If you go
› What: California Guitar Trio› When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4› Where: Songbirds Guitar Museum, 35 Station St.› Admission: $30› Phone: 423-521-2929
The California Guitar Trio is Hideyo Moriya, Paul Richards and Bert Lams.When someone like Robert Fripp suggests you might want to try something, you do it. You might even consider taking the name he calls the experiment as your own.
That's pretty much what Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya and Paul Richards did more than a quarter of a century ago. The three were taking Fripp's very demanding Guitar Craft course from the legendary guitarist when he suggested they should work together.
Though none of the trio are from California, Fripp called it the California Project.
It worked, of course, and the three slightly altered the name to the California Guitar Trio. The trio will be at Songbirds Guitar Museum, 35 Station St., tonight for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30, and ticketholders must be 18 or older and present a valid photo ID.
Richards said Fripp continues to be an important figure in all of their lives.
"He is one of the most unusual people I've ever met," he said. "We are very grateful for the time we spent with him."
The trio was invited to open for Fripp's own King Crimson, and they performed in the Robert Fripp String Quintet.
Richards said the three come from varying backgrounds and that is part of the reason for their success and diverse repertoire.
Richards is from Utah and his background is rock, blues, jazz and folk. Lams is from Belgium, graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels and has a love for classical music.
Moriya was born in Tokyo and has an affinity for British pop and American surf music.
It was Moriya who introduced the idea of reworking some popular, though perhaps surprising, songs as part of their setlist.
They've covered "Apache," which The Sugarhill Gang turned into an urban hit, and "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly," the theme song to a Clint Eastwood film.
Their latest album, "Komorebi," features works by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert and the Beatles. Richards said the title doesn't have an exact English translation, it refers to finding the perfect spot where the sun's rays poke through the trees in a forest.
Richards said they are looking forward to coming back to Chattanooga and seeing the guitar collection at Songbirds. They've had a relationship with Mike Dougher with the museum because he used to book them to perform at Rhythm & Brews.
"We've always enjoyed playing there and we are very excited to be coming back," Richards said.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.