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Home , 8XM, Aamir Zaki, Aaroh, Ahmed Jahanzeb, Ahmed Rushdi, Alam Lohar

ROCKISTAN HISTORY OF THE MOST TURBULENT GENRE IN

ROCKISTAN HISTORY OF THE MOST TURBULENT IN PAKISTAN

TAYYAB KHALIL

COVER DESIGNED BY ANUM AMEER

Copyright © 2021 by Tayyab Khalil All rights reserved This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review

ISBN: 978-969-23555-0-6 (Hard cover) ISBN: 978-969-23555-1-3 (E-book)

Daastan Publications Floor # 1, Workspace 2, Office # 3, National Incubation Center, Phone: +92-3219525753 Email: [email protected] www.daastan.com

CONTENTS

Preface 8

1. Only a Music Concert 11

2. A Game of Chance 20

3. Emergence of the Vital Empire 29

4. An Unholy Alliance 74

5. The Double-edged Sword 115

6. Underground Reverberations 169

7. Unveiling the Partition 236

8. Rock Renaissance 257

9. The Unconventional Path 315

10. Political Upheaval 344

11. Dimes, Crimes and Hard Times 368

12. Tragedy to Triumph 433

Acknowledgements 459

8

PREFACE

The road travelled by is beset with challenges such as staunch criticism, struggling to have a socially acceptable image, having the door slammed in the face by owners and lowball offers by concert organizers. Not only are their careers mentally grueling and physically demanding but they also have an added risk of high investment and low returns. The rock genre has struggled to achieve its righteous place in the country whereas folk, qawalli, pop, bhangra and music experienced skyrocketing popularity. In the mid-1980s, cultivated a minuscule niche in Pakistan due to the availability of VHS tapes of multi-platinum bands such as , , , Black Sabbath, among others. However, replicating their careers in the country has often left a dent in the pockets. Music illiteracy coupled with political intervention meant that being a rock artist was like walking into a snake pit. Over the years, the rock movement became too much of a presence to ignore as Junoon, , Mizraab, Entity Paradigm, Mekaal Hasan , etc. challenged the norms of the Pakistani music landscape with their culturally resonant compositions. Initially considered a repugnant genre, such pivotal homegrown bands made rock music artistically and politically relevant in a country that has always been disavowing of heavy guitar-driven music. This book chronicles their meticulous zeal that assisted rock 9 music to catapult from regional to national consciousness. Due to the lack of appropriate documentation of Pakistani rock bands, several myths and half-truths surround them and this book aims to set the record straight. While internal clashes and heated breakups of rock groups are often subjects of rumours and speculations, alternative perspectives by none other than the band members themselves have been narrated in the book to dispel preconceived notions. Despite the musicians who live the rock ‘n’ lifestyle have often been devoid of media attention, they remain a subject of much intrigue and gossip among their fans. As an attempt to bring them into the literary limelight for the very first time, this book covers the rise, fall and rebirth of the controversial rock genre in a country where the term “” is an oxymoron. Apart from detailing the rich history of Pakistani rock music, the purpose of this book is to shed light on the obstacles faced by the genre’s icons. The general perception of rock stars is traditionally associated with rolling around in piles of cash or long nights of hard-partying but such assumptions can be grossly misleading. Owing to reasons ranging from political instability to the dearth of proper record labels, Pakistani rock musicians are not immune to emotional outbursts, temper tantrums, struggles of maintaining a certain level of commercial success and facing the possibility of their careers plunging into a downward spiral. Most rock musicians in this book do not get nearly enough credit for pioneering their genre while surviving in the cutthroat music business that is drenched with fear, 10 insecurities and uncertainties. Their careers require solemn business acumen, survival instincts and a thick skin to persevere. While rock music is a foreign concept that originated from the in the late 1940s, Pakistani musicians have able to put their own spin on the genre and made the sound surprisingly unique. From incorporating heavily distorted riffs to indigenous elements such as Punjabi folk sounds and eastern melodies, Pakistani rock stars made their genre increasingly popular in a country engulfed in religious conservatism. Politicians, scientists, sportsmen and poets are usually at the forefront when it comes to the historical documentation of exemplary Pakistani figures of various fields. Whereas homegrown rock artists are not only ignored but often victimized by right-wing religious parties, orthodox citizens and even government officials. If scores of musicians have been successful in inspiring thousands of youth from restrictive societies to headbang in sync, strum guitar strings or strike the drums, they deserve to be valued, or at the very least remembered. Rock music is much more than blistered fingers as a result of playing electric guitars for hours on end. It is a podium that represents aggression, passion, resistance, violence, desire, rebellion, detestation and similar themes that were once withheld and even considered shameful in Pakistan. While the country has been acknowledged for its multicultural values, hospitable communities, diverse environment and tourist hotspots, this book showcases an additional, yet overlooked, relic which Pakistan executes better than any other nation across the Muslim world—rock. 11

Chapter 1 ONLY A MUSIC CONCERT

Asians and people of the subcontinent, in general, are tuned in to rock music as much as the white man.

On one scorching summer evening of 1975, eleven-year-old and his family were in for a pleasant surprise. His father Ejaz Ahmad had just received a new employment opportunity to work as the North American country manager for Airways. Accepting the offer, the family would relocate to the United States. For Salman and his younger sister Sania, moving to America merely meant access to thirteen television channels on cable and eating at McDonald’s. However, not every member of the family was unfamiliar with the country. The siblings’ ethnic Pashtun mother Shahine had already spent a year there, courtesy of the American Field Service student exchange program. Salman’s time in the States during his youth blessed him the chance to explore enormous aggregates of diverse cultures that a Pakistani youth of his age could never be exposed to at the time. Residing in Tappan, New York, Salman was first and foremost a foreign child and fitting in with the crowd was a torment. His native accent proved to be the butt of the jokes 12 Only a Music Concert among his middle school classmates in South Orangetown as they did not even bother to remember his actual name. “It sounds like salmon or like the prophet Solomon. It’s very easy,” clarified Salman every time he was called Sal. “It’s ‘Sull-man’, you see?” His name sliced in half was not the only thing that would haunt him in his newfound home. As far as names were concerned, he was often teasingly referred to as “eight ball” due to his brown complexion while being bullied. He was the sole Pakistani in his middle school which predominantly consisted of Irish, Italian and American students. The country was nowhere near tranquility as he thought it was. America had recently faced a humiliating defeat on foreign soil due to losing the Vietnam War and interior social ailments such as racism and bullying were hardly looked upon as worthwhile concerns at the time. Ease would eventually approach Salman in the form of friendship when he bonded with Italian-American Catholic student Frank Bianco due to their mutual adoration for table tennis. The duo became best friends in middle school and played the sport on a daily basis. One day, Frank affectionately bestowed a piece of advice to Salman that proved to be exceedingly valuable: America adores winners instead of whiners. You cannot allow anyone to punk you out or else you will get walked all over. Frank’s words solemnly altered Salman’s narrow perspectives. Eventually, he began to spend most of his time playing sports. While he extensively played football and basketball, he was strikingly good at baseball due to his knack for playing back in Pakistan. Long dubbed as 13 Rockistan the national pastime, baseball has been an integral part of America’s pop culture and with Salman excelling in it, he won respect from his Little League teammates and eventually fit right in. Baseball instantly became an obsession. Hanging out with jocks equipped Salman with sufficient information to become acquainted with the sport and the New York Yankees became his favourite team. As one of the premier and most aggressive teams in baseball, the New York Yankees have produced quite a cluster of the greatest players in the history of the game with Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to name a few. The latter, unfortunately, became relevant for another reason apart from being Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player twice. On his 36th birthday, Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The incurable disease shortened the career and life of the acclaimed baseball player and it was unofficially labelled as Lou Gehrig’s disease in his memory. Inflicting 5000 people every year in the United States alone, it had also struck world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking. Developing a passion for baseball in middle school also opened the doors of numerous other sports for Salman as well. Though not extraordinary when it came to playing basketball, his gym teacher Mr. Dorni made sure that he was exposed to it as much as possible. Often instructing more talented players to pass him the ball during the game, Salman realized how much exertion was being put on him. It all bore fruit when in the eighth grade, Salman’s team was on the verge of losing by two points during an interclass game. 14 Only a Music Concert

Erect in the middle of the court, holding the ball in his hand and with mere seconds remaining, it was up to Salman to score the winning basket. “Take a shot, Sal!” screamed Mr. Dorni at the top of his lungs. The clock was ticking and Salman had not yet possessed the necessary self-confidence and athleticism to make a shot from beyond the three-point line. “Sal, you can do it, just take the shot!” insisted Mr. Dorni. Without a second thought, Salman aimed for the basket and with all his might, surged high in the air and propelled the ball above the ocean of hands that tried to block it. Three points! As he surveyed the exhilaration of the team while sweat dripped down his face, Salman felt relieved since his gym teacher’s words of encouragement operated as a significant factor behind the momentous victory. Though Salman modestly exclaimed that the winning basket was a fluke, Mr. Dorni thought otherwise and articulated the team about the virtuous outcomes of self-belief and thinking beyond the horizons of imagined doubts. The lecture on faith in oneself by his gym teacher would be exemplified by Salman countless times in the future. When Salman shifted to Tappan Zee High School shortly thereafter, he was once again the new, relatively unknown, brown kid. Facing ridicule all over again, Salman’s misfortunes soon dried up as one day, his schoolmate and brilliant guitar player Daniel Spitz came to his aid. “Sal, Sal, Sal,” he spoke sardonically. “Dude, you gotta get cool.” “Cool?” responded Salman in a state of befuddlement. 15 Rockistan

“What is cool?” Daniel took out a scarlet red ticket from his back pocket and showed it to Salman. “Dude, if you buy this ticket from me, your life will change.” “What is that ticket?” “This is a ticket to see a rock ‘n’ roll concert at Madison Square Garden. It’s for Monday Night. It’s the only ticket have.” Since his father was an employee at Kuwait Airlines, Salman had been gifted with the opportunity to travel across the world at a very young age. Before settling in America, he had visited China, , England and Denmark yet he never had a chance to attend a live musical concert before. The closest manifestation of a music show Salman had previously observed was at the ripe age of 6 at a family wedding where a gig took place. His relatives ecstatically danced to the rhythms emanated by the musicians whereas some of his aunts and uncles customarily tossed money on them. The rapturous sight was enough for Salman to perceive the profession of a as “a pretty good job”. Intrigued by the notion of a music concert, Salman purchased the ticket. Taking a bus and returning home to show his conservative mother the ticket he held firmly, his excitement was not at all mutually shared. She was stunned to discover that her son was inclined to attend a concert headlined by whom she thought were long-haired, drug- addicted and alcohol-consuming musicians who represent nothing but chaos, obscenity and immorality. Salman 16 Only a Music Concert pleaded to gain his mother’s permission since she was the only one in the house who knew how to drive a car. Succumbing to her son’s persistent request, Salman was off to ’s hub of entertainment, Madison Square Garden. Known as the world’s most famous arena, the multipurpose indoor venue can host up to 20,000 people and has witnessed several historical moments such as Joe Frazier terminating Ali’s undefeated streak to capture the coveted Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship and New York Knicks miraculously defeating Los Angeles Lakers partially due to the heroic sportsmanship displayed by the former team’s Willis Reed despite a severe thigh injury. It was on the murky night of Monday, June 7, 1977, when history would be made again as far as Pakistani rock music was concerned. As Salman and his mother drove towards Madison Square Garden, his excitement escalated. His mother had seen how much of a bad influence had been to youngsters due to gyrating his hips onstage and was aware of how musicians are associated with the dreaded label of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Nevertheless, she allowed her thirteen-year-old son to attend the show. Before dropping him off, she vigilantly warned him about the notorious pickpockets and suspicious strangers wandering on the streets of New York. “And for Allah’s sake don’t do any drugs or I will disown you!” cautioned the worried mother. “Don’t worry, mom,” replied Salman. “It’s only a music concert.” Stepping out of the car, Salman leisurely strolled towards 17 Rockistan the arena as he managed to make his way through a crowd of spectators in bell-bottom jeans who were enthusiastically waiting for the show. The venue was stacked with hippies who were smoking marijuana and had flowers in their hair. The musical act which everyone came to perform was none other than the band Led Zeppelin and Salman could not help himself from feeling that he was about to witness an extraordinary spectacle. The lights went out and lead vocalist Robert Plant, lead guitar player Jimmy Page, bass player John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham mystifyingly made their way on the stage. The long-haired musicians were miles away from appearing fashionable but had a reputation for being one of the most influential hard rock bands of all time. Led Zeppelin’s music is unique for being -oriented as they never released singles. Above all, their unconventional and innovative recording techniques are an exquisite case of sound engineering. Hailing from , England, the band revolutionized their music genre and has inspired dozens of iconic rock groups such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Queen, and Rush. On that fateful night, they were about to influence one more target from the jam-packed frenzied crowd occupying Madison Square Garden. Salman had not heard Led Zeppelin before but he instantly became a fan. The audience was spellbound as the band set the stage afire with their live performance and the arena immediately fell into a state of euphoria due to their hard-hitting and guitar-driven sound rooted in rock, psychedelia and . The concert was more of an exorcism for Salman as the band grabbed his soul while David’s bold 18 Only a Music Concert prediction about his life being changed if he buys the ticket echoed in his head. Though all four band members are exceptionally talented in terms of musical craftsmanship, it was Page with dragons painted on his pants and holding a double-necked Gibson who was the centerpiece of Salman’s attention the entire night. With his trademark heavy sounds which welded the band’s legacy as a great live band, Page’s sheer talent is often subjected to conspiracy theories that propose his involvement in the occult and selling his soul to the devil in exchange for breathtaking guitar playing skills. The allegations are not purely based on speculations but irrefutable facts; Page owned an occult bookshop at one point in his life and resided in Boleskin House, the former home of occultist Aleister Crowley, for twenty-two years. When Led Zeppelin played their staple concert Kashmir, Salman was beyond impressed. The way Page utilized his sunburst Gibson Les Paul to play ’s combination of riffs and chords is a rock marvel and Salman fervidly relished every second of it. When the three-hour show concluded, he was still hypnotized by what he had just observed while contemplating how erroneous he was about referring to it as “only a music concert.” It was the farthest thing from it and provided Salman with an ambitious goal for himself—becoming a rock star. A pivotal moment for Pakistan, his dream planted the seeds of rock music in his native country as Salman would not only become an accomplished musician later in his life but one of the founding fathers of rock music in Pakistan with the band he would form, Junoon. However, such a journey had 19 Rockistan a sky-high possibility of not even occurring if he had never bought the concert ticket in the first place. Instead, the likelihood of Salman ending up as a sportsman, possibly a baseball or a cricket player, carries a greater amount of weight but destiny surely had something much bigger stored for him. Junoon’s journey to the top was definitely not without its stumbles. In a country where pop, bhangra and particularly Bollywood music reign supreme while rock gets criminally comprehended as a cacophonous genre, the band had to endure numerous setbacks such as death threats, multiple bans and treason charges. Despite the odds, Junoon would sell an unprecedented amount of more than 30 million worldwide in a span of fifteen years and become not only the most successful band in Pakistan but South as well. Apart from being influential as commercially successful, Junoon would significantly influence or pave the music landscape for generations of rock bands in the process such as Entity Paradigm, Aaroh, Call and . On an interesting note, Daniel—the man responsible for Salman’s life-long love affair with rock ‘n’ roll—walked on a similar path as well. Four years later, he joined the American thrash metal band Anthrax as their lead guitar player.

20

Chapter 2 A GAME OF CHANCE

We all need to be exposed to different cultures to evolve and grow. Brian O’Connell

Overwhelmed after witnessing Led Zeppelin rocking Madison Square Garden, Salman aimed to become a professional musician and was determined to purchase an . Seeing how the concert grasped more than a thousand people of multicultural backgrounds and managed to unify them as one, his perception of music became quite clear. Though he had spent a considerable amount of time listening to it on television and radio as were his sole means of comfort while trying to adjust in school, it never occurred to him how music holds the irresistible power to interconnect people and alter their lives within mere moments. Returning home to his mother who had pleaded to refrain from purchasing drugs and talking to strangers before dropping him at the concert venue, Salman forthrightly indulged in a conversation with her which serves as one of the first footsteps of his journey of becoming one of the most significant figures of Pakistani rock music. “Can I buy a guitar?” anxiously asked Salman. 21 Rockistan

“Well, if you can save enough money, you can buy a guitar,” she answered. Salman had received a response but not the one he was anticipating as he had to strive for his first guitar by learning the value of a dollar. His dream could have fallen in jeopardy had his mother flat out refused. Such musical rejections have been encountered by nearly every aspiring musician at least once in their lifetime. In Liverpool, England, when fourteen- year-old John Lennon was steadily improving his guitar playing skills and started to play at small gigs, his stern aunt Mimi Smith warned him that he would never make a living out of it. Such discouragements by family relatives have mugged the world from being introduced to the next Eric Clapton, the next Bob Dylan or even the next Jimi Hendrix. Six years later, Lennon would form the rock band Beatles which sold a whopping 600 million records worldwide. When Lennon kissed the high skies of triumph, his aunt would attempt to take credit for his success by hypocritically claiming that she bought his nephew’s very first guitar. On the contrary, it was purchased by Lennon’s mother Julia who even taught him to play his first chords. are considered among the most influential and innovative musicians of all time. Apart from being the highest-selling band in , their ability to periodically redefine themselves and exceptional songwriting skills are unmatched as they continue to inspire countless musicians even to this very day. Bent on buying his first guitar, Salman undertook not one but two part-time jobs so he could cover the expenses. Delivering newspapers and working as a busboy at Blauvelt 22 A Game of Chance

Coach Diner on Route 303 for $1.25 an hour, his tiresome efforts never waned nor did his passion for music fused by Jimmy Page showed any probable signs of fading away. Salman soon signed up for a local guitar club despite not owning the instrument yet. It was here where he met none other than the young, tall, quiet, Irish-American Brian O’Connell. Born to devout Christian parents who moved from Queens to Tappan, Brian was an outsider as much as Salman and the two promptly befriended each other. More than a decade before the pair would perform sold-out concerts across Pakistan as members of rock band Junoon, the two friends were learning how to play an electric guitar, though Brian was much ahead and was a member of a local garage band called Eclipse. Performing at birthday parties, school proms and barbeques, the group consisted of lead vocalist Jeff Bergman, lead guitar player Paul Siegel, bass player Rich Silverman, keyboard player Joy Schloss and the aforementioned Brian. Additionally, it was through the band that Salman made acquaintance with the marvelous guitar player John Alec Raubeson. Almost two decades later, he would become one of the most vital aspects of Junoon’s album recordings and music production. After nine arduous months of working after school, Salman had saved $200 to acquire what would become his most prized possession. When he stepped inside Sam Ash Music store in Paramus, New Jersey, with his mother and Paul, he was awestruck as he could not take his eyes off the diverse variety of gleaming guitars displayed at the shop such Fender Twin Reverbs and Gibson Les Pauls. With his 23 Rockistan heart set on a Carlo Robelli copy of Les Paul, he made up his mind about what to buy but his excitement abruptly stonewashed when he peered at the $235 price tag. Fortunately, his mother paid the remaining amount of money and Salman had become one step closer yet extensive miles away from living out his dream of rock ‘n’ roll. Now finally wielding the instrument, Salman began improving at the guitar club at a much rapid rate as compared to his early days. Citing Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix as his inspirations, he mimicked their techniques to the point of listening to them at a slower RPM to comprehend every single note on their songs. It was during this time of his sprightful teenage years when he drowned in the vast ocean of rock music and endlessly listened to it. As his craze for the genre began to mount, Salman pasted the posters of , Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Hendrix and the Beatles on his blank walls which were now a harbor of rock ‘n’ roll heavyweights. Out of all the bands that captivated his admiration, none fascinated him more than the Beatles. The melodic Fab Four stirred quite an adulation in him and the impressionable Salman was predominantly fixated with member John Lennon who had then announced a brief hiatus from his music career to become a peace activist. Learning how to play the guitar had exceeded from being Salman’s passion to obsession. Practicing at the club and rehearsing in his room for a staggering 16 to 18 hours a day, all his sessions would pay off when Rich departed from Eclipse. Out of all the people to choose from, Paul asked Salman to be the member of the band as the replacement. 24 A Game of Chance

Forming a smile that reached his ears, it was a sign for Salman that signified that he had finally made it. His days of being a brown immigrant were over as the membership in the band was equivalent to being one of the most popular kids at the school. Eclipse was a stunning cover band and played dozens of hit songs from the late '60s and early '70s such as Jumping Flash by the Rolling Stones, Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix and Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. Their aptitude was put to test at the upcoming 1979- 80 Tappan Zee High School battle of the bands. Furthermore, the contest spawned Salman’s image as a rock star that would forever define him as a performer as far as his magnetic on-stage presence is concerned. Rock ‘n’ roll has witnessed countless musicians sway their loyal fanbase by outrageous yet surprisingly effective garments of choice which has assisted them in maintaining their iconic eminence. There is an appealing entity about Guns N’ Roses’ lead guitar player that draws attention due to his jet black top hat, dark round glasses, a cigarette dangling from his lips, long curly hair across his face and bandannas hanging out from his back pocket. The same was the case for the eccentric whose interest in space travel and science fiction motivated him to create his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust. Sporting a fiery mullet, crimson red lightning bolt painted across his face and describing himself as an omnisexual alien rock star sent to Earth as a messenger, Bowie was unparalleled in illustrating as an art form. Perhaps no other rock artist comes close to defining their stage manifestation other than the maniacal Marilyn Manson. Donning feminine makeup, abhorrent 25 Rockistan costumes and relying on shock value, the controversial musician has been a target of numerous religious organizations on multiple occasions but undeniably became an unavoidable musical phenomenon. Acknowledging how presentation plays a key role on stage and succeeds in unleashing the blaze inside of even the shiest individuals, Salman wore a traditional kurta, jeans and a necklace with “Allah” emblazoned on it. Even if he was a world away from Pakistan, he never allowed his cultural and religious roots to slip from his memory. Reminiscing about how his mother always advised him to keep his feet on Earth no matter what happens in his life, he decided to perform barefoot and that became his trademark on stage. Fully aware of the challenge they were up against, performing in their school’s battle of the bands was not a walk in the park. Nevertheless, Eclipse stood victorious at the end of the night. If there was any moment that solidified Salman’s quest for becoming a rock star, this was it. It was a big leap from being a foreign brown kid to a regal guitar player and even though he left no doubts among his high school friends that he indeed has what it takes to live a life of rock ‘n’ roll, it was frowned upon by his beloved family. The preposterous fantasy of becoming a rock star was condemned since Salman’s mother, who was deeply concerned by her son’s isolation as a result of practicing the guitar in his room for hours on end, had already stipulated his profession. “Son, you can either become a doctor or you can become a doctor.” Understandably sagacious as she was, gaining medical education certainly seemed a venerable choice and a 26 A Game of Chance common one among her family as several relatives were either doctors, physicians or surgeons. Yet Salman was not amused by such medical occupations and could not be convinced otherwise. One day, at the request of his parents, his uncle and prominent Pakistani surgeon Dr. Ismat Anwar visited Salman to acquaint his medical career with him. As he entered the room, he stood in shock upon seeing several life- size, long-haired musicians on the wall who looked more like drug addicts than guitar players. It was a reasonable perception by a medical doctor as not so surprisingly, the rock stars on the posters have a scrutinized history of drug abuse. When asked about his future, Salman pointed towards the poster of Jimi Hendrix. “Uncle, I just want to be just like that guy.” The legendary guitar player could not read music yet became a rock titan and an unparalleled showman on stage. Hendrix was capable of efficiently playing the guitar upside down, behind his back, between his legs, over his head and even with his teeth yet Dr. Ismat was barely impressed. He explained to Salman that his parents have high expectations from him and he should divert from playing the guitar. However, Salman made it clear to his uncle that his heart orbited around rock music and he would not be reevaluating his ambitions. Dr. Ismat then informed Salman’s parents that their son’s desire of living in the world of rock ‘n’ roll would take him nowhere and there was only one probable solution. “If he stays in the States, he’s going to be a musician,” cautioned Dr. Ismat. “Send him back to Pakistan now! There is no rock music there.” 27 Rockistan

Salman remembered how his mother told him that America was a place where people of all cultures, religions and skin complexion could go and fulfill their dreams. It could not have been more accurate as during his tenure in the country, he would observe retired Hollywood actor becoming the 40th President. Whenever Salman insisted on following his life’s goal of making it big as a rock musician, he would be constantly met with the same ominous response from his family that decimated his spirits. “You can’t be a mirasi. Being a doctor will give you respect and nobility.” Salman could not accept the fact that his dream was being mercilessly slain and was about to be sent back to the country which was repellant to rock music. With his heart shattered to pieces, he continued to play scores of songs whenever he got his hands on the guitar and jammed with Eclipse as much as he could. His final months in the States took a turn for the worse as tragedy struck twice due to two of his rock dying merely three months apart. Led Zeppelin’s powerhouse drummer John Bonham breathed his last on Thursday, September 25, 1980, by inhaling his own vomit. Notorious for his copious alcohol consumption, he had drunk forty shots of vodka the previous night. The band preferred not to replace their deceased drummer and would formally announce their break up nine days after the unforeseen misfortune. Three months later on Monday, December 8, 1980, the course of music history would drastically alter as a deranged, former Beatles fan Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon in the back four times without any remorse outside his 28 A Game of Chance apartment in New York. He would be sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment. Reflecting on his memorable moments in Tappan, New York, from 1975 to 1981, Salman fondly recalls them as the “best years” of his life and coming to the terms with pursuing a medical education back in Pakistan was not something that he could promptly adapt to. Salman had to patiently wait for the life he had envisioned for himself as his true calling for rock ‘n’ roll was not terminated but merely postponed. More than a decade later, he would fearlessly take the Islamic Republic of Pakistan by storm. When one door closes, the other opens.

29 Rockistan

Chapter 3 EMERGENCE OF THE VITAL EMPIRE

I needed to prove the doubters that there was place for music—rock and otherwise—in a Muslim country. Salman Ahmad

“The government of Mr. Bhutto has ceased to exist. The whole country is under Martial Law,” hissed General Zia-ul- Haq while addressing the nation after pulling off Operation Fair Play. Identified for increasingly wearisome ordeals, Pakistan has often been linked to over-growing nuclear arsenals, collapsing economy, nightmarish taxation systems, religious intolerance and above all, political instability. After the radical turmoil and social unrest caused by frequent clashes between the and the Pakistan National Alliance in July 1977, General Zia orchestrated a coup d’état on the leaders of both parties. Military dictator Zia and the democratically elected Prime Minister were far from being strangers to one another. Less than a year earlier, the former had expressed his endless loyalty to the latter. In March 1976, Bhutto had forcefully retired seven army generals in order to elevate then three-star rank Lieutenant-General Zia to four-star rank and consequently appointing him as the new 30 Emergence of the Vital Empire

Chief of Army Staff. Never in his wildest thoughts Bhutto had imagined that Zia would stab him in the back, play a massive role in his downfall and shackle him in a vigorously lengthy trial that concluded with execution. Even after being relieved of his duties in the most humiliating fashion, the former Prime Minister had not escaped the wrath of the military. In September 1977, Bhutto was taken into custody on the charges of authorizing the of lawyer and political rival Ahmad Raza Kasuri. Though the latter narrowly escaped when assailants fired gunshots at him while driving a car, his father Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan who was sitting in the passenger seat was not so fortunate and succumbed to his injuries by bleeding profusely due to the bullet wounds. Despite Kasuri donating his blood, Nawab was unable to recover and died at United Christian Hospital in Gulberg, . The fingers were immediately pointed at Bhutto and Zia spared no time in making the rest of his life vexatious as possible. What followed has been historically described as a judicial assassination on countless occasions. In March 1978, the declared Bhutto guilty of murder and slapped the death penalty on him. The circumstances took a turn for the worse as he foresaw democracy dying a slow, painful death as Zia would soon become the . The military dictator rejected the surplus of appeals from almost every figurehead across the nation who requested him to overturn the death sentence. On the dismal night of Wednesday, April 4, 1979, Bhutto was hanged at Central Jail with his final words being, “O Lord, help me for I am innocent.” 31 Rockistan

As the President of Pakistan, Zia diverted the country to an Islamic fundamentalist identity. Left-wing student unions, political rivals, liberal activists, protestors and journalists were either dismissed or arrested. Whereas right- wing political factions and religious student unions briskly seeped into the country. Convinced that was the key to strengthening the country and keeping the citizens from disintegration, the dictator replaced the British-imposed secular policies with a strict Shahriah legal code. Despite the authoritarian figure and the radical image that history remembers him by, Zia was a devout Sunni Muslim through and through. Even at the tumultuous height of World War II when Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army, he would always spare time for his religious obligations despite offending his British officers. They would drink alcohol and indulge in gambling whereas Zia would offer his prayers. Due to Islam practically running through his veins, it was the military dictator’s religious convictions that forced him to make sure that judicial courts proceed with the legal cases according to the principles stated in the Islamic doctrine. Under Zia’s regime, school textbooks were revised to remove any material considered against the religion. World History and Geography were withdrawn as subjects from the curriculum and replaced with . Factories and buildings were ordered to have a separate space for praying. Most of the cinemas were shut down and the few remaining ones were enforced with heavy taxes. Unparalleled amounts of Islamic activists and clerics from the conservative political party Jamaat-e-Islami were 32 Emergence of the Vital Empire awarded government posts to enforce Zia’s religious reforms. Even though Bhutto had banned nightclubs, horse racing and alcoholic beverages, Zia went miles further as criminal charges of adultery, burglary and blasphemy were to be dealt with whipping, amputation of hands or even stoning to death as brutal forms of punishment. Censorship was rampant as anything feared to mark Islam in a negative light was kept under wraps from the public eye to the point of concealing Jinnah’s statements that emphasized the separation of the mosque and the state. The primary targets in Zia’s ultraconservative regime included music as well. For centuries, music has proved to have significant survival value due to its ability to bridge the gaps between people from dissimilar cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Scientific researchers have even determined music as one of the earliest forms of communication among ancient civilizations. On the flip side, music’s compatibility with Islam has mostly been a subject of debate and controversy. Three decades before Zia’s hostile takeover, Pakistan was declared as the world’s first Islamic republic due to the Constitution enforced on Friday, March 23, 1956, yet music had no complications in terms of social acceptance in the country. Qawwali and are the earliest frontrunners of Pakistani music shaped by the zeal of the and , respectively. Whereas featured in the golden age of Pakistani cinema climbed to new heights of admiration in due to the trailblazing playback singer . 33 Rockistan

Even music had a fair share of audience due to abundant Christian bands performing in various hotel lobbies, dance halls and nightclubs across , and Lahore. Despite the versatility, rock music was nearly non-existent in Pakistan. Contrary to the popular belief that Zia banned music, that was not entirely the case. In fact, he posthumously honoured the aforementioned folk musician Lohar with the prestigious Award for his melodic contributions following his tragic death due to a truck accident in July 1979. Five years later, sufi singer was bestowed with the esteemed award as well. However, Zia rigorously controlled the state of Pakistani music and made decisions at the behest of his religious advisors which directly resulted in the countrywide crackdown of musicians as their careers dwindled. The renowned PIA Art Academy was relinquished from its budget and was banned on the radio. Notable examples of musicians facing their downfall due to the dictator’s cabinet members deeming their content as a presentation of vulgarity are alarming. Pop artist Alamgir’s Dekha Na Tha regularly aired on state-owned electronic media but got booted off on the baffling grounds of obscenity. Even Rushdi’s song Dil Ko Jalana was not safe from the strict censor board as they feared that it exalted alcohol consumption. Unlike the rest of Zia’s targets that got pushed under his rule as the President, music never hesitated to push him back as evident from the unsuccessful attempts to ban from shrines. Seeing how music simply cannot be expelled, 34 Emergence of the Vital Empire

Zia began monitoring it with strict guidelines. Musicians were instructed to be “properly attired” for their television appearances, avoid wearing western clothing at all costs and refrain from dancing while . Such directives completely eliminated any kind of showmanship and made the Benjamin Sisters look like life-size cardboard cutouts of themselves. Any sort of physical contact between male and female singers was severely discouraged and none suffered more than the sister-brother pop duo of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. The two were merely teenagers when they got their big break in music as the new wave of their music genre but the radical Islamists ridiculously blamed them for promoting incestuous relationships. The siblings’ music was subsequently banned from being played upon the recommendation of Zia’s religious committee. Nazia and Zoheb’s debut album Deewaane became the highest-selling album released by EMI Pakistan within a few days of its release but their future seemed grim due to the ban. Upon several attempts, the teenage musicians were granted a meeting with none other than the dictator himself where they were addressed about what it means to be a Muslim and a Pakistani. Surprisingly, they turned the tables by convincing the General that their music was not against his Islamization policies and the ban was lifted after the meeting. Ultimately, music optimistically grew fresh hopes to shine in an ultraconservative era. Zia was a subject of contradiction due to his fondness for American President Ronald Reagan. The two occasionally met at the White House and developed a bond over their mutual battle against the threats of communism and the 35 Rockistan

Reagan administration proudly declared the dictator’s military regime as their “front line” ally. However, back in Pakistan, Zia never shied away from showing his disdain for western culture and had denounced their garments and guitar-oriented music. During his stringent regime, rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Van Halen and Led Zeppelin began cultivating a new following in Pakistan’s middle-class youth due to the increased access to cassette tapes and VHS tapes of Top of the Pops since they were cheaper and less fragile than vinyl records. Their popularity kept expanding further through pirated tapes and old rock magazines. As the goliaths of rock ‘n’ roll who continue to inspire musicians, they captivated Pakistani youth and in 1985, underground rock and cover bands would steadily grow in numbers. They performed in university campuses, small events, a few five- star hotels and Alhamra Arts Council but mainstream success remained out of their reach. No matter how much talented the rock musicians were at the time, they were underappreciated or overlooked as the country had never been subjected to such aggressive forms of music that could be mistaken as high-pitched noise. Playing rock music on a public platform was anything but an easy task due to being interrupted by enraged crowds of religious fanatics masquerading as Islamic devotees. Unfortunately, the same was the case with none other than Salman Ahmad when he played guitar in front of an audience for the very first time in Pakistan. In 1982, he enrolled at King Edward Medical College, Lahore, to pursue his parents’ dreams of their son becoming a respectable doctor but his heart still ached to follow rock music. 36 Emergence of the Vital Empire

In the draconian age of Zia’s regime, one of the rare sources of Salman’s comfort was his friend and classmate Munir, fondly called Clint because of his immense affection towards action thriller movie Dirty Harry starring the renowned American actor, Clint Eastwood. The two grew close due to their joint love for music as Clint owned a and listened to bootleg tapes of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. In their first year as medical students, they arranged a talent show in a small ballroom of the International Hotel and invited the students who could juggle, perform stand-up comedy, recite or display anything exceptional on stage. This was, of course, Salman’s opportunity to mesmerize the audience with his guitar playing skills and he chose to cover Eddie Van Halen’s ferocious guitar solo Eruption. Despite merely being one minute and forty-two seconds long, it has the bewitching potential to keep its listeners engaged in astonishment. Salman could hardly pay attention to the agonizingly long anatomy and physiology lectures that day as he begged time to fast forward. Once they finished, he went to his grandmother’s house to change his clothes. He took off his white overalls and wore jet black jeans, an AC/DC T-shirt, royal blue prayer beads around his wrist and a necklace around his neck with “Allah” branded on it with gold letters. In the end, Salman applied black paint below his eyes and felt like a New Yorker again. The strip of black paint beneath the eyes is traditionally associated with baseball and football players instead of musicians but he always had a giant spot for sports in his heart as well. 37 Rockistan

