"It's fun to see the surprise on people's faces when we play something in a completely different style than they expect," says Paul Richards, a founding member of the California Guitar Trio. The group brings its solid 18 years of challenging expectations to the Columbia Festival of the Arts June 18 at the Belmont Conference Center.

"I think our diversity is one of the things that makes our performances special," he adds by telephone from his Salt Lake City home.

"The cover songs bring people into the performance and make them more receptive to the music that may not be familiar to them."

A typical set finds the trio mixing original songs with inventive covers of music by J.S Bach, the Ventures and even the group Queen. The group's version of "Bohemian Rhapsody," in fact, has become one of the trio's concert staples.

"That's one of our signature pieces," Richards acknowledges. "People are disappointed if we don't include that one."

More often, audiences are delighted to discover the variety of music that can be produced by three guys with guitars. So how did all that creativity become unleashed?

Back in 1986, while he was studying at the University of Utah, Richards had a music teacher suggest he travel to England for an intensive guitar workshop led by Robert Fripp. Fripp was well known at the time for his work as lead guitarist with the progressive rock band King Crimson.

It was while he was in attendance at that workshop that Richards met his future band mates. Belgian Bert Lams was a graduate of the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, while Hideyo Moriya of Japan was studying at the time at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Students at Fripp's Guitar Craft seminars received unique lessons in the art of performing, recalls Richards.

"To teach us how to play in front of an audience, Robert would actually book a concert somewhere. Then we would play live with him."

After several courses, Richards, Lams, and Moriya toured for some years with Fripp's organized "League of Crafty Guitarists." When the league ran its course, the three friends discovered they all wanted to go on playing together.

"We had hit it off really well, so when Bert told us he was moving to L.A., he suggested we join him there."

The California Guitar Trio was formed in 1991 and was quickly recognized for the principles picked up under Fripp.

"One of the things we learned was a technique called circulation," Richards explains. "What we do is divide the melody notes between the three of us.

"For example, there's a Bach prelude that we play where Bert plays the first note, I play the second, Hideyo plays the third, and on and on in rapid succession. That creates a very unique sound.

"I've seen other guitar groups where they just exchange solos and take turns kind of showing off what they can do individually. Our strength has always been in what we can do as a group."

The California Guitar Trio has released 12 albums -- seven studio CDs of original songs and their interpretations of classical works like Bach's Toccata and Fugue and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, plus four live albums and a Christmas collection.

On its new CD "Echoes," the band takes on such classics as the Queen tune, along with similarly inspired covers of songs by Pink Floyd and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The players have expanded their sound to include electric guitar, bass, keys and even the occasional guest vocal.

"We like to keep things interesting for ourselves, because we really believe that our excitement in the music translates to the audience," notes Richards.

Later this year, the trio will begin work on a new collection of original material. In the meantime, they are happy doing what they love most, which is performing live.

"There are some nights where I feel that everything comes together, between the audience and the music, in such a way that we are all united in a deeper way," says Richards.

"An audience doesn't fully realize how much they contribute to a performance," he adds. "When the three of us are on stage and the people at the venue are in tune with us, it gives everybody a very special energy. Some nights, I get such a buzz that it's hard for me to go to sleep afterwards. It's such a rush."

The California Guitar Trio performs at the 2009 Columbia Festival of the Arts Thursday, June 18 in lawn seating at the Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge. Tickets are $45 general, and include a buffet dinner starting at 6 p.m. The concert begins around 7 p.m. In case of rain, a special tent will be set up. Tickets are available by phone at 1-800-955-5566 and online at ww.tickets.com. For more information, call the Columbia Festival headquarters at 410-715-3089.

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user comments (1)

user dwyndal says...

There is no way anyone can get a true sense of what amazing musicians these guys are without seeing them in concert. Lawn seating is a perfect way to experience CGTrio. I promise that you will be totally blown away by the skill, concentration and precision that they exhibit. I am envious. I would love to sit on the lawn with you and listen to Bach, to Queen, to fantastic original pieces like The Marsh and Turn of the Tide, and to top the night off hear them play their unbelievable version of Pink Floyd's ECHOES. Grab everyone you know and go! You will not be disappointed. And hang around after the show and meet the band. They are great guys and love to interact with the audience after the show. If things go well you can even pick up a copy of the concert you just listened to on CD to take with you, and of course they will be more than happy to sign it for you. PS... if you want to make them smile, bring them a nice bottle of Shiraz or Merlot! Dave (known fan)

Posted 8:02 PM, 06.11.09 | Permalink