"Gods and Monsters are a power trio reborn. Founding guitarist Gary Lucas, longtime bassist Ernie Brooks and drummer G. Calvin Weston bring a combined lifetime in legacy and exploration — Captain Beefheart and Jeff Buckley; the Modern Lovers and James Blood Ulmer; etc. — to their psychedelic verve and nuclear improvisation. Three decades after those first gigs at CBGB and the old Knitting Factory, Gods and Monsters still sound like the living late-show spirit of the Fillmore East."
— David Fricke (Writer/editor for Rolling Stone, MOJO, Sirius XM Radio)
"One of the best and most original guitarists in America...a modern guitar miracle"...
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"Gods and Monsters are a power trio reborn. Founding guitarist Gary Lucas, longtime bassist Ernie Brooks and drummer G. Calvin Weston bring a combined lifetime in legacy and exploration — Captain Beefheart and Jeff Buckley; the Modern Lovers and James Blood Ulmer; etc. — to their psychedelic verve and nuclear improvisation. Three decades after those first gigs at CBGB and the old Knitting Factory, Gods and Monsters still sound like the living late-show spirit of the Fillmore East."
— David Fricke (Writer/editor for Rolling Stone, MOJO, Sirius XM Radio)
"One of the best and most original guitarists in America...a modern guitar miracle"
— Rolling Stone
"The Thinking Man's Guitar Hero…an A-list musician"
— The New Yorker
"One of the 100 Greatest Living Guitarists"
— Classic Rock Magazine
"Gary Lucas plays guitar like Salvador Dali paints…guitarist with a global beat."
— New York Times
"I could listen to you play for hours, Gary…beyond cool"
— Lou Reed
"Magical guitarness...I carry Gary in my fingers"
— One-time Gods and Monsters bandmate Jeff Buckley
Elysium Furnace Works is thrilled to announce one additional concert for our epic 2025 season when we present one of the world's greatest guitarists in a blazing new configuration of a long-running project: Gary Lucas' Gods and Monsters. A very brief list of Lucas' past musical associates includes: Captain Beefheart, Jeff Buckley, Leonard Bernstein, Lou Reed, John Cale, Patti Smith, Chris Cornell, Bryan Ferry, Nona Hendryx, Bob Weir, among countless others.
Gods and Monsters has been Lucas' baby since 1989, and has featured such luminaries as Gary's late friend and songwriting partner Jeff Buckley, as well as Matthew Sweet, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Jonathan Kane, and many others. In 2024, after a hiatus of several years, Lucas decided to put a new lineup together. A lean mean machine, a psychedelic jazz-rock power trio / jam band that would rival any of the classic rock bands and fusion jazz groups in sheer fire power, skill of execution—and most importantly, great songs—Gods and Monsters features Lucas on guitars and vocals, Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers, Arthur Russell) on bass and vocals, and G. Calvin Weston (Ornette Coleman/Prime Time, James "Blood" Ulmer, John Lurie/The Lounge Lizards/Painting with John) on drums and percussion.
Opening for Gods and Monsters will be the Hudson Valley guitarist and Director of Jazz Studies at SUNY New Paltz, Mark Dziuba leading his quartet.
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