March
20th, 2002
Tim
Lawson may call Langley home, but as far as his music is concerned,
you'll want to travel to Ireland, Holland or Germany to find
the heart and soul of his fan base.
Lawson
released his third CD, Please No Talking,
to Canadian audiences this winter, while audiences in Europe
have been grooving to it since last fall. Rocking and bluesy,
it is at once a melding of Gordon Lightfoot (the voice, that
is) and The Guess Who, though the artist cites the Beatles
as the most dramatic musical influence in his life.
A follow
up to his first two full-length albums, The Quiet Canadian
and The Right Way On, both recorded in his
Langley studio under Lawson's own label Timberholme, Please
No Talking carries on the spirit of his earlier work
- that is, unfailingly upbeat and optimistic. Considering
he's only been at it for the past decade or so, perhaps the
uniformity of his message isn't all that surprising.
A Langley
resident since 1986, Lawson launched his musical career at
the age of 38 as a means of putting positive energy out into
the world.
"It
was an incredibly late start," the London, Ont. native
admits. But on the other hand, Lawson had something most musicians
can only dream about, the benefit of financial security in
the early stages of his music career. Only one in a million
makes a living in the music industry, so get a real job, Lawson's
father counselled him while he was still in his teens. He
took the advice to heart, hung up his guitar and found employment
in the real world.
The musician
earned financial success in the printing industry before buying
into the Baskin Robbins ice cream franchise.
"I
sold a heckuva lot of ice cream," he says. It was a job
that had a great financial future, but it lacked heart. The
opposite was true of Lawson's other passion, breeding and
raising horses.
"I
thought, 'what can I do in this world to make a difference?"
The search for an answer brought Lawson full circle to his
musical roots.
During
his years in the business world, Lawson remained "an
armchair musician, singing along with everything."
And then,
two years short of his 40th birthday, Lawson chucked it all
and started fresh, determined to make his mark in the music
biz. He hired a pair of guitar teachers and set out to reinvigorate
his love of performing.
"It
started as a personal quest to connect with the music,"
says Lawson. From there, it became an opportunity to send
positive energy into the world. "I think I've always
been a positive person. I try to inspire people, give them
hope," he says. "Everyone is his own worst critic.
You have to give yourself a pat on the back once in a while
and give others credit too."
One group
to whom Lawson gives a great deal of credit is veterans. The
son of a Second World War vet was raised with respect for
Canadian soldiers and a heightened awareness of the price
that was paid for his freedom. For Lawson, 'respect' is the
key word in his vocabulary.
"For
me, everybody is equally important," he says. "Peace
is a natural extension of that respect."
In November
of 1999, he released a mini album, entitled Lest We
Forget, which pays a tribute to the soldiers and
celebrates peace, with proceeds from sales donated to the
Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Fund. Lawson is planning to release
a second album of Remembrance, Lest We Forget Vol.
2, in October.
As much
love and respect as Lawson has for veterans, his chief demographic
remains the 35-55 age group (Lawson himself is in his late
40s).
Because
all three of his full albums have done well in Europe, the
artist will head back to France on tour in mid-April. He plans
to be back in Langley for the summer to work on his next album,
but has no current plans to perform locally.
"We
try to play Vancouver a couple of times a year," he says.
But as far as a cross-Canada tour is concerned, that's another
matter.
"Canada
is so big, while Europe is so compact," he points out.
Lawson
and his band were in Europe on Sept. 11, preparing for a concert
when they learned about the U.S. terrorist attacks.
"When
we arrived in Germany that day, the question became do we
do the show or not. We decided it was important to live on
for those who couldn't," he explains.
"I'm
a fatal optimist," says Lawson. "I won't stop thinking
positive until I stop breathing."
With titles
like "We Gotta Think New," "The Skies
Should Be Clearing," and "Reach Out,"
Lawson has put his positive thoughts into words and put those
words to music on his Please No Talking CD.
The album
is available on the Web at www.timlawson.com
or by calling 604-532-8464. The cost is $16.99.
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