All that funk and jazz guitarist Will Bernard ever wanted was to be like his musical heroes.
"I wanted to be (Jimi) Hendrix," Bernard said during a telephone interview from his Berkeley, Calif., home. "I mean, when I was growing up, I was into the Beatles and Hendrix. And I thought playing the guitar would be a cool way to impress girls.
"The problem was, when I first started playing guitar, all I had was an acoustic with nylon strings. I couldn't figure out how to get feedback like Hendrix did."
Will Bernard and his band Motherbug — keyboardist Michael Bluestein, bassist Keith McArthur and drummer Jan Jackson — will perform tonight at the Lazy Moon Pub, 32 Exchange Place. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the music is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. Admission is $6 at the door.
Bernard said that as he matured, other musical influences found their way into his playing. "In high school, I got into a lot of jazz," he said. "I listened to a lot of Pat Martino, John Mclaughlin, Jim Hall and Wes Montgomery. And at my school in Berkeley, there was a jazz program that I got into. It's funny how I wanted to listen to music that was hip, and then I switched and tried to find as much obscure music as I could during my jazz phase."
Bernard began playing around the Bay area, and in the early 1990s, found himself on a couple of T.J. Kirk albums — which also featured guitarist Charlie Hunter. In fact, the 1997 release "If Four Was One," was nominated for a Grammy. "Through those sessions, I met more people and played on maybe eight or 10 albums," he said.
Motherbug said his self-titled album, released in 2000, was a little project that Bernard considers his "labor of love." "At first it wasn't about getting the music out as much as it was just making music. At this point, it's been very grass roots. And only now I'd like to expand and have people know about it. I'm very happy with the band, and I want to let more people know who they are."
In keeping with this vision, Motherbug has played the Monterey, North Sea and San Francisco Jazz Festivals. It has also been involved with Bumbershoot, High Sierra, Be-Bop & Brew, New Orleans and Montreal Festivals.
"It's happening with the band," Bernard said. "We've been able to meet a lot of people and become, socially, part of a big musical family. I value my friends, and it's nice to have the support of my peers. Because even the top names still have pockets of struggles. And we feel each other's pain."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com