'Like Jimi Hendrix and Paul Simon throw in the blender...' -UnsignedArtist.org 'Amid diverse influences, this acoustic guitarist has found his own sound.' -San Francisco Chronicle - 11/19/04 With guitar-driven songwriters like John Mayer and Jack Johnson breaking big, the sky's the limit for this 28 year-old musician. His groove-infused tunes take this fresh rock and roll sub genre to new levels of musicianship, pop appeal, and funkiness. Cas Lucas received his first acoustic guitar at age six. He soon discovered the music of guitar legends such as Robert Johnson and Jimi Hendrix. It was the virtuosity of these legendary players that inspired Lucas to make the guitar truly his own. 'Girlfriends came and went. So did Transformers, G.I. Joe, sports, ... but the guitar was always there. My favorite toy and oldest friend,' says Lucas of his life-long love affair with the instrument. Leaving his native Central Florida at age 18, Lucas studied blues history as well as composition, performance, and production at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts where he received a BA in May 2000. At Hampshire he had the good fortune of studying with legendary multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef. Lateef's influence added a new element to Lucas's playing. 'Just playing in his performance seminars showed me how broad the tonal spectrum could be within a piece of music, ' says Lucas. 'It made me want to go beyond the standard progressions of blues and rock. Yusef's compositions, concepts, and playing showed me that there really are no wrong notes.' Cas's latest release 'Giving it Back' is a full lenth CD of all original material. In addition to the multi-textured, tastefully intricate compositions present in all of Lucas's pervious work, this disc also features the guitar and vocal interplay between Cas and Hawaiian guitarist Steve Inglis. Inglis was formerly the singer/lead guitarist of Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann's House of Spirits band and has also gigged extensively with fellow-Hawaiian singer/songwriter Makana (who recently opened an entire US tour for Jason Mraz). Cas and Steve have honed a tight duet sound, performing Cas's originals at countless live shows from 2002-present. Fans from the rock, jam band, and folk/blues world alike have embraced 'Giving it Back' since it's release. Look for more, increasingly ambitious releases from this prolific guitarist/songwriter in the years to come.
