Blues Deluxe

The Other Side Of Dawn inspired a new generation of Indian singers. After having won a million hearts with original songs, Gary Lawyer is set to release a compilation. Is this a new chapter in the singer’s career, asks Mathures Paul

The past is untouchable, out of reach. Yet every time he puts on that old jacket, wiggles into a pair blue jeans and hums those lines, somehow you lose sense of time to relive the best years of your life. Here's one singer who could have lived in America to make pots of money. He decided against it. On the hindsight, a wise decision, for without Lawyer a chapter in Western music in India would have been missing. A home loving man, Lawyer is not the kind of person who shows off the rock star hidden inside. He is content to be himself.
Posters were up in Kolkata that Gary Lawyer was flying down to play at Park Hotel's Someplace Else, the home of quality English music. After dialling a few numbers, an appointment is made and we meet at the hotel's café. What followed was a journey through Lawyer's life.
On a casual note the conversation begins. "It's been a while work began on a compilation that will soon be released on EMI. This is something I always wanted. People know me for Nights On Fire but I have scored hits before that. With 20-25 songs selected for the compilation, we are having a difficult time cropping the list." Whether this will be a double CD compilation remains to be seen but hopefully the product will be accompanied by a detailed booklet.
Soon talks turned towards Other Side Of Dawn and Arrow In The Dust. "Our only drawback was the budget. We could have used a bigger and better studio. The albums were a quest for excellence." Since the start of his singing career in New York, quest for excellence has been the driving factor. Lawyer was a Green Card holder for eight years and it was during the end of his stay that he started singing. "It was a turbulent America I lived in."
In America he recorded a demo which was to be pushed. But as we all know, life works in its mysterious ways and Lawyer returned to India. "I became a father and I never looked back. For a brief period I said 'no more music anymore' and entered 'family business'. The singer in me was still very much alive. At a friend's concert I was literally cajoled into singing a Door's number. Next day papers wrote about 'the guy in red shirt' which led to HMV representatives calling on me. They heard my demo (it had songs like Distances, Forgotten Words and Before It Gets Dark) and signed me on. This Cannot Happen released and audience accepted it. We all cut our teeth in it and had a ball recording it."
Later he was told by an EMI representative to gather a following, which they knew was not a difficult task. Another milestone in his career was around the corner. Produced by noted producer Chris Bertoletti, The Other Side Of Dawn made Lawyer famous among a new generation audience listening to English music. The album was recorded entirely in New York and mastered at the famous Capitol Records in Los Angeles.
But the next few years of his professional life were not extremely satisfying. Arrow In The Dust too was recorded in America and it featured some soulful numbers. With Hindi pop songs becoming popular, the album was just about put on shelves. Unbelong suffered the same fate. "I am not bitter or angry. I simply have no words to express my feelings. The album had great material and immense scope." Let bygones by bygones. Publishing a few names who are responsible for the poor marketing of these albums will be fruitless. "Call me a family guy, a person who is not extremely ambitious. I am bound and this allows me to be myself. If I want I can walk into a store and buy a pair of jeans without raising hush-hush comments. I don't need to prove anything."
Lawyer's love for Elvis Presley numbers dates back to his childhood. "My mother was a Nat King Cole fan and I have all the LPs. Whenever father visited Rhythm he would pick up all the crooners... Even to this day, I don't practice every day. I simply pluck the guitar sitting in front of the television set. My daughters keep me in touch with contemporary music." With these words we part.
Hopefully the compilation will begin a new chapter in Lawyer's life. Success this time around would mean new albums from a singer who refuses to sell out to market forces.