Copyright © 1997-2006, Chronosynthesis Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.
Here is an interesting photo that I just came across while cleaning out some old files. Look...Bert has hair! Not many people know that the CGT was originally to be the California Guitar Quartet. A very fine guitarist by the name of Steve (JJ Bones) Jolemore was the 4th member. The story goes something like this: during the final US tour of the League of Crafty Guitarist in the Fall of 1990, at our first show of the tour in Seattle, Robert Fripp asked Bert, "Who would you really like to play with?" I suppose that RF had a sense that this was going to be one of the last LCG tours and hoped that some of us might continue working together on our own. Bert was one of the better players in the LCG, with a very strong commitment towards his relationship with music. If something was going to continue beyond the LCG, Bert was a likely character to make it happen.
After writing out several lists of various sub groupings of LCG members (and throwing these first lists away), Bert finally arrived at a list with just 3 names, Hideyo Moriya, Steve Jolemore and Myself. Bert approached each of us and asked us if we were interested in doing a project together. Without really knowing what the project might be like, I liked the idea of playing music with these guys, so I agreed, as did Steve and Hideyo. During our free time on the tour, we began working on music together. One of the common interests that the four of us shared was classical music. At a library in one of the cities (it may have been Portland) on the tour, we found a score of a four part cannon from J.S. Bach. We each learned a part as quickly as we could and began performing this piece as part of the LCG set.
I recall a moment while working on my part of the Bach piece. I was in a backstage bathroom practicing away (on the LCG tours with 12 or more guitarists, it was difficult to find spaces to practice) and RF walked in and said, "So, you have finally decided to take your playing seriously!" I don't think that it was that I didn't take things seriously with the LCG, but playing with Bert, Steve and Hideyo gave me some kind of extra impetus to help kick things up a few notches.
This final US tour with the LCG was divided into two legs, a West Coast leg, and an East Coast leg. In between the two legs of the tours, back at what was home base then at Claymont Court, near Charles Town West Virginia, Bert, Hideyo, Steve and I began making a plan for the project. Bert was just moving with his new wife and baby to his wife's native home of Los Angeles. Bert suggested that we all meet together there in January of 1991 to begin working together. We all agreed and named this the California Project and RF began calling us the California Boys.
We knew that in order to get "gigs" we needed a photo and a demo tape and a name. We had recorded several pieces, including the Bach Cannon back in Boulder, Colorado at a venue called Tulagi's, and took the above photo outside the "Bottom Line" in New York City. In choosing name, we agreed upon the California Guitar Quartet in anticipation of being based in Los Angeles. I personally also liked the name because I knew of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, who are known as excellent players in the classical world and I hoped that we could aspire to this level of quality.
Despite our work in making the CGQ project happen, towards the end of the LCG tour, Steve Jolemore began voicing some concerns about joining us in Los Angeles. His two main concerns were health and money. Steve had carpel tunnel syndrome in his left wrist and was considering surgery. This is a musicians nightmare. On top of the health issues, Steve was also worried by the fact that it was very likely that we would make very little if any money playing gigs during our first year together (he was right!). After the final LCG US tour had ended (I think it was Nov. of 1990) and after a series of phone calls encouraging him to join us, Steve officially bowed out of the project. It would have been very interesting to see what the four of us could have done together as Steve is a great player.
Bert, Hideyo and I met at Bert and Diane Lams house on Bronson Ave in Hollywood at the end of January 1991 and the California Guitar Trio was officially born. It soon became obvious that perhaps this was in fact the magical combination, and there wouldn't have even been enough room to fit Steve J. into Bert's tiny house, or fit him and his gear into the CGT touring car that carried us from gig to gig during our first 4 years together touring around Los Angeles and the West Coast. We soon took new pictures, recorded new demo tapes and away we went.
We saw Steve again years later when the CGT was opening for Crimson in Washington DC. Last I heard, he is still teaching guitar lessons in Norfolk, Virginia. Best wishes to you Steve!