Gold Dust Lounge is the brainchild of guitarist/composer, Russell Mofsky. His music is an amalgamation of his eclectic influences, and spans the gamut from surfey jazz to cool lounge noir to punk-meets-old time Americana. Often joined by an array of guest musicians/singers, no two Gold Dust Lounge shows are alike. Mofsky’s music has a cinematic flair and recalls the films of Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, and Ennio Morricone. He takes familiar sounds and references and bends them into something that reverberates with the wild and exotic. The inside of Mofsky’s head is like a tour of your cool neighbor’s garage, the one with the recording studio in it. There are guitars and amps, old skateboards and surfboards, Miles Davis albums next to those of Debussy and Sonic Youth, a console TV set once home to “Gilligan’s Island,” “Bonanza,” “Hogan’s Heroes” and “Lawrence Welk,” some Bettie Page pictures, fliers from an assortment of Brooklyn and Silver Lake bars, a poster for “A Fistful of Dollars” and a roll-up movie screen that might have flickered with 16mm scenes from “Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women.” Gold Dust Lounge's self-titled album, "Gold Dust Lounge," was nominated for Best Instrumental Album of 2019 by the Independent Music Awards.
“There are, of course, many South Florida sounds, but if we had to be defined by just one, Gold Dust Lounge feels about right. Russell Mofsky and his band have created a special rhythm that glows like a flickering old TV or the nostalgic neon of a Miami Beach go-go Lounge.” -Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel
“Led by Miami scene vet, Russell Mofsky, whose local punk pedigree bleeds through the surfabilly edges of his new project, Gold Dust Lounge’s sound is a loops- and effects-laced take on jazz, trip-hop, surf, and more....” -Arielle Castillo, New Times
“…A fusion of wailing ambient instrumentals stamped with retro surf rock and acid jazz.” -Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel
“...the world is such a postmodern, postcolonial jungle that in order to make sense of anything you’ve got to be thinking globally….Global economies, global trends, global crises. And global music. The collapse of cultural segregation — thank the Internet — has created some curious crossbreeds when it comes to how we humans construct and compose sound….Gold Dust Lounge slinks and swaggers through subgenre favorites such as surf rock, spy-movie soundtracks, and spaghetti western film scores, with a dose of wandering groove to keep the audience feeling loose.” -Matt Pereira, New Times Crossfade
“With the release last month of Wynwood Bootleg, Gold Dust Lounge confirmed itself as the gallery district’s unofficial house band. The songs on Wynwood Bootleg all have a surf core but reach out with instinctive tentacles to natural, unexpected territory.” -William Alton, Beached Miami
“Described as Ambient Rock, Spy-Fi, and Exotica Surf Rock, among other catch phrases, Gold Dust Lounge carves a unique musical path. Led by guitarist, Russell Mofsky, the band’s reverb drenched and loop-laden instrumentals reflect influences from Punk Rock to Noir film soundtracks…Gold Dust Lounge cuts quite a unique musical path through the turntable dominated South Florida music scene. With influences ranging from surf guitarist Dick Dale, to 60s-era Miles, Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead and ECM Records, Gold Dust Lounge creates spacious, cinematic musical expressions.“ -Ed Bell, WLRN, 91.3FM
“WOW…REALLY COOL TUNES..VERY ATMOSPHERIC AND A HUGE SOUNDING GUITAR TONE!! I WISH YOU WERE STILL AROUND HERE MAN…I’VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR ANOTHER GUITAR PLAYER FOR THE FATHOMS! -"Cranky” Frankie Blandino (The Fathoms)
“In between sets, we were treated to Gold Dust Lounge, a three-man band with psychedelic guitars and swayingly jam-band-worthy, highly instrumental tracks. At times, we felt like we were on the beach in the ’60s, other times at Woodstock.” -Christina Borges, New Times
"From a slight distance, the trio’s music — ambient instrumentals laden with reverb and often performed at an unhurried pace — can sound as fragile as smoke rings.” -Jake Cline, Citylink Magazine
“…Shoegaze Americana…”-Overheard at Churchill’s Pub