional musician.

The last year of the millenium proved to be my most successful year ever—from the beginnings of an exciting new collaboration with Scandinavian superstar Sissel (thank you Rick Chertoff!); to participating in Hal Willner's tremendous Harry Smith Project in London and New York where I came into contact with so many great musicians I have long admired and dreamed of working with (Nick Cave again, The McGarrigle Sisters, Bryan Ferry, Van Dyke Parks, Eric Mingus, DJ Spooky et al.) plus meeting longtime UK supporters like Mike Barnes, Chris Bohn, Nulsh and Dick Heath and new ones like John O' Donnell; to getting the call from the French avantrock band Tanger quite out of the blue (over the Net, yet) and being summoned to Tangier Morocco to meet with them last spring, finally ending up writing on, playing on and producing their new album in Provence and London (where I was honoured to hear the great David Whittaker conduct a 30 piece orchestra in marvelous string arrangements for 6 of the songs—including one I co-wrote with leader Phillipe Pigeard—it brought chills down my spine and tears to my eyes); to collaborating once more with the double geniuses of Future Sound of London, Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans on their forthcoming audio masterpiece set now for a spring release; to touring my music in farflung places of the globe I'd never visited before, such as Corsica and France with Gods and Monsters (thank you Ernie Brooks and Jonathan Kane), Denmark, Sweden and Norway solo, and Tel Aviv Israel with The Golem (thank you Glenn Leslie); to ending the year on a very high note by playing in a production of the Downtown Messiah (based on the Handel oratorio) at the good old Bottom Line in NYC where I renewed my friendship with the great David Johansen and Richard Barone, and an excellent pair of Golem performances at a new space here called Makor where my buddy Kurt Loder showed up with his MTV posse....all in all, quite a year, and I'm still recovering from it!

So to all of you, much happiness, health and prosperity in the year ahead—I'll be here trying to drive you crazy with more music, from my heart to yours.

love,

Gary Lucas
1/1/2000

P.S. Much love and affection to Tanya Weiman, without whose long suffering efforts on my behalf you wouldn't be reading this!