Part 2: Freefall
The story of the legendary continent became an obsession
with the band and the possibility of moving to the Hawaiian islands, one
of the few remaining outcrops of MU, was given an added push by the arrival
of Jeff Parker back on the scene. Since the Blues In The Bottle band had
folded it seems Jeff Parker had been travelling in Turkey or India (or
both or neither). He had made some money and was thinking of buying land
for a plantation and moving to Maui. Sometime in 1972 the band visited
Maui to have a look around and this decided them that they should move.
They released another single in 1972 One
More Day and You've Been Here Before,
both Merrell compositions, on their own MU label. Another song recorded
in LA around this time after their trip to Maui, On
Our Way To Hana, was about a UFO encounter.
The band played a few gigs on the mainland before leaving.
One in late 1972 was held in a pasture in San Luis Obispo. Recently Merrell
discovered some movie footage of this performance and managed to save
it before it self-destructed. Sadly, there is no sound but shows the band,
without Larry Willey, playing Nobody Wants To Shine.
See some stills from this rare film. Their
last US show was probably in January at El Camino College in LA with Country
Joe Macdonald.
In February 1973 the band finally moved to Maui, but Larry
Willey wasn't interested in going so Jeff Parker was asked to join the
band on bass to replace him. There now followed an idyllic period of rehearsing
in their new jungle home with the local radio playing One
More Day and the recently released On Our
Way To Hana / Too Naked For Demetrius
single. Maui had attracted a lot of 'hippies' but hadn't had a big name
band on the island since Jimi Hendrix had played there and been filmed
for the "Rainbow Bridge" movie. So there was a big turn
out when MU played a concert at the Civic Auditorium in Lahaina in June.
Randy, Merrell, and Jeff C
at the Napili Blow Hole in 1973
(note full white caped regalia!)
Their new island home with its dramatic volcanic landscape
must have been overwhelming compared to the flat high desert of Lancaster.
Whether much work was done on the banana and papaya plantation (which
was supposed to finance the band) is not known, but the band explored
the island smoking dope, dropping acid, UFO spotting and looking for signs
of the ancient MU civilisation. There are a number of photographs of the
band (well, Merrell, Jeff and Randy anyway because, presumably, Jeff Parker
was behind the camera) taken against the spectacular volcanic scenery
of Maui. One of the few shots of all four of them (one of only two I've
seen, that is) is one taken outside their jungle house with them all looking
happy and relaxed.
Randy, Jeff C, Merrell, Jeff P
outside their shack on Maui
The band soon had enough new material and in January 1974
began recording an album in their house on Maui. They called in Barry
Mayo to engineer for them, he had worked on Quicksilver Messenger Service's
album Just For Love on the nearby island of
Oahu.
Recorded mostly live on four track tape the band laid down
some more excellent music. A few tracks being embellished with the violin
playing of Mary Lee. Everything seemed to be going well for the band,
their first album was about to get a European release on a major label,
United Artists, and there was talk of a possible tour of Europe to promote
it. They had been interviewed for the 'Earth News' radio show.
Then, suddenly, the band MU was no more.
The spiritual quest that had occupied the band for the last
4 or 5 years was obviously more serious for some than others and took
an unexpected turn. Jeff Cotton and Randy Wimer had both converted to
Christianity. They decided their religious beliefs were more important
than the band and were now both determined to give up music and devote
their lives to the Christian Ministry.
This decision left Merrell high and dry. The recently recorded
album was shelved and would not appear until 1981 as
End Of An Era: The Last Album, when Merrell remixed the tapes for
Appaloosa, a small Italian company. Merrell stayed on in Maui with Mary
Lee after the band fell apart, he still divides his time between there
and the USA and is still creating some fine music with MU songs making
a regular appearance.
See Calling
From A Star for more information about Merrell's career
Jeff Parker also stayed on the island where he established
an orchid plantation. Randy Wimer moved back to the States where he was,
at some point, a youth counsellor. Larry Willey still dabbled in music
but worked in construction to make ends meet. Tragically, he was murdered
in 2002. More about Larry here.
Jeff Cotton continues to live in Hawaii. He set up a janitorial
business and was a 'janitor for Jesus' for a number of years before becoming
an ATM engineer. He still has his faith and is very happy with his life
which he prefers to keep to himself. He is not particularly interested
in talking about the Magic Band/MU days and turned down John French's
request for an interview as part of the recent Grow
Fins Beefheart retrospective. Apparently he still has his guitar,
and his bass clarinet, (as well as a collection of ukeleles) and can still
play but only does so for his own amusement and that of close friends.
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