California Guitar Trio, the acclaimed group consisting of guitarists Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya and Paul Richards, has just issued the new studio album "White Water" on InsideOut Music America on August 17, 2004. It is California Guitar Trio's first new release since 2003's compilation "The First Decade" and first new recording since 2002's "CG3+2."
The 12 tracks on "White Water" include: "The Marsh," "Atlantis," "Skyline," "Mee-Woo," "Prelude Circulation BWV 988," "Cantharsis," "Cosmo Calypso," "Whitewater," "Led Foot," "Relative Illusion," "Red Iguana" and "Ghost Riders On The Storm."
"White Water" was produced by Tony Levin, the bassist for Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and others. Tony Levin is a longtime friend of California Guitar Trio's and an occasional collaborator. Levin and King Crimson/Mr. Mister drummer Pat Mastelotto were the "plus two" on "CG3+2."
"We wanted to go back to our basic original format on this album and focus on our own original music. "White Water" is a vehicle for showcasing our own writing," says Richards. "In the past, our albums have often been a combination of classical pieces, originals and covers. We are concentrating more on originals with this album."
Songwriting is not quite as simple for California Guitar Trio as it might seem. The reason is geography. Richards lives in Salt Lake City, Utah; Lams (a Belgium native) lives in Los Angeles, California; and Moriya lives in Tokyo, Japan.
"We had very intense writing sessions," Paul Richards says. "Some songs were written on the road during our last tour, but almost half of "White Water" was written in one week late last year while we were in Atlanta, Georgia. It's not the most convenient way to write songs, so there is always some pressure when we do get together. In some ways that pressure can be good because of the limited amount of time we have."
California Guitar Trio tours relentlessly, and that enables Lams, Moriya and Richards to road-test new material before going in to the studio.
"Songs are written beforehand but they are really developed on the road. Almost everything on "White Water" has already been played out on the road, except for one or two things that were written in the studio," explains Paul Richards. "When we are on tour we see that firsthand audience reaction to songs and sometimes we'll rework them based on the response."
One distinct advantage to having songs planned out ahead of time is the resulting efficiency once ensconced in the recording studio.
"It only took less than four days to record "White Water." We did it mostly live at Tom Mark's Make Believe Studios near Woodstock, New York. Tom engineered and mixed the album. It was a totally different experience in the studio this time because Tom has vintage analog equipment and high-end microphones. This is the first time we've ever used that in the studio. We've always recorded digitally before. It really fit in with the back-to-basics format we were after," Paul Richards says. "More patience is required with analog recording tape because you have to physically rewind and fast-forward it instead of the instant access you get recording digitally. It was unusual to see tape being cut with a razor blade and spliced together!"
"Overall, Tony Levin's job was quality control and bringing in new ideas. He is really good at analyzing particular takes. We brought in complete songs, but Tony Lvin was able to be more objective when it came to the recording and deciding ert, Moriya and Richards each take turns playing one single note in the flowing melody lines."
California Guitar Trio is planning another extensive tour to promote "White Water." Select upcoming summer concert dates feature Levin as a special guest (visit www.cgtrio.com for details). CGT tour dates include:
August 20th - Rochester, NY - Montage Grill
August 21st - Rochester, NY - Montage Grill
August 23rd - Chautauqua, NY - Chautauqua Institution
August 25th - Hollywood, CA - Knitting Factory
August 26th - Goleta, CA - Mercury Lounge
August 27th - Irvine, CA - Third Eye Gathering
August 29th - Oceanside, CA - MiraCosta College Theater
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