DEVIL MOUNTAIN CHRONICLES: Family Lotus

Jayebird had grown weary of Dallas. So on the first of January, 1982, the two of us – along with our 9-year-old son, Tait, and our faithful dog, Tarsha ‒ moved to Santa Fe.

The first group that I joined was the legendary psychedelic bluegrass band, Family Lotus: “Fifteen Years on the Green Chile Circuit!” The band had a big following of friendly folks who enjoyed getting lost in our energetic, eclectic music. It was a fun band!

The two stand-outs in the Family were Texas guitarist, singer/songwriter, Jerry Faires and world-music electric banjo master, Jim Bowie. (Jim hailed from Oklahoma, but we never held that against him.) I became fast friends with these guys who I now consider big brothers ‒ just like a real family.

One of our first gigs was at the Taos Ski Valley. We had an ongoing conversation the whole trip up. At one point Jerry and Jim were talking about having recorded with Delaney, Bonnie and Friends back in 1972. I perked up and announced that I had seen Delaney and Bonnie that year, in concert at the Greer Garson Theater at the College of Santa Fe. Jim and Jerry said that they had been a part of that concert.

I had forgotten the name but remembered the warm-up act as being a really stand-out band. The other headliner that evening was Woodstock veteran Richie Havens.

“I was on acid that night,” I said.

“I was, too!” exclaimed Jim with a big smile.

I remember the night vividly. I had moved out to Tijeras Canyon, east of Albuquerque, to live with my Army buddy, Hatch. That evening we had piled into his big step van with three or four other guys and girls – all of us tripping on LSD – and ventured up Highway 14 to the Ancient City. The concert was sensational, but on the way back home we hit a big buck just past Golden, NM. After recovering from the shock, we jumped out and somehow removed the fallen warrior from the roadway. An unforgettable “trip” from start to finish.

And now… I was with the Family Lotus band… on the road to Taos. What a delightful coincidence.

Three weeks ago I got a call from Jerry. He and his girlfriend, Barbara, were planning a trip to Pagosa Springs. I was ecstatic! They were wondering about lodging, so I arranged for them to stay at the cabin on Boswell Point, right next door to our property. Jerry and I had always kept in touch but we hadn’t seen each other in years. And now they were gracing us with their presence for three magical, musical, moonlit nights.

Jerry is 80-years-old but has the energy and spirit of a much younger man. He’s the same good-natured person I knew back in the ’80s. And I’ve never seen a frown on that handsome mug of his! We’ve not met Barbara, so we are excited to welcome her to our mountain domain. (Any friend of Jerry is a friend of mine.)

I’ve been thinking back about the good old days with Family Lotus. One particular night we were playing at a restaurant/bar on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe when the lights went out. Some fool in a hot-rod had hit a power pole down the street and we were suddenly without electricity. Did that little inconvenience stop us? Hell, no. We simply moved from the stage down into the audience. They cleared a space in the middle of the room and we played acoustically, in the round. I set up a snare drum and hi-hat and played with brushes, Jerry and Jim played acoustic guitar and banjo, Hugh Hazelrigg played his cello as bass, and the incomparable Bobby Notkoff (formerly with Mike Bloomfield and Buddy Miles) on violin. The management brought out table candles and we struck up the band. A very intimate and memorable gig indeed.

Jerry Faires is a songwriter extraordinaire. He wrote the song “D-18” about his trusty old Martin guitar. Recorded by Tony Rice and Norman Blake, it got to number three on the bluegrass charts. Of course my friend is a man of many anecdotes and can go on forever recalling interesting tales and acquaintances, but I’m not writing a biography – not yet, anyway.

One Sunday morning in the late ’80s I was rushing back to Santa Fe from Ruidoso where I had played three nights with the Ravin’ Brothers. A cop of Spanish descent pulled me over in Encino. “Where are you going in such a hurry?” he asked gruffly. “I’m going to Santa Fe to play a concert with Jerry Faires and Flaco Jiménez. I’m just gonna make it,” I said. The cop suddenly changed his demeanor: “Flaco Jiménez? E-e-e-e, my God! Well, you get on your way and have a good show. But drive carefully.” I showed up at the outdoor concert site at Fort Marcy Park with time to spare. We played a great show for a large audience of happy Santa Feans and ex-Tejanos. Flaco was terrific!

Jerry is also a world class silversmith and many years ago created bracelets for my wife and me. Jayebird wears her Faires bracelet every time she goes out of the house. He took my old silver baby cup and turned it into a beautiful “squash blossom” bracelet featuring a large Cerrillos turquoise stone. He removed my inscribed name from the cup and soldered it onto the bottom. To top it off, Jerry turned the fancy little handle into a pinkie ring! It seems that everything Jerry touches turns into gold, or in his case – magical silver wonders.

By the way. I just tried on my old Family Lotus jacket for size; either it shrank or I expanded. Probably the latter. Whatever…

We’re all ready for our guests from the City Different. I’m sure we’ll take a dip in the Springs, enjoy the Riverwalk, do a little sightseeing, consume muchas comidas at Chavolo’s and spend the evenings on the deck playing music and reminiscing. We’ll raise our drinks and propose a toast: “Here’s to Family Lotus!”