I don’t know about you but when I hear the name the California Guitar Trio, I expect to see three older men sitting on stools playing classical guitars. I could not have been more wrong or more impressed. There are three of them and they do all play guitar, but the California part is misleading, although they do call it home. These guys are a truly international band. Ignoring the fact that Paul Richards, Bert Lams and Hideyo Moriya are from Utah, Belgium and Tokyo respectively, these guys have traveled the world playing their music, and clearly paying attention in the process.

They played songs that they had written inspired by their travels and every take sounded authentic and real. One good example was when they played The Marsh. I could feel the English countryside in the background of their minds, refreshing the crowd with their wonderful take on a musical style that was so ancient and beautiful. It is so nice to see an ensemble playing music true to its form, regardless of what direction it will take them in.

I had an opportunity to ask Paul a few questions. I asked him about the composition process which was mind blowing. At times they switched off in the middle of a melody for as little as a measure or two and then went right back in the direction from whence they had come. He told me that they try to let things develop naturally without planning it all out too much. For our originals, we each contribute ideas and then work on the ideas together, improvising and playing with the ideas until they develop into pieces. I was also curious if they ever had trouble agreeing on pieces, as they are all from such different backgrounds, both musically and culturally. He said that we usually agree on things quite easily. If an idea doesn’t work, it is apparent fairly quickly, and we drop it. Quite frankly it got harder and harder throughout the evening to picture an idea not working when in such competent hands.

I don’t want you to think that these guys limited themselves to artsy and classical music, although they did both impeccably. They played an awesome Ghost Riders - Riders on the Storm. It was such a perfect medley of the two songs; you’d have thought that the Doors had it in mind when they penned the latter. They played Heart of the Sunrise, a Yes song that couldn’t have been fuller or more complete had Yes walked on stage to accompany them. They played a full on surf version of Walk Don’t Run by the Ventures that would have made you assume that these guys were all born and raised in Southern California. And of course, the first song of their two song encore was one of the most unbelievable adaptations of a classic song into an acoustic masterpiece that I have ever heard. They played a complete and perfect version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. It was really unlike anything else that I have ever heard.

It is said that every musician has his own voice and brings that voice with him into the sound of a group. This band may have been comprised of three different voices, but all that I could think when listening to them was that they all seemed to be coming out of the same mouth.

To be totally honest, one of the nicest parts of the evening, beyond even the band, or the totally original opening act consisting of Tom Griesgraber on the Chapman Stick and Jerry Marotta on the drums, was the venue. Or I suppose better yet, the audience. Dizzy’s bills itself as a venue without distractions or hidden agendas. They could not have summed it up better. Rarely have I been to a show where the crowd was so attentive and interested in the music and the musicians in general. People rarely spoke in the audience, and when they did, their banter was directed directly towards the stage, and whichever group of musicians was on it at the moment. It seemed like I had wandered into a family reunion of a sort, and all I have to say is that I was thrilled to be welcomed into this particular family, if only for the evening.

Josh Klemons