Gila Headwaters
Gila Headwaters ©2022 Tim O’Brien and Jan Fabricius / No Bad Ham Music / Admin by Bluewater Music / ASCAP / Jan Fabricius Music / BMI
Jan and I visited the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument years ago, and last spring we returned to camp for six days by the hot springs there. This time we saw the historical marker by our campground and learned that the venerated Apache leader Geronimo was born there. The Apache call their family the "Red Paint People" and a tradition is rolling on the ground in the four directions on Geronimo's birthplace. We wrote the song for our friends in Leftover Salmon, but they ended up doing all covers on their project, and we like singing it so here it is. You have to go out of your way to get to this place, but it's really worth the effort. The Gila Hot Springs ranch is run by daughters of its original owner, and they run pack trips in the adjacent Gila Wilderness. A great feature of their campground is hot water - hot enough to wash your dishes - coming right from the geothermal springs directly to a spigot at your campsite. For this song, Jan and I sing the melody together in octaves which is kinda cool. I made a little loop of some instrumental parts from the track, overdubbed a guitar part on it, and then used the loop as a fade in. I think of the intro as sounding like water bubbling, and it reminds me of the long slow drive through the mountains before you get there.
Tim O'Brien: guitar,lead vocal
Jan Fabricius: mandolin,vocal
Mike Bubb: bass
Jamie Dick: drums
Mike Rojas: keyboards
Tour dates and more can be found at www.timobrien.net
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The WNS Group
895 County Line Road
Lyndonville, NY 14098
Phone: 585-765-2083
Cell: 845-893-4303
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Angie Carlson
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Howdy Skies Records
Jan Fabricius - Office and Tour Manager
jan@timobrien.net