Merrell Fankhauser
Maui

The band MU was formed in 1969 when Merrell Fankhauser teamed up with Jeff Cotton of Captain Beefheart’s band. Both of them had had successful careers in the surf music craze of the mid-60s. When it was discovered that the Hawaiian Islands could have remnants of the sunken Mu civilization, the band decided to move to the island of Maui.

By 1974 all but Merrell Fankhauser had left but he was still On Maui with his girlfriend violinist Mary Lee.. Their lifestyle was mystically oriented and they followed a vegetarian diet. Later that year guitarist Jeff Cotton and drummer Randy Wimer decided to quit the band and left for the mainland to become Christian ministers. Merrell and Mary Lee retreated further into the jungle to continue their research into The Lost Continent of MU.

Merrell built a two story Tarzan style jungle house complete with flowing lily ponds. The stream cascaded around the house forming a natural pool and waterfall, an ideal setting for Merrell to compose his laid back cosmic music. For a few months Merrell and Mary played a regular gig at a night club in town every Fri. & Sat. night. It was 23 miles to town and it was quite an adventure to return to this jungle pad at 2.00 AM after a gig. They had to walk down a jungle trail and cross two foot bridges to get to the house. One night when returning from a gig as they were walking hand and hand across the bridge they lost their balance and both fell into the roaring stream. Both of their hands...

The band MU was formed in 1969 when Merrell Fankhauser teamed up with Jeff Cotton of Captain Beefheart’s band. Both of them had had successful careers in the surf music craze of the mid-60s. When it was discovered that the Hawaiian Islands could have remnants of the sunken Mu civilization, the band decided to move to the island of Maui.

By 1974 all but Merrell Fankhauser had left but he was still On Maui with his girlfriend violinist Mary Lee.. Their lifestyle was mystically oriented and they followed a vegetarian diet. Later that year guitarist Jeff Cotton and drummer Randy Wimer decided to quit the band and left for the mainland to become Christian ministers. Merrell and Mary Lee retreated further into the jungle to continue their research into The Lost Continent of MU.

Merrell built a two story Tarzan style jungle house complete with flowing lily ponds. The stream cascaded around the house forming a natural pool and waterfall, an ideal setting for Merrell to compose his laid back cosmic music. For a few months Merrell and Mary played a regular gig at a night club in town every Fri. & Sat. night. It was 23 miles to town and it was quite an adventure to return to this jungle pad at 2.00 AM after a gig. They had to walk down a jungle trail and cross two foot bridges to get to the house. One night when returning from a gig as they were walking hand and hand across the bridge they lost their balance and both fell into the roaring stream. Both of their hands came up extended over their heads, not to save themselves but to save the expensive violin and Martin guitar. They pulled themselves up on the bridge and laughed hysterically in the Maui moonlight.

Around this same time the Tibetan Lama Kar Mapa came to the island for a meditation retreat that was sponsored by one of Merrell and Mary’s neighbors in the jungle. They did a special Black Crow ceremony with 400 devoted hippys all meditating for peace and harmony for all beings on the earth. Merrell and Mary were the first musicians in the United States to play modern music for the Lama. They lived in the Maui rain forest in their jungle retreat for over seven years.

Late in 1975 they visited L.A and recorded the Maui Album. The album recording originally started at MCA Studios in Hollywood with producer Dino Airelli who went on to head up Dark Horse Records for George Harrison. Due to Dinos busy schedule he was unable to finish the album. It was later finished in San Francisco and came out on a small independent label Maui Music. It sold a few thousand copies and disappeared. The album is released here in its entirety with 7 bonus tracks including an unreleased version of “Some Of Them Escaped”.

This is a true artifact from the Hippy dream of Peace, Love and Harmony for the world!