Les Fairchild ~ 6 &
12
String Guitar, Dulcimer, Bass, Bouzouki
Carter Wilson ~ 6 &
12 String Guitar, Balalaika, Slide Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Bowed
Psaltery
Wilson-Fairchild Promo
Photo
- 1972
This is Wilson-Fairchild, an acoustic duo that played together from 1971-1977 based in Boise, Idaho.In the pictures of us playing live, I'm the guy on the left (Fairchild) and Wilson is on the right. However, in the 1972 and 1975 promo shots, Wilson is on the left as in our name. The promo shots are at the old Boise train station and the Blue Mountain Festival was held in Moscow, Idaho.
Here is a brief bio of the group:
Carter Wilson and Les Fairchild began their musical association in 1965 as guitar players in the Twin Falls, Idaho rock & roll band, "The Betas." They would reunite in 1970 when Les replaced the bass player in Carter's Boise-based band, "Of Cambrian Heritage" that later morphed into the progressive rock band, "Sailor."
After "Sailor" disbanded in 1971, Carter and Les performed at open mike night at The Brass Lamp, each playing a twelve-string guitar, and "Wilson-Fairchild" was born! The duo recorded a home-made demo tape, landed a great gig in Sun Valley and became full time musicians. In addition to Carter's original tunes, Diane and Blind, (performed together in "Sailor"), Les contributed his first original song with the tongue-in-cheek Liberated Ladies, featuring Carter's balalaika virtuosity. Soon both were individually composing new songs and adding varied instruments to their performances such as the dulcimer, slide guitar, mandolin, banjo and bowed psaltery.
Based in Boise, Idaho, Wilson-Fairchild toured extensively from 1971 to 1977.
In 1973 they had the good fortune to record five songs at the brand new Tioga Studio in Coos Bay, Oregon, returning in 1975 to record an additional four original tunes.
During their time together, Wilson-Fairchild played colleges throughout the West, clubs from California to Connecticut, and opened for Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop, Leon Redbone and even Cheech & Chong, before amicably moving on to other endeavors.
In 2013, after a 36 year hiatus, Wilson-Fairchild reunited to play the Sandpiper Circuit Reunion Concert in Boise, Idaho and again in 2014 for the second reunion. They had so much fun playing together they dusted off the Tioga Studio tapes and released their first CD which is available at: http://wilson-fairchild.bandcamp.com/
Some of the other Pacific Northwest music groups represented in members, crew, etc., of this group include: The Betas, Sailor, and many other NW bands