The enthusiastic Salman grabbed his MXR distortion box and Cry Baby wah-wah pedal and left for the International Hotel. As the event unfolded, nearly sixty freshmen showed up with the hope of being entertained as such luxury was exceptionally rare at the time. The crowd was a far cry from any stadium Salman had visited during his six years in New York but that did not stop him from covering Van Halen’s guitar solo on stage despite knowing very well how alienated the hard rocker was to the audience’s limited listening spectrum. With his friend Clint behind him on the drum kit, Salman turned up the volume of his amplifier to 11 and went ablaze with the heavy guitar riffs of the Eruption solo. With his eyes closed, he felt a rush of adrenaline as he heard the audience scream as loud as they could. During the guitar solo, the roars of the crowd intensified Salman while believing that he was in a but soon realized how mistaken he was after opening his eyes. Zia’s Islamization struck the event like a bolt of lightning and stopped it dead in its tracks as hordes of bearded members from the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami broke in and began destroying everything in sight. Their eyes were blind to the fact that it was a measly talent show and misinterpreted the occasion as an opportunity for the fraternization of boys and girls; going as far as aggressively pushing them apart from each other and throwing burqas on the terrified girls. “Fahashi! Harami!” They shrieked. One of the behemoths made his way to the stage with his fiery eyes fixated on the musical instruments. He kicked Clint’s drum kit, snatched Salman’s Les Paul from his hand 38 Emergence of the Vital Empire and smashed it on the marble floor to shatter it into smithereens. The guitar’s wreckage was more of an insult to Salman since rock musicians are often supposed to be the ones who break their own instruments onstage. Such acts of eccentric showmanship have been popularized by Pete Townshend of the Who, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Paul Stanley of KISS due to occasionally destroying their electric guitars at the end of their gigs. The precarious moment in the talent show gave Salman a front-row seat view of how unwelcomed music was in the country as long as Zia was in charge. In an ultraconservative regime when such violence was the norm, Pakistani citizens had only one source of entertainment that was unrestricted from censorship— cricket. The stadiums where the matches were held were far beyond Zia’s reach to enforce gender segregation nor desist the lurid sounds of drums and blowing horns. The exciting atmosphere blended Salman’s love for music and sports as he joined the Lahore Gymkhana cricket club while pursuing his medical degree. Narrowing down to the one individual that the country looked up to during Zia’s dictatorship, it was none other than the of the cricket team, . Born on Sunday, October 5, 1952, he hails from the northwestern city of and his ancestry reaches back to the 16th Pashtun warrior and Sufi poet Pir Roshan. Imran has been responsible for numerous memorable triumphs in the Pakistani cricket team’s distressingly short list of achievements. 1n 1972, he was admitted to the University of Oxford’s Kebble College where he studied 39 Rockistan

Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After graduating in 1975, he returned to his country and joined the national cricket team. For the citizens, Imran was more than an athlete. He exemplified the essence of courage, patriotism and discipline as such role models at the time were minutely less. Salman had been in the awe of Imran ever since he saw him playing against the Australians during one of the matches of the very first . The Gymkhana was managed by the family of Imran’s mother and on a few occasions, the captain himself would stop by for training and practice sessions. An unexpected misfortune struck him in February 1983 during the six nail-biting Test series between Pakistan and as Imran was diagnosed with a very serious stress fracture in his left shin. The injury caused a two-year halt in his career but as fate would have it, it provided an opportunity for Salman to not only meet his cricket idol but also to grow closer to him. Moreover, it gives a glimpse of how different Pakistani music history could have been as he became very few inches away from jumpstarting his career as a professional cricketer instead of a rock star. Seeing how suppressed music was in the country, Salman’s dreams of becoming a musician were nearly drained. Though he did play the guitar privately from time to time, he was rekindled with his favourite sport of cricket and even became the captain of King Edward’s Medical College cricket team. While recovering from injury, Imran spent his time camping in the mountains, travelling in remote 40 Emergence of the Vital Empire areas of the country and mentoring young cricket enthusiasts at the Gymkhana. On a cool evening in December 1985, Salman played a friendly cricket match against Imran and proved that his hands were as good on the wooden bat as on the electric guitar. Impressed by observing Salman’s defensive skills while at the receiving end of , Imran him by complete surprise by selecting him for an upcoming tour to with an unofficial Pakistani cricket team. Seeing that the team comprised of , and , he promptly believed that it was his destiny to play cricket on an international forum. As the team departed from Karachi to Dacca, Salman wondered about how the team would be greeted upon their arrival as fourteen years ago, Bangladesh was carved out on the map of the world after being free from prejudice and injustice while being a fragment of Pakistan. To their utter amazement, Bangladesh warmly welcomed the team with affection while chanting Imran’s name at the top of their lungs. Even during the tour when cricket was a priority in his mind, Salman’s love for playing the guitar never faded. After one of the matches, he saw a cover band unloading their musical instruments to play for the team at the hotel they were staying at. It was New Year’s Eve of 1985 and the band was hired as the entertainment highlight of late-night festivities. During the soundcheck, Salman’s attention grabbed the guitar owned by one of the band members and humbly asked him if he could play it for a while. 41 Rockistan

“I’m with the team from Pakistan,” said Salman with his eyes locked on the instrument. “Can I play your guitar?” “You should stick to cricket, man,” the musician replied. “A guitar is nothing you hit sixes with. This thing is really delicate.” , Salman did not need to be reminded about treating a guitar with care, especially after seeing his getting dismantled. “Who’s your favourite player?” Salman asked with a smile. “Carlos Santana.” “Does your band play any Santana songs?” eagerly asked Salman. “Yeah,” answered the band player. “We play Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va.” “Alright,” said Salman. “If I give you free tickets to our game tomorrow, will you let me play?” The Bengali musician keenly accepted the proposal and gave his guitar to Salman with hesitation and pondered if he could actually play. In a few instants after tuning the strings, Salman marvelously played the intro of Black Magic Woman as the entire band skeptically watched him. The musicians realized that he was accustomed to playing the guitar and joined him in a jam session that lasted half an hour. Before departing, the band asked Salman to play with them on the stage in front of the team. During their show at night, the bandleader introduced him to the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a surprise for you this evening. Salman Ahmad of the Pakistani cricket team is going to play guitar for you!” 42 Emergence of the Vital Empire

Naturally, everyone sitting in the hall was stunned upon hearing the announcement and had their eyes pierced on Salman. “How much did you pay them, Logie?” jokingly queried Wasim Akram. Ready to play the guitar with a band in front of a Muslim audience, Salman found, though temporarily, what he had dreadfully longed for back home in Pakistan—an audience with no external pressures caused by a radical regime. They performed Black Magic Woman again and received roaring applause from the audience. Since then, Imran began referring to Salman as “the hit kid”. Returning to Pakistan with his passion for playing the guitar refueled, Salman began to review his destiny once again. He had once played an exhibition match against and scored 42 runs without being out. An impressed Jonty Rhodes even commented that he should drop the guitar and pick up the bat. Cricket and music had always been his two passions and even though the former had better prospects of a potential career in the country, fate began to persistently refuse to aid him. As he began excelling in cricket, Salman was selected for the first-class season in Lahore and it rained on every single day of the particular matches he played in. He even got out twice in friendly matches and scored 90 runs against Imran Khan. However, his door to playing music steadily reopened. Back in Lahore amid his medical education, Salman was considering selling his guitar equipment such as foot pedals and distortion device since he restricted himself to playing at home. Little did he know that he had made quite a name 43 Rockistan for himself among a few students in the city due to playing the guitar in the disastrous talent show. Two students arrived on his doorstep and requested to see his musical equipment. Pleased upon realizing that they share an admiration for music, Salman invited them inside and became delighted when they requested him to teach them to play Smoke on the Water, Stairway to Heaven and Black Dog. He was astounded after realizing that they were fans of hard rock bands Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. After spellbinding them by jamming out to the riffs of their favourite songs, Salman was revealed to an underground movement in Lahore that was beyond his imaginations. They belonged to a secret club of hard rockers who are keen to learn and play instruments. The excitement was too much to handle for Salman after being aware of such clandestine musical activities. Lahore’s underground rock circuit during General Zia’s dictatorship chiefly consisted of students from Government College, Forman Christian College, University of Engineering and Technology, and King Edward Medical College. The rock revolution by Salman was on the verge of being sparked. Contrary to the popular belief, Junoon is not Pakistan’s first rock band. This often misquoted feat belongs to another group. Rock music has been buzzing in the country as early as the 1960s. Pop, folk, blues, soul, jazz, country, disco and even gospel bands had been fascinating the urban and elite class since then and had a slight touch of rock due to hard- hitting instrumentation and dense drum notes. Notable examples of rock music acting as a strong external influence 44 Emergence of the Vital Empire include the songs performed by the late 1960s band Panthers. From the early '60s to the mid-80s, dozens of groups would perform covers of rock icons such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles and the Bee Gees. Rock music did not just explode into existence in Pakistan. It rather evolved and grew organically. From the late '60s to the late '80s, Communications, Blackjacks and the Bugs were the earliest bands to play rock music in the country. However, since their music was diverse due to jazz, country and folk songs being played as well, none of them can be classified as proper rock bands. If a rock band is defined as a group that restricts itself to the genre and releases original material, then that qualifies the Barbarians as the very first rock band of Pakistan. Formed in the winter of 1987—three years before the birth of Junoon—the Barbarians was a garage band that went as far as releasing a full-length album. Among the underground rock and cover bands that were mushrooming during General Zia’s ghastly tenure of military dictatorship, the Barbarians were the very first group that transitioned to professional musicians with original material to their name. Citing hard rock bands such as Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep as their influences, the Barbarians personified glam and hair metal bands from the early '70s and were founded by lead guitar player Asad Ahmed and consisted of Keith Venantious as the lead vocalist, Nabeel Sarwar on drums, Waqar Jaffery on keyboards and Jamal Afridi as the bass player while occasionally providing vocals for a few songs. Though every band member possessed substantial flair in their own right, it was the 16-year-old Asad who always 45 Rockistan stood out from the rest. Born in Karachi on Wednesday, July 21, 1971, he was the youngest of three brothers and grew up in . One of his elder brothers played Yamaha electric guitar in a high school band and once he moved out for college, Asad spared no time in picking his instrument and began practicing it with utmost perseverance. As a completely self-taught guitar player, he would practice 8 hours a day. The very first song he learned to play on the guitar was Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. Growing up, Asad listened to Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour, Joe Perry, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Billy Gibbons but none inspired him more than Ace Frehley of band KISS. Renowned for their pyrotechnic stage shows, distinctive makeup and outrageous costumes that embody comic book-style personas, KISS practically shaped Asad’s aptitude as a thunderous guitar player and even stage performance to an extent as he occasionally sticks his tongue out while performing live like the band’s bass player Gene Simmons. In 1984, his family shifted to Pakistan where he did his O and A levels. Beginning his career as a professional rock musician, Asad was initially the player of the Barbarians. They received 500 rupees and a plate of chicken tikka for their very first paid gig when they had to fill in for the resident band at the Metropole Hotel, Karachi. The Barbarians were on the fast track of superstardom after standing victorious in the Rock vs. Rock show held in Taj Mahal of all places. The band was awarded a grand prize of 20,000 rupees and they used it as the financial backing for 46 Emergence of the Vital Empire their debut album. In June 1990, their debut single was a desperate call for unity and daringly addressed the cataclysmic issues of campus violence. The universities had become a breeding ground for savagery as rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs were widespread at the time. The of Yeh Zindagi Hai featured archetypal rock ‘n’ roll iconography such as long flowing hair, , heavy guitar riffs and most notably, Asad mimicking Jimi Hendrix by playing the guitar over his head. Such contents would have guaranteed a standing ovation in any western nation but definitely not in Pakistan at the time. The band was fortunate enough to receive more exposure when they appeared on Music Channel Charts in 1989. During their moderate as rock stars, the newly formed pop band Strings would serve as their opening act in concerts. The popularity of the Barbarians dwarfed in stature compared to the ever-growing pop and folk musicians. Nevertheless, they proceeded to work on their self-titled album that was released on Monday, June 18, 1990, by EMI Pakistan. Regrettably, the record label did more harm than good due to restricting the album’s status to a limited edition since, according to Asad, “the management at that time felt that this was not the way the Pakistani music should be going.” The album was met with very few welcoming gestures and that marked the gradual end of the band as shortly after the summer of the very same year, the Barbarians disbanded. While they did not propel to the mainstream, the group became the catalyst for the explosion of rock bands who 47 Rockistan would successfully do so in the future. “We were just kids back then and had no clue what we were doing,” recollects Asad. “We didn’t take it seriously because we were still studying in college. The Barbarians was just a garage band and it was much later when we realized that we had laid down the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll.” Amid their struggling phase, salvation had approached the Barbarians when none other than joined the band as the lead guitar player. Born in on Monday, April 8, 1968, he had a worldwide experience as a professional musician alongside pop sensation Alamgir. At the fond age of 6, the juvenile Zaki was hitting pots and pans as if he was playing the drums much to the annoyance of his mother whereas his father would become more thrilled. In the years that followed, he gifted his son a series of musical instruments such as drums, trumpet, piano and saxophone. On Zaki’s thirteenth birthday, he received another as a gift that became his artistic symbol—the guitar. As a self-taught musician who practiced 16 hours a day, he relied upon music editorials and books by Frederick Noad and Dan Morgan from Tariq Book Stall, Karachi. Though Zaki predominantly played rock, he never restricted himself to the genre as he would perform exceptionally well while playing pop, classical and jazz tones. Such vibrant categories were a result of combined influences from his parents as his father was a die-hard fan of jazz legend Charlie Byrd whereas his mother introduced him to the baritone of . Zaki also cites musicians who performed live at the various clubs in Karachi among his inspirations. 48 Emergence of the Vital Empire

Growing up, Zaki would listen to his elder brother Shahid’s record collection which contained the compositions of Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and David Gilmour. In a span of one year, he had excelled to the point of being regarded as a teenage guitar prodigy. He had even bunked schools so he could practice and his bedroom walls were decorated with posters of Clapton. At the age of 16, Zaki performed his very first concert at PACC Karachi with drummer Allan Smith, bass player Bosco D’Souza and saxophone player Sabby Patrick. The very next day, a local newspaper wrote a full page on him with the headline, “A Star is Born.” In 1984, Zaki jammed with drummer Salman Habib, bass player Daud Habib and flamenco player Premjee for hours on end and ultimately began performing collectively as Drug Enforcement. Their first show was held at Rangoonwala Hall where they played the covers of Cream, the Who and Jimi Hendrix. The band’s tenure was short- lived as Salman joined Habib Oil Mills whereas Premjee moved to the United States in pursuit of higher studies. With his mind still set on music, Zaki formed another cover band the same year by the name of Scratch which routinely performed in college functions and private parties held in Karachi. Fronted by female lead vocalist Ayesha Talal, the band was well-known for performing covers of Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Scorpions and Jimi Hendrix. Scratch even played a few original songs with their most famous one being Bomb. It was penned down by Zaki himself after being lyrically inclined by the massacre of more than a hundred 49 Rockistan people in Bohri Bazar, Saddar, Karachi, as a result of a bomb blast. Scratch was a vibrant unit of the city’s underground rock scene but never divulged to the bigger picture. After staying intact for two years, the band fell through when Ayesha departed in 1987. The same year, Zaki was offered by pop superstar Alamgir to be his backup band’s new guitar player. While Zaki was not as experienced as the rest of the band members who had been playing since the 1970s at nightclubs, it did not take Alamgir much time to identify his extraordinary ability as a guitar player and took him under his wing. At the age of 17, Zaki toured Dubai, India, England and the United States while being part of Alamgir’s backup band. “I did a world tour with Alamgir’s band. He was one of the key people to encourage me,” states Zaki. “He liked my playing and gave me a lot of space on stage to solo.” It was evident that he was an illustrious musician and Alamgir collaborated with him during the recording of two of his albums. The songs Keh De Na and Albela Rahi are among the singer’s finest masterpieces and would not have been the same without Zaki’s innovative contributions as the guitar player. By the time Zaki parted ways with Alamgir, he had become a natural performer on stage and even mustered up the skillset necessary for original compositions, songwriting and even singing. Playing piano at the age of eight, drums at eleven, saxophone at twelve and guitar at fourteen, Zaki had possessed all to make it big but as the chapters unfold, it will be showcased how Zaki downgraded from a brilliant guitar 50 Emergence of the Vital Empire icon to easily the most mistreated and underappreciated artist of the country. From being cheated by a major beverage company to being overshadowed by far less seasoned acts, his career would barely have any glimmer of hopes.

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One of the earliest Pakistani rock band that has been lost in the sands of time is the Final Cut. Named after Pink Floyd’s twelfth studio album and formed one year after the Barbarians, the band was the brainchild of the self-taught guitar player and metalhead from Karachi, Rizwan Latif Khan. A regular customer of the music shop called Sound Scape, he purchased records of AC/DC, Van Halen, Scorpions and Judas Priest in 1983. The shop was one of the rarest sources of rock music in Karachi and he soon extended his ears to the haunting tracks of Led Zeppelin, , Deep Purple and Pink Floyd. Once Rizwan listened to Screaming for Vengeance by Judas Priest, he was infatuated with the electric guitar and bought one three years later. Unlike Zaki, Rizwan had no access to any books to learn the instrument. Facilities such as tutorial videos, music instructors and the internet were also unavailable at the time so he relied purely on instinct. “Learning to play was a totally insane process,” recalls Rizwan whose muscles hurt more than they should have while playing the notes. “It was a lot of trial and error but a lot of energy just to play rock.” Following the path of his idols, Rizwan soon began performing in a cover band that consisted of Faisal Jamal on 51 Rockistan the drums, Nadeem Jafri on the keyboards and Jamal Afridi leading the front as the vocalist and bass player as well. One day, they played a show where the energetic vocalist Schehzad Mughal and his band caught Rizwan’s attention due to the former’s lively stage presence. Coincidently, the two bumped into each other at Karachi University a few days later. Rizwan’s memory of Schehzad’s performance was still fresh in his mind and they ended up talking for hours on mutual interests with rock and being the highlight of their conversation. Schehzad was soon welcomed in Rizwan’s cover band but Jamal soon exited and joined the Barbarians. Schehzad’s old friend Azam Riffat was later invited to fill in as the bass player and the Final Cut was born. Conjoining poetry with rock and metal tones, the band managed to produce a few but original tracks yet were unable to release even a single album due to plentiful hurdles despite outliving the Barbarians by a couple of years. The Final Cut had faced tiresome struggles since their formation with finances being the biggest one. It used to cost 500 rupees an hour to compose a song in a music studio at the time and since they were the only band at the time to always record live, their studio sessions required approximately fifteen hours on average. Compared to the expenses, their income from concerts was peanuts and this resulted in members Rizwan, Schehzad and Azam stepping forward as the monetary contributors for their recordings at the studio. Though Rizwan was the lead guitar player, he sang two of the five songs recorded by the band. They presented the handful of tracks to semi-private television channel NTM 52 Emergence of the Vital Empire and their song Main Chal Deya was chosen to be played on Music Channel Charts. In the same week, they offered their songs to the state-owned channel PTV and their track Mere Saath was selected. Coincidentally, both were the two particular songs that were sung by Rizwan and he was soon established as the band’s lead guitar player and the de facto lead vocalist as well. Naturally, this did not sit well with Schehzad at all and an unspoken tension gradually formed between the two bandmates. As the band gradually came into the limelight due to their music videos being aired on television, they were still grinding to find an audience. “There were absolutely no rock fans in Karachi,” states Rizwan. “We literally could count die-hard fans on our fingertips and ran into the same crowd every other concert.” The Final Cut would soon constantly lose its band members to stable career prospects. Before appearing on television, Aamir Raojee had replaced the departing Faisal on drums. In the years that would follow, the former left for the United States while bass player Azam withdrew for Canada. Even with new members Russell Owen D’Souza and Joe Fernandez joining the band to fill the empty slots of bass player and drummer, respectively, it was clear that being a rock musician in Pakistan meant defying all logic and intelligence due to an absence of spectators. “Nobody was ready for [rock] music back then,” says Rizwan. “Looks and pre-recorded music were everything back then and when you look at us [laughs], you'll realize we didn’t check any of those checkboxes.” Anguish soon followed the Final Cut as they squirmed to find media attention and public recognition but “everyone 53 Rockistan just wanted to listen to bhangra.” Their struggles began taking their toll on their friendship so conflicts, frustrations and clashes eventually erupted within the band. As the Final Cut’s live gigs became less and less, the distraught members went their separate ways in 1992. It was not uncommon for rock artists to have ill-fated careers but not because they lacked musical prowess. As a matter of fact, several rock aficionados consider the Barbarians and the Final Cut to be much ahead of their time. The focal point of their botched run is attributed to the conventional audience’s attention enclosed to the new kids on the block, Vital Signs. Nazia and Zoheb Hassan were the undisputed torchbearers of but even they faced competition and eventual dethroning by the emerging pop band. In the meantime, the nascent rock music in the country was suffering a premature death. Before getting acquainted with Vital Signs, it is important to insightfully gaze upon the band’s most quintessential member—Rohail Hyatt. This statement might be met with immense disagreement by a meteoric amount of people who were expecting the name of the charismatic lead vocalist yet that is where ignorance plays its role among the masses. It is crucial to cautiously understand how much of a resilient binding agent Rohail was in keeping Vital Signs intact. Born on Sunday, December 4, 1966, in Rawalpindi, Rohail took keyboard lessons arranged by his mother during childhood. At the age of 14, he was selected in the Under-19 Rawalpindi cricket team but his dedication to the sport diverted when he saw a student playing the band America’s song A Horse with No Name with a guitar in 54 Emergence of the Vital Empire school. He was Rizwan-ul-Haque and he became responsible for playing a pivotal role in Rohail’s intimacy with the guitar. He had received his first exposure to western music when a cousin purchased Pink Floyd’s eleventh album The Wall and that commenced his devotion towards the guitar and keyboards at the expense of his conceivable cricket career. The excessive playing was too much for even his musically inclined mother to handle as she broke his guitar. In 1982, Rohail met like-minded individual at a local meena bazar and the two instantly befriended each other over their mutual admiration towards music. On an interesting note, Rohail met his ex-wife Umber on the same day and venue as well. Born on Sunday, July 2, 1967, in Rawalpindi and affectionately known as Shahi, he grew up listening to eastern and westerns songs and would constantly plead his father to purchase a guitar. Due to no musical instruments shops available at the time, his father would assure him that he would do so if he was able to find one in Pakistan. He got his hands on the stringed instrument, though shattered, for the first time in his life when he borrowed it from Rohail. Shahi soon partially fixed it with the aid of Elfy adhesive glue. After learning his first notes from his newfound friend Rohail, the two began to occasionally perform in small settings. However, Shahi was looked down upon by his family while becoming more attached to music. Rohail had a short stint with underground band Progressions along with lead guitar player Nusrat Hussain and Rizwan. Afterwards, Rohail formed another underground band called Crude X in which Shahi joined as 55 Rockistan the bass player. Despite not playing the bass guitar before, he managed to play the instrument flawlessly. The trio of Rohail, Nusrat and Shahi soon clustered together as a nameless band that would perform the covers of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Nazia and Zoheb, Pink Floyd and Eagles. Dissatisfied with the alternating extra duties of singing, the band members embarked on an extensive journey to search for a vocalist. While studying at the University of Peshawar, Rohail and Shahi would still actively play music despite being neck- deep in assignments and educational burdens. By 1983, their quest for a vocalist was still inconclusive but would get a glimpse of their prayers getting answered when they saw underground band Knights lead by a tall, handsome, fair- complexioned and virile youngster singing George Michael’s Careless Whisper at Islamabad Model College for Girls located in F-6/2 area. Rohail was particularly awestruck by seeing the 19-year-old frontman who seemed to be carved out of stone and performed with a flaunting demeanor. Due to the freezing temperature and time refusing to be on their side, Rohail and Shahi had to abruptly depart without getting the chance to meet the sumptuous vocalist they had just witnessed. Since it was winter and they were on motorcycles, their journey would have been an excruciating one if they had not left before it got dark. As fate would unfold its marvels, the duo would personally encounter him three years later. The man who mesmerized them was none other than . 56 Emergence of the Vital Empire

Born on Thursday, September 3, 1964, in Karachi, Junaid was born to ’s Group Captain Jamshed Akber Khan and Nafeesa Akber Khan. The eldest of three brothers and one sister, Junaid never shied away from wreaking havoc in the strict household they grew up in. Immeasurably naughty and self-described as “devils”, Junaid and his brothers Humayun and Omer had damaged a bathroom sink and the television set in their youth much to the displeasure of their parents. The brothers once even went as far as attempting to drive their father’s brand new car with a kitchen knife and crashed it front first. Long before he became a professional musician, Junaid had his dreams set on numerous ventures. At the age of 8, he started playing tennis and craved to perform nationally but abandoned it during his undergraduate studies. At one point in his life, he wanted to be a secret agent. It is a lesser-known fact that Junaid badly desired to be a film actor. Dazzled by legendary actor , he mirrored his hairstyle and the way he spoke. Junaid chose pre-medical in college to become a medical doctor but later diverted to pre-engineering. Music had always fascinated him during his adolescence and he asked his parents for a guitar when they went for Umrah. The very first musical instrument he got was a Spanish guitar. With a decline in their mischievousness and their devotion to music in full swing, his younger brother Humayun occasionally sang while Junaid stood right behind him playing the guitar. He soon discovered his vocal strengths as he resorted to singing when his brother moved to college. Treating music as a hobby while continuing his studies, Junaid would sing 57 Rockistan the tracks of Aalamgir, Tehseen Javed and Mohammed Ali Shehki and soon joined a cover band named Knights in 1984. The group would perform the songs of Eagles, Wham! and REO Speedwagon. Knights was one of Junaid’s earliest stepping stones to superstardom and ultimately, he became known as “the Careless Whisper guy” in the underground music circuit of Islamabad. As far as his musical inspirations were concerned, Junaid quoted Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Genesis as his western influences and Muhammad Rafi, the aforementioned Aalamgir and Shehki as his eastern influences. While considering appropriate career options, Junaid aimed to follow his father’s footsteps by becoming a Fighter for Pakistan Air Force. However, his poor eyesight annihilated any likelihood of joining and he decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. During Junaid’s undergraduate studies, he formed a cover band by the name of Nuts and Bolts. They caught the eye of Imran Baqai, a friend of Nusrat from the university. Imran had known that his friend’s band had been searching for a lead vocalist but to no avail and suggested to bring Junaid over to Nusrat’s house at Satellite Town. Rohail and Shahi were already present there and the nexus of budding musicians jammed for four hours. Eventually, Junaid was offered to be their group’s lead singer. As Shahi recollects, Junaid was previously a member of a mediocre band but it was glaringly obvious that he was the most talented member. The line-up of Junaid, Rohail, Shahi and Nusrat was a force to be reckoned with and the fact that 58 Emergence of the Vital Empire their very first show as a collaborative group lasted till 3 AM because the audience kept demanding to continue is a solid authentication of how great they were even in their most unpolished state. Such late-night concerts were next to impossible due to General Zia’s ultraconservative regime. It was extremely rare to conduct live shows at the time. However, it was comparatively easy to obtain permission from the concerned authorities if the gigs were aligned with charity organizations. One of the earliest performances of Junaid, Rohail, Shahi and Nusrat as a band was held in an Islamabad restaurant by the name of Mr. Chips where they played for four and a half hours and were paid 1500 rupees. The band would perform covers of Nazia and Zoheb, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder and the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. From Rohail’s sarcastic perspective, they finally made it big when Junaid invited them to perform at the women-exclusive Kinnaird College in Lahore. “Do you want to perform a concert in Lahore? I could arrange one at Kinnaird,” asked Junaid. Immediately taken aback, the rest of the crew had not even performed a single concert in Lahore yet Junaid was confidently proposing one at a venue that a myriad of mainstream male musicians covertly desired to perform at. He promised a “grand reception” waiting for his bandmates once they would arrive at his hostel at UET Lahore to practice for the show. True to his claim, they received one but not as they had ever hoped for. 59 Rockistan

“The reception was really grand because there was chaos. There was full-time action between two political parties involving gun firing,” recounts Nusrat. An anxious Junaid frantically came running outside and instructed his bandmates to immediately leave the premises. A religious party had occupied the campus and would have mauled them since they were carrying musical instruments. Junaid soon escorted them to another hostel where they stayed for the night. On the next day, they went to a safe household to practice for their concert at Kinnaird College. It is often overlooked that by the time they were performing in Lahore, the group provisionally consisted of six to seven people including a drummer named Zaheer. The band always allowed their music to be their identity and thus had spent a considerable amount of time without a name but agreed to come up with one as they fortified their reputation as the most dominant group in the underground music scene. While discussing various names, Shahi reminisced about the moment when his sister, who was a student at a medical college, taught him the procedure to check the four vital signs of life in a person. “So we decided yeah, why not name it Vital Signs, like the vital signs of pop,” states Shahi while remembering the origin story of their name. It is a common misconception that the band named itself after band Rush’s song of the same name. For a brief duration, they went by the name of Goin' Astray which was suggested by Junaid. In their very first year of formation, Vital Signs competed in a battle of the bands conducted in Alhamra Arts Council. The show was 60 Emergence of the Vital Empire organized by Salman Ahmad. A medical student by day and a hard rocker by night, he was leading the uncharted territory of underground musicians in Lahore and was part of a band named Eastern Winds. Dubbed as the “Battle of Alhamra”, Salman’s paths crossed by Vital Signs before the event commenced and their first conversation was a far stretch from joyful salutations. “Sally boy!” roared Junaid. “You should be playing with us rather than those amateur Eastern Winds.” “JJ, the Vital Signs will be wishing that they never stepped out of 'Pindi!” bluntly answered Salman. The battle turned into a literal one as Eastern Winds’ bass player Asim’s fiancée, enraged with jealousy over how the Signs not only had better music equipment but were also outperforming every other band, pitched her heel to the unsuspecting Junaid’s jaw. This triggered an enormous scuffle among the audience but by the end of the night, Junaid and Salman merged in a friendship that would have its fair share of ups and downs in the impending future. Salman was even offered to join the Signs but had to decline due to being overloaded by his medical education. However, he promised to join as soon as he secured his degree. In 1985, through Rohail’s brother Zahid Hyatt, the band would get television exposure when they were approached by a student of the National Academy of Performing Arts, Rana Kanwal. As a part of her assignment, she asked the band to compose ’s poem Chehra Mera Tha and star in its music video. While recording, they were constantly being gazed upon by a timid and introverted director from PTV and a teacher from the academy, Shoaib 61 Rockistan

Mansoor. Intrigued by how well they worked as a unit, he could not keep his eyes off the band and soon approached them for a project that would elevate Vital Signs from rising stars to a national phenomenon in a blink of an eye. Shoaib contacted the band to inform them about five regional television stations competing to produce a song. He offered the Signs to record a patriotic track titled that was penned down by him and poet Nasir Nasik. The band’s first impression upon hearing the song’s name was met with heaps of ridicule and laughter. Rohail was particularly the most reluctant member to go through with it. Junaid was not keen on the idea as well and believed that the patriotic song was a horrendous idea. The persistent Shoaib refused to surrender his song and convinced them to at least give it a try. He shot down the band’s first draft of the melody but settled with their second attempt that was based on Nusrat’s humming and proceeded to help the rookies in their recording session. As preposterous as it may sound, Vital Signs recorded the song Dil Dil Pakistan in Rohail’s bathroom. Due to the lack of proper studio facilities, the band had to rely on bathroom tiles and a cheap four-track cassette recorder to achieve crystal clear audio. It was the only room capable of reflecting acoustic songs and Junaid had to lock himself inside it to sing Dil Dil Pakistan. Despite the patriotic theme, the music video accompanying the song had everything that would make General Zia’s skin crawl. The band members were shown playing guitars, wearing denim jeans and leather jackets while travelling in the lush greenery of Islamabad on motorbikes, bicycles and a jeep. 62 Emergence of the Vital Empire

As iconic as the music video for Dil Dil Pakistan is, most of it was actually shot on the fly. During their drive across Islamabad, Shoaib requested professional cyclists at Pakistan Sports Complex to lend their bicycles and the jeep was borrowed from United Bakery at F-6 Markaz. The censor board was initially unwilling to air it on television as the Signs looked more like nomadic hustlers than typical Pakistani youth. The resolute Shoaib spent much time persuading the board to reconsider and they finally agreed to play it on the basis of its nationally motivated tone. Appropriately coinciding with the country’s Independence Day in 1987, Dil Dil Pakistan became a cultural sensation after just a few instances of airing on television much to the surprise of the stunned members of Vital Signs, especially Rohail. Soaring with an uplifting mood that promptly made the listeners drift away from the perennial calamities of the nation, the band became a flourishing gold mine overnight. Dil Dil Pakistan won the contest by scoring almost 90% of the votes and hogged all the airtime on the radio and television. Perhaps the bigger achievement was how the catchy pop song was being tolerated even by religious clerics. Pakistan instantly crowned the new face of pop music in the form of four youngsters and demanded an entire album from the band. Gripping every citizen—oppressed or elite—in nationalistic euphoria, the song became a glistening sunrise of optimism during the turbulent dictatorship. The country’s oldest and largest record label EMI Pakistan stepped forward and reached out to the band but not every member was eager to hop aboard. While Junaid, 63 Rockistan

Rohail and Shahi were willing to take out time from their undergraduate education to record an album in Rawalpindi, Nusrat restricted himself as he was training to become a pilot for Pakistan International Airlines in Karachi. “Flying was something that I couldn’t leave,” says Nusrat. While departing, he recommended his bandmates to have Salman as the group’s lead guitar player and even provided his contact number. By then, Salman had graduated from King Edward’s Medical College, become a licensed doctor and been a part of at least seven underground bands. Moreover, he could now play the guitar covers of Led Zeppelin, Rush, Scorpions etc. “Listen, what are you going to do in this medicine?” Junaid asked Salman while persuading him to join Vital Signs. “You’ll be just another doctor, just the way I’ll be another engineer, so you might as well come join us.” The opportunity was too good for Salman to pass. As the lead guitar player for Vital Signs, he not only became a professional musician but also a public figure. Musicians were a punching bag in Pakistan due to being ridiculed by comedians and deemed as misfits in the society but the Signs were being welcomed with open arms. Salman’s interval as a member did not run swiftly as the band was met with abundant distractions due to ’s rallies against military dictator Zia in Islamabad. Born on Sunday, 21 June 1953, the daughter of Zulfikar Bhutto had returned from exile with a political vengeance on her mind. Vital Signs would relocate themselves in Karachi to record their debut album in EMI Pakistan’s recording studio. Owned by the son of renowned literary figure Patras 64 Emergence of the Vital Empire

