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One for the road(The Statesman (India) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mathures Paul Growing up in the early nineties was all about contradictions. The Internet revolution had begun, satellite television had just entered our houses, more economic freedom During this period MTV became the source of recreation for most teenagers. And a memorable voice from the early days of the music channel was that of Gary Lawyer. He undoubtedly remains the grand old daddy of rock and roll in India. From Elvis Presley to Jim Morrison, he has been inspired by the greats of an era gone by. Lawyers journey in the music world has not been smooth. He has recorded far fewer albums than he should have by now and enjoyed far less popularity than he deserves. A champion of Western music in India, Gary remains sincere to his roots and he proved this on a recent visit to the city. Returning to the city to perform after his last gig at Someplace Else in November 2005, Lawyer did not mince words when he spoke of World Music Day, organised by The French Association. Anything that promotes music is great. I dont think most Indians are aware of the day. The people of Kolkata are well up on music and drama than any other city in India. If we have a World Commercial Day, Mumbai will celebrate it. I also blame the media for not promoting Western music. Why do we speak ill of such music? Isnt the constitution written in English? Dont we dress up like Westerners? Even record labels are to be blamed for the status of Western music. His last album, Unbelong, has received quite some air play and Gary is all set to release his next project. I want to re-release Nights on Fire. My concerts are incomplete without tracks from The Other Side of Dawn. No change in the arrangement will be made. In fact, it will be just a simple re-release. I also want to come up with a best of collection. It has been a long journey and, by now, my repertoire is quite strong. Speaking on the status of Western music Lawyer says, Nights on Fire was a success because it received air play, at least once every two hours. The video of the song Shes All Mine (from Unbelong) also enjoyed good air time. But there are stations in Mumbai that refuse to play Western music. Why? I dont know. You can hear Gary perform on Sacred Evil and the promo for Corporate. Next week he will be recording a track for another film, the name of which he is unsure of. I received many good offers. But I believe if you are playing the blues, play the blues and not any other music. My career is steeped in Western music and I would love to cut a Christmas album and a tribute to Elvis, Nat King Cole and Morrison. The Presley and Morrison fan hosts two tribute concerts every year. This time the Elvis tribute concert will probably in Pune. Interestingly, Lawyer is not a member of any of the official Presley clubs in India! Coming from a Parsi family, I grew up with Beethoven, Chopin and Bach. Thus, I have no idea of Hindi music. I survive on a healthy dosage of rock and roll music, says the motorcycle enthusiast. Such was the popularity of Nights on Fire that a Dubai shop offered Lawyer two pirated copies of the album. But his next two albums had to face tough times, for the labels concerned were the dilly-dallying type. Gary wants to tour the country and release more albums. But I avoid corporate sponsorships if they come up with too many conditions. My dream is to perform in every nook of the country, rounds off the singer who began his career in New York in the 1980s. |