Who are King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard?
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, a.k.a. KGLW, is a rock-adjacent band from Melbourne, Australia. They are known for their wide range of musical styles and their impressively large discography. Since their formation in 2010, they have released 27 studio albums and over 60 live albums, as well as the odd demo compilation / remix album now and then. In 2017 alone, they released five full-length records, and would do the same a few years later in 2022.
In their early days, their style was akin to that of garage / surf rock. You can hear this on their first EP, Willoughby's Beach, as well as their debut album. However, they took no time at all to establish their eclecticism, their second album being a "cult western audio book" written and narrated by band member Ambrose's father, Broderick Smith. They have since developed their style and have released records of genres such as prog, folk, psychedelic, jazz fusion, synth pop, blues, thrash metal, EDM, and so on . . .
One element of the band that keeps their community so engaged is that they run a special "bootlegger program," which allows anyone to make copies of and distribute select albums of their music. These bootleg-able albums include their 2017 record, Polygondwanaland, a compilation of their earliest songs, Teenage Gizzard, and almost all of their live & demo releases.
You can find King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's official website here, and you can stream / download all of their music for free on Bandcamp!
The band members
Stu Mackenzie
Stu is the driving force and lead songwriter behind King Gizzard. He sings, and most notably plays the guitar and the flute. He was one of the first three members of the band, as were Joey and Eric. He has stated that he wants to continue the band for the rest of his life, and that he would never need another musical project, because all his music can be encompassed by Gizzard. |
Joey Walker
Joseph "Walky Jake" Walker is another guitarist, and most prominent singer behind Stu. He was 1/3 of the original trio including himself, Stu, and Eric. He is also a DJ, and produces electronic music under the name Bullant. |
Ambrose Kenny-Smith
Amby is a singer, and plays the harmonica and keyboard for King Gizzard. He was the last member to join the band. He and Cookie are also members of their own band called the Murlocs. Before his involvement with King Gizzard, he was most known for being a skateboarder. |
Cook Craig
Cookie is a singer and guitarist / keyboardist for King Gizzard. Like Ambrose, he is a member of the Murlocs, and has released five albums of his own under the name Pipe-Eye. |
Lucas Harwood
Lucas is King Gizzard's lead bassist. In 2022, he started his own band, Heavy Moss, which is signed to King Gizzard's own p(doom) records. |
Michael "Mickey Cavs" Cavanagh
Cavs is King Gizzard's drummer. In 2021, he released the self-titled album "CAVS" made exclusively with percussion instruments. Motor spirits mikey drum cam fuckin rippin this shit. |
Jason Galea
Jason is the visual artist behind all of King Gizzard's albums, as well as most of their music videos & concert posters. He tours with the band, and is said to jam alongside them through manipulating the visuals displayed on stage. He is considered an honorary member of KGLW. |
Eric Moore
Eric is the only member of King Gizzard to have left the band. He was one of the original three members, as were Joey and Stu. During his involvement, he acted as the band's manager, as well as second drummer. He started the record label Flightless Records in order to self-release King Gizzard's music. on the album Paper Mâché Dream Balloon, he is credited with "nothing." |