Bokhari, Mansoor Bokhari wholeheartedly believed in the band’s musical aptitude and bequeathed them unlimited time in the studio. When Vital Signs were given a royalty advance of 150,000 rupees by the record label’s A&R Executive Arshad Mahmud, they understood the extent of expectations their country had from them as they now had to overcome the possibility of being a one-hit-wonder. With Shoaib exhibiting his utmost confidence and commitment to the band as the lyricist of most of their songs, Vital Signs became a shining bastion of freedom, optimism and progressive values. Political disorder wobbled Pakistan again as on the evening of Wednesday, August 17, 1988, the eleven-year- old dictatorship came to an unforeseen closure as General Zia and his close associates died in a suspicious plane crash that burst into mammoth flames upon takeoff. In addition to the dictator, 31 people lost their lives including American Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel and the United States defense representative General Herbert M. Wassom. The true cause of the misfortune has been inconclusive and has yielded several conspiracy theories that suggest the involvement of foreign powers such as India, Israel, America and the . Two months later, the coerced Pakistan Peoples Party returned to power as Benazir won the forthcoming elections and became the very first female leader of a Muslim nation. An alumnus of Radcliffe College at Harvard University and St. Catherine’s College at Oxford University, the 35-year- old Benazir became the eleventh Prime Minister of Pakistan and vowed to implement democracy. Gender segregation, 65 Rockistan grotesque punishments, radical violence and artistic repression that had previously plagued the country eventually vanished. Keeping in mind how the Signs nudged cultural ideology and the diverse society of Pakistan, Benazir invited the band at the Aiwan-e-Sadar for a televised performance on the 9 PM news even though their debut album had not even been released yet. They flew first-class tickets to Islamabad airport and were escorted to the venue on a limousine. The young, fashionably modest and newly elected Prime Minister jubilantly met the band to inform them that the entire country was proud of them and her establishment was willing to do anything to promote them. “Yaar, she’s so beautiful,” discreetly uttered Junaid to Salman upon seeing her. “Pakistan’s prayers have been answered. She obviously loves us!” During their encounter, Benazir commended Vital Signs for using their songs to raise the spirits of the nation and the future of the music scene had never looked brighter before. Their status as a reputable pop act was cemented due to millions of citizens watching their televised performance. There were no Islamic fundamentalists to refrain Salman from playing his guitar this time. On Wednesday, March 1, 1989, the band’s much anticipated twelve-track debut album Vital Signs 1 was released. Dil Dil Pakistan had touched every corner of the neighbourhoods and suburbs of the country and the album brought the band closer to the grassroots of the society. Consisting of upbeat songs coupled with a happy-go-lucky image, their overwhelming popularity was frequently compared to that of the Beatles 66 Emergence of the Vital Empire due to being adored, stalked, trailed and even mobbed. However, Junaid has been raucously against the notion of Vital Signs being baptized as the “Beatles of the East” since he accuses the Fab Four of destroying their entire nation by enriching it with “drugs and hippyism.” Whereas he maintains that his own band promoted the message of patriotism and saved the youth from going astray. “We lived like kings,” boasts Rohail upon the release of their very first album that sold 800,000 cassettes and 200,000 CDs. Benazir, to her credit as far as the resurgence of Pakistani music is concerned, asked Shoaib to orchestrate a major pop concert for up-and-coming musicians. If Vital Signs were metaphorically the Beatles, then was unquestionably their Brian Epstein and George Martin put together. Called Music '89, the show was a symbolic declaration of liberalization following the end of military dictatorship and was hosted by the brother-sister duo of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. Indisputably the most important moment in Pakistan music history, the show was witnessed by more than 70 million people and is fondly remembered as one of the earliest steps for music’s social acceptance. No concert had ever been broadcasted before on state-sponsored television due to live shows being perceived as a den of debauchery and vulgarity. It can be argued that Vital Signs were more relatable to the country than Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. The sibling duo had partly spent their childhoods in London and completed their undergraduate business administration programs at the prestigious Richmond College. Moreover, the two would record their albums in London as well. On the other hand, 67 Rockistan most members of Vital Signs line-ups were born, bred and educated in Pakistan. Additionally, they were capable of making more out of the inadequate studio equipment in the country instead of ones on foreign soil. Viral Signs performed Dil Dil Pakistan and Do Pal Ka Jeevan in Music '89, with Salman bursting out a Van Halen stylized guitar solo in the latter song. The last time he publicly played a track of the California-based hard rock band was an utter catastrophe yet here he was being applauded now. Their fervent performance might be the band’s highlight for the night but for Salman, it was being acquainted with a brash yet auspicious singer of another band. The show presented rising stars such as , Ali Haider, the Jupiters, Barbarians, Final Cut and the original pop quartet Strings. Out of all the new breed of fledgling musicians featured in Music '89, Salman’s eyes kept scraping , the 18-year-old volatile lead vocalist of pop group Jupiters. Born on Sunday, April 20, 1970, in Havelian, Abbottabad, he grew up in , Lahore, and had all the elements to be a megastar. He was notorious for his hyperactive attitude, hence his extensive history of being expelled from schools on multiple occasions. One of his earliest stage performances was at his school’s tenth-grade farewell party in which he sang a rendition of ’s Billy Jean with Urdu language intended to roast his teachers. His first stint in music was as the vocalist and the drummer in the underground band called the Scoundrels during his school days. In 1988, he developed an interest in playing the 68 Emergence of the Vital Empire guitar and bought the instrument worth 1500 rupees though he has never paid for it. Ali learned his first chords from Tanveer Tafu, one of the guitar players of the Lahore-based pop act Jupiters. The band was eminent for performing in small functions such as weddings, birthday celebrations, funfairs and private parties in Lahore and operated as one of the earliest musical endeavours of forefront musicians such as , Najam Sheraz and Irfan Kiani. One day, Ali was practicing in the band’s basement while the members were outside smoking cigarettes. After seeing the microphone and being the performer he was always meant to be, he started to sing Cutting Crew’s Died In Your Arms Tonight. The flabbergasted Tafu galloped down the basement to know for sure whether it was really Ali who was singing the song. He asked him to sing again as an attempt to assess his vocal abilities and Ali would gladly do so as he sang Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! and Dancing in the Dark by . Witnessing Ali’s undiscovered asset of three-octave vocal range, Tafu told him to ditch playing the guitar and instructed him to wear tidy clothes by the end of the evening. Ali had just landed the position of the band’s new vocalist and his first show was within a few hours. It was a wedding ceremony and his performance on the stage did not run smoothly as he forgot the lyrics while singing Take On Me by Wham! due to shivering in front of the people in attendance. The Jupiters had released a string of albums with melodramatic pop tones but Ali transcended their genre due to his heart set on rock songs of , a-ha, Wham! and 69 Rockistan

Def Leppard. Ali’s questionable occupation as a wedding singer was met with mixed emotions from his family members. His parents supported his choices but his grandmother used to bang her head while exclaiming, “Hai, Hai, mirasi ban gaya.” Some of his relatives forbade him from entering their house due to his career. Ali’s father was comfortable with his career choice as singing had safely diverted Ali from his savage lifestyle and the fiendish crowd he was infamously hanging out with at the time. A few of his disreputable acts include bringing firearms to school and beating up policemen and teachers. Ali’s tenure with the Jupiters would not last for long as he left the band because, as he recalls, the members were “without goals” and had “short-term plans”. Ali’s final performance with the Jupiters was immensely flustering as well. One individual from the audience threw money on him while he was singing. An embarrassed Ali stormed off the stage and quit the band. In 1988, he left for Sydney, , to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Ashfield Business College. It was affiliated with New South Wales University and he paid the admission and semester fees with the money that he had earned as a singer. Salman’s interaction with Ali at Music '89 was brief but stretched enough for the latter to express his eagerness to work together at some point in the future. Fresh off the success of the televised music concert, Shoaib capitalized by experimenting with the show-stealing Vital Signs by directing the telefilm Dhundle Raste starring the band members as themselves. With Fifty Fifty previously being 70 Emergence of the Vital Empire his most acclaimed sketch comedy show, expectations were incredibly high. Showing the Signs in a typical fashion, engaged in a clash of egos and Junaid mindlessly chasing a female fan, Pakistan sumptuously ate it all up. Unbeknownst to the country, fame had hit Vital Signs too hard too soon and the band had real-life internal conflicts behind the scenes as well. Salman would meet Ali again nine months later but not in Pakistan. The former went to Sydney to work on a documentary Shoaib was directing on Imran Khan tilted Leading from the Front. At a French fries joint located at Central Railway Station, Salman would come across a familiar face. Ali was working there part-time along with driving vans and cleaning washrooms as odd jobs to financially support himself while studying for his business degree. The two were thrilled to meet each other again and Ali gave Salman French fries free of charge. As the latter discussed how the music landscape in Pakistan had drastically improved, he recommended Ali to return as a singer after the completion of his studies so they could make a rock album together. However, Ali was forced to return before finishing his business degree due to monetary restraints and began to musically aid Rohail. Salman never wanted to be labelled as a pop star and was drawn towards hard rock melodies. Though he was permitted to add broody riffs in the instrumental track Samina (named after his wife) and the songs Do Pal Ka Jeevan and Yeh Shaam from Vital Signs 1, he was restricted from doing so when the time came to record their second album. Regarded as a “very good team man” by Junaid, Salman had allowed the band to write and compose 71 Rockistan almost the entire first album in the comfort of his own home located in Defence, Karachi, but felt short of his slice of the pie when his contributions and suggestions would be discarded. “Sal, our popularity’s going to plummet if we record your songs!” bellowed Rohail who was not at all fond of Salman’s tendency to shake things up a bit. Aside from being embittered about the band’s association with love anthems and ocean blue mood, he understood how they were being molested by politicians for their point-scoring agendas by presenting them as a product of their own progressive credentials. Benazir played a dynamic hand in bringing Vital Signs into the limelight of national television but did not hesitate to thrust aside the screenings of Music '89 and Dhundle Raste from PTV when religious fanatics began revolting against the resurgence of Pakistani pop music. Jamaat-e-Islami ensued mass riots as the unhinged fundamentalists burned television sets in clubs and burnt the Lahore television studio to the ground while blaming Benazir for promoting vulgarity and secularism under the banner of arts. Another instance of Vital Signs being soaked like a sponge by a politician was when then-Chief Minister of Punjab hosted their concert in the northern hills of Patriata in July 1990. Salman was unconditionally disgusted and felt like a jester in a king’s court. Always socially and politically intrusive, a trait which has stuck with him throughout his historic career, Salman penned down op- eds for The Star and Newsline as wake-up calls for the so- called leaders of the nation by beseeching them to set an 72 Emergence of the Vital Empire artistic platform for the youth so they could be lured away from drug addiction and campus violence. Salman’s bandmates considered his “save-the-country complex” a threat to their livelihood and would ask him to stop thinking about social reforms. Salman’s spiteful exit has often been finger-pointed to Rohail’s hawkish leadership but the latter has refuted the claims by asserting that Vital Signs had always been a democracy and every major decision was taken with the consensus of the majority. The disputes kept piling up when Rohail, Junaid and Shahi decided to maintain the band’s music as keyboard-oriented instead of being guitar-driven. It was a tough pill to swallow for Salman and the final straw that broke the camel’s back was when his heavy metal solo for one of the songs in their second album was rejected by his bandmates. It was a knife fight against the rest of the members every time Salman offered his creative input in terms of politically inspired lyrics and off-the-edge guitar compositions. Even though he called Vital Signs’ music “not edgy nor creative enough”, the rest of the three members were bent on playing safe as rock music was still not commercially viable. In July 1990, the atypical Salman picked up his guitar and furiously departed from the band while breaking a flower pot in the aftermath of an overheated squabble with his bandmates. Vital Signs had recently signed an exceedingly profitable contract with beverage juggernaut as the corporate sponsor of their marketing, production and music videos but the secured prominence coupled with sold-out concerts across the country meant absolutely nothing to 73 Rockistan

Salman if his musical direction was not being endorsed by the band. It was never about Vital Signs being a ticket for instant superstardom but about unleashing his distinguished musical craftsmanship. With no choice but to start from scratch and walking on the grounds that were infertile for rock music, Salman was categorically an artist with a death wish. 74 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Chapter 4 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

What Salman wanted for Vital Signs, you can see in Junoon. Rohail Hyatt

After his acrimonious split from Vital Signs, the resolute Salman Ahmad could have had a safe career in medicine but pursued his guiding heart that initially led to ridicule and persiflage. The devoted public kept scratching their heads on his unforeseen exodus from the band that had already broken through the barrier of the mainstream. As brilliant as Salman was as a guitar player, Vital Signs had an ace up their sleeve as Rohail Hyatt recruited his childhood friend and the person responsible for his spiritual awakening in terms of music, Rizwan-ul-Haque. Differences in artistic vision contributed to Salman’s dismissal and by no means was he going to compromise the guitar melodies that he believed to be a valuable addition to the band’s music. To unleash his musical vision, the search for members to join his very own rock band went smoother than expected. Ali Azmat and Vital Signs were by chance in the same household of their mutual friend during Salman’s sacking. He immediately asked Ali to form a band together and the latter was more than happy to oblige. 75 Rockistan

During the audition for the position of lead vocalist, the former wildcard of the Jupiters wore jet black jeans, a royal blue T-shirt and dark black glasses. However, Ali was not the effervescent singer the country knows and adores today as he was still struggling to find his identity. Flamboyant and eccentric, he had one song to his credentials. Titled Dosti, he wrote the lyrics of the track and it had served as the biggest hit of the Jupiters. Even though he partially contributed to some of the pop songs of Vital Signs that ended up being incorporated into their second album, Ali was unconditionally certain about entering the realm of rock music. Beginning his audition by singing Def Leppard’s songs Pour Some Sugar On Me and Hysteria, Salman instantaneously realized that Ali was unquestionably the perfect fit for the hard rock genre. A diamond in the rough, he followed by Elvis Presley’s Blue Suede Shoes, Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel and Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti. Salman and Ali instantly assembled and the unholy alliance was born. The very first song as a result of their collaborative effort was Neend Aati Nahin. There were no distance hurdles in their newly born friendship as it just so happened, Ali lived just two streets away from Salman’s grandfather’s home in Garhi Shahu, Lahore. The slots of a vocalist and guitar player were filled but the void of equipment persisted. One day, Salman received a call from his old friend, Nusrat Hussain. The former member of Vital Signs and then a commercial pilot for Pakistan International Airlines decided to get in touch with him during a layover in Lahore 76 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

International Airport but was unprepared for what would follow thereon. Being completely aware that Nusrat was already working on a solo album and was one of the rarest people he knew who were capable to function Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) programming, Salman straightaway introduced him to Ali and asked him to join the band as their keyboard player. “If you want to be a part of Pakistani rock history, this is your chance,” said Salman while convincing the dumbfounded Nusrat. The inclusion of Nusrat stretched the desperate necessity of equipment as he possessed a treasure cave of musical instruments at his home. He owned a , harmonium, banjo, , drum machine, piano, violin, flute, bongo drums and an accordion. Though he was primarily serving as the band’s keyboard player, he knew how to play the guitar as well and had occasionally traded places with Rohail during his days in Vital Signs. Moreover, the multi- instrumentalist Nusrat had a cosmic vocal that partially outlined the band’s sound till their debut album. With every member previously woven from a prodigious band, their line-up was a supergroup but it would take much more to not only thrive but to survive. In their formative days, the group would perform covers of Led Zeppelin and White Snake. Ali adored every single composition that Salman came up with that was previously overruled by the Signs but Nusrat hardly showed any ounces of support during the band’s recording sessions at EMI Studios in Karachi. Coming from an aviation family, his father Capt. Rahat Hussain and elder brother Capt. Sarwat 77 Rockistan

Hussain were the pilots of Fokker F27 and Boeing 777, respectively. In 1991, he was promoted to piloting Airbus A310 and time constraints began playing a major role in Nusrat’s absence from the band’s intervals at the studio, jam sessions and small gigs. In addition to being incoherent, he exhibited no confidence in Salman’s music. “Salman, these songs aren’t going anywhere,” he cried. “People will cringe listening to this album!” The group, still without a name, was working on their collaborative project with a provisional tag of Salman Ahmad & Ali Azmat. On one eerie night in August 1990, Salman had a dream that would live on in Pakistani music folklore for years to come. A towering, old figure with shoulder-length white hair and dressed in a white robe encountered him. The mysterious man grabbed Salman’s shoulders and rapidly shook him. “Salman,” he shrieked. “You have a junoon for music!” As one of the most told and retold tales of Pakistani rock music, the identity of the ghoulish white individual has reportedly varied from being one of his teachers to the 17th- century sufi poet . According to Salman, the enigmatic figure in the dream was actually an amalgam of 13th-century sufi poet Maulana , Persian poet Mizra and the fictional wizard Gandalf the Grey from J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. Terrified and concealed in his sweat, he instantly woke up. It was 1 AM yet he immediately phonecalled Ali to recount the spine-chilling dream. Salman endlessly ranted about how the mysterious individual spoke to him and repeatedly screeched, “You have junoon! You have junoon!” 78 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

The drowsy Ali, who was sleeping at the time, howled with the only sensible response he could muster up with before hanging up. “You really have a junoon,” calmly replied Ali before raising his voice. “Now don’t ever wake me up again!” Over the course of the next few days, Salman was solely concerned with naming the band he was so committed to. Inspired by the dream that he perceived as guidance from God, he discussed it with his friend and cricketer Imran Khan who deemed Junoon as a great name for a rock band. Following the approval, he met his band members. “Can I suggest a name?” asked Salman. “Yeah, sure,” responded Nusrat. “Why not?” “How’s Junoon?” Nusrat absolutely loved it. “Salman, go for it, man,” said the rapt Nusrat. “This is the name.” Ali, now awake and in his complete senses, was impressed with the proposal as well and agreed upon having it as their name. Junoon was different from the get-go and defied the trend of newly formed bands identifying themselves with English language names such as Barbarians, Power House, Doctors League, Final Cut, String Fellows, Live Wires and even Vital Signs to name a few. However, being different is a risky endeavour in Pakistan and the rock band did not conform to the status quo of the country’s music that was overflowing with floral pop and enticing bhangra. The recording sessions at the studio were always discouraging and on one occasion, sound engineer Iqbal Asif 79 Rockistan blurted out to Junoon that their music was “noise” and “no good for recording”. It was beyond his comprehension to recognize rock ‘n’ roll. Formed in January 1990, Junoon took an entire year to record an album but the blame for the extended delay only partially goes to the ever-busy Nusrat as the rest of the two bandmates are equally guilty. Ali was performing with Aamir Zaki during the latter’s live shows whereas Salman went on an extensive tour upon the request of Imran Khan who had resumed his cricket career as the team’s captain. Bizarrely, his optimistic return from retirement was at the behest of General Zia-ul-Haq. Over the years, Pakistan has observed a significant amount of religious devotion but Zia’s strict Islamization policies were severely criticized by human rights activists and women rights groups. frustrated masses. However, the religious reforms enforced by the dictator became a bone of contention among Sunni and Shia militant groups as they kept violently arguing over which version of Islam should be imposed. Aside from the widening sectarian division, drug addictions spread like wildfire among the youth due to their role as an alternative to state-censored entertainment. Out of the rare ounces of applause bagged by Zia, perhaps none was more so deserving when he courteously requested Imran on national television to return to the sport of cricket for the sake of the country. Behind the scenes, Zia had privately told Imran beforehand that he would do so and irately warned him by stating, “Don’t humiliate me by saying no.” The military ruler always maintained a good relationship with Imran and used to personally phonecall him to extend congratulations on winning matches. General Zia even 80 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE offered Imran the position of minister in his cabinet but the latter declined. Now dually working as a philanthropist, Imran had his heart set on establishing Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. Named after his deceased mother who tragically passed away from the disease, the disheartened Imran vowed to construct a hospital to facilitate the unprivileged people who suffered from the same ailment. Instituting Pakistan’s very first cancer-oriented hospital would prove to be tremendously expensive and Imran would spend years on raising its funds. In the spring of 1991, he asked his friends from the arts community to step forward on a series of concert tours as a means of monetary contributions. Salman was cordially invited as well and when he arrived at the venue of Lahore’s Alhamra Arts Council (where the “Battle of Alhamra” took place five years prior and ended in a riot), he realized that he was the sole musician with an electric guitar. The temporary deviation from Salman’s responsibilities in Junoon turned out to be a blessing in disguise as during the tour, he met and performed with . Indisputably the most exemplary qawwali singer who paved the way of representing sufi music as a grandiose art form, he was never hesitant to collaborate with other artists as he prospered on diversity. He had ardently worked with western musicians such as , and . Though Salman had been a part of the renowned pop band Vital Signs, even he trembled in the presence of the master performer as he nervously asked what he wanted him to play during the show’s first song Mustt Mustt. 81 Rockistan

“Do whatever your heart tells you to do,” amiably answered the king of qawwali. The merging of traditional music and western-themed rock tunes of the guitar in their mutual performance was indeed mystical and it would eventually ensnare Junoon’s signature sounds. As the concert reached its course, the qawwali maestro gave him an advice that would have a philosophical influence on Junoon’s music—Quran states that God loves diversity and the most powerful way to celebrate it is through music. On the outskirts of Pakistani music, political disorder and secretarial conflicts were riddled in Benazir Bhutto's first reign as the Prime Minister. The kleptocratic status of the once-promising government was exposed. Her attempt to shift the country’s semi-presidential system to a parliamentary system failed and on Monday, August 6, 1990, she was dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan who, ironically, won the presidential elections through the platform of Pakistan Peoples Party. Accused of several charges of misconduct such as meritless appointments in the courts, deliberately plundering the nation’s economy for personal advantage and neglecting to cease the deteriorating law and order, the President invoked the Eighth Amendment to the to discharge Benazir’s government and call for new general elections. On Wednesday, October 24, 1990, PPP battled for supremacy in the democratic elections but was marginally defeated by Islami Jamhoori Ittehad as Pakistan welcomed its new Prime Minister, the polarizing Nawaz Sharif. 82 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Over at the EMI Studios in Karachi, Junoon obtained a series of beneficial assistance. The record label’s Managing Director Mansoor Bokhari allotted two weeks for their recording sessions without any charge. Shades of traditional melody were added as the prominent tabla player Ashiq Ali Mir magnificently grooved their tracks. Renowned poet Sabir Zafar contributed as the lyricist. The band got an additional dose of hard rock as the recently dispersed Barbarians’ Asad Ahmed extended a helping hand as the bass player. He met Salman for the first time at EMI studios on the very first day of the Barbarians’ recording sessions for their album. During their encounter at the studio, Salman suggested Asad to utilize the Yamaha SPX90 for reverb. The Barbarian’s keyboardist Nadeem Jafri briefly joined Junoon for live shows as well. Junoon also found a dedicated supporter in the form of journalist and radio host Fahimeh Fifi Haroon who had a honeyed voice and graciously lent her vocals on their song Jogia. Self-titled Junoon, the hard rock debut album entailed twelve songs including three English language tracks and one instrumental track. On Monday, September 30, 1991, Junoon hit the stores but as bodacious the album was, the timing was immensely flawed due to sharing the shelves with which had been released six months prior and still sold like hotcakes. Junoon went down like a lead balloon and Nusrat soon parted ways with the band to become a full-time airline pilot. The catastrophic misstep of Junoon’s debut album can be comprehended by the deplorable sales figures as it barely earned a dime whereas the music critics tore it to shreds. 83 Rockistan

Unlike Vital Signs, Junoon did not have the gigantic corporate backing of Pepsi nor even the slightest nationalistic charisma of any sort. Vital Signs had become a household name in Pakistan and due to their music striking a chord with even the slumbered souls, a rock band was the very least of their worries. However, Junoon’s rise was not meteoric but embryonic as what kind of a band they were was something that would unfold with time. In the undeveloped realm of Pakistani rock music, one band from Karachi rose to prominence and defied the odds. Formed in the same year as Junoon, three unlikely individuals with dissimilar professions but conjoint love for rock music would make their presence known as the Milestones. The band consisted of core members Ziyyad Gulzar as the lead guitar player, Ali Tim as the bass player and the stunning Candy Pereira as the lead vocalist. The Milestones was the very first prolific rock band in Pakistan with a female vocalist. Though it was not formed with the aim of commercial ambitions but purely for the love of music, the band promptly tasted a series of critical acclaim. However, the Milestones would be living on borrowed time as Candy and Tim were amidst their pending immigration process to Canada. In 1990, Tim bought a bass guitar but could hardly devote his time to the instrument because of the busy schedule of his house job at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, Karachi. Destiny played its role surprisingly well as it was in the hospital where he would meet college student Ziyyad through some mutual friends. The horde of youngsters decided to spend their time at Ziyyad’s basement where Tim 84 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE would discover that he has a lot more common with him than mere friends. Encompassing electric guitars, amplifiers, keyboards and even a drum kit, the basement appeared to be more of a music studio. As Tim watched them playing the songs of the Beatles, , Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jimi Hendrix, he felt right at home. Still lagging in terms of playing the bass guitar, he enthusiastically conveyed his willingness to join their next jam session, traded contact numbers and returned to his house job shift at the hospital. Ziyyad would reach out to Tim the very next day. “Do you want to play in my band?” “Does your band really know how to play Suzie Q by CCR?” “Hell yeah!” “Ok, then I will come.” On the same evening, Tim and Ziyyad became friends and the former treated the jam sessions as a means to improve his bass playing skills. The rest of the band members would occasionally extend a helping hand to teach him a few bass lines and Tim would gradually improve on his own. What started as an everyday jam flourished into a solid lineup as the cluster of friends had properly rehearsed more than a dozen songs in two weeks. Initially a cover band, the line-up comprised of Ziyyad on lead guitar, Tim on bass, Carl Miranda on drums, Samar Salim on keyboards and Rizwan with the double duty of rhythm guitar and vocalist. The nameless band cultivated a committed fanbase of their own which mostly contained Ziyyad’s friends and would perform in small gigs at various venues in Karachi. 85 Rockistan

After three months of their formation, the band would earn a brand new member at the end of one of their shows at Anthonian Blessings. Sitting in the front row, the shy and quiet Candy met the band. She was one of the teachers at St. Patrick’s Girls’ High School, Karachi. The following day, she was invited to the band’s jam session at the behest of Ziyyad. To the band’s sheer surprise, Candy did not arrive empty-handed as she held an electric guitar. As soon as it was plugged in, she began to play Alannah Myles’ Black Velvet as Ziyyad and Tim’s jaws dropped in amazement. Not only could she sing but she could aptly play the instrument as well and became a member of the band. “Ziyyad, we are going to make it big!” uttered Tim. Upon the suggestion of a friend, they named their band the Milestones. A sister-duo of Zoren and Zelena was soon recruited as backing vocalists but the assemblage remained unstable before evolving from their cover band status. The sisters eventually exited while Rizwan and Carl followed suit. The position of the drummer was then filled by the young Louis John Pinto. Today, he is widely renowned with a different and much shorter name—Gumby. Born on Thursday, April 22, 1976, the prolific percussionist from the Christian Goan community has cemented his legacy in Pakistani rock music but his craft impressively accommodates pop, jazz, soul, fusion and several other genres as well. Despite his slender frame, Gumby is a with no apparent reverse gear while playing the drums. He was accustomed to music at an early age due to church choirs and Christian weddings where he would become deeply 86 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE fascinated by the drum kits. At the age of 6, he was thumping pots, pans and tables with his bare hands and a year later, he became a part of a church choir. At the age of 10, his uncle purchased him a five-piece drum kit made in as a gift. His devoutness towards music was shared by his mother who would occasionally sing while he played the drums. Unlike his schoolfellows, Gumby did not play sports during summer vacations. Instead, he would play drums to the records of rock bands Rush, the Police and Toto. In 1989, he was introduced to Aamir Zaki through their mutual friend and bass player Bosco D’Souza. Zaki immediately recognized Gumby as a child prodigy and the duo jammed every day in the latter’s house. Gumby credits Zaki for breaking him into the music business as he performed his very first professional show with him. "It was Aamir Zaki who first noticed my work way back in 1989, and I was only thirteen years old,” recounts Gumby. “A stint with Aamir Zaki at the PC hotel with Junaid Jamshed on vocals, Imran Ali on keyboards, and Bosco D'Souza on bass was by far one of the coolest gigs I've played. Reason being it was my first time with a setup like that. Playing with musicians I never thought I'd ever get to play with, and actually going up there on stage and playing with these guys was a great feeling. I remember every musician in town attended that gig. It was so overwhelming for me. I had butterflies in my tummy and was nervous as hell! After this performance, I was suddenly being asked to play with all these different bands." Unfortunately, opportunities to play live shows with major league artists took their toll on Gumby’s education. 87 Rockistan

He was studying in the sixth grade at the time and he tried to convince his mother to withdraw him from school. The family had been grief-stricken because a month before Gumby’s birth, his father passed away. His mother had been the closest person to him through the distressing times but even she was not willing to withdraw her son from studies. Gumby continued his education at Saint Paul’s Convent for the next three years but finally threw in the towel as his urge for music kept sprouting due to Donal Fagen, Pat Metheny, Stewart Copeland, Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, Neil Peart and Frank Zappa acting as his sturdy influences. “Studying didn’t really seem very practical for me since I wasn’t a part of the regular society who either wanted their kids becoming doctors, lawyers and so on,” recollects Gumby. Initially performing in hotel lobbies and as a session player for wedding bands and other artists, Gumby entered the world of rock ‘n’ roll when he joined the Milestones as their drummer. Lead vocalist Candy was hooked to U2 and female music acts such as Joan Jett, and rock band Heart. Guitar player Ziyyad was inspired by Pink Floyd, Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses. Bass player Tim was influenced by Elvis Presley, Allan Fakir and Wilayat Ali Khan. The Milestones practiced for an entire year from 7 to 11 PM during their first year of formation. “It was a rigorous training we went through learning chords, harmonies and preparing sets for shows and recordings,” remembers Tim. After a series of concerts in restaurants and hotels across Karachi, the Milestones took a break so they could record a 88 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE rock album despite the country being tone-deaf to the genre. Tim wrote all of the songs and worked on the melodies whereas Ziyyad knew how to sequence on the keyboards. Though Candy’s role was limited as the lead vocalist, she could sing rock, pop and blues with equal ease. Tim submitted the first batch of songs to EMI Pakistan’s Managing Director Mansoor Bokhari who was mesmerized by the blend of rock music and poignant female vocals. The Milestones were immediately offered a deal with the music label to record their first album. An unsung of Pakistan’s music sphere, it was Mansoor’s faith in the raw and unheard sounds of up-and- coming bands such as Junoon and the Milestones that have been responsible for the ascendance of newfangled music in the society. As Junoon picked up the pieces following their disastrous debut album, they remained determined to translate the ethereal concepts of rock music into a tangible reality. Unsuccessful debut albums are, paradoxically, massively common by a diverse variety of great artists throughout the long course of music history such as David Bowie, Genesis, Eminem, and Billy Joel. Not even George Harrison, the lead guitar player of the Beatles, was immune to the blunder of a doomed debut album. Similar to every musician who has kept their careers artistically relevant and stood the test of time, Junoon embraced their disappointing reviews not as a sinking ship but as a golden opportunity to learn from their slip-ups. Salman went an extra mile for Junoon’s preliminary financial struggles as he landed an acting gig in the 89 Rockistan forthcoming PTV drama serial Aahat. Directed by Sahira Kazmi and penned down by , the show centralized on family planning by showing a middle-class family’s desperate attempts to give birth to a son. Salman seemed an unlikely casting choice but he excelled in the audition and won the part. Unpredictably, Aahat managed to work well for Junoon apart from paying the bills as the song Khwaab from the band’s debut album was chosen for the and received regular airplay. Salman had his hands full when he produced and recorded music for Shoaib Mansoor’s 1993 documentary Leading from the Front on Imran Khan. Deservingly so, the most highly regarded Pakistani cricketer of his time kept the lackluster national team motivated as they had miraculously won the World Cup the previous year. Winning only one of their five opening matches, the absence of key players and the captain’s blunt shoulder injury failed to provide any sort of indication of Pakistan winning the World Cup. On the euphoric night of Wednesday, March 25, 1992, the team brought England down to its knees as 87,182 spectators at the packed Cricket Ground roared with applause. Imran would subsequently retire from the sport and inaugurate his cancer hospital in Lahore on Thursday, December 29, 1994, and his socio-political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Thursday, April 25, 1996. Junoon would enlist an array of session musicians for live shows including drummers Zouhair Habib and Fuad Abbasi. For the band’s second album, Salman and Ali required an experienced musician who could assist them in terms of 90 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE production and engineering in the studio. For such a challenging task, Salman contacted Brian O’Connell. His high school friend from New York had been suffering from the reverberations of a recent breakup and credit card debt so the invitation to help with the production of Junoon’s second album Talaash was too good to pass. Additionally, the United States was going through a severe recession at the time so Brian opted to go to Pakistan to help his friend. When Salman sent a copy of the band’s debut album to him, Brian was blown away by the angst-ridden guitars and could not believe that his friend had massively improved. The New Yorker considered helping his close friend’s band “the opportunity of a lifetime” and resigned from his job as a social worker to be a vivacious part of Pakistani music history. In May 1992, Brian flew to Karachi’s airport to meet Salman after ten long years. Holding a Fender Stratocaster and a guitar amplifier, he optimistically stepped foot in Pakistan but his reception was a far stretch from being a comfortable one. Ali impersonated as an Inter-Services Intelligence agent and he momentarily terrified Brian. “Sir,” sternly said Ali, “are you bringing in any drugs in your guitar case?” “Officer, I’ve been invited by my friend Salman Ahmad of Junoon, who should be here at any moment. I am telling you the truth, sir!” Salman sneaked behind his mortified friend and gave a slight smack on his back. Brian instantly calmed down and Junoon was reborn. What was meant to be a four-month stay extended to twelve years as he eventually joined the band as the rhythm guitar player and adapted to the Pakistani culture 91 Rockistan by learning the Urdu language and marrying model Ayesha Alam to start a family two years after his arrival. Junoon’s self-titled debut album did not relish a commercial success but succeeded in impressing Marketing Director Mujahid Hamid who became a huge supporter of the band along with his three sons. Comprehending the enormous potential in the album, Mujahid managed to provide the band with the opportunity to perform at a series of concerts at various schools and colleges including Kinnaird College, Lahore, which were sponsored by Close-Up toothpaste. The band moved forward by recording their second album Talaash at Tahir Gul Hasan’s Sound on Sound Studios in Karachi but their struggles had no plans to stand still anytime soon. Backstage at their show at Islamabad Marriot Hotel in November 1992, bass player Asad Ahmed met aspiring musicians Haroon Rashid and Faakhir Mehmood who were on the verge of forming a pop band of their own named . Asad accepted their offer to join the group because it was a chance for him to evolve from a bass player to a lead guitar player. He informed Junoon a month in advance that he would be leaving. Rock music lost a valuable member whereas pop gained a new band in the form of Awaz a month later. Luck seemed to be on Junoon’s side as due to the success of the string of concerts held at schools and colleges, the band scored a promotional deal with Close-Up. Every twin pack of the toothpaste sold was accompanied by a cardboard casing containing a free copy of their second album Talaash. Releasing on Friday, September 3, 1993, the album showcased a minor upgrade from their first one but the band 92 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE took a backseat to pop icons Vital Signs, Awaz, Sajjad Ali and Ali Haider who released their albums the same year as well. In fact, EMI Pakistan sold 7 million cassettes and CDs of pop artists in 1993 alone. Despite the corporate sponsorship, Talaash did not fare well in terms of sales nor critical acclaim and pushed Junoon to the brink of a financial collapse. The band members were soaked in immense debt and had no choice but to eat rice and lentils for months because they could not afford any other food items. Moreover, Junoon’s self-produced music videos of the songs Heeray, Talaash and for the promotion of their first two albums ended up being banned from state-owned radio and PTV. Notorious for not playing safe and thinking outside the box, the album’s title track Talaash contained lyrical outbreaks on the government and the news broadcasts of the untimely deaths of Zia-ul-Haq and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. According to Ali, Junoon’s decision to include political contexts and state of affairs in the songwriting process of their second album stemmed from the people of Pakistan not being aware of their rights and obligations. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who had promised to restore “Ziaism”, was hardly amused by Talaash and banned it from airplay. Salt was rubbed into Junoon’s wounds shortly thereafter due to being voted as the worst band in a recent magazine survey. 1993 was not a favourable year for Aamir Zaki as well. Hip hopping from one band to another, it would be eons before he would taste a monumental amount of success after leaving Alamgir’s backup band as the lead guitar player. He later formed Axe Attack and composed an English language 93 Rockistan album titled The Bomb. Probably the very first Pakistani album to do so, the language barrier could not convince any of the local record labels to release it. On the other hand, the band’s rhythm guitar player Nadeem Ishtiaq took it to Australia a few years later where some of the songs received substantial airtime on the radio. Before their breakup, Axe Attack performed a benefit show for Dar-ul-Sukun, the Karachi-based welfare organization that takes care of disabled children, mentally challenged individuals and elderly people. In 1988, Zaki joined Barbarians as their first lead guitar player. The band was previously relying on rhythm guitars played by Asad Ahmed and Shehryar Ahmad. Since both of them could not play solos yet, the former asked Zaki to join as the band’s lead guitar player. The two had become friends three years prior when they were both students at the Academy school in Karachi. It was Asad’s first day at school and he wore torn jeans and KISS band’s Creatures of the Night T-shirt. While purchasing a bottle of Pakola at the canteen during recess, Zaki spotted him. “Cool shirt, buddy,” complimented Zaki while admiring Asad’s odd choice of garment. At that precise moment, Asad understood that he had just stumbled across a like-minded but rare individual. Formed in early 1973, KISS is one of the most iconic forces of rock music in America but their Pakistani devotees are merely in ounces. “Nobody in my school knew who the hell they were,” recalls Asad. The two discussed music and befriended each other straightaway. In 1993, Zaki formed a band of his own by the name of Just In Case that consisted 94 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE of a bass player and a drummer from Karachi’s Goan Christian community. After a recurrent routine of an unstable lineup, Just In Case dissolved the following year. The years without sauntering a progressive growth in terms of music convinced Zaki that he was too critical of not only himself but also to everyone around. “No musician can keep up with what I want to do, and how I want to play,” he boasted. His perfectionism usually acted as a hindrance to releasing music on a consistent basis. 1993 was a gruesome year for politics as well as the government of Nawaz Sharif was vanquished on the same grounds as its predecessor. No significant modification occurred as the subsequent General Election was won by Pakistan Peoples Party and Benazir Bhutto returned as the Prime Minister for a second term. As morbid the year was to rock music, the Milestones were an extraordinary exception. Their debut album Jadoo made them Pakistan’s first rock band that actually had a quantifiable amount of success in terms of mainstream acceptance but there were a few major roadblocks that initially stood in their way. During their preliminary years, Milestones were barred from appearing on PTV and STN as both television channels refused to promote groups consisting of religious minorities. The band struck against the biased television channels in the press and they were finally aired. There was a reason behind the Milestone’s music gaining acceptance. Unlike Junoon, their compositions were a cocktail of pop and rock with a hint of blues. It was only at the concerts where they would reveal themselves as the forerunners of rock. “No company 95 Rockistan would have agreed to sign us if we recorded what we actually played on stage,” reveals Tim. In the same year of their debut album’s release, Milestones performed at KMC Stadium, Karachi, along with Vital Signs and Awaz. The concert was attended by 10,000 people and it lasted for more than five hours with Candy being one of its major highlights. Throughout her live performances and music videos, she never had to rely on glamour as an appealing factor to allure listeners. Her harmonious vocal cords were enough to mesmerize the audience. “A lot of people knew Milestones because [Candy] was the only active female vocalist, at the time, fronting a band,” states drummer Allan Smith. The core members, as successful as they were, strictly limited their music as a hobby instead of professional careers. Candy worked at a shipping company, Ziyyad worked as a banker and Tim worked at an advertising agency. They kept their day jobs while making music for multiple noble causes instead of filling their own pockets. The Milestones played fundraisers for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, Pakistan Medical Association and an emergency ward for Pakistan Medical & Dental Council. “Most of our live concerts were fundraisers for different causes,” remembers Tim. “That was the idea too. We made music to please ourselves but we raised funds to help others.” In 1994, their reputation gradually transitioned to foreign soil as the Milestones became the first Pakistani band to appear on a Miami-based television channel and the first Asian band to be a part of Amnesty International to raise 96 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE awareness about the war prisoners held in captivity. Eighteen months after their debut album, the band released their second album Volume II through VCI Records and their international tours in America, and Cyprus were in full swing. They had been playing for almost two months in America alone. When the band was about to cross the road in front of the Empire State Building, New York, at 4 AM, Tim let Candy go first so he could have a private conversation with Ziyyad. “Now do you remember when I said, ‘we are gonna make it big one day’?” “Yes, you were right!” replied Ziyyad. In 1992, Gumby left the Milestones because he wanted a more regular inflow of income and subsequently joined the Sheraton Lobby Band. While departing from the band, he recommended Allan Smith as his replacement and even took Ziyyad and Tim to his home so they could meet him. Allan was influenced by Stewart Copeland of the British rock band the Police. He was previously the drummer for Fuel 2 Fire, Arid Zone, Radiation and Keynotes. The Milestones had a memorable run albeit a brief one. It was during the recording of their third album with Allan on board when Candy’s pending immigration case was finally approved. As soon as her visa came through, she left without announcing a formal departure from the band. As a matriarch of Pakistani rock music, her voice was nothing short of sorcery. Milestones dissolved in 1996 and while it was a loss for Pakistani rock music, it was even a bigger one for altruism as the band had become a consistent part of the charity balls of the US Consulate. Their plans for the third album were 97 Rockistan never materialized whereas Tim now had one year remaining before leaving for Canada as well. The Milestones were the first band to intellectualize Pakistan with and . Apart from the core members, the final line-up consisted of Allan as the drummer, Asad Khan as the keyboardist and Amir Mehboob as their tour manager. Shortly after the group dissolved, Tim, Ziyyad and Allan formed a band named Aakash with pop sensation Ali Haider. They lasted one album and appeared on the PTV drama series Chand Sa Mukhda.

