DVD Rating Audio: A Video: A Extras: A Overall: A

Since I first saw the California Guitar Trio back in 2000, I have been incessantly bugging all friends, neighbors, and radio-land audiences to go to a CGT show. The Trio (Hideo Moriya, Paul Richards, and Bert Lams) amazed me at their first show and the following three concerts have been increasingly impressive. Their completely unique brand of progressive instrumental music has always been both engaging and immediately accessible. Now at long last, the world has gained some visual evidence of the CGT’s fantastic live show, as well as an inventive look at the individuals themselves.

"Following The Music – On The Road With The California Guitar Trio" is a solid documentary by director Scott Lambson of Stone Chapel Films. Lambson followed the CGT on several tours across the globe and filmed both live shows and plenty of behind-the-scenes action. The documentary itself is about an hour in length and the content deals with the individual members, the history of the CGT, the legendary live show, and of course, the music. Despite a somewhat quiet overall mix, the music is used well. Some hallmark CGT pieces create a compelling soundtrack for the documentary sections, which are entangled with live performances.

While watching the documentary, the quiet professionalism of the CGT really becomes apparent. These aren’t your typical overly glorified musicians. They are three men that have worked hard at their craft, both in private and on the road as a unit, and their fans have taken notice. Interviews with fans, friends, and musicians such as Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, and Tom Griesgraber highlight the excitement that surrounds even the most remote CGT show. Concerts in clubs, theaters, coffeehouses, and even churches garner attention from the growing CGT fanbase, many of whom are musicians themselves.

The other main attraction on this DVD is the archived CGT performances from the past decade. This feature contains some great performances from such varied locales as LA, Japan, Norway, Canada, and England. Also of worth is the short piece “Return To Claymont Court” (in which the CGT return to the place of their first Guitar Craft courses) as well as the interview with director (and Paul’s brother-in-law) Scott Lambson.

This DVD will entertain the ardent CGT fan, or make one out of a casual viewer. So for those of you out there preaching the good word of the CGT: Buy this disc, invite everyone you know over, and enjoy.

Also, the long-awaited new CGT studio work entitled Whitewater will be released on August 23 through Inside Out Music in America.

Review by Dustin Wall
August 10, 2004