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Junoon was still a ‘work-in-progress’ during their second album and after its disheartening reception, they walked it off. Their bumpy pathways soon became plane as in 1994, they starred as themselves in an eleven-episode miniseries Talaash on PTV. Directed by Atiqa Odho and penned down by veteran scriptwriter , the show revolved around the band dealing with a female stalker and had a running gag of Salman and Ali bickering on petty issues. By now, seasoned drummer Malcolm Goveas had joined Junoon and the band had gained quite an amount of fans in the form of the urban elite youth in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Deep in the murky zones of these cities, the underground rock scene was igniting and along with the western rock bands, the credit partially goes to Junoon as well since they had become the optimum live act due to their frenzied performances. The underground rock bands, for the very first time, had a local group to look up to. As an 98 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE alternative to the clean-cut, radio-friendly artists, Mind Riot, Coven, Dog Tag, Brain Masala, Overdrive and the Trip were erupting as the new generation of hard rock and music. When it comes to comparing the musical prowess of underground rock bands and mainstream pop musicians, the debate gets often overheated. While the former receive more recognition, underground acts are significantly better live musicians but still are not immune to criticism. While there is no doubt that their ability to play instruments is a grand display of dexterity, in some cases it is merely the extent of their capabilities as most underground bands are often accused of being purely imitators who barely come up with original music. Coincidently, the underground rock scene includes plentiful cover bands. However, the underground circuit in the early '90s did consist of groups that recorded original material. In 1995, The Anonymous, Mind Riot and Atish Raj were among the few underground rock bands that released limited copies of full-length albums that were either sold to their niche market, manually distributed or given away free of cost. One band that emphatically stood out in Lahore’s underground rock circuit was the Trip. Formed in 1994 when underground bands were booming, the group was fronted by Babar Khan as the vocalist, Cecil Shane Chaudhry as the lead guitar player, Waqas Khan as the bass player and Yousaf Para as the drummer. The Trip was a shipshape cover band of Pink Floyd and even composed original songs but what truly defined their mystique was Babar’s boisterous vocals and his flat-out refusal to sing in the Urdu language. 99 Rockistan

Born on Friday, October 1, 1971, he was a significant figure in the underground movement and lead the way for a “mini- revolution” as the brains behind Peace Fest held at Bagh-e- Jinnah, Lahore, on April 20, 1995. Inspired by the 1969 Woodstock , it was unlike any concert organized in Pakistan due to the absence of corporate sponsorship. Instead, it relied entirely on the “do-it-yourself approach” by underground bands. Needless to say, the five- hour event did seize public attention and the higher-ups of NTM’s Pepsi Top of the Pops became interested to provide media coverage to the show but the organizers refused. Even a few multinational companies offered them sponsorship in exchange for pasting posters and banners of their products on the venue but the underground bands strongly declined. Peace Fest was the counterculture of the country’s conformist music and featured live performances of Coven, Midnight Madness, Hash Addiction, Mind Riot and the Trip. In an era when concerts subsisted by the plaguing trend of DAT (Digital Audio Tape) being played in the background, the underground rock bands were proving themselves to be truly worthy of being live musicians. That is a voluminous accomplishment not even Vital Signs can claim to have. As admitted by Junaid Jamshed, members Rohail and Shahi were never “stage musicians” and they “always preferred the studio.” However, Junaid was far from being awestruck by the young bucks and went on a boiling tirade against them on two articles he wrote for The News International and Dawn. He pounced on the underground rock bands by calling them “devil worshippers” and “druggies of the highest order”. 100 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Junaid did not even spare the journalists who applauded the Peace Fest on print media outlets such as The News and Instep by accusing them of “promoting drugs and Satanic music.” Rock music was demonized, looked down upon and labelled as an abnormality. Another band that was making quite a wave in the underground rock circle was Jafri’s Lahore- based group Company of Vicious Earth Navigators, aptly shortened to Coven. Born on Sunday, June 4, 1972, he played a leading role along with Babar in organizing the Peace Fest. According to him, there were plans to organize a sequel concert the following year in Rafi Peer Theatre with the Trip, Coven and Mind Riot slated to perform. When the management of the venue backed out of paying in advance and suggested to pay after the concert, the underground bands took a collective stand and refused to play the show. Ali Jafri founded Coven in 1991 and the line-up consisted of himself on bass, his younger brother Hamza Jafri as the lead guitar player, Abid Khan as the rhythm guitar player and Ali Rizvi as the vocalist. It was not this particular line- up through which the band made a name for itself. When Rizvi left the band once he gained admission at the Agha Khan University, Karachi, they needed a new vocalist and he recommended his 15-year-old cousin that they had once met before at a cancelled Junoon concert as his replacement. As the missing ingredient responsible for making the band reach its true potential, he was none other than the feverish Ali Noor. Born on Friday, September 23, 1977, his attention towards music was conspicuously visible at an early age as 101 Rockistan he used to make guitars through woodwork and habitually sang with his cousins. Unlike most rock musicians in Pakistan, the trend of formal education of musical instruments ran in Noor’s family. His mother Noor Zehra Kazim knew how to play the stringed instrument sagar veena whereas he and his younger (and much calmer) brother Ali Hamza were taught the harmonium by a musical instructor. At the age of 8, a cousin from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia showed Noor a couple of music videos of Def Leppard including Pour Some Sugar On Me which motivated him to dip his feet in rock music. His father Ali Kazim opposed the notion of his son being a rock musician and understandably so. He was a civil servant and one of the earliest recipients of the Fulbright Scholarship in the country. When Noor began taking music seriously, the relationship with his father strained. Though his parents initially advised him to not pursuing music, they would eventually support him. Noor’s first concert as the vocalist of Coven was held at Salamat Academy School, Lahore, where he sang Knocking on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan and Twist and Shout by the Beatles. His rapturous vocals were just the tip of the iceberg as Noor eventually turned out to be much more than that. Parallel to his vocal duties, he became a principal and an equally stellar guitar player when he would later form a band of his own that would dominate the country’s rock music scene for a number of years. In essence, Pakistan has never witnessed a proper golden age of rock music, partially due to meager studio equipment necessary for recording heavy instrumentation. One rock 102 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE band that was a victim of such inadequacies was Arsh. The Final Cut’s Schehzad Mughal served as the vocalist, Sameer Ahmed Bakhtiari played the bass and Tanseer Ahmed Daar played the keyboards. waves of and classical musicians were rumbling Pakistani music and were bagging corporate sponsorships, thus leaving rock musicians marginalized. Awaz had signed a lucrative contract with Pepsi and even the eccentric newbie Fakhar-e-Alam was offered one after paving bhangra-rap ethos with his hit song Bhangra Pao. Arsh had a defense mechanism in the form of their lead guitar player, Adnan Afaq “Vai”. He had earned that nickname due to performing ’s soul-stirring compositions with perfection. As a matter of fact, he was the only one in Karachi at the time who could accurately play Vai’s browbeating instrumental track For the Love of God. A master of his craft whose technical proficiencies were beyond impressive, Adnan would implant an everlasting image to the audience by his Pink Floyd solos. A crown jewel among the guitar players of Pakistan, he had a reputation for being a shy individual but it was on the stage where he could unbridle his over-the-top rock artistry by the sheer flick of his fingers. Arsh could have been an imminent morsel of rock but had a wobbly run. In 1994, the band recorded their debut album in musician-cum-producer Nizar Lalani’s studio at Tariq Road, Karachi, but the response was immensely lukewarm. Flawed in production and even more so in mastering, the album sunk. Haywire marketing also received a fair share of the blame. In the same year, Arsh folded when Adnan moved to 103 Rockistan

London to further enhance his guitar playing skills once he was awarded a music scholarship. Schehzad departed to pursue a solo career whereas Sameer joined Awaz and Junoon as a session player. Internal frustrations tiptoed towards Vital Signs when the band relocated to Karachi for studio production in 1994. Their guitar player Rizwan-ul-Haque remained in Islamabad due to multiple commitments and it proved to be a problematic issue for the band’s rehearsals, recordings and concerts. Rohail would then dismiss Rizwan and the latter would then play sessions with Awaz as their bass guitar player. Seeking a Karachi-based guitar player to fill the void was a complicated task as the options were minimal and the membership criterion was of high standards. Rohail wanted to boost the band’s sound so they could permeate the Western markets as well and there was only one man capable of the demanding task—Aamir Zaki. He was among the most optimum guitar players in the country by now, within the same league as Adnan Afaq “Vai” and Salman Ahmad. Once Scratch called it a day in 1987, Zaki frequently performed in hotel lobbies, briefly played with an underground band called the Graduates and eventually recommenced himself as a session guitar player for veteran artists such as Alamgir and Khalid Waheed. Joining Vital Signs meant a giant leapfrog from obscurity to the highest point of Pakistan’s musical superstardom. A glimpse of the financial value of the band can be comprehended from their KMC Stadium concert that they had headlined in 1993. They were paid 250,000 rupees by the organizers, whereas the rest of the musicians were paid within the comparatively measly 104 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE range of 30,000 rupees to 50,000 rupees. The popularity of Vital Signs was extremely vibrant as well as it was in that very concert that two overexcited fans hopped on the stage and Junaid had to punch them to avoid any brief turbulence during their performance. In 1994, Zaki officially joined the pop group and became their lead guitar player. Vital Signs would subsequently perform in a show held in Dubai where Zaki rapt an audience of 40,000 people. Indisputably the possessor of the widest continuum of styles as far as playing the guitar is concerned, he became the star attraction of the band’s live gigs. Unfortunately, Rohail’s militaristic leadership would fuel caustic relationships between himself and Zaki. With the latter having a temperamental demeanor as well, his tenure in the band would turn out to be an ephemeral one that revolved around creative rifts and monetary clashes. Marks of turmoil swept in during the recording of their fourth album Hum Tum as Zaki wanted it to be instilled with jazz. It was an untouched territory for the band and that did not sit well with Rohail whose purpose served far beyond playing keyboards. He was the producer, arranger, co- and occasionally the guitar player as well. “Zaki, no doubt an excellent player, wanted to play a lot of jazz on the album,” recalls Rohail. “I found him completely removed from the sort of sound I had in my mind regarding the new Vital Signs album.” The band would later tour in America and England but things would soon take a turn for the worse as Rohail had declined Zaki from any kind of benefits from sponsorships and royalties. “He could get a cut out of a concert, there were 105 Rockistan no issues there. But not from sponsorships,” reveals Rohail. Believing that the new members should be paid from the moment they begin contributing musically, the band operated as if there were “three directors and one employee”. Up till now, Zaki had contributed towards the recordings of the two unplugged songs on the band’s fourth album and was quickly dislodged from the band within a year. His ties with Rohail bitterly severed and Zaki would never formally join nor form another band again. Both have spoken candidly about the scuffle. Rohail would claim that Zaki only tagged along so he could earn enough money to work on a solo album. Whereas Zaki stated that Rohail felt “insecure” because he would not have been able to exert his decisions as a producer nor arranger during the former’s presence. A persistent rumor still circulates that the actual reason behind Zaki’s eviction stems from a Pink Floyd concert that Vital Signs attended when they toured London. The story goes that the Zaki criticized David Gilmour’s guitar playing skills after the concert and Rohail immediately ousted him. Pink Floyd’s eleventh album The Wall was the very first western music he had listened to and being the avowed fan that he is, Zaki’s condemning words were unbearable. However, Rohail has addressed the thrown around rumor and declared it as a tale of complete falsehood. Zaki’s exit from Vital Signs would work as a blessing in disguise. Having touched the mainstream limelight, though momentarily, he started working on a solo album with the utmost creative liberty of doing things the way he wanted to do them. It was here where his status as a multi- instrumentalist was put to a test as he played the guitar, 106 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE keyboards and bass all by himself. The only musical instrument he did not play while recording the album was the drums. Though he had learned how to play them as a child, he preferred to use a drum machine. Zaki pushed himself to the edge when he wrote and even sang his own songs for the album. His saturnine vocals bestowed him a crest standing in singing as a member of the horde of cover bands he had hitherto been a part of. However, being positioned as a vocalist in a project that was being aimed for national lengths was a make-or-break situation for Zaki. At the time of recording, the studio would charge 1000 rupees per hour and it took him 80 hours to compose the entire album. Thus, costing a massive sum of 80,000 rupees. Zaki credits his supportive family members as the financiers of the album. Titled Signature and released on Friday, September 1, 1995, it consisted of seven , two English language tracks and only one Urdu language song. The crux of Zaki’s brilliance always lied in his incredible guitar playing skills but it is fascinating to scrutinize his immense fondness for the six-stringed instrument. At the age of 6, he used to make guitars from cardboard boxes and rubber bands before he got a real one. He would tighten the rubber bands depending upon their tension to create a unique pitch sound for each one. Signature was not the first instrumental album released in Pakistan, as often listed. Two instrumental albums of relatively unknown artists had been previously released but did not amount to anything. Whereas Zaki’s album does hold the distinction of being the first commercially successful instrumental album in Pakistan in terms of enormous sales. 107 Rockistan

He was caught by a complete surprise as Zaki did not expect such astonishing feedback. Refusing to adhere to the dogmatic pop trends at the time, Signature was a vigorous criss-cross of rock, blues, jazz and avant-garde. The one song from the album that hopped into the hearts of even the casual music listeners was the sole Urdu language song Mera Pyar that became an explosive hit. The somber ballad is the most confrontational song penned down by Zaki as he explicitly revealed that it was crafted after his rancorous divorce from Sania Sehbai, the daughter of playwright Sarmad Sehbai. Married at the age of 22, the union lasted for merely two years and had reached such hostility that, as recalled by Zaki, either one of the spouses would have broken the other’s head. In the aftermath of the divorce, Mera Pyar vehicled as a medium to reveal everything he could not say to his wife at that point in his life. The triumph of the song can be attributed to its candor approach, simplicity, rip-roaring guitar solo and running on the air round the clock. As of today, it has the iconic status of being the most covered song in Pakistan. While the same cannot be said about the rest of the nine tracks on the album, Zaki still established a due to his methodological approach on the guitar. Five years since its formation, Junoon was still imprisoned in its struggling phase. Their music was abhorred and the people were still puzzled over Salman and Ali leaving their commercially successful bands Vital Signs and the Jupiters, respectively. The question popped up every now and then, especially to Salman as the Signs were at the pinnacle of jubilation. In reality, his former band was not 108 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE rejoicing either. He got the chop when the band was recording their second album and that is exactly when the downward turn initiated. Rohail remembers it as “the worst times as there was no money.” Just three months after Vital Signs started recording their second album, their mentor and songwriting virtuoso Shoaib Mansoor walked out on them and called the album “useless” and “crap”. The admiration he once had towards the band siphoned out and said that they “had lost it.” Even Junaid, who was initially treating singing as a hobby, briefly left the band to work full-time as an engineering consultant. Had his father not been posted in Moscow, Russia, when Dil Dil Pakistan was defining a cultural change in Pakistani pop music, Junaid might never have become a professional musician. Vital Signs also suffered from a shaky line-up as the position of the lead guitar player more or less converted to an underpaid internship scheme as it was occupied by four people since Salman’s exit till the subsequent eight years of the band’s existence. Zaki was the band’s fourth and final official guitar player. After discarding him, a frantic Rohail phonecalled Awaz’s Asad Ahmed and requested him to immediately come to his home in Karachi with all of his essential belongings for two weeks. He would play as a session guitar player and complete Zaki’s work on Vital Signs’ fourth album. The random inflow of money kept afflicting the band as Junaid would often perform the band’s songs at functions with session players. To make matters worse, mutual sponsor Pepsi was encouraging Awaz as the ones to dethrone Vital Signs in 109 Rockistan order to become the next big thing in Pakistani pop music. Out with the old, in with the new. Rohail was an imposing figure but there was a lot more going on behind their music that meets the eye. To his credit, he was crucial to Vital Signs in more ways than one as it was his hegemony that kept the band alive as long as it could. As he explains, he was sort of the manager as unlike his band members, he had three children and took a colossal bulk of responsibility out of necessity. He had dropped out of the University of Peshawar and treated music as a legitimate career instead of a frivolous hobby. However, a volatile episode had occurred when Rohail was at the crossroads and hastily quit the band. Ten days before the United States tour of Vital Signs (Zaki was in the band at the time) Rohail was going through a lot of “severe family trauma”, as described by Junaid. The former disagreed over how the organizers negotiated the contracts in “bhai-chara mode” and emphasized upon advance payments in their bank account and everything in black and white before leaving. When the tour was just around the corner, Rohail was broadening his music ventures to producing and composing advertising jingles and the albums of other pop artists including Awaz. Simultaneously, he was trying to establish the country’s first-ever music magazine Vibes. With his hands already full and prioritizing the studio production of the band’s fourth album on the top, the distressed Rohail suggested canceling their tour. The heated argument that would follow turned things downright sour. “Listen! I’m leaving the band.” 110 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Rohail’s words shook the rest of the distraught band members and that led to a very intense confrontation with Junaid. “Are you crazy?” asked a very rattled Junaid. “Not doing the tour is OK but leaving the band? Are you crazy? You are the sound of the Vital Signs. If you’re leaving the band then that’s it. We’re not going to hire another guy to play for Vital Signs. That’s it. Finished!” Rohail’s bold suggestion to cancel the tour and the consequent threat to leave the band infuriated Junaid and he assessed the fate of the tour with Shahi and Zaki. All three of them insisted on doing the tour and told their exasperated bandmate that they had made up their minds. “OK, you guys go,” replied Rohail. “I’m as good as out.” It was a near-fatal blow that would eventually heal but not soon. Rohail’s gashing words shook the very establishment of the band and they would uncomfortably leave for the United States without him. Junaid returned to Pakistan six weeks later. His flight landed at 4 AM and he ached to reconcile with Rohail and even though the time for a phonecall was less than suitable, he contacted him and straightforwardly asked him about his uncertain status in the Signs. “Are you in the band or not?” Aggression amongst members is predictably a very common element that has awfully triggered complicated hurdles within music groups and Vital Signs was no exception. Even Junaid’s and Rohail’s mutual musical influence Pink Floyd is one of the most infamous examples of blistered tensions within a band that extended to 111 Rockistan tempestuous legal battles between former members Roger Waters and David Gilmour. Fortunately, Rohail had eased down and would give the affirmative answer that Junaid was sincerely hoping from his close friend. “Are you crazy? I was never out of the band.”

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Fully aware that they are ostracized due to rock music still being considered a mundane genre, the band members of Junoon were practically renegades of Pakistani music and continued on their rock expedition but with a slightly different but career-defining lyrical approach. Salman had become quite intrigued by sufi literature and would devour the poetry of Maulana Muhammad Rumi and Baba Bulleh Shah. One particular book that would have a profound effect on him as a songwriter and musician was The Sufis by Idries Shah. Counting it as an inspiration, he decided to apply rock systematics to qawwali, Punjabi folk sounds and sufi prose. An amalgam of religious sufi manuscripts and music was not something unheard of at the time. The earliest example of such experimentation was the sufi pop duet between Allan Fakir and Mohammed Ali Shehki titled Humma Humma. But the idea of combining rock music with sufiana qalaam was borderline blasphemous and had not been executed in Pakistan before. Junoon would proceed to do so while recording their third album Inquilaab that would turn out to be their stairway to heaven at the cost of early criticism. Released on New Year’s Day of 1996, the album showcased 112 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE an improved Junoon with Salman discarding the heavy metal foundations in the previous albums. Ali, who cites Bruce Springsteen, Sting and rock band Queen’s Freddie Mercury as his influences, also had more polished vocals. It was Brian’s second album with Junoon. Replacing Asad on bass, he left absolutely no room for error in his chilly bass lines. An overlooked subject about the album is its lyrical quality as Salman and poet Sabir Zafar worked exceptionally well as a superb songwriting team. One of the key tracks of Inquilaab that would get bashed by the critics was the raucous Saeein. The insanely loud cries of Ali as he yells “Allah” with heavy guitar playing in the background was deemed disrespectful by moral lobbies. Salman took out a page from Jimi Hendrix’s book by covering Pakistan’s national anthem on the electric guitar (which he had been playing live as early as 1992) as the only instrumental track on the album. Such boundary-pushing maneuvers were loathed by conservative crowds yet the public could not contain itself from listening to the new and innovative rock music that Junoon had to offer. However, it was not a hard rock song that catapulted the band to mainstream reception but their folk rock song Jazba- e-Junoon. Shortly after the release of Inquilaab, the band would land upon an overwhelming sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola for the through Salman’s friend Ahmad Kapadia who was working as the creative director at the Orient McCann-Erickson advertising agency. Although Salman never pursued professional cricket, his time playing it finally paid off as it was through the sport that he had befriended Ahmad. Coca-Cola desired 113 Rockistan a jingle for the World Cup on an urgent basis and since long- time rival Pepsi already had Vital Signs, Junoon stood out as their second option. Convinced that the Pakistani Cricket Team would need a motivational song to lift their spirits, Salman knew just the song to recommend to Coca-Cola and he presented Jazba-e- Junoon which would be bought for 20 million rupees. The song was recorded at Nizar Lalani’s studio near Tariq Road, Karachi, and dares the listeners to rethink their potential while stirring a passionate craving for heroic adventures. Its spiritually charged lyrics prohibit procrastination and promote the broadening of one’s capabilities beyond their imagination. As the biggest corporate sponsorship deal in the history of the country so far, Coca-Cola spent 30 million rupees to vehemently promote the song and it became a fixture on television and radios. In a time when there were inhospitable circumstances for rock music, Junoon evaded oblivion and did the impossible by recreating the patriotic euphoria that was manifested by Vital Signs through Dil Dil Pakistan. Only this time, the volume was much, much louder. Rock music had always been in the vaults of Salman’s mind and what he envisaged for Junoon would gently unravel. Owing to the ubiquitous airplay of Jazba-e-Junoon, the album sales of Inquilaab went through the ceiling as it would not only kick start rock as a genuine genre in Pakistan but also lay the blueprints of the cohesion between hard rock and . A landmark moment for Pakistani music, Inquilaab is inexplicably the most important rock album ever released in the country due to demolishing the public’s perception of 114 AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE the music genre. Additionally, Inquilaab is responsible for the upsurge of Sufism among a whole new generation. As rock music was on the verge of making its rounds in the country, the World Cup got a new song and Junoon received a lucrative sponsorship deal for half a million dollars from Coca-Cola. In the midst of formulating a mammoth following that would witness social anxieties, international controversies, charges of treason, political turmoil, anti-establishment stances and recurrent bans, Junoon would valiantly carve out unquestionably the greatest underdog story in the history of Pakistani music. 115 Rockistan

Chapter 5 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Junoon, together, all three of them together, managed to change the very way in which Pakistani music was thought of. Dr. Taimur Rahman

It would be the first time since the 1987 Cricket World Cup that Pakistan would have the honour to host the coveted tournament. Sixteen matches were held in Rawalpindi, Karachi, , , Peshawar and Lahore whereas the final took place at where Sri Lanka defeated Australia. Jazba-e-Junoon did manage to lift the spirits of the Pakistan Cricket Team but they watered down at the quarter-finals against India. On the other hand, the song worked wonders for Junoon due to being vigorously advertised throughout the World Cup and their concerts quadrupled in occurrences. The combined sales of Junoon’s first two rock albums Junoon and Talaash (now considered as sleeper hits) added up to just 10,000 copies whereas Pakistani pop bands and solo artists sold 25 million cassettes and CDs within the precincts of Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and alone between 1993 and 1995. Jazba-e-Junoon operated as the game-changer for rock music and Inquilaab would sell an 116 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD incredible amount of 1,000,000 copies within the same year of its release. One of the first musicians to congratulate Salman on his success was his former bandmate, Junaid Jamshed. Even before and after making music together, the two preserved their close friendship. While applauding his diligent efforts, Junaid dropped a : he desired to leave Vital Signs so he could pursue a solo career. Repetitive skirmishes and walking on eggshells kept contaminating the band and it was only a matter of time when Vital Signs would dreadfully implode. Even before they had the spotlight in print media or state- owned television, Junoon had established itself as the most formidable live act in the country. The crowd went berserk every time Ali Azmat walked on the stage with his flamboyant performances. No longer the band’s dreams of mainstream acceptance were going up in smoke and the audience would become spellbound by Ali’s unconventional antics on the stage. Musical ignorance has existed in the country for decades as a common myth persists among the masses that a band is as good as the vocalist instead of the collective participation of all the members. This false perception did not apply to Junoon as all the three core members equally shared the massive attention. Justifiably so, Salman and Brian never showed any signs of slipping with their extravagant showmanship while playing their guitars on stage. After several hard nights of rock ‘n’ roll in various venues of Karachi such as the Hockey Club Stadium, Salman began to question his purpose as a musician again. Similar to Vital Signs, it took one patriotic song for their listenership to 117 Rockistan stretch to nationwide proportions and promptly becoming a household name but Salman was by no means going to stop right there. He hankered to speak his mind against political oppression and VIP culture through his music. In Pakistan, politics is the most active domain but paradoxically the least productive, even decadent at times. Getting ahead in the country irrefutably depends upon well- connected links with the status-quo politicians, or at least not rubbing them the wrong way. Junoon would do neither and would come up with a protest song conceptualized by Salman. Such mindboggling intentions suggest that he should have undergone a psychiatric evaluation but Salman has never been the one to play safe and always displayed fearlessness in whatever he would set his heart to. Adamant on rebelling against the social and political conventions, Junoon practically kindled sedition through their music. It is the most effective medium to get a message across on a wide scale, be it about peace or protest. Throughout the long , renowned musicians have released a bombardment of protest songs to object to controversial issues. John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance spoke against the Vietnam War and Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall thrashed stringent educational system and totalitarian governments. In the form of Ehtesaab, Junoon would come toe-to-toe against gluttonous politicians, particularly Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband . Her carefully executed exploits to the finance ministry crippled the economy as the notorious couple lived a lavish life at the expense of ballooning inflation and accelerating unemployment. 118 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Her husband was not too far behind in terms of corruption scandals. Born on Tuesday, July 26, 1955, Zardari belonged to a feudal family and his father was a cinema owner who had been put on trial for bank fraud. During his youth, he spent a considerable amount of time playing polo, boxing and even made one appearance as a child actor in the 1969 movie Salgirah. In 1983, he would attempt to infiltrate politics by contesting for a district council seat in , . Despite his strong chances of winning since his family owned numerous acres of farmland in the city, he lost the election. All that histrionically altered when he wedded Benazir on Friday, December 18, 1987, in an arranged marriage. He did not procure a governmental position during her first reign as the Prime Minister but still managed to meddle with the state of affairs and charged a commission of 10% for the admittance of loans, government contracts and the launching of communal projects; a frequent accusation backed by the three-month Acting Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi once Benazir was relieved of her duties in 1990. Such actions bestowed him the moniker of “Mr. Ten Percent”. Would-be politician Imran Khan strongly disagreed with that nickname as he believed that Zardari charged much more than that. Once Benazir took hold of the office again in 1993, Zardari was appointed as the Federal Investment Minister and the Chairman of Pakistan Environmental Protection Council despite having an embarrassing criminal record. He had been arrested in October 1990 on charges of extortion and kidnapping. Within the same month, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly while locked up in prison. 119 Rockistan

Forward six years to 1996, he was practically the most powerful man in Pakistan and enjoyed extraordinary privileges. For example, two 14-acre polo fields and forty- seven stables were prepared for him and his network of friends. Two brutally honest lyrics for Ehtesaab were drafted by veteran columnist Hassan Nisar and songwriting whiz Shoaib Mansoor. The latter’s submission was selected and the song revolved around the nation’s shattered dreams and a long-overdue call for accountability. Junoon went a step further by making the protest song’s music video as well. Released in December 1996 and directed by Shoaib, the mock satire video displayed child labour, spendthrift MNAs, snippets of General Mohammed Ayub Khan, Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and a quick-witted smack on the administrative between the government terms of Benazir and Nawaz Sharif. The music video also featured tongue-in-cheek humour as the music video climaxed with the presence of a donkey eating at a hotel to highlight Zardari’s polo ponies that lived in air-conditioned stables. There had never been a Pakistani rock band that openly bashed the ruling elite through their music before and Junoon was the first one to do so by Ehtesaab. Although pop group Awaz had released the satire Mr. Fraudiye a few months earlier and condemned corruption in a very subtle tactic by centralizing the music video on the anonymous title , Junoon would grab the bull by its horns with Ehtesaab. Once it aired and caused a ruckus among Benazir’s cabinet which had built a crooked empire under 120 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD the garb of democracy, one of her associates rashly contacted Salman through a phonecall. “Are you committing suicide, Salman?” he asked. “We are the hand that feeds you and you’re biting us?” The socio-political tyranny that had been proliferating in the country was unapologetically displayed in the music video and it became more apparent to the common man. Salman had become successful in reciting his confrontations and had an apt response equipped for the apprehensive caller. “Fuck you, motherfucker!” The country was going through a downtrodden phase of gun violence that resulted in numerous casualties including Punjabi cinema icon , legendary poet Mohsin Naqvi and even Benazir’s estranged brother Ghulam within the same year. Alleging to be the true successor of his father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, he staunchly opposed his sister and openly called her husband “Asif Baba and the forty thieves.” Dynastic politics had maligned the family to the point of dissection and tragedy would strike the Bhutto clan on the evening of Friday, September 20, 1996. As a result of a horrific shootout against the police that had intended to arrest them, Murtaza and six of his close aides died after succumbing to their critical wounds. The very next day, Junoon had plans of their own. They spearheaded an accountability march and its focal point was a free concert of the band at Nishtar Park, Karachi. Pamphlets regarding the protest spread like wildfire to ensure a whirlwind of boisterous protesters. Being politically active, Salman often quotes the prolific 121 Rockistan

Philosopher Plato to emphasize that one of the penalties for the people who refuse to participate in politics is being governed by their inferiors. The statement flawlessly applies to Pakistan as the revelation of fake educational degrees of countless MNAs and MPAs recurrently makes national headlines. The concert almost did not happen because the local authorities had refused to issue a No Objection Certificate and the venue’s electricity supply had been conveniently cut off. Nearly 10,000 people rallied for the accountability crusade and the absence of the concluding concert would have guaranteed a riot from the already incensed public. Not wanting to let the fans down, Salman went to a religious seminary nearby to request a power cable. Surprisingly, the cleric who greeted him did not exhibit any kind of animosity towards the musician. Instead, he recognized Salman as if he was an old friend. The cleric had seen him before in the music video of Saeein that was severely criticized for Ali shouting “Allah” while hard rock guitar riffs were being played in the background. “You mentioned Allah in the lyrics,” he said. “For the love of God, we will give you a line!” It was for that very reason the sympathetic cleric complied with Salman’s wish but there was a condition: Junoon had to stop playing during the call to prayer. “Insha’Allah!” assured Salman. Now with a power cable, the free Junoon concert at Nishtar Park, Karachi, went by placidly as the audience demanded that corrupt politicians should be held accountable for their misdeeds. The band was not alone 122 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD though as Junaid Jamshed made a dramatic entrance in the accountability brouhaha to end a night worth remembering. Junoon’s popularity would soon be put in jeopardy as Ehtesaab would be banned from radio, PTV and STN on the grounds of being “detrimental to the election process” and promoting “the cause of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.” According to Salman, Ehtesaab has one of the most hard- hitting music videos ever made because it showed that corruption has been a part of Pakistan since 1947. With the political scenario reaching tumultuous stages, President Farooq Leghari had to step in and put a stop to the skyrocketing mayhem. History would repeat itself as Benazir would be unceremoniously terminated again due to the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan by a President who was a member of her very own political assemblage, the Pakistan Peoples Party. She was held responsible for the frailing economy, extra-judicial killings, autocratic corruption and inability to diminish ethnic violence in Sindh. When her brother Murtaza breathed his last after the ferocious shootout against the police, serious repercussions were in order as seven weeks later, President Leghari had no choice but to discharge her. He would reveal that she and Zardari gobbled a whopping $1.5 billion from the country’s economy. A disgraceful chapter of the political regime, Murtaza’s murder amid the treacherous scheme to achieve administrative dominance shook even the most loyal partisans of PPP. It is no coincidence that bloodied and bullet-ridden corpses swarm in cities during an internal power struggle of political parties. 123 Rockistan

Murtaza’s grief-stricken widow Ghinwa Bhutto blamed the tarnished couple for his death whereas Benazir rebuked the notion and claimed that the assassination was clandestinely carried out by the President himself. She would later flee to Dubai with her three children while Zardari would be thrown in prison again and routinely appear in court trials due to being charged with the conspiracy to commit murder and corruption. Benazir’s government had banned Ehtesaab from being aired on state- controlled media but Junoon would get the last laugh as their music would be featured in the 1996 BBC documentary about the humiliated couple’s excessive corruption, provocatively titled The Princess and the Playboy. The film did not show even an ounce of hesitation while pulling the curtain away to illustrate their nepotism, abuse of legislative funds, construction of a marble secretariat for themselves at Islamabad, mistreatment of Bait-ul-Maal, financial embezzlement in Pakistan Steel Mills and the alleged ownership of a 350-acre Rockwood Estate in Surrey worth £2,500,000. In the 1997 General Elections, Pakistan would welcome back another familiar face as their twelfth Prime Minister, the conservative Nawaz Sharif. Now the chairman of his very own political party Pakistan Muslim League (N), his second reign comprises of the reinforcements and the improvement of foreign policies with the Muslim world, suspicious constitutional amendments, inaugurating anti- courts, controversial removal of Chief of Army Staff Jehangir Karamat and most notably, nuclear tests. 124 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Coming to Sharif’s stance on music, he crassly advocated a senseless television policy that expelled musicians with long hair, guitars, jeans and jackets because he considered such attires to be “anti-Pakistan”. Moreover, he would dissuade his ministers from granting authorized approval for concerts. Sharif was a protégé of military dictator Zia-ul- Haq yet this was the same politician who hosted a Vital Signs show in the northern hills of Patriata seven years prior in July 1990. The decision would wound every musician especially the red-hot Junoon whose momentum was just beginning to flourish and the band would explore other means to achieve widespread recognition. As per the suggestion by Salman’s brother Shehryar Ahmad, the band inaugurated its very own website www.junoon.com in 1995. As the very first Pakistani band to do so, Junoon would become easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection and would offer the latest updates, exclusive merchandise, discussion forums, music videos and studio albums on their official website. Previously the rhythm guitar player of the Barbarians and now a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Shehryar was working as an Investment Banking Analyst at JP Morgan in Wall Street, New York. Having grown tired of the banking world, he began to serve as the manager and international promoter for Junoon which was more of a family business for him. One of their very first ambitious ventures with Sheryar was travelling to Hong Kong and submitting their music videos to MTV Asia. 125 Rockistan

Unable to appear on the state-owned television due to the strict guidelines itemized by Sharif, Junoon’s efforts to make their way towards a global platform was no longer an option but a necessity. The music videos of the rowdy song Talaash and the soulful instrumental track Aap Aur Hum began to regularly air on the foreign music channel MTV Asia. That marked the beginning of Junoon’s quest for an international fanbase and the band bolted to the United States for a six- week tour in the spring of 1997. It had been seventeen years since Salman had left the country where he was introduced to the rock band Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden. A lot had changed in America by now. Bill Clinton was serving as the President in his second term, the Green Bay Packers won the NFL championship for the first time since 1967 and microcomputer revolution pioneer Steve Jobs had returned to Apple, Inc. as the interim CEO twelve years after his resignation. Junoon would tour San Jose, Los Angeles, Houston, Alabama, Washington D.C. and New York. On their last concert at the Roosevelt Hotel Ballroom in Manhattan, New York, Salman would be reunited with his old friend from Tappan Zee High School, John Alec Raubeson. Now a multi-instrumentalist who could play the piano, harmonium, bass and sitar, he immediately proposed joining Junoon as its sound engineer and mixer. Acknowledging that he had been a part of numerous bands in New York clubs as their guitar player and studied music production at the Purchase Conservatory, Alec became an eloquent addition to the band and flew to Pakistan to aid Junoon’s recording sessions. 126 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Still banned in their own country, Junoon began oiling the wheels of sufi rock music by working on their fourth album Azadi. It defined the metamorphosis of the band as they toned down the heavy metal rudiments in favor of more radio-friendly rock tunes. Released on Thursday, August 14, 1997, it was quicker to take the band to the skies as the album sold half a million copies within just three months. It went platinum in the and triple platinum in India. Due to Alec’s well-crafted production skills, Junoon’s signature style of merging traditional sufi literature with rock music was noticeably enriched. Azadi was recorded in a simple 16 track studio during the monsoon season which caused abundant power outages. Junoon would wait for the electricity to return by lighting candles and ordering Chinese food. The band pulled off another bold move with their music by incorporating Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s poetry in the form of the lyrics for their song Khudi. It struck a sour note with the orthodox citizens of Pakistan and none more so than Prime Minister Sharif. He had already encountered the band’s anarchistic hymns in the form of Ehtesaab and now had to deal with Khudi. Blaming Junoon for obliterating the sufi poetry of Iqbal, he would ban the song from national broadcasting but there was no stopping them as Azadi imposingly became the highest- selling album in not only Pakistan but also in Bangladesh and India. Circumstances became increasingly inhospitable when the music video of Junoon’s riveting hit song would also be banned from television airplay. Shot in Multan by renowned commercial director , it showed the 127 Rockistan band members roaming the city’s streets and shrines on a horse chariot. However, the PML(N) government interpreted it as the promotion of “jean-jacket culture” by a “long-haired guy”. The Ministry of Culture soon submitted the band a letter accusing the song of being blasphemous and responsible for the defilement of religious values. Khudi was not bringing good news either as it had enraged the conservative society. In one instance, Salman received a phonecall from a fuming school teacher. “I’m very angry with you and Junoon!” “Why?” asked Salman, “I’ve been teaching Iqbal’s poetry to my kids for years. They never got it, but now since Junoon’s version of Khudi, they know all the verses by heart!” “So what is there to be mad about?” asked a puzzled Salman. “Iqbal is a serious poet!” shrieked the disillusioned school teacher. “These kids are singing his verses and jumping up and down like mirasis! They’re being disrespectful to our traditions!’ Such disputes were not the only subject Salman was being inquired about from the radical public. He would often be assaulted by a shower of fundamentalist questions that quizzed his religious obligations such as praying, fasting and charity. During such confrontations, Salman would not back off from explaining the debatable correlation between Islam and music. “As a musician who has faced censorship in my home country Pakistan, there is no conflict between my faith and my music. You can be a Muslim and play electric guitar,” he says. To Salman’s credit, he has not commented 128 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD on the sensitive topic without any prior examination and has confidently revealed that music has no disconnection with Islam. He even challenged Islamic scholars to prove that music is impermissible in the religion. Salman would be enquired about his religious duties from time to time but he persists that anyone who advocates that music is un-Islamic is a “poser”. “Allah Almighty bestowed the ability to sing on Hazrat Dawood and the mountains would shiver when he sang. It has been stated in the Quran and Hadees that Hazrat Israfil will sound the trumpet and you say that one is forbidden to play music or to even take the name of a musical instrument.” Harsh times for Junoon moderately relaxed by 1998 as they would get pertinent acclamation not in Pakistan but from across the border. Sayonee had become a huge hit in India as well and owned the number one spot on Channel and MTV Asia for more than two months. As Junoon continued their ascension, and MTV India promoted the group as a “sufi rock” band to accurately describe their sound. Both television channels deserve credit for coming up with the term that would aptly define Junoon for years to come. While definitions of sufi rock have variated from time to time, Salman has defined it as “Led Zeppelin meets Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at a party thrown by Ravi Shankar”. Junoon would embark on an extensive tour in India, becoming the second Pakistani rock band to perform there since the Barbarians. However, the timing was less than reasonable as Pakistan and India had not only 129 Rockistan fought three gruesome wars earlier but were now competing against each other in a petrifying nuclear arms race. The successful nuclear tests conducted at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai district, , were a befitting response to the ones tested in India. The triumphant moment took place during Nawaz Sharif’s second term as Prime Minister and he is often accused of purposely delaying the nuclear tests. He has also been a victim of propaganda that attempts to completely eradicate his involvement in the project. On the contrary, Sharif was one of the primary sources of funds for the country’s nuclear program during his first term as the Prime Minister. Once India executed its nuclear tests, codenamed Pokhran-II, it was an alarming situation for Pakistan and its national security drowned in immense doubt. An immediate response was not suitable and understandably so due to Pakistan being smaller, poorer and quite more dependent on international assistance than its neighboring country. The escalating tensions forced the United States to interfere and it offered considerable incentives to Pakistan in exchange for not reacting with nuclear tests of its own. Sharif would hold a meeting with the members of the and the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, General Jehangir Karamat, Dr. Munir Ahmad Khan and scientific advisor Ishfaq Ahmad to discuss carrying out the nuclear tests. On Thursday, May 28, 1998, Pakistan fruitfully conducted five of them and another one two days later. In Sharif’s defense, he has revealed that the true reason for his hesitation to carry out the nuclear tests was due to the “abject poverty of the 130 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD people”. He would soon declare a state of emergency to prepare the country for a possible economic disaster. Pakistan and India were scuffling for nuclear ascendancy while Junoon was bridging the wretched gap between the two hostile countries through their sufi rock music. The band landed in while fearing how they would be greeted at the airport as a vitriolic cloud loomed over both nations. Contrary to their skepticism, Junoon was asked for autographs by the enthusiastic immigration officials who kept referring to them as “the Sayonee boys.” The band encountered similar circumstances whenever they would stop at traffic lights in India. The band comprehensively toured Chandigarh, Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Chennai, Kanpur and Mumbai. It was during their tour in India where Junoon would achieve their very first accolade as at the 1998 Channel V Awards, the band won the award for Best International Group and defeated major contenders Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Aqua and the Prodigy. The audience applauded with exhilaration as the sufi rock trio and their backup band members Ashiq Ali Mir and Malcolm Goveas went on the stage to humbly accept the award they had worked so hard for. “My hope is that the people of India and Pakistan can work towards peace,” spoke Salman on the podium. Despite the indiscreet enmity between the two countries, be it on a battlefield or a cricket stadium, the statement was not met with aggression. The spectators cheered Junoon with a standing ovation. It took an eastern band that played western music to produce a moment of merrymaking in two countries engaged in nuclear snobbery. Junoon drew more 131 Rockistan eyeballs to rock music by every passing sold-out concert in India. They performed in front of 30,000 idolatrous fans in Chandigarh but their true milestone in India was getting their music applauded by not only Bollywood megastars such as but also British musician Sting and hard rock band Def Leppard who were present at the time. The latter’s drummer Rick Allen was particularly fascinated by Ashiq’s tabla. Salman has often compared Junoon’s visit to India with the Beatles’ arrival in America. However, interviews with Indian channels, BBC, CNN and Star News would relate the band to the Fab Four in more ways than one. In March 1966, John Lennon of the Beatles compared his band’s popularity with Christianity and the statement stirred up a hornet’s nest. “Christianity will go,” he contended. “It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.” The statement, as austere as it may seem, was actually taken out of context as Lennon was not referring to the decline of the religion itself but of devout Christians. His comments evoked public outrage as radio stations ordered the band’s fanbase to burn their Beatles records and memorabilia in bonfires. It was not until Lennon apologized for his comments, though half-heartedly, in a press conference that the agitation towards the Beatles deteriorated. With India and Pakistan immersed in a contest of nuclear arsenals, Junoon would be asked about their opinions relevant to the ordeal. 132 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

“How does it feel to be in a Pakistani rock band touring India with both countries civil rattling?” asked Daniel Lak of BBC. “We want cultural fusion,” answered Salman. “Not nuclear fusion.” When Junoon returned to their homeland, the mud- slinging print media penned down their disdain for the band by labelling them as traitors and misleadingly implying that their “highly objectionable” remarks were against the ideology of Pakistan and possibly made under some obligation. Junoon would receive another letter from the Ministry of Culture to inform them that they had been charged with treason as Salman and Ali “hoped for reunification” of Pakistan and India. The indictment was preposterous enough but Nawaz Sharif would proceed to outright ban Junoon from radio transmissions, television broadcasts and even concerts. Absurdly, when he would visit India in August 2011, he went miles ahead of Junoon in terms of a diplomatic statement by proclaiming that with the exception of the border in between, the two countries have the same members of the society who share the same culture, same heritage, same background and even the same God. “Would it not be better for India and Pakistan to try to inspire each other in the areas of education, health and economic development?” reasonably asked Salman as the band stuck to their guns. “In Pakistan, we don’t have clean water, health or employment. How can we afford a nuclear bomb?” Junoon denied the accusations and said that they were deliberately misquoted. “I never said India and Pakistan 133 Rockistan should be one; I said all humanity is one,” clarified Ali. The band was cordially invited to India to perform again but this time, it was not upon a request by the management committee of an award show. It was by none other than the Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As a fan of the band, he generously permitted a 12-seater private plane for Junoon to be picked up from Lahore and land in New Delhi where a fleet of cars awaited them while local police guaranteed their security. Junoon was utterly immune to the nonsensical ban imposed by Sharif as it was during this time, their popularity shot to the moon with their fifth and most critically acclaimed album . Released on Thursday, June 17, 1999, and widely hailed as their premium effort, it was recorded and produced at the reputed Abbey Road Studios in London, England. It is the same studio where numerous rock luminaries such as the Beatles, Pink Floyd, U2, of the Rolling Stones, and Foo Fighters have recorded their albums. It was now one of the building blocks of Junoon’s legacy as the greatest rock band Pakistan has ever seen. With blazing tracks such as and Mitti, the band practically invaded every household to symbolically stress that rock music was definitely here to stay. No longer was the guitar-driven rock music’s fraternization with traditional folk melodies considered reprehensible. The governmental caveats were unsuccessful to halt the band as they momentously matured with introspective songwriting and gallant guitar riffs. Ali believes that the ban actually worked in their favour as all of 134 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD a sudden, everyone was curious to know what on earth Junoon was. Their precarious journey was never a fluke as Parvaaz signaled the fall of pop and the rise of rock ‘n’ roll. Junoon, during its rise to superstardom, really is one of the genuine reasons behind the declining state of pop at the time. Salman’s former band Vital Signs did not last long after their fourth and final album Hum Tum failed to impress. It was intentionally a Rohail Hyatt-led project that was hastily completed in fourteen days and, as he recalls, ended up as a “disaster”. Junaid detested it and had been artistically drifting away from his band members. To make matters even more complex, he was going through a gyrating identity crisis that would ultimately lead to Pakistani pop music’s heaviest loss. Shahi ventured into production and mastering of jingles and other artists’ albums whereas Rohail was engaged in the launching of his own production company, Pyramid Productions. After the faux pas of the melancholic Hum Tum, working as a band became a lethargic obligation despite beginning the recording of a possible fifth album. Eventually, the band members became weary of their collaborative music crafts. For instance, Rohail did not even bother to accompany his bandmates during their tour in South Africa in December 1996. “I was very disappointed because I personally thought that this particular line and direction would be welcomed; that finally, the Signs were now going somewhere,” confesses Rohail about the fourth album. “And mind you, there was another phenomenon happening. It was called Junoon.” 135 Rockistan

While Vital Signs are often equated to the clean-cut, well- groomed Beatles, Junoon was unquestionably the hard- partying, headbanging Rolling Stones. From day one, Junoon was categorically the antithesis of Vital Signs. However, unlike the (media-navigated) rivalry that existed between the two foremost British bands, a collision course would never occur between Vital Signs and Junoon. The former’s decline overlaps the latter’s rise and both groups would pay homage to each other by occasionally performing the other band’s songs during their shows. Despite the contrasting musical styles, there was always mutual respect between the two bands. In 1997, Junoon and Vital Signs united to play together on stage at a concert held in Dubai. Both bands have their unprecedented throne in Pakistani music history while exhibiting very distinctive characteristics. When Vital Signs whispered about chasing girls (Woh Kaun Thee?), Junoon sent an invitation for self- discovery (Mein Kaun Hoon?). When Vital Signs wept tears over breakups (Bichar Kay), Junoon would encourage unity (Mere Paas Aaja). The pop band never formally declared that it had disintegrated but it was apparent when Rohail refused the contractual offer from longtime corporate sponsor Pepsi for their fifth album in 1998. The band members had realigned themselves to personal projects. Rohail soon became the CEO of his production company called Pyramid Productions. In January 1999, Shahi set up his music studio called Cold Fusion Studio. As for Junaid, he was finally on his own. As Junoon became a rock titan, one might assume that rock music had reached the point of mainstream recognition, 136 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD thus giving the chance to other existential rock bands at the time to shine as well. Ironically, such assumptions are deceitful. Junoon became mainstream; not rock music. Additionally, Nawaz Sharif’s ban on long hair, guitars, jeans and jackets significantly minimized the television airtime for emerging rock bands at the time. Their musical growth hampered and rock band Circle was one of the casualties. Arsh’s prodigious guitar player Adnan Afaq “Vai” had returned from London and molded Circle with a solid lineup that included his former bandmate Tanseer Ahmed Daar as the vocalist, Barbarians’ Waqar Jaffery as keyboardist, Khalid Khan on bass and Irfan Ahmed on drums. Circle overflowed with tremendous music potential. Tanseer was not just a mere vocalist but the keyboardist, composer and sequencer. Khalid was not a greenhorn musician as well as he used to sing for the band Live Sketches and switched to playing bass in 1995. Moreover, he was a student of Aamir Zaki and was influenced by him along with Jaco Pastorius, Billy Sheahan and Geddy Lee. With a wide palette of marvelous bass lines, Khalid could craft tasteful groves that were integral to the band’s sound. As for Irfan, his drum strokes were an ostentatious reflection of hard rock. Born on Saturday, November 4, 1972, he was nicknamed Charlie by his elder brother’s friends and influenced by John Bonham, Stewart Copeland, Mike Portnoy and Neil Peart. Above all, Adnan was an ebullient force whenever he played his guitar. Originally, Waqar was chosen as the vocalist until the band landed upon a phenomenal discovery during rehearsals: Tanseer could sing. Born on Friday, January 11, 1974, he spent most of his youth playing hockey due to being 137 Rockistan inspired by his father Tanvir Dar who professionally played the sport and had won a gold medal for Pakistan at the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico. Furthermore, his cousin Tauqeer Dar and uncle Munir Dar were gold and silver medal Olympians, respectively. Tanseer competed in district level hockey in Sindh and it seemed as if the family genes had outlined his destiny to become a professional sportsman. However, he became inclined to music at the late age of 21 once global Michael Jackson caught his attention. He would later listen to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, U2, Mr. Big and Marillion. As a vocalist, Tanseer was primarily inspired by Bono of U2 but could also play the keyboards, harmonium and synthesizer. Circle vetoed Waqas’ vocals since he could only sing his own compositions brilliantly. Khalid took a turn on the microphone as well but was not comfortable with his voice. Adnan straightforwardly refused on the grounds of believing that he could not sing in the Urdu language. When Tanseer stepped inside the recording booth, his theatrical vocals convinced his band members that he was indeed a fine choice for the group’s frontman. In fact, Tanseer ended up singing eight songs of the band’s debut album Tehzeeb whereas Waqar, who was initially selected as the vocalist, sang just one. Having a comparatively better production unlike Adnan’s and Tanseer’s previous band Arsh’s substandard album Saraab, the rock album Tehzeeb was released in late 1998. Triumphant years seemed to be near as Arsh scored corporate sponsorship from the clothing brand Wrangler. Two music videos for their songs were released but the band 138 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD stonewashed for a whole host of reasons. From Sharif’s ban on guitars, western garments and long hair to the market that was still indifferent to hard rock, Circle would barely persevere and succumbed to its grievances when Adnan’s “personal problems back then” steered the band to its deplorable breakup. Another rock band that was struggling to draw attention was Collage. Formed in 1993, the band coalesced and disco with heavy metal and rock music but also lasted merely one album titled Gul Jana. Unlike Circle, Collage had a much better chance of making a name for themselves with their debut album since Sharif had not become Prime Minister yet. The album launch concert was held at Bahria Complex, Karachi on Wednesday, September 11, 1996. The raw energy from the lambent album was not discharged from the band’s natural singer Naveed Zafar. Instead, it erupted from its supernatural guitar player Faraz Anwar. The overstated proposition of guitar players achieving incredible success had they been born outside of Pakistan suits no other musician more than Faraz. At the age of 20, he received a scholarship of $2000 per semester and an award for Outstanding Musical Achievement from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1998, he received another scholarship from the London School of Music. There is an enormous contrast present between the levels of artistic appreciation between Pakistan and the western countries. While Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and Pride of Performance are the premier awards that can be bagged by local musicians, the Beatles’ frontman John Lennon has the 874 hectare Liverpool airport named in his honour and 139 Rockistan

Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen has a 10 feet bronze statue sculpted in his likeness that is situated on the northern shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Born on Monday, July 15, 1976, Faraz belongs from a family enriched with art that traces back to his grandfather who was a painter and a cartoonist in British India. His father Anwar Sami was a cartoonist, painter and photographer whereas his mother Mehar Afroze was an actress and also conducted BBC radio service. At the age of 3, Faraz could not properly speak but was able to hum melodies with ease. He did not require words coming out of his mouth to sway his parents that he would grow up to be a musician. They appointed a singing teacher to train him in eastern classical music and as the years went by, Faraz learned how to play the tabla and harmonium. He was acquainted with music through his father who owned a song collection of Swedish pop group ABBA. His first stage appearance was at a school function where he sang a song by . He would sing the songs of and in his childhood as well. It seems inconceivable that the most technically astonishing progressive rock musician of Pakistan has plentiful eastern roots. That would all change when he was diverted to western hard rock music because of his elder brother Ismat Anwar who listened to REO Speedwagon and Led Zeppelin. He finally burnt his bridges from eastern classical music once he got hold of a rock compilation titled Hard Rock 1 purchased by one of his friends from a video store opposite to his school St. Andrews High School in Defence Housing Authority, Karachi. On an interesting note, 140 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD would-be pop superstar also studied in the same school and was a year junior to him. Merely 11 years old and highly impressionable, Faraz saw the music videos of Judas Priest, Van Halen, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen that were on the compilation and became particularly mesmerized by the latter’s heavy metal solo in the song You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget. The riffs and chord progressions displayed by the Swedish guitar player took hold of Faraz and motivated him to learn the instrument. Unable to contain his excitement over what he had just seen, he began showing the music video to everyone. On one occasion, Faraz showed the guitar solo to his mathematics teacher. “Listen! Look how awesome it is.” Noticing the eardrum-shattering music that his student had become fixated on, the mortified teacher delivered a cold response. “He’s gone mad!” Three years after observing Malmsteen’s superb solo, Faraz would get his very first guitar and would heavily engage himself for eight to nine hours per day practicing the instrument from video tutorials of Paul Gilbert and Steve Morse. Partially self-taught, he would further hone his skills under the tutelage of Adnan Afaq “Vai” for four to five months. Learning at a hypersonic pace, he would record two instrumental tracks at Shadab Audio Recording Studio within a year of picking up the guitar. At the age of 14, he appeared on PTV for the very first time in 1991 as the bass player for Final Cut during one of the band’s television performances. Though not an official member, Faraz was 141 Rockistan asked to fill in when the band’s bass player moved to Canada. “Faraz is my cousin and was learning to play guitar at that time so he was the obvious choice,” recalls Final Cut’s lead guitar player Rizwan Latif Khan. Faraz would soon become a touring musician for major league singers. In 1993, he performed at his first live concert with Sajjad Ali in Holland and released his debut song Akela that was aired on Music Channel Charts. His parents would initially object to Faraz’s foray into rock ‘n’ roll, even though his mother was the one who asked his grandfather to bring a harmonium and a guitar during the latter’s trip to India. Though not conservative and later supportive of their son’s choices, they would eventually become his steadfast supporters. Shortly after his first concert with Sajjad Ali, Faraz appeared on television once again by playing the guitar on the music video of Nadeem Jafri’s song Socho Kabhi. With his face covered with his long hair, he looked quite the rocker. Laudation from foreign soil reached his way in 1996 when he saw an advertisement for the aforementioned Berklee College on a guitar magazine. It had been six years since Faraz had learned how to play the guitar and he mailed them the demo of his instrumental track Chairzkuro. Six months later, he received an acceptance letter with a scholarship. Notable alumni of the reputed music college include Dream Theatre drummer Mike Portnoy, three-time Grammy Award-winning guitar player Steve Vai and Academy Award winner for the Best Original Song, . Unfortunately, the guitar prodigy could not afford to go due to financial restraints. Faraz was a member of Live 142 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Sketches, the Disciples and Pink Floyd cover band Power House before joining Collage. He initially accompanied the group as a session player before eventually joining it. The band achieved immediate, though forgettable, success after releasing its album and soon collapsed when vocalist Naveed shifted to the . Faraz stood up from the ashes of Collage to form his progressive rock band Mizraab. Named as per the suggestion of his father, “Mizraab” is a word of the which translates to a sitar plectrum made from a continuous strand of iron. Formed in 1998, the band initially consisted of Faraz as the lead vocalist and lead guitar player, Circle’s Khalid Khan as the bass player and Akhtar Qayyum as the percussionist and songwriter. Having worked with an extraordinary catalogue of musicians such as Vital Sign, Junoon, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Haider, Sajjad Ali, Fakhar-e-Alam and Nadeem Kazmi prior to forming his own band, Faraz’s music venture experienced a steady income but at the cost of being a hired hand. As it turned out, Mizraab would never be known for a decent commercial success. Originally, it would be engraved with ignominy and given the cold shoulder due to internal rifts. Mizraab’s first studio album was an unimpressive attempt. Partially incomplete and approaching production deadlines, Akhtar submitted it to the record label Sonic Enterprises without the consent of Faraz who had planned to remodel the entire album. Released in April 1999, Panchi captured little to no attention and received harsh reviews due to the vast room for improvements that were visible on the songs. The inadequate album even lacked drums. The ties 143 Rockistan between Faraz and Akhtar severed after the gaffe of Panchi; forcing Mizraab to run into dissolution. The uncontrived passion for progressive rock music would eventually assist Faraz to resurface as one of the most monolithic guitar players in the country but in doing so, he would step on the toes of ignorant critics and music illiteracy that is rampant in Pakistan. The motivations behind the downfall of the unaccustomed rock bands at the time of Junoon leads to several speculations. It can be argued that the circumstance of Junoon achieving mainstream stardom was the worst thing to ever happen to Pakistani rock music as the band effectively installed itself as a monopoly and destroyed any notion of competition within the music division. To some extent, the accusation is factual as Junoon had become a mainstay and inadvertently, restrained contemporary rock bands from mainstream luminosity. Their socially conscious music stemming from Sufism represented an unabridged double-edged sword for rock music in the country. However, rock bands had been struggling and dwindling even before Junoon’s heyday. They failed where Junoon succeeded. While all of them gave up after their debut album due to severe criticism and lack of sales, Junoon would interpret the blunder of their first two albums as an iteration process and reinvent their sound in their upcoming albums. While the rest of the rock bands suffered from Sharif’s ban on long hair, guitars, jeans and jackets, the adaptable Junoon launched their website for online accessibility. When most rock bands demonstrated careworn expressions due to being 144 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD powerless to secure a fanbase in Pakistan, Junoon would tour United States, United Kingdom, Japan and the Middle East. As Salman recalls, the ban could not hurt Junoon as they were sustained on satellite television by having a huge audience in Bangladesh and India. Band members usually dissociate themselves due to creative rifts but Junoon set themselves as an example of not only musical but also religious diversity. The band had a Sunni, a Shia and a Catholic Christian as core members. Most importantly, none of them fled from Pakistan for their worldly gains at the expense of the group’s breakup like multiple rock bands at the time such as the Milestones, Arsh and Collage. As Junoon expanded its empire by dominating television, radio and print media, Pakistan would be deprived of a meteoric variety of rock bands. Most of them could not even pass through their struggling phase and had resorted to limping away rather than walking away. There was only one rock band that not only defied death in the womb during the long gestation period of Junoon’s apex but was also capable of bringing tangible credibility to the table—Karavan. Formed in 1997 by Asad Ahmed, the Karachi-based hard rock band was trailed by an awry split of his former pop group Awaz. In 1992, the band would charge 40,000 rupees per show and within just two years, their price had climbed up to 350,000 rupees. After their third studio album Shola that was released in 1996, the members were barely working together. Having lost its sponsorship from Pepsi, they no longer considered Awaz a priority, except Haroon Rashid. Born on Friday, May 11, 1973, he decided to become a musician once he heard a Beatles record at the 145 Rockistan age of 9. He bought an acoustic guitar four years later and soon formed a band of his own that performed at school functions. Once Haroon graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Finance), he craved to pursue his pop dream. He received moral support from his mother who knew how to play the piano and sang opera but was not endorsed by his father who had invested a lot in his education. After a man-to-man talk about his future, Haroon’s request for being allowed six months to chase his passion was granted and moved back to Pakistan to give birth to Awaz. Named after a newsletter Haroon used to publish for Pakistan Students Association back in Washington, Awaz rose to the heights of fame in 1992 when their low-budget budget music video of Janeman regularly aired on MTV Asia. Instability slowly arose in the band when Faakhir Mehmood began composing jingles as a side project and Asad became a session guitar player for Vital Signs. His responsibility for continuing Aamir Zaki’s tasks for the band’s fourth album Hum Tum further cemented his distance from Awaz. During Asad’s final two years in the band, he sensed that his input was being unappreciated. Additionally, he was never interested in the kind of music they had made and was driven to the edge when their record label BMG Records wanted to project them as a British-based Asian act instead of a Pakistani group. “The last strain was when one day I switched on the TV and there it was—our song with ‘Made in India’ written on 146 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD the top. I thought to myself ‘something is very wrong here’ and said ‘adios amigos’ to the band.” In January 1997, Asad walked out of Awaz. As he recalls, being the lead guitar player of the pop group was “nothing but a paid vacation” for him. He later launched a recording studio at his home where he composed jingles for Pepsi, Wrangler, Instaphone and ICI. It was obvious that his inherent love for rock music had always been lurking inside him as Asad was itching to form a rock band of his own with his friend and Arsh bass player Sameer Ahmed Bakhtiari. After auditioning six singers, they recruited rising star Najam Sheraz. He seemed a fine fit and had an impressive track record for a rock vocalist. He had aided Junoon as a background vocalist for their songs Jazba-e-Junoon and Ehtesaab and had been a part of the bands Brother Rhythm, Jupiters and Wet Metal but his membership coughed up a fair share of hurdles for Karavan. Just a year prior to joining, Najam had released his debut album Khazana which constituted his first major hit In Say Nein and was fixated on continuing his solo career parallel to his lead vocalist duties in Karavan. While the hard rock band took off, Awaz became immobile as their concerts and rehearsals degenerated in number. The pop group was supposed to release its fourth album in 1998 but it would never be recorded since Faakhir kept himself engaged in making television jingles. Haroon, with the aid of ghost musicians hired with the consent of his uninterested bandmates, would work on the album alone that would soon transition to his debut solo album Haroon Ki Awaz. The band 147 Rockistan quietly fell apart and a very public war of words flared between the two embittered members. Faakhir would claim in interviews that he was the sole composer of the majority of Awaz’s songs including their biggest hit Ae Jawan and would perform the band’s songs in his solo shows. Haroon furiously retorted by denying the claim and revealed that they had mutually agreed to discontinue performing Awaz songs as they had signed a copyright law contract with the Performing Rights Society of the United Kingdom which asserts that the royalty earned from television broadcasts and sales would be equally distributed. Much to the dismay of Haroon, Faakhir continued to perform the band’s songs for a year after the breakup. Pop music was experiencing earthquakes as Vital Signs had split up just a year earlier than Awaz. Just like Haroon and Faakhir, Junaid Jamshed commenced a solo career but with a guilty conscience. For years he had been feeling unsatisfied with his singing career and would interact with people that convinced him that his path was incompatible with Islam. In one instance, he met a young, neat, clean shaved boy. “Junaid bhai, I have listened to you a lot,” the boy said. “You sing very well.” “All right.” Contently replied Junaid. “Very kind of you.” “Do you know I’m a Hafiz-e-Quran?” “You are?!” “Yes, I am.” “Then where is your beard?” “I shaved it.” 148 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

“Why?” “Due to watching you.” Junaid recalls such moments as one of the motivations behind his renouncement of music but they were mere appetizers. The main course would appear in the form of an old school friend, Junaid Ghani. On one humid evening in 1997, the pop icon stopped a few members of the Tableeghi Jamaat on the road to pay his respects and casually asked them to pray for him. When they returned to the mosque, one of them told his entire clique that they had met none other than Junaid Jamshed today. As fate would have it, Ghani was sitting among them and heard the conversation. Hoping to reconnect with his old friend, he embarked on a thorough search operation that lasted one and a half months and successfully capped Junaid’s phone number. Ghani called him with the anticipations of scoring a meeting with his former classmate. “Junaid, do you recognize me?” It had been sixteen years since Junaid had seen or heard his old friend but he managed to instantly identify him. “Are you Junaid?” “You recognized me?” asked a startled Ghani. “Of course, I did. You were such a fiendish boy in the class and due to our mutual name, I was disgraced as well.” Ghani immediately got straight to the point and requested to meet him. Being the ever-busy celebrity that Junaid was, he declined. The rejection did not discourage Ghani as he kept calling to meet him for the next two months. The periodic phonecalls had reached such a point that even Junaid’s domestic servants had memorized his persistent 149 Rockistan friend’s name. One day, Ghani again called Junaid and managed to desperately blurt out a proposition. “For the sake of Allah, just hear me out for one minute.” “Speak!” “I have just come back from Umrah and I have brought home some dates and zam-zam water. Take these from me and I will leave afterward.” It sounded simple enough and Junaid was polite enough to oblige the humble request despite his extensive show business schedule. “For how long will you be arriving?” “Five minutes,” answered Ghani. On the next evening, a confused Junaid waited as he kept wondering why would a friend from almost two decades ago recurrently nag him in order to coerce a meeting. At 3:30 PM, he stood bamboozled as he scanned an unrecognizable Ghani on his doorstep for the first time in sixteen years. Sporting a long beard and wearing a pearl white , Junaid’s jaw dropped to the floor as his beaver brown eyes widened in disbelief. “Junaid Ghani, what has happened to you?” Junaid refused to believe the miraculous sight in front of him. His old schoolmate had been archetypally disreputable for ensuing countless woes yet here he was as if he had never sinned in his life. Their reunion was meant to last for merely five minutes but extended to three and a half hours as Junaid kept demanding answers about Ghani’s new avatar. Witnessing his eagerness, Ghani gave Junaid an opportunity to meet the people who had shaped him as a tableeghi by 150 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD inviting him to a three-day ijtema the next day at Orangi Town, Karachi. On the following day, Junaid wore what he deemed best for the holy occasion—jeans and T-shirt. Upon entering the ijtema and noticing that everyone else was wearing a shalwar kameez, Junaid feared for his life as he thought someone amongst them would murder him. As he marched through the crowd, he heard his name being whispered as he realized that his presence was the trending topic at the moment. Feeling unwelcomed and extremely uneasy, a young member of the crowd inquired whether he offers his prayers yet Junaid managed to patiently spend time in the religious gathering. On the third day, which coincided with his 33rd birthday, he saw an elderly man whose idealistic sermons had a profound effect on him. Narrating the heartwarming tales of Islam that reaffirm faith, Junaid was hypnotized by the magnetizing Islamic scholar. His unforeseen bounce from being an MBBS student at King Edward Medical College, Lahore, to a pupil of Islamic education at Jamia Arabia, Raiwand, further added marvel to his religious aura. He was none other than Maulana Tariq Jameel. His calm yet revered demeanor enchanted Junaid and he expressed his sturdy desire to immediately meet him which was rebuffed by Ghani on the grounds of “no one can meet him.” Junaid refused to take no for an answer and asserted his authoritative posture. “I can meet this country’s President and this country’s Prime Minister as well so how difficult can it be to meet this preacher?” he asked. Ghani reluctantly took him across the hordes of people towards the tent where 151 Rockistan

Jameel was staying but the encounter was momentarily halted by a young boy. He was guarding the tent with a long stick and had been imposed with strict guidelines of not allowing anyone to enter. Similar to everyone else present at the gathering, he was equally astonished to see Junaid. “Junaid bhai, what are you doing here?” “Why can’t I come here? Are you a bigger Muslim than me?” “No, I’m just surprised to see you here,” the boy chuckled. “I’m a very big fan of yours.” “I want to see Maulana Tariq Jameel,” demanded Junaid. “Junaid bhai, no one has permission to meet him.” Junaid almost lost his temper upon hearing the boy’s reply and with his voice raised, insisted on informing Jameel that he wants to meet him. The boy hesitantly allowed Ghani to meet Jameel in order to explain the entire predicament. As soon as he told him, Junaid heard his booming voice that clearly expressed a state of shock. “Who?! Junaid Jamshed?! Send him inside! Send him inside!” Junaid stepped inside Jameel’s tent and the conversation that would follow has long been the subject of rumour and anecdote. Two very distinctive individuals from completely contrasting ideologies, chiefly considered to be at the top of their game, sat face-to-face for a discussion about redemption. His eyes expressing happiness yet surprise, Jameel stared Junaid right through him. “Why are you looking at me like that?” asked a worrisome Junaid. “I’m not looking at you. I’m looking at Allah’s splendor.” 152 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

“What do you mean?” “Today, when I was coming from the airport, there was a billboard with your face on it. Upon seeing it, I queried Allah whether it was possible to meet you. And here you are sitting in front of me. I’m looking at Allah’s splendor.” It did not take long for Junaid to realize that Jameel radiates with wisdom and he shared a secret with him. It had been a source of discomfort for years and he deduced that Jameel might have a solution for his qualms. “Maulana, I have a question,” spoke Junaid. “I possess every amount of fame that a Pakistani youth of my age cannot even imagine yet I’m empty from the inside. People aren’t aware of it. They think I’m very happy but actually, I’m very worried from the inside. I have a lot of anxiety and I don’t understand the reason behind it.” As complex the dilemma was, it did not take the insightful preeher even a microsecond to ponder about it as he pertinently responded with an adequate answer. “Your problem is that you’ve hurt your right knee but you’re pasting the bandage on your left knee.” “How’s that?” Junaid dared to examine. “Allah has made the human being with two things,” elucidated Jameel. “One is the clay that is used to make the body and the second is the soul which has come due to the command of Allah. Since the body is made of clay, its every requirement is kept in clay. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the water we drink, the houses we live in, the things we use, they are all for the body’s needs and since it's made of clay, Allah has kept all its needs in the clay. The soul has 153 Rockistan come due to the command of Allah and it’s from the heavens so its nourishment is also in the heavens; not in the clay.” Junaid had not been accustomed to religious chronicles as of late yet he was able to comprehend every ounce of the manifested description Jameel had just bestowed for his spiritual acquaintance. “If I lock you in a palace made of gold and don’t provide you food for four days, what will you do?” asked Jameel. “Obviously, I will scream for food.” “That’s the situation of your soul,” the cleric continued. “Your body wears the nicest clothes, drives the biggest cars, lives in the finest palaces and you want to satisfy yourself but when the soul inside you screams when it is starving, then your head begins to ache. Treat your soul with its nourishment as well.” “Where is its nutrition?” “It has arrived from the heavens so its nutrition is also in the heavens; not in the clay,” demonstrated Jameel. “And the heart’s relaxation, peace and leisure are not related to the body that is made of clay but to the soul that has arrived from the heavens.” “Then what is its nutrition?” “Its nutrition is the word of Allah, the orders of Allah, the life of the Holy Prophet, the ways of the Holy Prophet and the traditional customs of the Holy Prophet. Until the soul gets them, it will remain starved. And when it will scream due to starvation, you’re a Muslim, you know. The non- don’t know. To slumber the screams, they sometimes drink alcohol or do drugs but till the soul is starving, you will remain agitated. You won’t get peace.” 154 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

The question of which Junaid had been searching the answer for so many years had finally been answered. Things became more clear when Jameel emphasized the soul’s nutrition by narrating the 28th ayah of Surat Ar-Ra’d, “Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Surely in Allah’s remembrance, do the hearts find peace.” A reservoir of tears streamed down Junaid’s face as he analyzed how distant he had become from Islam. His hands that he had used to strongly grip the microphone as he swayed on the stage during his performances felt physically weak as he concealed his sobbing eyes. Consuming all of his strength to calm himself, he frightfully asked whether it meant that his whole life had been destroyed. “No, of course not,” answered Jameel with signs of refurbishment. “This matter is not between you and the people. It’s between you and Allah.” As Junaid wiped his tears of sorrow, Jameel familiarized him with how merciful Allah is. He compassionately articulated that Allah generously pardons the son of Adam if he asks for forgiveness even if his sins had reached the clouds of the sky or have become as great as the earth. Junaid gazed at him in amazement. It was beyond him to reckon how easy it was to be exonerated of his sins. However, he was absolutely unprepared for what Jameel proposed next. Declaring that music is the nourishment of ego instead of the soul, he counseled Junaid to shun his singing career. The recommendation was met with a stammer as a maelstrom of disordered thoughts vented in his mind. 155 Rockistan

Junaid had no intention of surrendering his livelihood that was brewed by singing. For the sake of the peace that he had been longing for, Junaid pulled through and renounced music in front of Jameel. However, it was only a matter of time when Junaid would resume singing and begin to contemplate whether abandoning it was actually worth the peace at heart. The struggles to rediscover himself at the cost of his bread and butter were far from a conclusion.

* * *

As a backlash to the candy-coated pop music that was happening at the time, Asad Ahmed’s Karavan attempted to present themselves as an alternative source of rock music but had a bumbling beginning. Even with the members’ combined years of playing live, the band’s very first performance in May 1997 was a complete catastrophe. As an opening act for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at a concert in Karachi for Channel V, Karavan stumbled due to the awful sound system. Sharing an equal amount of blame upon themselves as well, the newly formed band was not a rehearsed act yet. When they released the music video of their first single Rakh Aas from their debut album of the same name, the band became a victim of ill-timed scheduling as the same year, Nawaz Sharif had become the new Prime Minister and his venomous strike in the form of the ban on long hair and guitars functioned as a barricade. Replicating glam rock bands from the 1970s, the hard rock song Rakh Aas had a motivational tone but the censor board did not look past the band members who had long 156 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD flowing hair and were prancing like lunatics. The music video was banned from television and as Asad recalls, Sharif’s second reign was the “darkest period in the music industry.” Apart from the savage onslaught in the form of the ban, his memories of Karavan’s early days are not a bed of roses either. “Initially, the band was put together and it just shocked people and very quickly we realized we’re in the wrong country to do that,” recollects Asad. Released in November 1997, Karavan’s debut album Rakh Aas did not operate commercially well in the market but it daringly provided a breath of fresh air in the Junoon-dominated spectrum of Pakistan’s rock music. The whiplashing songs were designed in a hard rock framework and the overall album inhabited a fierce rhythm. With the release of Rakh Aas, Karavan ran through all the new rock bands at the time like a knife through butter. In November 1997, Karavan expanded into a quartet as the band welcomed the Milestones’ drummer Allan Smith as an official member. After spending five years playing sessions for Junaid Jamshed, he switched from pop to rock by joining Karavan. Similar to Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Najam would tie scarves onto the microphone stand before the band’s concerts. In May 1998, the hard rock group was on the verge of a sullen breakup as he departed. Najam’s desire to work on his solo career along with being a vocalist of Karavan proved to be intolerable for the rest of the members. Their shows had been gradually increasing and even performed at a sold-out show at PACC Karachi. It would have been an agonizing sight to see Karavan dumped 157 Rockistan in the rubble of the countless rock bands who had vowed to stamp a memorable impression. Having the mental fortitude to thrive while being the lead guitar player of Karavan, Asad did not fold his rock band upon the vocalist’s withdrawal. Instead, he thoroughly searched to find a new one. The replacement of lead singers is nothing out of the ordinary in rock ‘n’ roll. Though it opens countless uncertainties in the path and even the risk of being rejected by the earliest fanbase, there is a handful of rock and heavy metal bands who have achieved redemption with a new vocalist. Bon Scott of Australian hard rock band AC/DC had released five studio albums including their iconic Highway to Hell and his untimely death due to heavy drinking on Tuesday, February 19, 1980, raised a possibility of the group’s premature end. Not willing to halt, AC/DC repackaged itself with Brian Johnson as the new vocalist while hoping to keep touching the skies and did they ever. The band released their album Back in Black just five months after Scott’s passing and it became the highest-selling rock album in music history. British heavy metal band Iron Maiden shares a relatable success story as well. When their vocalist Paul Di’Anno was dismissed due to his constant drug abuse, the band replaced him with Bruce Dickinson. Titled The Number of the Beast, it was the very first album that Iron Maiden recorded with their new vocalist and the band reached the number one spot on the UK Album Chart for the very first time. Rock band Circle would usually serve as the opening act of Karavan and this had made Asad’s hunt for a new vocalist much easier. Circle’s vocalist Tanseer Ahmed Daar had been 158 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD under the microscope by Asad and Sameer. “We knew at one point that Najam was going to leave the band,” remembers Asad. “So Sameer and I, before we’d go on, we’d go on the side, watching [Tanseer] and thinking, what about this guy?” Tanseer had no clue that he was being evaluated by the two band members. The final concert that Najam performed with Karavan was at the Karachi Club. Backstage, Sameer offered Tanseer to join his band as the vocalist. “Look, you have to join Karavan!” said Sameer during the night. “But you have Najam,” shrugged Tanseer. “Not anymore.” The flamboyant Tanseer would succeed Najam but Karavan had to wait an entire year for a compelling reemergence. In 1999, the season of the Cricket World Cup was taking the country by storm again and Pepsi opportunistically took advantage of the situation by releasing a consisting of patriotic songs. Karavan was approached for the project and as per bass player Sameer’s suggestion, his former band member from Arsh was asked to fill Najam’s shoes for just one song titled Umeedain. It is crucial to understand how Pakistani rock music almost missed out on being blessed with Tanseer’s booming vocals. In a cruel twist of fate, his father passed away in February 1998 and he descended into a spiral of grief. He had quit music for the next six to seven months until Fakhar-e-Alam offered him to hop aboard his tour in forty schools across Lahore. “For forty days in forty different schools, we performed a show right after the morning assembly,” Tanseer recalls 159 Rockistan while bursting a laugh. “Waking up in the morning after so many years was like going back to school to study again.” Sameer joined the tour as well and the two would later work on the patriotic track Umeedain. The terrific recording session between Tanseer and the remnants of Karavan for the song was an omen. Not only the teamwork among the musicians made them conscious about Tanseer being an appropriate addition to their band, but they also became the only rock act to be featured in the Pepsi World Cup album. Tanseer was particularly excited to collaborate with Allan. Fifteen years earlier, he was sitting in the audience when he witnessed him playing at Aamir Zaki’s first concert at PACC Karachi. Allan was the drummer at the show and Tanseer considered himself to be lucky if he ever received a chance to work with him. Armed with a new voice, Karavan would perform for the very first time with Taseer at the Pepsi World Cup concert to determine whether their fans would accept him as their new vocalist. The live crowd, conspicuously, reacted positively to his stage bravado and if nothing else, that is a testament to Tanseer’s incredible choral delivery. Circle was not the only rock band that he had joined as a frontman before. He was previously the lead vocalist of the short-lived group known as Disciples with none other than the ace guitar player, Faraz Anwar. However, Asad was barely amused by Tanseer. “What are we going to do? This guy can’t even sing,” he thought after hearing his vocals and believed that he needed a lot of practice to reach Karavan’s very high standards. The band members would lock themselves in 160 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Tanseer’s apartment and consistently jam for the next six to seven months until he improved. In December 1999, with the aid of poet Adnan Ahmed, Karavan would release their second album titled Safar. It was their first album recorded with Tanseer and Karavan scored their first thunderous hit, Aaja Meray Paas Aaja. Unlike their previous album which was mainly done by Asad and Sameer, Safar was a collective effort. “For Safar, we rehearsed for months and months at Tanseer’s house,” recounts Asad. “We were constantly breaking down choruses and verses, then throwing them together again. Shuffling this and that. That was a real group album.” Karavan was a massive departure for Asad from his dance-pop days in Awaz. Flipping out as he played his guitar and often sporting a goatee and mustache while being a member of the squeaky-clean boy band, he was a misfit. Now discernibly identifiable for wearing T-shirts of hard rock bands such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and predominantly KISS to name a few during Karavan’s stupendous live shows, it was a defining moment of his evolution as a rock icon. The underground rock scene was on fire as well in terms of original music. Brimming with talent, the Trip had been composing original material and decided to step their game up by recording a six-track extended play titled Middle of Nowhere that was released in March 1997. The band had faced a minor lineup change as Waqas Khan had been replaced by Omar Yousaf on the bass since February 1995. The former left the band after experiencing a religious awakening but remained attached to Trip as he continued to 161 Rockistan extend a helping hand as their songwriter. Recording the tracks in the English language, they were unwilling to compromise on their art even when the Karachi-based music label VCI Records offered them a lucrative deal in exchange for converting one of their songs into Urdu. Vocalist Babar Khan was irate upon hearing their proposal and furiously refused. Even by Pakistan’s mainstream standards, the band’s songs are endlessly replayable. The Trip was voted as the number one underground rock band in a poll conducted by The News but the band would have no time for any celebrations as affliction would soon come across their way. On Sunday, June 1, 1997, Babar died due to a gunshot wound. He was 26 years old. Arrayed with a Jim Morrison-esque stage presence due to often singing while lying on his back on the stage, Babar would let his vocals do all the work. His legacy lives on as he had pushed the cultural envelope of the underground rock movement by engineering the Peace Fest held at Bagh-e- Jinnah, Lahore in April 1995. As a tribute, a music video for the Trip’s song Buried in the Sand was released. Shot in Panchgani Hill Station, Maharashtra, India, by Bollywood DOP Nadeem Khan, it signified that Babar may have died but he went away in a blaze of glory. Following Trip’s expiration, guitar player Cecil Shane Chaudhry would continue his musical journey with Midnight Madness’ vocalist Zahid Awan in the short-lived band, Power Trip. The Trip was not the only underground band to hit the music market as Coven released their hard-as-concrete rock album Not in Your World in September 1997 as well. Incorporating live drums courtesy of Sikandar Mufti and 162 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD consisting of eleven original tracks written by Hamza Jafri in the English language, it sold a thousand copies but almost did not see the light of day as vocalist Ali Noor had been distancing himself from music. He even gained admission in the music department of Denver University, Colorado, after the completion of his A-levels but opted not to join in favor of pursuing either genetic engineering or law. Noor chose the latter because his passion lied in connecting with the people and he believed that it could be achieved by studying law so he could subsequently be a politician or a leader. Coven reverted to their original vocalist Ali Rizvi for the recording of Not in Your World after Noor quit so he could focus on his studies. Admitting the void grown due to his absence, the band reached out to Noor again and insisted on briefly rejoining for the recording sessions. He would agree to do so and the album became a gem of Lahore’s underground rock circuit. The perfectly crafted rock songs had a cohesive construction of melody and the pristine lyrics by lead guitar player Hamza Jafri were the true standout aspect of the album. Even though Noor was no longer a member of Coven after the release of Not in Your World, he could never separate himself from music. It had always been a part of him as he had been writing songs since the age of 15 and always insisted on performing his original compositions instead of playing covers. On one fateful day in 1996, Noor was casually sitting with his younger brother Ali Hamza. Born on Friday, March 21, 1980, there was a reason behind the latter’s introverted character. During his childhood, he used to talk to himself and roamed on the lawn alone. Ever 163 Rockistan since the age of 15, Hamza had developed a habit of smoking cigarettes and would spend most of his day standing next to the exhaust fan of the washroom. With a left-handed acoustic guitar, Hamza tried to copy the song Samson & Delilah of his elder brother’s band. The outcome was a jagged song Do Dil and it motivated Noor, who was sitting nearby, to compose songs in the Urdu language with his brother. Though the collaboration between the two siblings seems immensely causal, it serves as an important moment in Pakistani rock music history because at that particular moment, rock band Noori was born. As opposed to the popular assumption, Noori was not named after its lead vocalist and lead guitar player, Ali Noor. There are, conversely, several rock and heavy metal bands who are named after their members, thus fueling the speculation. Bon Jovi is named after its singer-songwriter Jon Bon Jovi whereas Van Halen is named after brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen. Another misconception is that Noori was actually named after the brothers’ mother Noor Zehra Kazim. In the language, “Noori” translates to shining and elder brother Noor was intrigued by the word while coming up with a name for his band. “Basically, its meaning is something made of light. When we formed the group, our purpose was to provide the people with a new light and a foundation for new thoughts with the lyrics we write and the ideas we share. So that’s why we named our group Noori,” addresses Noor regarding his band’s name. Musically well-endowed, both brothers could sing, play the guitar and even write songs yet were exceedingly 164 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD contradistinctive as far as individualistic influences were concerned. Noor was inclined towards western bands Def Leppard, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and whereas Hamza adored eastern musicians and Kundan Lal Saigal. Noori’s initial years were vastly discouraging. Their first concert was for the noble cause of charity and was held at Sacred Heart School, Lahore, on Saturday, October 10, 1998. Accompanied by Power Trip’s Zeerak Samuel on the lead guitar, Coven’s Mohammad Ali Jafri on the bass and their cousin Tara on the keyboards, the brothers sang English language songs and even their original compositions Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan, Mujhe Roko and Mein. The last one happens to be the very first song the two brothers wrote together and dates back to 1995. On a hilarious note, the lights went off when they spoke the erotic lyric “Am I sexual?” while singing Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) by the Backstreet Boys. The audience consisted of students of grades one to five and were least interested to see the band as one of them bellowed, “Uncle, we don’t want to listen to your songs.” At the sight of the children being unimpressed by the original songs Noori had prepared for them, the band resorted to singing the snazzy Bollywood ditty Chaiyyan Chaiyyan twice. Noor certainly miscalculated the response he had hoped his band would receive at their very first concert as the rejection towards their original songs nearly flung him into depression. When they finished the song Mujhe Roko that concludes with the lyrics “Par main na rukoon ga”, one 165 Rockistan child in the crowd had shouted, “, chalay jao!” To forget the stained memory of the show, Noor ate so much “worst food” that he ended up with food poisoning and had to spend two days in the hospital. It would be three years until Noori resumed performing live again. The band’s first music video Khalla was a debacle as well. Directed by Bilal Haider Shah and showing the “evils of the society”, it had a dark tone due to showing greed and drug injections. The melancholic song was banned from television and Hamza soon abandoned the band to solely concentrate on his Bachelor’s degree in Economics once he gained admission at Lahore University of Management Sciences. This axed the original plan of taking Noori forward with Hamza as the lead vocalist and Noor as the lead guitar player. However, Noor did not let the group become another causality like so many rising rock bands at the time. He was determined to carry on even if it meant being all by himself. Ironically, luck would finally be on his side in the form of rejection. He prepared a folk track for a movie project of media tycoon Sajjad Gul. It was not accepted and the movie got shelved as well. Incidentally, a gateway to eminence would be opened through Noor’s grandfather and lawyer Raza Kazim. A political activist dedicated to creative arts, he founded the Sanjan Nagar Institute of Philosophy & Arts in 1995. The non-profit organization conducts theoretical and practical research in the fields of music, philosophy and photography. Raza had recently bought a video editing system and Noor thought about testing it with the random snippets of Lahore he shot with a handy cam that belonged 166 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD to his friend Mariam Pasha. Once the scrapped song and the video shots were joined together, the culminated product was the music video of the radio-friendly Manwa Re. Intended “just for fun” and hitting the television screens on Wednesday, October 7, 1998, Noor released the song on his own and it became a monster hit. Grabbing the essence of the culturally rich city of Lahore, the track became an ethnic sensation. Manwa Re had a minor controversy as it had an awkward scene of female performers of the notorious red-light district Heera Mandi and the music video had to be re-edited. Additionally, since the song was virtually Noor’s solo undertaking, people began to speculate that the band was genuinely named after him. Noori, unintentionally, took the Junoon route to instant prominence. It took a folk song for both rock bands to acquire nationwide recognition after a few years of tedious struggles. However, Noor discredits Manwa Re as a “Noori song” since he did not write it nor it was a product of his own thinking. It was penned down by writer Ahmed Aqeel Ruby. “Manwa Re is a song that I can never ever say that it depicts what I’m actually about as a musician,” says Noor. The band soon got two more members. Former Coven bandmate Mohammad Ali Jafri joined as the bass player. Since his younger brother and lead guitar player Hamza Jafri had moved to London, their own band Coven had imploded. Furthermore, Ali Jafri had been involved in the shoot of Manwa Re. He had edited the music video and was behind the camera while shooting the opening, car, restaurant and red-light district scenes. 167 Rockistan

The position of Noori’s drummer was filled by the venturesome Salman Albert. Born on Sunday, January 22, 1978, he was not just a mere drummer but an institution unto himself. Singing in church choirs since the age of 8 and playing bass on his first gig at the age of 12, he eventually began performing as a singer and a multi-instrumentalist in private events and the underground rock circle of Lahore. His family was crammed with amateur and professional musicians that can be traced back to the years preceding General Zia-ul-Haq’s ultraconservative regime. Albert’s paternal uncle Sohail Basil was a founding member and guitar player of the Christian gospel band, the Wanderers. Formed in Lahore, the group would mostly perform covers of the Beatles and Bee Gees. The Wanderers were a fixture at birthday parties, clubs, weddings, bars and the poolside of the Intercontinental Hotel. Additionally, Albert’s paternal aunt is the 1960s playback singer Irene Perveen. As for his relatives who were not professionally pursuing music, they could either sing or play a barrage of instruments including but not limited to the harmonium, piano, tabla and guitar. Musical performances were a time-honoured tradition and an essential component of their festivities such as Christmas, Easter and other family functions. “My family was always supportive regarding music but they made one thing clear that I had to complete my education on priority basis with the same level of devotion a normal student would,” reminisces Albert. Influenced by hard rock bands from the late 1960s such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Rush, Rainbow and Jethro 168 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Tull, Albert formed cover band Eastern Boyz with his elder brother Farhan Albert in 1988. Parallel to studying at high school, he was earning money from his music career. Though he graduated from Forman Christian College, Lahore, and would later possess an E-Commerce degree, Albert would chart his own course as a professional musician. At the age of 14, he received his first drum kit which was locally-made in Sialkot. The very first song he played on the drums was Goray Rang Ka Zamana by Vital Signs. By the time Albert joined Noori as the drummer, he had been working in recording studios as an audio producer and a music arranger for the past two years. With valuable members in the group and public esteem in the palm of their hands, Noori set their sights on taking over Pakistan’s rock music by composing their debut album Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan. 169 Rockistan

Chapter 6 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Sponsorships can be great but it’s how you use it. It’s like a knife, you know? You can cut an apple or you can kill someone. Aamir Zaki

On the political fronts of the country, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif disclosed his true colours as a fascist instead of a democrat. Chief of Army Staff General Jehangir Karamat put his foot down when Pakistan was experiencing destabilizing effects of polarization and insecurity-driven expedient policies launched by the government. He staunchly criticized Sharif and suggested setting up a National Security Council that would allow the military to have an imperative role to resolve obstacles that were proliferating in the country. Dreading that this could be an attempt to topple his government and invoke Martial Law, Sharif demanded his immediate resignation and censored his words from state-run television and radio broadcasts. A four-star rank general and a decorated war hero who had actively engaged in the 1965 and 1971 wars between Pakistan and India, General Karamat was forced to step down on Tuesday, October 6, 1998. Though he assured that his proposal of systemizing a National Security Council 170 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS restricted itself to the military’s key role in soothing Pakistan’s turbulent politics, Sharif had every reason to believe otherwise. Throughout the country’s short history that spanned fifty-one years till then, there had been three successful Martial Laws (out of five attempts) declared by the army. The controversial dismissal of General Karamat proved to be Sharif’s most unfavourable decision during his second reign as the Prime Minister. The next in line to be Chief of Army Staff based on seniority and merit was Lieutenant- General Ali Kuli Khan but Sharif, at the behest of his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif and close aid Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, handpicked the three-star rank, Lieutenant- General . The decision would agonize Sharif less within a year due to the infamous Conflict and the subsequent coup d’état. In May 1999, Pakistani army units infiltrated high- altitude Indian posts that were situated along the Line of Control, though the government initially claimed that the soldiers were tribal fighters from Kashmir. Ironically, earlier that month, Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had personally arrived in Pakistan on a bus through the Wagah Border to sign the Lahore Declaration with Sharif. The agreement centralized on peacefully coming up with a solution for the disputed region of Kashmir and the avoidance of the nuclear arms race between the two countries. The mastermind behind the Kargil Conflict was none other than Musharraf whereas Sharif claimed that he was never informed about the operation. 171 Rockistan

The high-altitude battle on the partial areas of Kashmir’s Kargil district almost dragged Pakistan and India to the threshold of a nuclear war but lasted merely two months when American President Bill Clinton had to intervene. Advising Sharif to pull back his troops from the territories of Kargil and Dras, the retreated and faced innumerable causalities in the process. Mired with diplomatic and international setbacks, the overall Kargil Conflict stands out like a black eye in the ’s military. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto lambasted it as the country’s “biggest blunder” whereas the retired Lieutenant-General Ali Kuli Khan believed it to be a “disaster bigger than the tragedy”. According to a report in The New York Times by the Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Barry Bearak, the Indian troops had to bury the dead bodies of Muslim soldiers themselves with the aid of an Islamic cleric because the Pakistani army did not claim them and insisted that they were independent mujahideen, although they possessed military pay books and identification cards from Pakistan’s 12th Northern Light Infantry. Though the casualties are incalculable, Sharif would claim that Pakistan had lost 4,000 troops in the battle. Musharraf nearly faced a court-martial and Sharif planned to remove him from authority. In a shocking turn of events, Musharraf was able to turn the tables on the coddled Sharif by staging a coup and seizing power. Pakistani politics went through another morbid episode as Sharif would be arrested and locked in Adiala Jail (the same prison in which the democratically elected Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto 172 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS was hanged) and put on trial by the army on the charges of corruption, kidnapping, hijacking, terrorism and attempted murder. The court was on the brink of punishing him with a death sentence but circumstances altered when King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia interfered as Sharif’s guardian angel. Negotiating a deal with the authorities, King Fahd’s involvement at the eleventh hour allowed the disgraced Prime Minister to narrowly survive the death penalty. Instead, he had to pay a hefty fine of $500,000 and was exiled to Saudi Arabia. Sharif’s final day during his second term as the Prime Minister was on Tuesday, October 12, 1999. That date has a separate significance in Pakistani rock music. On that critical day, Junoon’s governmental ban was finally lifted. It is essential to understand political intervention in music. As detailed in the preceding chapters, Pakistani politicians always had a crucial role in the flourishing or degeneration of the country’s music and are often identified as the aggressors towards it. As far as Musharraf is concerned, there is no other public office-bearer who has made more momentous efforts to propagate the country’s music scene from a bleak organism to a monstrous skyscraper. After appointing himself as the President on Wednesday, June 20, 2001, Pakistan practically went through a renaissance. The literacy rate historically improved by 11%, poverty steadily declined by 10%, the economy gradually grew at an annual rate of 7%, more than a dozen universities were inaugurated and the foreign reserves augmented from $700 million to $17 billion. 173 Rockistan

Industrial and economic aspects aside, Musharraf sincerely committed himself towards music, arts and culture that was backed by the freedom of the electronic media. On Saturday, December 29, 2001, President Musharraf imposed a ban on Indian television channels and this resulted in a 30% sales decline of their movies and music whereas the albums of homegrown musicians experienced a 20% growth. Junoon, Najam Sheraz, and Ali Haider were among the biggest benefactors as sales increased from 4000 to 5000 cassettes a day. Due to the ban on Indian content on television, a revolution of private television channels spurred as a vibrant alternative. In 2003, Indus Media Group CEO Ghazanfar Ali inaugurated Pakistan’s very first private music channel called Indus Music. Not a stranger to aiding domestic music getting national exposure, he had previously served as the producer of the Channel Charts that aired on STN in 1992. Additionally, he helped the Barbarians to break into national television for the very first time in 1989. Though Indus Music was a promotional platform for burgeoning artists and spawned numerous imitators, the music channel had one major drawback: music transitioned from an auditory medium into a visual one. Therefore, it had become compulsory for a song to be accompanied by a music video as a prerequisite to be aired on the channel. Not many rock acts felt enthusiastic about making videos, especially Karavan. According to Asad Ahmed, making music videos is “an unnecessary thing for the music industry” but since the band had to survive, they had to follow the trend. Before leaning towards the rock bands who 174 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS would acquire public exposure through music channels, it is mandatory to acknowledge the man, the myth, the legend— General Musharraf. Born on Wednesday, August 11, 1943, the liberal leader was not the only partisan of music in his family as so were his parents. They stood victorious in a ballroom dancing competition and his mother could sing and play the harmonium as well. During his tenure as a colonel, he ordered the release of pimps, prostitutes and musicians of Rawalpindi’s red-light area when the police cracked down on various lawbreakers. Amusingly, they proceeded to chant “Long live, Colonel Musharraf” outside his headquarters. As a President, he took great pride in the country’s artists. “President of Pakistan invited all the artists at Aiwan-e- Sadr from the fields of music, TV, the film industry, etc.,” recollects Salman Ahmad. “He was himself there until 3 in the morning along with the entire cabinet. He gave away awards and addressing the artists, said that they were the country’s real treasure – all the people who devoted their life to art and culture were a national treasure. Nobody had ever had the courage to say this before.” Musharraf’s affection for Junoon is no secret. On Tuesday, December 25, 2001, he was on stage with the rock band as they sang Azadi and Jazba-e-Junoon at a concert held at Mazar-e-Quaid, Karachi. By now, Junoon was not one of the residents of the upper echelons of Pakistani rock music. They were the only resident. Competition drives rock bands to perform better through the fear of losing customers and without it, they become increasingly lackadaisical. Due to the absence of solid competitors, there really is no 175 Rockistan incentive to provide a quality service. That was the case with Junoon’s last two studio albums Ishq and Dewaar but it did not matter as the band was safe, sung and essentially untouchable in their ivory tower. Even though Junoon did not age like fine wine, the odds were not stacked against them as their breakneck tours were in full swing and barely had any competition in the rock market. Despite Ishq being the band’s weakest album since it had a fair share of loose ends, it still managed to top the music charts in not only Pakistan but also the Persian Gulf and South Asia. It was during Musharraf’s reign as the President when a plethora of outstanding rock bands in the country’s urban centers would explode into the mainstream. While Junoon and sometimes solely Salman have been credited for the upsurge, it is not entirely accurate as other rock bands had been evaporating into thin smoke during the sufi rock band’s peak years. General Musharraf has often been lauded as the politician responsible for the outpour of prominent bands in the new wave of rock movement and partially does deserve a substantial amount of recognition. However, if there truly is one individual who can be hailed responsible for setting the era of high standards of rock musicians, it is inextricably Rohail Hyatt. Due to his groundbreaking initiative Battle of the Bands, the former Vital Signs member and the current CEO of Pyramid Productions procures the most commendation for putting rock music on the map. It is probably unfair to state that underground bands are never able to step out of the shadow of mainstream acts but truth be told, they were barely given a legitimate chance before. All that changed when the television show Battle of 176 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS the Bands became a turning point for the entire Pakistani music scene. Sponsored by Pepsi, it ran for six months in 2002 and provided the country’s underground acts the opportunity to surpass the of rebellious souls because of ample airtime on state-owned PTV. Essentially, it was large-scale farming of rock music in Pakistan. Battle of the Bands could not have come at a better time since underground rock music was then going through a dramatic phase. Just a year earlier in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, the jam-packed Green Gig Night was held on Saturday, September 8, and the aesthetic Rock Festival took place on Saturday, October 20. A grand total of 173 underground bands applied for Battle of the Bands, mostly from Lahore and Karachi. One of the most salient figures behind the scenes of the show was Nofil Naqvi, the Senior Producer of Pyramid Productions. He was responsible for setting up the public voting system through the official website and telephone in order to keep the viewers at home emotionally invested. Brain Masala, Yaar, Shahzad Hameed Project, Mizmaar (not to be confused with Mizraab), Messiah, Aks, Sahara, Mekaal Hasan Band, Aaroh and Entity Paradigm were the ten shortlisted bands who competed on the air in front of a live audience and a panel of judges that included Rohail, Shahi and music critic Fahimeh Fifi Haroon. The Pepsi-sponsored event was a big cherry on rock’s sundae but a poisoned banana split for pop as it turned out, the final showdown was a cutthroat standoff between Aaroh and Entity Paradigm who kept turning the people on their heads every single time they stepped on the stage. Hard rock 177 Rockistan music was a foreign concept just a few years ago yet the two underground bands were being featured on national television. It did not take a stroke of luck for Aaroh and Entity Paradigm to reach the finals as both constituted of members who demonstrated terrific musicianship. The chronicles of Aaroh begin with their audacious member, Nabeel Nihal Chishty. Born on Sunday, May 9, 1976, it was challenging for him to access music due to his childhood in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Ease strolled towards him in the form of his uncle Jameel Chishty who provided musical instruments and encouraged him to pursue music. When his elder brother Bilal Chishty was studying for his bachelor’s degree in the United States, he sent him records of AC/DC, Metallica and Nirvana. As Nabeel’s fondness for rock music grew, he requested his father to purchase a guitar. His father promised that he would do so if Nabeel was able to score an A1 grade in Matriculation. After much perseverance, he not only achieved the desired grade but was one of the three students in the class to have such an accomplishment. As a gift, Nabeel’s father bought him a toy guitar. Shortly thereafter, his mother bought him an electric one and he formed his own band named Arena with friends Shehzad Hussain on bass, Ashraf Ansari on guitar and Farooq Rauf on the keyboards. Partially a self-taught guitar player, Nabeel learned the basic chords through the son of one of his uncle’s friends and rapidly improved when he came to Karachi where Faraz Anwar took him under his wing. Arena composed seventeen original songs within six months by utilizing cassette recorders and even served as 178 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS one of the opening acts of a Junoon concert in Chicago, Illinois. His childhood friend Kamran Khan aka Kamijee from the close-knit Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia was a keyboard player and occasionally performed with Arena as well. Born on Tuesday, May 21, 1974, Kamijee was a senior figure in the country’s media industry due to working behind the scenes. He composed background music for PTV and was a close associate of Shoaib Mansoor, having worked as the assistant director of his show Gulls and Guys. Inspired by the advanced sequencing of Rohail Hyatt, Adnan and Alamgir Khan, he pursued music as a full-time career. While residing in Saudi Arabia, Kamijee was part of a band named Beat Masters but moved to Pakistan in the early '90s due to the Gulf War. In 1994, he purchased music equipment worth 35,000 Saudi riyals and produced songs for Fringe Benefits, Fakhar-e-Alam and Komal Rizvi. His other projects in the media industry include making television commercials for Pepsi, Nestlé, Standard Chartered Bank and Interflow. Kamijee earned a name for himself by being the solo band manager, music producer and member of the live line-up of Junaid Jamshed for twelve years. He served as the producer of the pop crooner’s final solo albums Us Rah Par and Dil Ki Baat. Kamijee recommended Nabeel to Junaid when the latter was searching for a guitar player for his solo album Us Rah Par. Nabeel had studied a one-year course of western classical and was even awarded a music scholarship from the University of Illinois at Urbana– Champaign on the basis of his mystical guitar playing. 179 Rockistan

However, he had never stepped inside a music studio before and his demos left Junaid unimpressed. The pop megastar politely rejected Nabeel and encouraged him to improve. Within the next two years, the latter played the guitars for Schehzad Mughal’s solo album and Strings’ remix of Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar. Additionally, he began playing sessions for major pop acts such as Faakhir Mehmood, Jawad Ahmad and Strings. As Nabeel became the hottest prospect among session musicians, he played the guitars for a few demos on Junaid’s final album Dil Ki Baat upon Kamijee’s request. Once Junaid heard the demos, he wondered who played the guitar. “Remember that guitarist whom you rejected and told to practice?” asked Kamran. “He’s that guy?!” responded a very shocked Junaid. “Yes, this is Nabeel.” Junaid could not believe that Nabeel had become a much better guitar player than before and eagerly collaborated with him on his album Dil Ki Baat. At the time, Nabeel was part of a band named Raag that was fronted by his friend from Beconhouse Informatics, Farooq Ahmed. Born on Wednesday, December 8, 1976, his parents fervently sang in family gatherings and he followed in their footsteps after seeing his father sing the Bollywood song Aa Ja Re Ab Mera Dil Pukara. Singing since the age of 8, one of his earliest live performances was at Taj Mahal Hotel (now renamed as Regent Plaza Hotel), Karachi. It was a private show and attended by nearly 1000 guests. Upon his father’s wishes, Farooq undertook classical vocal training from Ustaad Nizam Ali Khan but he soon got preoccupied with western 180 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS hard music when his paternal uncle brought records of the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. After O levels, Farooq formed a band named Helm which performed at various schools in Karachi such as St. Michael’s Convent and Karachi Grammar School. Counting Metallica, Skid Row and Pantera as their influences, the band even composed a heavy metal album. In 1998, he encountered Nabeel while studying Computer Science at Beconhouse Informatics and formed the band Raag with him. With Farooq leading from the front, the newly formed group composed demos with piquant bass player Khalid Khan. The two had befriended each other after meeting at Bunny’s Studio where Farooq was recording a heavy metal album whereas Khalid was working on his band Circle’s album. As per the suggestion of Nabeel, the cluster of musicians incorporated themselves in a single group and called it Aaroh. The name was suggested by Shoaib Mansoor while he was sitting in a car with Kamijee and Junaid Jamshed. Other potential names that were considered for the band were Zambeel and Buland suggested by Kamran and Nabeel, respectively. Initially a cover band of Pearl Jam, U2, Pink Floyd, Linkin Park and Metallica, the band soon recruited the bionic drummer Adnan Ahmed and aimed to conquer Battle of the Bands. Entity Paradigm was not a novice either. Often shortened to EP, the group had more of a Guns N’ Roses route to their formation. The American hard rock band was molded by the merger of members from two separate bands, Hollywood Rose and LA Guns. Correspondingly, EP was shaped when 181 Rockistan the Lahore-based underground rock bands Entity and Paradigm united to record a theme song for the slapstick comedy show, Jutt and Bond. Directed by Zain Ahmed and written by Vasay Chaudhry, the television serial starred Entity’s outspoken Ahmad Ali Butt and Paradigm’s timid Fawad Afzal Khan. Born on Monday, October 20, 1975, Ahmad has quite the pedigree of music and performing arts. He is the maternal grandson of the legendary classical singer, . At the age of 9, he was formally trained in eastern classical music and was wheedled by rock and rap music during his teenage years. His fierce sense of rhyme and rhythm is due to groups N.W.A. and Public Enemy acting as his rap inspirations. In 1993, Ahmad formed the underground band Entity that had numerous members throughout its existence. Originally a cover band that performed songs of Limp Bizkit, and Pantera, their first gig was at Palki Marriage Hall, Lahore. By 2002, Entity comprised of Ahmad as the lead vocalist and rapper, Abid Khan on bass and Salman Albert on the drums. The latter was no longer playing the locally-made drums purchased from Sialkot. The band members of Entity had poured in cash from their pockets to have it replaced with a Maxtone drum kit. Parallel to his music career, Ahmad was a television actor as well. His Jutt and Bond co-star Fawad, despite having no heritage of the entertainment business, had no dearth of music and acting either. He had performed in multiple school and theatre plays and had been modeling since the age of 13. Due to a lack of career counselling, he ended up in the Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology, 182 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Lahore, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences. As Fawad recalls, he could not even code a line and barely managed to get C grades. Coming to his music credentials, he began singing at the age of 10 while being one of the members of the choir of his American school in Saudi Arabia. It was during Fawad’s university days when he met the refulgent guitar player, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan. Born on Tuesday, October 28, 1980, he was a bottomless trove of musical potential. While he is one of the most creditable musicians in the country today, it is often overlooked how integral his brothers were in shaping his dexterity. During Zulfiqar’s childhood, his elder brother Khurram Jabbar Khan made sure that he listened to Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd. At the age of 12, he received a small Casio keyboard from Khurram who had purchased it from the United States. With the aid of the toy piano’s manual that centralized on nursery rhymes, Zulfiqar’s ardency for music swiftly unfolded. Surprisingly, it is the only book on musical theory that the musician has ever read in his life. After turning 17, he began playing the drums. Zulfiqar has been playing the guitar as early as the age of 12 when he picked up his brother Haider Jabbar Khan’s guitar. In 1994, Zulfiqar, his brother Danish Jabbar Khan and their friend Omer Pervaiz composed background music for the theatrical performances of Andraap Nexus, a group of mimes at National College of Arts, Lahore. Drawn towards rock music, Khurram bought a TAMA Rockstar drum set to form a hard rock band with them named Call. Inspired by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Iron Maiden, the 183 Rockistan group had Danish as the vocalist and songwriter, Zulfiqar on the keyboards, Khurram on drums, Omer on lead guitar and Shahzad Hameed on bass. Call hovered over Lahore’s underground music scene by composing original rock songs and always refused to perform covers. The band experienced a slight shift in the lineup when Omer and Shahzad departed and were replaced by Ahsan Fida Khan and Faisel Murtaza, respectively. On Saturday, October 20, 2001, Call performed for the very last time at the Rock Festival held at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Shortly thereafter, Danish went to LUMS for MBA, Khurram moved to the United States and Zulfiqar began pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences at FAST Lahore. Bent on quenching his thirst for music, Zulfiqar had made quite a name for himself at the campus. He was teaching how to play the guitar and drums to several students, serving as the President of the university’s music society and was now popularly known as Xulfi. “I started writing my name like that a long time back. I was 15 then. Didn’t know what prompted me to do this but I thought it sounded and looked cool,” he reminisces. Regularly inviting musically inclined students at his residence for jam sessions, his entourage included the aforementioned Fawad, rhythm guitar player Hassaan Khalid, drummer Waqar Ahmed Khan and bass player Sajjad Ali Khan. When they were on the verge of forming an underground band together, Xulfi requested Fawad to sing. He sang the song One by Irish rock band U2 and the group settled with him as the vocalist. As per Fawad’s suggestion, they named 184 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS their band Paradigm. Other propositions by him included Alteridom, Ad Vivum and Fade. Serving as a mentor as well, Xulfi never hesitated to counsel his band members and even taught Waqar the basics of drumming. Taking into account all of Xulfi’s contributions to the country’s music spectrum for over a decade, it is exigent to observe his pledge to music even at his gloomiest period. During his second year of undergraduate studies, Xulfi slipped down the stairs and bulged his spinal disk. Unable to move, he was restricted to bed rest and had to miss an entire semester but he did not let the months pass by unfruitfully. Within that timeframe, he improved his guitar playing skills at a nimble rate and even composed an instrumental album titled A Lifeless Journey under his pseudonym Silence. Owing to the surplus of students being influenced by the “guitar mania” kicked off by Xulfi and Fawad, the university administration put a blanket ban on music on the campus. Assembled due to the band members’ love for music and hatred for studies, Paradigm stormed Lahore’s underground rock scene and once served as the opening act for Call in 2000. It is often ignored that Paradigm’s unification with Entity was even before the Battle of the Bands. When the producer of Jutt and Bond discovered that leading stars Butt and Fawad are vocalists of separate underground bands, he suggested the duo that their groups should collaborate to come up with the show’s theme song. The result was the fulminating Hamein Aazma. It was a swooning moment for national television. With its roaring drums and blistering guitar licks, the song explodes into a furious rampage without warning. 185 Rockistan

Contrary to the wide assumption, EP is not the first rock act to have their song utilized for a television show in Pakistan. The earliest example is the Beatles whose song Ob- La-Di, Ob-La-Da was used for Shoaib Mansoor’s reality show Gulls & Guys in 1999. Rock band Rage sang the theme song for comedy-drama serial Aashiayna and Ali Azmat sang Ansoo for the eponymous show on PTV. However, what is mutual among the aforesaid tracks is the presence of a delicate atmosphere. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da is a pop-ska song whereas Aashiayna and Ansoo are mellow ballads. EP does have the distinction of altering the norms of television shows as it was the very first time that a hard rock song was availed for a serial. With Battle of the Bands just around the corner, its advertisements caught the attention of Xulfi who submitted the clippings of EP and his solo album A Lifeless Journey without informing anyone. Two days later, Rohail personally phonecalled Xulfi to congratulate him on both of his entries being shortlisted in the top twenty participants. However, Xulfi was informed that he can proceed with only one entry so he chose the band instead of his solo material. Entity and Paradigm had already been fused as a single band and were performing together for two months before Battle of the Bands. Not only EP was selected but they also reached the final round against Aaroh. The stakes were high as unlike the qualifying rounds which relied on DAT, the final episode was live. On Friday, July 19, 2002, Aaroh and EP confronted each other at the DHA Golf Club, Karachi. Judged by the jury of Junaid Jamshed, Shahi, Zoheb Hassan, Fahimeh Fifi 186 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Haroon, Salman Alvi and Arshad Mehmood, the broadcast was the greatest underground encounter that ever graced the nation’s television screens. Two rock bands were dueling against each other while their genre was being amiably treated as the center of attraction. It was the musical equivalent of rival activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X advocating the common cause of civil rights for the African-American community. Halfway through the battle, it was apparent that it did not matter which rock band came out on top. This had transcended the concept of wins and losses as both groups walked in as cult idols and walked out as stars. It is fascinating to keep in mind that the stage was being set on fire by mere university students instead of professional musicians. EP’s Fawad, Xulfi, Sajjad, Waqar and Hassaan and Aaroh’s Farooq and Nabeel were all going through their undergraduate studies at the time. According to Xulfi, the entire band bunked university to apply for the show. More importantly, Battle of the Bands was a show that marked the eventual end of Junoon’s days as leading mainstays of rock. As valiant EP was, Aaroh’s unshackled energy won them over by a tiny margin of 0.2 points and Pepsi awarded the latter a sponsorship deal for an album, one music video and a countrywide tour. Rock aficionados often debate if the right band won the 2002 Pepsi Battle of the Bands. Xulfi was very disheartened with the result and he initially thought that the competition was rigged. He was the only member from EP who did not stand and clap for Aaroh when the latter was announced as the winner. He later realized that the band had 187 Rockistan won because they had a commercial edge due to a tinge of eastern classical music along with guitar riffs inspired by U2. Aaroh’s keyboard player Kamijee has often been taunted as the key reason behind the victory. Speculations spurred that his band was favoured by the judges (which including his long-tenured associate Junaid Jamshed) in the final round since he was an employee of Rohail’s Pyramid Productions and had previously worked with Pepsi. “EP was a different genre,” says Kamijee. “EP was energetic on stage. There is no doubt about that but the problem was that they were good as a stage persona but would get beaten in technical aspects. After they built a name for themselves, Xulfi has worked very hard on his craft.” Though Aaroh won a lucrative contract from Pepsi as a result of their victory, it is important to examine the backlash musicians face once they accept a corporate sponsorship deal. Financial restraints are one of the primary hurdles of rock bands and when a corporate enterprise approaches them to offer sponsorship, challenges moderately tone down but music critics and even a few fans are quick to condemn the artists for “selling out”. The term denotes the circumstance of musicians sacrificing their original sound styles with the intentions to capitalize on a broader market. Such practice occasionally happens in Pakistan when musicians acquire corporate sponsorship deals and music critics blatantly clobber the ones who do so. The motivations behind the so-called cardinal sin are not superficial as such lucrative offers often come with a dubious price of musicians facing musical interference from 188 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS sponsors who pressure them to compose a jingle or a patriotic song. Sometimes, they are even forced to compromise their signature sound as per the demands of sponsors. However, it cannot be denied that corporate sponsorships have proved to be the backbone of Pakistani music’s sustainment. Leaving the forefront examples of soft drink companies aside, Brooke Bond Supreme sponsored Jawad Ahmad, Tapal Tea sponsored Najam Sheraz and Lipton Yellow Label Tea sponsored Ali Haider, Hadiqa Kiani and the sibling pop duo of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. A misconception persists that business brands invest in particular artists but not in the country’s music. That is also not entirely accurate as in 1993, multinational tobacco company Gold Leaf sponsored the privately run music show Rhythm Whythm instead of a particular musician. Most recent examples include Coca-Cola and Nescafé setting up their respective platforms for veteran and even obscure artists. Despite the pressures to record music according to the corporation’s agenda, musicians have nothing but positive to comment on sponsorships. According to drummer Gumby, there would be no music if corporate sponsorship did not exist in the country. EP’s Xulfi equates brands with success. Junoon’s Salman Ahmad vouches that the country’s music would fall apart without the presence of sponsorship. “The only way we earn is through performances, and sponsorship, unfortunately, is a necessary evil,” he says. As implausible as it may seem, even high profile musicians do not earn enough to finance their own music videos and that is where sponsorship functions as a monetary contributor. 189 Rockistan

“A sponsor plays a very important role in a singer’s life especially in Pakistan due to excessive piracy,” reveals Haroon. “Here, record companies are not that well off and the cost of video making is also very high here so sponsors are the only people who have enough money to support singers.” Rohail Hyatt has been very candid about the sponsorship deal between Pepsi and Vital Signs. On numerous occasions, the pop band felt “stifled” due to sponsorship but it was the only way they were able to survive as musicians. He also asserts that Pepsi never interfered in their music apart from asking to compose a patriotic song. To understand the complex relationship between Pepsi and the country’s music, one must glance at the grim reality that the multinational company is not a record label. It has a commercially-driven agenda not to promote music but to correlate their soft drinks with music. Pepsi applies an identical strategy to the sport of cricket as well. Battle of the Bands did become the Holy Grail for various underground bands and even the ones that did not participate due to the show redefining how rock music was presented on television but Pepsi never really aimed to bring them into the limelight. In fact, the company could have released four volumes of music compiled from Battle of the Bands but did not deem it worth the risk despite Rohail insisting to do so. A 10-track album consisting of one original song from each band that reached the finals was initially intended but plans fell apart. Pepsi should not be mistaken for a record label company and thus, promoting unfamiliar artists is not categorized as their priority. 190 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

It was a pivotal year for rock music but if 2002 belonged to any band, it was indisputably Karavan. As the only rock band from the predominated age of Junoon to sprout two studio albums so far, Karavan was in no mood to discontinue their streak and recorded their third album in merely fifteen days. In September 2002, the band released the spick and span Gardish. Their third album embodies torment and wide-ranging sentiments in the form of lyrics beautifully penned down by Sabir Zafar and Adnan Ahmed. Unquestionably the most anticipated rock album of the year, Gardish had a pre-order of 70,000 copies and truly solidified the band members as technically astounding performers. Mixed and mastered at Cold Fusion Studio and recorded at Bunny’s Studio, the album created a whirlwind among rock enthusiasts as songs Aagay Hi Aagay and Dil Ki Pyas became colossal hits. The two upbeat, funky songs enabled the Karachi-based rock band to break into Punjab due to the inclusion of eastern percussion instruments, and . “People in Pakistan, especially in Punjab, have to have their dhoom tharaka as I like to call it,” explains Asad Ahmed who knew from the very beginning that these two songs would make them witness better fortunes. The title track from Gardish was recorded in just one take. Another reason behind the album instantly clicking with the masses is that the band members focused on the melodies more than any other aspect of the album. “We’d come in every day, someone would have a melody, and I’d add a guitar riff,” narrates Asad. “All of us would sit down and strum it—just to see what kind of 191 Rockistan melodies we would get. This time, the emphasis was more on melody than form.” As Karavan shot to prominence with Gardish, fans crowned Asad with an unofficial knighthood as calling his name with the suffix “Sir” became a standard practice. Always expanding the boundaries of sounds that an electric guitar could produce, his innovative recording techniques had not been unnoticed. Dozens of impressionable youth followed him hot on their heels as Asad gradually became one of the most respected and influential guitar players of the country. “I met the guitarist of Aaroh and he tells me that when I was a kid, I saw your video on TV, with the long hair, and you inspired me to pick up the guitar,” says Asad. The horde of professional guitar players inspired by him also includes Fuzön’s Shallum Asher Xavier. He once bought a ticket for an Awaz concert solely because he wanted to see Asad playing the fiery guitar solo of Jadoo Ka Charagh. Shockingly, 2002 would prove to be climactic in more ways than one as it was in this year, pop icon Junaid Jamshed would finally declare his tentative departure from music on religious grounds. There had always been a considerable doubt whether he would permanently shun his music career as the charade of a bearded Junaid announcing his retirement only to soon resurface clean-shaven and musically zealous as ever had become a nagging routine that was carried out for a number of years. One of his premature ‘exits’ from music dates back to the spring of 1999 when a full-bearded Junaid went as far as driving his friend and former bandmate Salman Ahmad to the Tableeghi Jamaat uninformed and 192 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS advised him to abandon rock music. The incensed Salman obviously refused. Over the next three years, the spotlight had not been treating Junaid too kindly. The pop market had become saturated with new, younger artists such as Shehzad Roy, and Raheem Shah whereas Junaid was on the edge of bankruptcy. He had sold all his cars and household items as he could not afford to keep them anymore. Eventually, his house got sold and he was “literally on the streets.” Sometimes, he would only have a 100 rupees note in his pocket. In April 2002, Junaid staged a press conference with his former Vital Signs bandmate Salman to address whether he would continue his music career or become an Islamic preacher. Bizarrely, the publicized event would be fruitless in terms of a proper conclusion as he announced that he would continue to do both. Music journalists had their own theories regarding his routinely hip hop from a fading star to an orthodox Muslim; the most persistent one being that he was not actually going through a troubled phase of self-discovery but was purposely pulling off the antics as a surefire way to remain relevant. Junaid would announce his farewell from music for the umpteenth time soon after the misadventure of his 2002 album Dil Ki Baat. It had failed to live up to the expectations of the fans and as Junaid recalled, the album “just went into oblivion.” Only this time, the announcement was not another ploy. The fading pop sensation subsequently remodeled himself as an Islamic televangelist, launched a clothing boutique named J. and became the most famous protégé of Maulana Tariq Jameel. Numerous melodies originally 193 Rockistan intended for his potential music albums in the future would then be converted for his catalogue.

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Battle of the Bands was able to knee-jerk a musical revolution as it offered rock to unfold from a marketable standpoint. Aaroh was basking in the affection of giant crowds from their tours and continued to be the talk of the town but for all the wrong reasons as news broke out that Pepsi declined to sponsor their album. According to Farooq, the beverage juggernaut had demanded that the band come up with a “Haroon type album”. The pop superstar had released his commercially successful solo album Haroon Ki Awaz the previous year and Pepsi stressed Aaroh to record a similar album. Not willing to compromise on their sound, the band bluntly refused at the expense of sponsorship. “I told Pepsi that we’re not going to do that. We are rock stars; not pop stars,” recalls Farooq. However, lead guitar player Nabeel reveals that due to Aaroh being unable to meet the deadline for the completion of their album, Pepsi withdrew the sponsorship. There was a slight change in the original line-up as well since drummer Adnan had to leave the band due to pursuing higher studies in London and was replaced by Jason Anthony. On Monday, September 22, 2003, Aaroh’s popularity reached a new milestone when they finally released their much-awaited debut album Sawaal through the record label Sadaf Stereo. 3000 CDs were sold within half an hour whereas 30,000 cassettes were sold in two hours. “It has the highest figure 194 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS after Junoon,” revealed record label owner Khalid Sadaf. From melodic ballads to hard rock songs, the album took over the music scene. Courtesy of Sangeet Records, the album was released in as well. With his shoulder-length hair and uninhibited showmanship, Farooq was the optimum rock frontman and lead guitar player Nabeel gracefully complemented the band’s stage presence. As soon as Sawaal hit the rock market, Aaroh seemed to be travelling on the road to success but there were stormy clouds on the horizon. Known for their unremitting source of talent, the band would now become a heinous example of how instant fame and success can fuel a clash of egos and ruin doting friendships. In early 2004, lead guitar player Nabeel and keyboard player Kamijee composed the title track for the Bollywood movie Rakht with singer Krishnakumar Kunnath. Farooq and Khalid would stage a press conference in the former’s house along with Imran Momina aka Emu of Fuzön where they announced that Nabeel and Kamran had breached their trust by doing a Bollywood project under the name of Aaroh without their consent. Feeling betrayed by what the duo did behind their backs, Kamran and Nabeel were immediately shown the door by their bandmates. After their expulsion, chaos ensued over the legal custodianship of the band’s name among two factions of the members—Nabeel and Kamran on one side and Farooq, Khalid and Jason on the other. The combustible elements primarily existed between Farooq and Nabeel who were always at each other’s throats. It was a dismal spectacle for the fans to witness the band members pummeling down due 195 Rockistan to the aggression that had boiled amongst them. Farooq accused Nabeel of attempting to undermine his popularity, signing deals in India and America on behalf of the band without informing the rest of the members and even suggesting to add another singer. Whereas Nabeel revealed that he was “never satisfied” with Farooq as the vocalist and the only reason he recorded an entire album with him was due to contractual obligations stemming from sponsorship. The situation got even more complicated when the reluctant band members were contending for the rights to use the Aaroh brand name at Karachi High Court. With both parties assuring the fans that they are the rightful owners of the name, a tear-soaked breakup without any chances of reconciliation permanently fractured their partnership. It was inconceivable for Nabeel and Kamijee to let the band slip through their fingers, especially the former as he had sincerely taken out time for Battle of the Bands despite taking his exams throughout the competition. However, things turned topsy-turvy for Nabeel as Farooq and Khalid stood triumphant in the legal proceedings. As Nabeel has never publically commented on the controversial issue, his side of the story has been under a cloak of darkness for years. He claims that Farooq was unworthy of being the frontman of Aaroh but still motivated and trained him as a vocalist for the sake of their friendship. “Kami never liked Farooq,” reveals Nabeel. “He was an immature vocalist but could sing good covers of English bands like Pink Floyd and Def Leppard. Even Shoaib Mansoor advised me to find another vocalist.” 196 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Nabeel and Kamran initially approached rising star to be their band’s lead vocalist but the latter’s singing career had already taken off so he could not commit himself to Aaroh. As far as the matter of Pepsi withdrawing their sponsorship is concerned, Nabeel claims that it was due to Aaroh being unable to complete their debut album within the allotted time because his bandmates Farooq and Khalid were not musically contributing since “they are not nor .” He complains that they never came to the studio and the album was not a band effort at all. “Me and Kamijee were responsible for the melodies, composition and of Junaid’s album so imagine the difference between our level and Farooq’s level,” says Nabeel. On the flip side, Farooq asserts that Nabeel did not have as many contributions to the album as he professes to have. “Nabeel loved to be praised for stuff he wasn’t even involved in and insisted to have his name mentioned for multiple aspects in the album credits. I told him that he can even write his name on my bathroom’s window.” In January 2003, Pepsi notified Aaroh that their sponsorship was revoked. The scrimmages between Nabeel and Farooq date back to their earliest days of stardom. When the winner of the 2002 Pepsi Battle of the Bands was about to be announced, Nabeel understood that he would be better off not winning the competition. “I was actually hoping that Aaroh loses because it meant that I would have to continue doing most of the work,” he states. “It’s very hard to make a band but it’s even harder to run a band. Even during Pepsi Battle of the Bands, Farooq 197 Rockistan had no input and I was not comfortable with his personality and some of his habits.” Regarding the court case, Nabeel alleges that the judge did not consider music a worthwhile issue and Farooq won because he had registered himself as the sole proprietor of all of Aaroh’s songs without informing him. Both Nabeel and Kamijee claim that the reason behind them going to India was to meet with local record labels to negotiate a deal for releasing Aaroh’s album in the country. On a related note, Mizraab’s Faraz Anwar and Irfan Charlie accompanied them to have their album Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil possibly released by a record label in India as well. When Nabeel and Kamijee met Virgin Music India CEO Shamir Tandon, the latter was particularly impressed by the instrumental track Zarb and offered them to work as independent producers for the title track for the Bollywood movie Rakht. Nabeel claims that once he and Kamijee returned to Pakistan, they informed the rest of the band members about their opportunity to work as producers which was met with resentment, especially from Farooq. “If I’m doing a track, I’m doing it as a producer,” clarifies Nabeel. “Who are you to stop me, right? Khalid is playing with Najam Sheraz. I didn’t stop him. You are composing jingles. Kami is making two albums of two artists. Jason is playing sessions for Christian bands so why can’t I?” He further claims that the rest of the band members were fully aware of him and Kamijee doing the Bollywood project. “How can this happen that we go to India without informing and Faraz was with us too. He was with us throughout the entire trip to India. You can ask Faraz and 198 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS he’ll tell the whole story that everyone knew. Farooq also knew that we were going to India and his visa wasn’t issued or else he would’ve come along as well.” As for Kamijee, he deeply regrets joining Aaroh but did so because Nabeel insisted. Nor he wanted to participate in Pepsi Battle of the Bands as he was already an established producer and the contest was intended for newcomers. He was not just a keyboard player for the band but was fully involved in the arrangement, sound designing, mixing and composing. Apart from his musical contributions, he was able to get the band’s deals signed with record labels Sadaf Stereo and Sangeet Records through his connections. “I cooked the entire biryani which was eaten by everyone else and they all went back to their homes so I was the one who faced the biggest loss because it was through my contacts, efforts and stuff they ruled and misused,” lashes out Kamijee. Farooq maintains that Kamran and Nabeel did the Bollywood project without even informing their bandmates but the latter brushes off the accusation as he assures that he was fully aware of the consequences. “How can this happen that you are working with four people and you sign a deal alone?” lashes out Nabeel. “Don’t you have to play music with others? Don’t you know this will create fights and will lead to being ousted from the band?” In late 2004, Nabeel moved to Dubai and completely disconnected himself from Pakistan’s music scene for a whole host of reasons. He was fed up with the dishonest and corrupt figures he had encountered during his stint as a 199 Rockistan musician. Since he was able to strike a balance between education and music, he scored a job as C/Java Programmer at software house Computer Research Pvt. Ltd. just one day after graduating as a computer scientist. Though he resigned from his job so he could provide complete attention to his music career, he soon understood that it was a wrong decision from a financial standpoint. Aaroh was paid from 50,000 to 80,000 rupees per show and that amount was divided between the five members and the band’s management team. Above all, the show business factor never appealed to Nabeel. Even Junaid Jamshed advised him to leave music and switch back to the field of IT. After settling in Dubai, he worked several IT jobs in the property, energy and construction sectors and also as a music producer for numerous bands. As for Kamijee, he moved to the United States in mid-2004 where he joined the IT industry and also became a music producer for dozens of independent artists and rising bands including Taraaz. The remaining members of Aaroh did not hit a brick wall after the departure of founding members. Farooq, Khalid and Jason defied their possible end as they roped in Haider Hussain Hashmi as the band’s lead guitar player. Inspired by Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert, he learned the instrument while studying at Frankfurt American High School, Germany. It is interesting to note how Haider could have feasibly ended up in one of the several unlikely paths that had lied ahead of him. He was part of his high school’s wrestling team and even served as a Sergeant in the US Army’s sponsored program Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Once he moved back to Pakistan, Haider joined Mind 200 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Riot in 1994 and became a restless spirit in Lahore’s underground rock circuit. He was a rocker by night and an MBA student at the National College of Business Administration & Economics by day. In 1996, Haider opted to move out of Pakistan again for greener pastures. Following a series of marketing and advertising jobs at Al Hamrani Fuchs Petroleum, Saudi Arabia, he permanently returned to Pakistan in 2000 and replenished his love for rock music by joining the percussion band Rumble Fish. Four years later, he successfully auditioned for the vacant position of the guitar player for Aaroh. As the new lineup, the band released the music video of their mellifluous ballad Na Kaho that would take them to elevated heights. While Haider is shown with the guitar in the music video, it was actually played by Nabeel. Na Kaho is undoubtedly Aaroh’s biggest hit to date but its composition credits are disputed. Though Farooq claims that the track is solely his composition, Nabeel discloses an entirely different origin. Actress wanted a soundtrack for one of her drama serials and requested the band to take up the project. According to Nabeel, Na Kaho was originally his instrumental track. He was responsible for the melody and composition whereas Nadeem Asad wrote the lyrics. The song was then sold to Marina for 30,000 rupees. Despite being intended for a drama serial, the actress was kind enough to ignore the copyright issues and allowed Aaroh to include the legendary track in their album. On the other hand, Battle of the Bands runner-up Entity Paradigm was essentially free from internal turmoil. As a 201 Rockistan consolation prize, Pepsi agreed to sponsor one of their music videos but the band asked if their album could be sponsored instead. In October 2002, the group signed a one-year sponsorship contract with the beverage corporation. The eight-member group was now one man short as in mid-2002, bass player Abid moved to Manchester, England, so he could tend to his ill father. Once he left the band, Hassaan became the group’s bass player. As a band that consisted of a voluminous amount of seven musicians, the members were always packed like sardines on the stage but made sure that they were more than capable of translating that amount into an electrifying performance. Lead vocalist Fawad stood head and shoulders above every other rock frontman. It only took him a microphone to storm as a perpetual headbanging machine. EP was a forerunner of , though many fans inaccurately classified their genre as . Not so surprisingly, the band was dubbed as the “Linkin Park of Pakistan” due to the multiple similarities between the two groups such as electronic involvement, keyboard engrossment, utilization of synthesizers, the secondary vocalist being a rapper and the obvious overflow of members. However, their sound was remotely closer to Tool rather than Linkin Park. No other alternative rock band has assaulted the music scene with such paroxysmal temper quite like EP and if one examines the variety of reasons behind their animalistic magnetism, it is not difficult to comprehend the reason. As a product of their varying influences, all the close-knit band 202 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS members were musical powerhouses and would always come up with phenomenal angst-driven compositions. It is not a coincidence that EP was able to perform so luminously. Within the confinements of the two converged underground rock bands, the total sum of seven musicians was able to offer one lead vocalist, three backing vocalists, two drummers, one lead guitar player, two rhythm guitar players, one keyboard player, two bass players and three songwriters. Xulfi’s parents had poured out tremendous support for his musical prowess. They even gave him the option to drop a semester so he could pursue his music career just in case it yields the desired results. EP continued their ascension with the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Irtiqa on Wednesday, October 1, 2003. It was tentatively slated to be released in June but since most of the band members had yet to be graduated from FAST Lahore and were unable to secure substantial time to jam, the album was delayed by four months. Nonetheless, Irtiqa outshined every other album in the country. Within the first month of its release, the album sold 21,000 cassettes and 10,000 CDs. It was made under the of Danish Jabbar Khan who also contributed as a songwriter along with the band members. The presence of gritty, edgy and dark contents became exceedingly acceptable as the lyrical contents among rock bands after the release of Irtiqa. Though Ahmad Ali Butt’s thinly veiled racist lyric “I’m a white boy coming straight from the L town” from the song Kahan Hai Tu caused a stir, he maintained that no negative connotation was intended. 203 Rockistan

As far as the other tracks from the album are concerned, Hamesha was a lightning bolt of a rock song that became eminent for its ingredients of horror while Waqt became a staple cover song of countless underground rock bands. As Irtiqa hit the airwaves, it was apparent that the album was produced with negligible margins of error and Xulfi deserves an extensive amount of acknowledgment for it. A self-taught guitar player who never performs with half-measures, he overworked as the main composer of the album. His duties were not limited to his guitar segments but also the composition of keyboard portions, drum sequences and most of the vocal melodies in the album. One of the reasons behind the stature of Irtiqa as the pinnacle of alternative rock music in Pakistan is the careful execution of instrumental teamwork among the band members. In a country where bands are recognized solely by the lead vocalist, EP crippled the stereotype as guitar player Xulfi and drummer Waqar steadily became household names. The former class fellows had come a long way since their first performance as band members at their college’s bonfire way back in 2001. Literally taking the backseat to all the band members on stage, a drummer is the least noticeable aspect of any group but holds a key spot in maintaining steady rhythms. EP’s Waqar is the first artistically renowned drummer in Pakistan since Noori’s Gumby and Junoon’s Malcolm Goveas. Born on Thursday, July 24, 1980, he originally desired to be a soldier and even applied in the army but got rejected. At the age of 19, Waqar caught sight of an acoustic drum set for the very first time at Xulfi’s garage. It was an original Yamaha 204 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

5-piece drum kit with Ludwig snare and Zildjian cymbals belonging to Xulfi’s elder brother, Khurram. A year later, Waqar purchased it from him and began practicing two hours a day. Glares of disapproval from his family overshadowed him when he started drumming. In fact, he wore a hooded sweatshirt so he could conceal his identity from his brother at his first major show at the Alhamra Cultural Complex, Lahore, and was not present for the shooting of EP’s first music video since it was toilsome for his family to accept his career as a musician. Despite the severe backlash, Waqar was very dedicated to learning the drums. When his family could not bear the noise erupting from the basement where he used to practice, he rented a room in Raja Center, Lahore, to do so. The disturbance erupting from his drum practice was a source of irritation for the people in the vicinity. “I probably changed around 10 – 12 practice places for my drums,” states Waqar. “Each time after 3 – 4 days of practice, either the neighbours or the place owners requested to move. Even once Paradigm was threatened for police if we didn’t evacuate the jamming place.” Influenced by Danny Carey, John Dolmayan, Mike Portnoy, Tony Royster Jr. and Cavalera, he was an irreplaceable asset to his band and one of the most overpowered drummers in the country. Apart from Sawaal and Irtiqa making rounds in 2003, Noori entered the rock market with their debut album Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan. The band had wisely decided not to immediately take advantage of the success of their hit song Manwa Re by performing at concerts just yet. In fact, the number of times Noori played shows throughout their first 205 Rockistan seven years leading to their debut album equals to the paltry sum of four. Instead of rocking out on stage, the band had been concentrating on honing their musical craft instead. Noori had been drawing attention despite their rare concert appearances. In 2002, when their third single Jana Tha Hum Ne was being shot at Minar-e-Pakistan, an enormous crowd had gathered around them and assumed that it was a grand reception for actress . A year later, Noori went through a major but monumental line-up change. After a series of drummers that included Salman Albert and Farhad Humayun Syed, the band finalized with Gumby. While both of his predecessors were superb musicians, they were unable to stick for long. Albert could not commit to Noori as he was playing with Entity Paradigm and Eastern Boyz as well. His replacement Farhad recorded the songs Jana Tha Hum Ne and Tum Hans Diye with the band and even appeared in their music videos but would often be busy recording his own material. He soon moved to London where he studied audio engineering. Ali Noor offered Gumby to join Noori at Digital Fidelity Studios where the latter was recording drums for Mekaal Hasan’s instrumental album Square One. The notable drummer had an impeccable track record of playing sessions with some of the biggest names in the country such as Vital Signs, Awaz, Aamir Zaki, Najam Sheraz, Alamgir and currently Junoon. He had joined the sufi rock band in 1999 after Malcolm Goveas migrated to Canada. The gigs with Junoon and recording on their sixth studio album Ishq financially equipped him to purchase a DW drum kit that he had his 206 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS heart set on. With his three-year contract with Junoon reaching its expiry date, it was the perfect time to jump ship. Gumby was initially a session player for Noori. When bass player Mohammad Ali Jafri proposed to Noor that the veteran drummer deserves to be elevated from his position due to his immense talent, he became a proper member and would subsequently be featured in photoshoots, interviews and press conferences along with the band. Jafri and Gumby were deeply close to each other and parallel to Noori, they were members of cover band Munchkins that would regularly perform in Dunkin Donuts. During his early days in the band, Gumby was very impressed with Noor as the latter had laid out the drum parts on the album for him to play on. The importance of Gumby’s presence in the band deserves a closer inspection. There has never been a drummer in Pakistan before him that achieved superstardom on par with a band’s frontman or even the lead guitar player in a few cases. Gumby always played the drums with a ferociousness that enabled him to be recognized as a rock ‘n’ roll icon instead of a mere drummer. When a computer glitch made the previously recorded drums out of sync with Noori’s two weeks’ worth of songs, he re-recorded the drums for the entire album in just two hours. In October 2002, Noori would welcome back one of its founding members. Ali Hamza had graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from LUMS the previous year but even when he chose to isolate himself from the band, he was never dissociated with music. He was the inaugurating President of the LUMS Music Society founded by Saad Ansari and Sameer Anees. As an authority figure, 207 Rockistan

Hamza encouraged the students to perform original songs instead of covers. He spent most of his time on the football field where he wrote a bulk of songs. From his vast collection, it was his outrageous song Bhenchod that made him quite a with a dedicated following on the campus. While singing it on stage, a member of the audience shot a video of his performance and uploaded the audio on the internet. However, Hamza was immune to disciplinary action as he was employed as a professor’s research assistant at the time. When Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan was near its release date, rhythm guitar player Murtaza Jaffar declined to stay with the band on a full-time basis due to his career as a chartered accountant at ICI. As proposed by Gumby, Hamza rejoined the band as Murtaza’s replacement and the classic four- member Noori lineup was formed—Ali Noor as lead vocalist and lead guitar player, Ali Hamza as the rhythm guitar player, Mohammad Ali Jafri as the bass player and Gumby as the drummer. Hamza was on the verge of pursuing PhD in Economics but his plans altered since, by the time he rejoined, Noori was not constantly getting slain by rejection as it once was. Their popularity was escalating like an epidemic. Their first concert as the classic line-up was at Defence Authority Country & Golf Club, Karachi, in front of 4000 rowdy fans. On Saturday, October 25, 2003, Noori released their debut album Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan and sold 30,000 CDs on the very first day; marking a storied career in Pakistani rock music. Surprisingly, it was released through Sadaf Stereo despite the owner Khalid Sadaf’s reputation for not 208 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS associating his studio with unconventional artists. Such defiance is a testament to Noori’s influence on rock music in general. Ali Noor had burnt the midnight oil to make the album sound as it did. He was a practicing lawyer at the time and despite the stressful profession, he would work on the album for fourteen hours a day during the two weeks of recording and hardly slept for three to four hours. His biggest moral support originated from the members of Junoon. “When I first met Salman Ahmad, it was when he came to my grandfather’s law firm for a case and the case was that their song Sayonee had been banned by PTV,” recounts Noor. His grandfather Raza Kazim’s took up the case and won. When Salman foresaw the musician inside the 17-year-old Noor, he gave him his Takamine twelve-string acoustic guitar as a source of motivation. It is often overlooked when it comes to Noor’s aptitude as a frontman. Throughout the decorated history of rock ‘n’ roll, a myriad of musicians have simultaneously served as their band’s lead singer and lead guitar player. witnessed Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Cream’s Eric Clapton and Dire Strait’s Mark Knopfler whereas has seen Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and The White Stripes’ Jack White. However, there is a complete contrast in Pakistan. Throughout the history of the country’s rock music, the herculean task of singing and playing the lead guitar concurrently is performed by only a handful of artists. Within that meager volume, Noor soars like an eagle and based on the vocalist-guitarist criteria, he easily surpasses most rock frontmen in the 209 Rockistan country. As a left-handed guitar player, he could not find nor afford one so he would build one on his own. True to the rock star image, Noor unapologetically neglects to wear anything but casual clothing. The custom traces back to his very first concert as Coven’s vocalist at Salamat Academy School, Lahore, where he wore shorts. Old habits die hard as even now, he could care less about his dressing despite a few embarrassing moments. In one instance in Lahore, he forgot to zip his trousers before appearing on the stage. He quickly realized it when the audience at the front giggled but the situation turned from bad to worse when Noor zipped his pants. Due to holding the microphone in one of his hands, the loudspeakers made sure that the 10,000 attendance members become aware of what he was doing due to the echoing zipping sound. In another incident in Karachi, he forgot to wear his belt and his buttocks were partially exposed in front of 6,000 spectators yet Noor has never shown even the slightest anxiety as his onstage charisma and mercurial character eclipse all of his possible shortcomings.

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Can it be possible for a musician who grew up as a guitar prodigy to be considered as an individual who could not achieve substantial gratitude in his own country? If the man and country in question are Faraz Anwar and Pakistan, respectively, then the answer is a resounding yes. If one takes a peek at the admiration he received abroad, he easily qualifies as a national treasure. 210 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

During his tenure as the guitar player for his side project, doom metal band Dusk, Faraz released two albums on foreign soil. The first album My Infinite Nature Alone was released in Portugal by the record label Hibernia Production in November 1999. The band’s follow-up album Jahilia was released in the Czech Republic by the record label Epidemie Records in December 2003. Faraz’s broody guitar playing created an uproar in both countries whereas the record labels in his homeland refused to release the albums. Jahilia launched Dusk in the stratosphere of public recognition in the Czech Republic due to the aligned promotional tour that lasted two weeks. As Dusk’s frontman Babar Sheikh points out, they are the second Pakistani music act after Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to release an album abroad. However, Faraz was not distinguished for defining a path of his own in Pakistan. Instead, he was acknowledged as the most sought-after session player among pop artists. It was none other than Faraz who played the guitars for Strings’ , Vital Signs’ Maula and Ali Haider’s Jadu. As evident from the comparison observed when Faraz released his solo instrumental album Abstract Point of View in 2001, the local and foreign record labels were polar opposites. Disregarding the dynamic array of music styles such as jazz, progressive rock and heavy metal that the album possessed, the local record labels would turn a blind eye to Faraz over the fear of inadequate marketability and only saw him as a miscreant. On the flip side, his compositions were eagerly accepted by the American independent label Gnarly Geezer Records and were bombarded by an overwhelmingly positive response from 211 Rockistan not only the music critics in the United States but also from Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands and Russia. With Abstract Point of View, Faraz had become the first Pakistani guitar player to release an instrumental album internationally. Upon its re-release by Lion Label Music in 2004, the record label proudly referred to it as one of their “best releases ever” and its instrumental tracks received heavy airplay in Australia, Germany, Romania and Japan. Abstract Point of View even caught the eye of renowned guitar player and one of Faraz’s premier influences, Allan Holdsworth. Impressed by how the Pakistani guitar player’s amazing sense of improvisation churns out melodious and progressive metal tracks, Holdsworth crowned Faraz as “the King of Guitars in Pakistan.” However, there was no grand reception suited for royalty waiting for him in Pakistan as he had yet to make a name for himself in his country’s rock division. Four years after the disaster that was the album Panchi, Faraz clawed his way out and reformed Mizraab with a new line-up comprising of himself on vocals and lead guitar, a returning Khalid Khan on bass, Jamal Mustafa on rhythm guitar and Irfan Ahmed aka Charlie on drums. Throughout its existence, the band would be maligned with a series of incoherent members and apart from Faraz, his longtime friend Irfan would be his most enduring colleague. The two met for the first time in 1994 when live drums were required for a music project. A year later, they united at Aamir Hasan Studio, Karachi, and recorded eight tracks in a single day. Prior to joining Mizraab, Irfan had played sessions for a 212 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS variety of pop stalwarts such as Junaid Jamshed, Sajjad Ali, Hadiqa Kiani, Ali Haider and Strings. Mizraab did not achieve eminence right away as through the years leading up to their second album Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil, they would receive a torrent of destructive criticism and financial struggles. Their music video of their upcoming album’s second single Insaan had a shoestring budget but its shooting cost the band’s equipment and almost their lives. Directed by his former band member Babar Sheikh from Dusk, he insisted that the ending shot featured a guitar burning in flames. The blazing scene appears for about 10 seconds in the music video but there is much more to it than that. Since they were unable to afford a stuntman, they decided to perform the scene by themselves. A 1.5-liter bottle of petrol was utilized to set a timeworn electric guitar owned by Babar afire but things got out of hand as the video shoot transformed into a massive blaze. Amid the commotion, Babar injured his hand while breaking a small window that was not being opened. The catastrophic incident damaged Faraz’s limited- edition Jackson DKMG guitar and Irfan’s newly purchased Les Paul guitar beyond repair. Faraz was particularly disheartened about losing his guitar as it had a 24-fret neck supported by Floyd Rose tremolo and he had been playing it for twelve years. He had purchased it from Adnan Afaq “Vai” and aside from the sentimental value, Faraz felt that the limited edition Jackson DKMG was much better than the ones available these days. Moreover, the fire left Babar with second-degree burns and devastated the studio equipment worth 150,000 rupees. They remained in a state of shock for 213 Rockistan the next two weeks and did not dare to speak about the incident in their conversations. The video editing phase of Insaan was equally traumatizing as the footage included the horrific scene of the musicians being trapped in a room with the mushrooming flame. The band would later face desertion when they were set to make their first live performance on television through Indus Music channel only to discover that the sound system was not up to the mark. True to their reputation as incredible live musicians, Mizraab was unwilling to compromise on sound quality and refused to perform. This decision painted themselves into a corner as Indus Music struck back by limiting the airplay of their music videos. Inconveniences kept mounting as Faraz was speculated to be a Satanist due to his soul patch beard, pale skin, long flowing hair and progressive metal music. On the contrary, he cuts an entirely different figure behind the scenes. He is reckoned as a devout Muslim among his rock contemporaries due to praying five times and reciting the Quran with translation on a daily basis. As a musician, Faraz was nowhere near admiration upon Mizraab’s reformation as his vocals were not initially considered as a fine addition to the budding sphere of rock music in Pakistan. Originally, Faraz had no intention of singing on the album. He organized multiple auditions for a vocalist but since every contender left him dissatisfied, he finally decided to sing himself while playing the lead guitar as well. Calamities continued to spiral around Mizraab’s growing infamy as Faraz and bass player Khalid could hardly spare some time for the band due to touring with Ali 214 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Haider and Aaroh, respectively. According to Faraz, he disassociated himself with Ali for the sake of Mizraab and asked Khalid to follow suit but the latter was unwilling to compromise. In March 2003, bass player Khalid Khan bailed out from the band in favour of his second band Aaroh which had already burst into the mainstream. However, Khalid offers a different explanation—he left the band due to the uncertainty of Mizraab’s existence in the foreseeable future since Faraz had told him that he could possibly leave for the United Kingdom soon. However, the claim has been vehemently denied by Faraz. Regardless of the reason, Khalid’s departure marked an end for the long-tenured partnership with Faraz as the duo has a shared history of working side by side in multiple bands before Mizraab such as Live Sketches, Power House, Yatagaan and Collage. Faraz Arshad would then replace Khalid on bass but it seemed unlikely that Mizraab would experience a stroke of luck anytime soon. Their album Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil had been ready since mid-2002 but no record label was keen on offering them a business deal. The band’s setbacks were swept aside when Sadaf Stereo reluctantly released their album on Monday, March 8, 2004. Exhibiting a definitive mark on progressive rock music, Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil was a cutting-edge with masterful storytelling and catapulted Mizraab as one of the most spectacular rock bands in the country. However, the album walked into a minefield of music critics such as Nadeem Farooq Paracha and Mohammad A. Qayyum who annihilated it. Regardless of their disapproval, rock fans were swept off their feet as evident from impressive sales 215 Rockistan figures. Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil was initially released as a limited stock of mere 15,000 copies but the record label had to produce another batch since it sold twice as much due to escalating demands. Faraz discredits Panchi as Mizraab’s first official album. The hideous production and hasty release devalued the band and they steadily reinstated their magnitude with Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil. It is a lyrical gem courtesy of poet Adnan Ahmed. Apart from Mizraab’s new-found prosperity, the album torpedoed Faraz’s credibility as he became the most epic guitar warrior in modern Pakistani music. Due to his talent being held in high regard, Faraz became an influential figure to the aspiring guitar players. He was not just the producer of the album but the mixer and arranger of vocals, drums, guitars, bass and keyboards as well. Faraz even programmed all the drums by himself with the aid of Yamaha QY70. Just a month after the release of Maazi, Haal, Mustaqbil, Mizraab received tremendous airplay on television due to the music video of their song, Kitni Sadian. Shot at Lahore Junction Railway Station, it was their magnum opus directed by Babar Sheikh again and without any sort of fire hazard. Undeniably their biggest hit to date despite being the softest track from the album, Kitni Sadian was actually not even meant to be a part of the album. Former bass player Khalid had vowed that it will become a commercial success and insisted to include it. The song is an intermingling of rock and eastern classical music and fired up not only teenagers but listeners of varying ages. 216 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Irfan Charlie’s drumming is one of the defining strengths of Mizraab due to integrating psychological terror into the band’s live performances. His ability to spice up the rhythm and adding flair to the drum beats energized the band’s signature progressive rock and progressive metal ambiance. As a rock frontman, the very gothic demeanor that once pigeonholed Faraz as a Satanist plunged him to lofty altitudes. His poised character as a musician on stage frails in comparison to the grandstanding appeal of Ali Noor and the agitated state displayed by Ali Azmat yet Faraz does not require pomposity to connect with the audience. He sanctions his guitar to execute rhythmic attacks on the crowd and he eventually scored a cult following. Along with Aaroh and EP, it was Mekaal Hasan Band that was among the highlights of the 2002 Pepsi Battle of the Bands. The peculiarly named group elegantly cross- pollinated a variety of music genres such as jazz, fusion, soul, folk and qawwali while maintaining a rock climate. The band was the brainchild of the whip-smart musician, Mekaal Hasan. Born on Friday, December 1, 1972, he is the son of renowned columnist Masood Hasan. Growing up in a household that was swarming with jazz records sharply chiseled him as a multi-instrumentalist. The very first musical instrument Mekaal learned was the piano. By the age of 15, he taught himself to play the guitar. Due to the profound influence of liberal arts in his family, Mekaal was encouraged to not only take music professionally but also educationally. In 1993, Mekaal became the very first Pakistani citizen to be enrolled at the reputed Berklee College of Music in 217 Rockistan

Boston, Massachusetts, with a major in jazz composition. However, he had to return after two years due to financial restraints. By the time he left the college, he was on the Dean’s Honour Roll with an impressive 3.42 GPA. Mekaal did not arrive in Pakistan empty-handed as the two years at Berklee College had equipped him with such superb production skills that he launched Digital Fidelity Studios at Lahore in 1995. The state-of-the-art recording studio was far ahead of its time and made all the contemporary studios appear primitive. Moreover, it is the first studio in Pakistan to properly record live drums. The very first drummer to record live drums at Mekaal’s Digital Fidelity Studios was Junoon’s long-tenured session player Malcolm Goveas. What made Digital Fidelity Studios stand out from the rest was the creative freedom provided to the musicians during their recording sessions. The privilege to compose without the fear of compromising on their art was not associated with any other studio. In fact, the first two extensive projects of Digital Fidelity Studios were Coven’s Not in Your World and the Trip’s Middle of Nowhere yet English language ventures by underground bands were an alien phenomenon in the country’s major music studios. While the rest of the recording studios were navigated by commercially driven schemes and catering to artists who had a bankable potential, Digital Fidelity Studios served as the breeding ground for original and antithetical music that revolved around the concept of quality instead of marketability. However, such liberty came with a heavy price as Mekaal would often clash with the musicians. Although he has an 218 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS imperious demeanour, he maintains that he expects the musicians to be prepared before recording in his studio and he never hesitates to explain that they need to put more effort into their work. Underneath that domineering image, Mekaal is a sincere producer who can pull out the best deep within the recording artists. “I have been known to be very hard on people and I think I sometimes rub people up the wrong way because I’m trying to get a performance out of them and it seems to backfire,” he clarifies. In 2000, Mekaal formed an extraordinary band with an ordinary name—Mekaal Hasan Band. The eponymous trend of a rock band named after a member is not unusual as noteworthy cases include Dave Matthews Band, Slash’s Snakepit and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. As a producer, Mekaal has worked in close tandem with every top rock act in Pakistan such as Junoon, Faraz Anwar, EP and Noori and as a musician, he has collaborated with international artists including Pete Lockett, Billy Cobham and Mike Mondesir. The latter had also played on Mekaal’s solo instrumental album titled Square One. While establishing his band, Mekaal refrained from the overused rock formula and strategically designed the sound parallel to the eastern classical music of the subcontinent. In order to do so, he recruited eastern classical vocalist Ustad Riaz Ali Khan. Trained by Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, he hailed from the esteemed Sham Chaurasi at Hoshiarpur, India, which has been procreating a slew of traditional singers since the 16th century. Muhammad Ahsan Papu proved to be a splendid member of Mekaal Hasan Band as the flute player. The wooden flutes 219 Rockistan that he plays are made by himself and he had previously been a part of the discography of legendary musicians such as Noor Jehan, Alam Lohar, Attaullah Khan Niazi Esakhelvi and Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Prior to becoming one of the most recognizable figures of fusion music in the country, Papu practiced the flute 20 hours a day so he could earn for his family. He was merely 15 years old when his father tragically passed away so as an effort to counter the financial struggles, Papu learned to play the flute from his uncle. His musical voyage witnessed several landmarks even before he joined Mekaal Hasan Band such as lending his hypnotic melodies to Nusrat’s debut album and accompanying Attaullah on his United Kingdom tour in 1986. The rock fury of Mekaal Hasan Band was discharged from the rip-roaring guitar solos. Besides being the guitar player, Mekaal was working in the band in multiple capacities such as composing, arranging, engineering, recording and producing but the decision to name the group after himself stacked an ample amount of misunderstanding amid the public. Initially, most of the listeners were under the impression that vocalist Riaz was actually Mekaal. In fact, the latter has even encountered a fan who said that he can “sing great.” Mekaal Hasan Band delivered a thunderbolt performance at Battle of the Bands but was unable to dodge the axe from the judges. However, the group was able to leave an everlasting mark on the audience before their elimination. Every group that was competing in the qualifying rounds was forced to operate with DAT being played in the background. The electricity ran out halfway through the 220 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS performance of Mekaal Hasan Band yet they kept performing without any halt. Though the psychological war had always existed between pop and rock, it was now more perceptible than ever before. Battle of the Bands cudgeled pop and allowed rock to compete on an even playing field. Mekaal and his band would soon record their debut album and similar to almost every other entrant in Battle of the Bands, they had a mild amendment in the line-up as vocalist Riaz was replaced by . Born on Wednesday, August 8, 1973, his heritage reaching from the Jalandhar Nalan Gharana had served him majestically. As a student of his father Bashir Ahmed Khan and Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, Javed held a mighty grip on traditional tunes such as classical, qawwali and bhangra. Though Mekaal Hasan Band did not win, their popularity propelled as if rockets were strapped to their backs and established itself as the band that was definitely one to look out for. “I was told that while musically we were ahead of the other contestants, we weren’t Pepsi’s idea of what they wanted in a group,” reveals Mekaal. The guitar wizard played the instrument with great precision on his debut album. Released on Thursday, January 8, 2004, Sampooran was the most musically diverse album to ever release in Pakistan. Its assimilation of sufi lyrics, percussion, flute descants and instrumental garnered applauses for the proficient band members but Khalid Sadaf of Sadaf Stereo overlooked their marvelous craftsmanship. The strict record label owner doubted the album’s excellence and predicted that it would not even sell 221 Rockistan five copies. Upon release, it became one of the best-selling albums of Sadaf Stereo. Sampooran served as another brilliant album that asserted that pop was not insurmountable but most importantly, it personified Mekaal as a maverick of fusion music. In the new wave of rock movement, one band shot to unmatched popularity and latched onto every age group of the nation. Consisting of two exceptionally talented but tenderfoot musicians, the group was the band Jal. Due to their debonair image coupled with the ability to spellbind the audience, the band received a rapturous welcome. No other group has ever captivated the heart of the nation as quickly as they shattered it. Financial tussles, creative rifts and incompatible members have always derailed bands from reaching their true potential. The partial breakup of Aaroh in early 2004 was depressing enough and in the same year, Jal had become as infamous as the uproar cultivated by their simple yet brilliant first single—Aadat. That song alone became the launching pad for an incomparable career and scribbled the most controversial chapter of modern Pakistani music. The complicated saga of Jal originates with Goher Mumtaz. Born on Wednesday, July 27, 1983, he was in the eighth grade when he decided that he will form a band so great that it would become the recognition of Pakistan for the whole world to see. Goher was never inspired by the usual suspects such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or Jimi Hendrix. Instead, he is influenced by homegrown bands Junoon and Vital Signs. In his adolescence, he used to compose new tunes from his Casio piano that he received as 222 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS a birthday gift from his paternal uncle. The spiritual musician that had been lurking inside Goher always forced him to plug the instrument into a heavy amplifier while playing it. At the age of 15, his admiration for music had flourished to such an extent that he sold his own bicycle to purchase his first acoustic guitar worth 1500 rupees. Learning it turned out to be quite tedious as he would hide the guitar underneath his bed from his family. “Everybody in my family has PhD’s and are doctors, so they didn’t really understand my passion for music,” remembers Goher. “I’d wait for them to leave home so that I could practice.” In 1998, adversity struck him when he was studying in Government College Lahore as a motorbike accident left his leg fractured and he was bedridden for six agonizing months. As the days went by, Goher focused on his guitar playing, composing skills, songwriting expertise and even singing. Prior to making a name for himself as one of the most promising musicians in Pakistan, he was determined to be a pilot and applied in Pakistan Air Force but was rejected. Destiny would redirect Goher to music while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at Punjab Institute of Computer Science, the computer college of the University of Central Punjab, Lahore. Even when he was engulfed with educational obligations, it was unbearable for Goher to separate himself from music. He gave guitar lessons after classes, took out half an hour every night to play his guitar and even won a singing competition when his friends encouraged him to participate. Goher beat thirteen other 223 Rockistan contestants with the greatest of ease but it was playing the guitar that he always had his heart set on. Goher formed a band after meeting a similar individual who shared his devotion to sing and play the guitar. He even studied at the same college. He was none other than . Years before he would perform his signature backward lean on stage, spur countless imitators in India and headline sold-out arenas across the globe, he was a mediocre student of Computer Engineering possessed with an enormous music potential that had been aching to burst out. Born on Wednesday, March 12, 1983, and the youngest of four brothers, Atif’s childhood orbited around the sport of cricket. He served as a fast bowler in every match he played and at the age of 16, he got selected in Pakistan’s Under-19 Cricket team but could not join due to the objections raised by his parents. Atif’s elder brothers were responsible for his inclination towards music as they had a collection of more than 8000 songs of various genres. They used to sing them and occasionally held Antakshari competitions but not even once they had discovered that there was a stupendous singer among them. In fact, Atif never even considered himself a good vocalist but his friends believed otherwise. They encouraged him to enter a singing contest organized in his college on the occasion of the 51st Independence Day. Atif sang Duur by Strings and won. He participated in every singing competition held in the upcoming semesters and established a winning streak. As a vocalist, he was influenced by eastern classical singers Ustad Nusrat Fateh 224 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Ali Khan, Noor Jehan and Kishore Kumar and western rock artists Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and U2. On a fascinating note, Pakistan got a glimpse of Atif’s singing much before his celebrity heyday when he appeared on the show Public Bolti Hai hosted by Yasir Qureshi. Looking like an with cluttered hair, he bashfully sang a few notes upon the host’s repeated requests. Not even a single member of the audience watching from the comfort of their homes could have had the slightest idea that the slender person who was visibly shaken to be on the television screen would eventually emerge as a chart- topping . It was his first instance of singing on national television and his raunchy look signified that Atif would be better off with a comb instead of a microphone. Following his encounter with Goher in 1998, the two began to collectively perform covers of Junoon and Strings in small gatherings, classrooms and campus grounds. Their practice sessions were held in a jam room at Kalma Chowk, Lahore. A year later, they had their first proper live performance at a park outside the fast food restaurant McDonald’s. Atif’s mellifluous vocals and Goher’s exotic reach with his acoustic guitar not only impressed the growing crowd around them but also the branch manager of the McDonald’s outlet as he personally requested the ambitious musicians to perform inside the restaurant. Now operating with the badge of Atif & Goher, the group had steadily improved as songwriters and cooperatively penned a few original songs in which Aadat stood out from the rest. Written on the stairs of Alhamra Hall, Lahore, the song was 225 Rockistan based on a tune hummed by Atif and would turn out to be the duo’s claim to fame when they released it online in 2002. With a one-of-a-kind song in their heads and only 12,000 rupees to record it, Atif and Goher strolled to Mekaal’s Digital Fidelity Studios, though they were warned beforehand that he was “not easy to work with.” The cautionary note was accurate as Mekaal ripped the greenhorn musicians to shreds. He insulted Goher’s guitar playing skills and told Atif that he does not know how to sing at all. The recording session was unable to complete in one shift as initially estimated and another shift had to be arranged but Goher and Atif had run out of money. The latter had driven vans to earn 1500 rupees for the first shift; mirroring the King of , Elvis Presley who had worked as a truck driver during his struggling days as a musician. Mekaal fulfilled their request for a second shift without any charge and also proceeded to produce, master and mix the song. Additional unsung heroes behind the jaw-dropping success of Aadat are Salman Albert who played the drums and Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor who played rhythm guitar and bass for the song. The strings on Goher’s acoustic guitar were the cheapest ones that he could find behind , Lahore. Once recorded, Aadat did not receive positive feedback before the official release. Goher’s friends felt the song was dull due to its “ordinary lyrics.” Atif took the song to Noori with vast expectations but to his utter dismay, Ali Noor thought it was “crap” although Gumby was polite enough to commend it. Regardless of the negative response, Atif and Goher released the song online with reduced expectations. A month 226 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS later, the latter was returning from a college trip and stopped by an internet café in Islamabad where he became shocked in disbelief after hearing a familiar tune. He curiously marched inside so he could be sure that he was not mistaken. The song being played inside the café was not Sayonee by Junoon nor Aankhon Ko Aankhon Ney by Junaid Jamshed. It was Aadat. The customers frequenting the café would request the song to be played on repeat. Atif faced a similar shock as well when a friend in Karachi called him. He revealed that a few college students with an acoustic guitar were singing Aadat outside a mall. The two bandmates had naïvely underestimated the significance of their composition and astonishingly, it became the most downloaded Pakistani song of the year of its release. Still jointly known as Atif & Goher, they ultimately chose an appropriate band name when an Islamabad-based organizer asked them to submit one in order to print it for their concert’s pamphlets. The name become synonymous with Pakistani pop rock music—Jal. The music video of Aadat was directed by Umar Anwar. Clocking at 4 minutes and 32 seconds, the emerald green- tinted music video barely featured the band members and mostly centralized on model Faisal Shah (who also appears in Akhiyan by Fuzön) instead. Shot in Karachi within a day, Jal did not pay even a single penny for it since they were practically broke. The insufficient amount in their pockets only permitted them to purchase clothes from Zainab Market for the video shoot. Director Umar invested his own money for the music video and Jal became the most surreal rags to riches story in Pakistan’s music history. 227 Rockistan

Atif’s memorable vocal delivery in the opening sequence of the song became his signature sound but it was almost erased from the final version as producer Mekaal suggested to discard it. The two argued over it but Atif stuck to his guns and insisted on including it. Jal set the bar impossibly high for debut singles. Ever since the music video’s release in December 2003, it was on heavy rotation on every music channel and radio station. Arguably the best song ever released in the country, Aadat was not a technical innovation nor a production masterpiece. It was not even a sophisticated song in terms of guitar chords and lyrical content. Its exquisiteness lies in its simplicity. The sales of the acoustic guitar grew exponentially as countless urban and middle-class teenagers eagerly bought the instrument so they could replicate the iconic chords of the song. In an era of rock ‘n’ roll when Salman Ahmad was swaying on the stage with his double-necked Gibson electric guitar, newcomer Goher made the acoustic guitar cool again. While Jal sprung into the collective consciousness of Pakistan, it is often neglected how several dime-a-dozen formula bands subsequently erupted. Aadat functioned as a turning point in more ways than one as it triggered a tsunami-like phase of frivolous musicians desperately attempting to take a shortcut to success with their debut single and they stood out like a sore thumb in the music landscape. Amidst the positive reaction, fans across the nation demanded an entire album from Jal as they were held accountable for the restless euphoria previously witnessed during the zeniths of Vital Signs and Junoon. However, their 228 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS admirers were crestfallen as instead of new songs, Jal generated a firestorm of controversy. The fabulous life of fame and fortune can come with a heavy price, including irreparable harm to friendships. Jal split soon after the release of the music video and both band members blamed the other for pulling the rug from under their feet. What could have been compared to the powerhouse partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney that produced unprecedented songwriting and prosperous musicianship soon degenerated into scorching warfare. There are very few short-lived rock bands who have made an everlasting impression with an extremely little catalogue of music. For instance, band Sex Pistols lasted three years and released just one album but there has never been any group other than Jal that has a mountainous social impact with just one single. The scathing look at their disbandment was as confusing as it was shocking since both members offered entirely contrasting narratives on every single episode of their collaborative musical journey. According to Goher, he had befriended Atif at a singing competition where they decided to join forces as a band. Whereas Atif stated that he had met Goher at a party where the former was singing and there was never a bond of friendship mutually shared between the two. Instead, they were strictly limited to a business relationship as Atif had “hired” Goher to play for him. The most puzzling mystery of the split that still has not been solved to this very day is the songwriting credits. Goher maintains that he not only wrote the song but had been singing it since his days at Punjab Institute of Computer Science even before he formed 229 Rockistan the band. On the other hand, Atif rebuffed his former bandmate’s claim and argued that he was the sole songwriter with the exception of the first verse. “Goher didn’t play anything, nor did he contribute anything towards Aadat. He suggested the initial two lines and I had to amend them because it didn’t make any sense. After the song was recorded, he asked me to tell everyone that he has played the guitars on it,” exposes Atif. Goher declared that the root of Jal’s split was the appointment of Atif’s elder brother Shahbaz as the band’s manager. While being excessively honest about how the siblings backstabbed him, he revealed that Shahbaz would negotiate with concert organizers in an extremely unreasonable manner due to the overcharged price margin of 80,000 to 90,000 rupees. As a consequence, Jal lost six gigs in a timeframe of three months and once Goher objected, Atif and Shahbaz tried to muscle him out of the band and even downgraded him as a session player at one point. The distraught Goher’s patience wore too thin due to Shahbaz’s hawkish antics and suggested his own brother Khurram Mumtaz as the co-manager of the band. The final nail in the coffin occurred when Atif performed a concert at Alhamra Cultural Complex, Lahore, while Shahbaz made sure that the organizers barred Goher from stepping his foot at the venue. To add insult to injury, Atif performed the show with Goher’s two guitar students, Omer Nadeem and Haider Halim. Atif has, however, offered contradictory reasons behind Jal’s bitter breakup. According to his narrative, Goher persistently complained about unfair monetary divisions, 230 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS demanded a spot as the frontman, wanted to be in front of the camera all the time and yearned for two band managers. Atif slapped a similar allegation on him by claiming that Goher had once performed alone in a show and lied about his absence by attributing it to the death of a family member. The original Jal as the die-hard fans knew and fell in love with was over and the two members-turned-rivals engaged in a legal battle over the exclusive rights to the band’s name. Goher recreated Jal with bass player Aamir Tufail aka Shazi. The low-key musician had played with the Jupiters, Wet Metal, Shahzad Hameed and various underground bands in Lahore before officially joining Jal. He had met the band members at Mekaal’s studio and eventually accompanied them as a session player at live shows. Though Goher could fairly sing, his primary concern was being the guitar player and sought a vocalist for his band. His search concluded when bass player Muhammad Sultan Raja of the reformed hard rock band Call introduced him to a fellow student of Computer Science from FAST Lahore who was known for singing Aadat. He was the 19-year old Butt and eventually became the new lead vocalist of Jal. Born on Friday, September 14, 1984, he had been singing since the age of 17 and was deeply influenced by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Jagjit Singh. Speculations swirled that Farhan would not be able to manage his newfound megastar status as he was still a sophomore at his university. Moreover, he had to balance his assignment deadlines and the responsibility to fill Atif’s supersized shoes. 231 Rockistan

Once Farhan joined Jal, he signed a contract that would legally bind him as the lead vocalist of the band for the next five years. Young but strong-willed, Jal experienced a renewed success as Farhan’s lascivious vocals won the fans over. When compared to Atif, he shared numerous qualities from being handsome to charismatic. As Jal released songs with Farhan’s vocals, the fans were assured that the band was not walking off into the sunset as their time to shine had only just begun. Though Jal had regained its momentum with a new line- up, they were lawfully restrained from using the band name. Their court case against Atif over the legal rights to use the band’s name showed no signs of being settled soon. In the meantime, Atif covertly recorded an entire solo album and even had the disputed brand name printed on it. Released on Tuesday, July 20, 2004, the pop album had a feminine title of Jal Pari. He initially wanted to title it Atif’s Jal but later decided to name it after one of the songs in the album. Jal Pari became the highest-selling album for two consecutive years. It sold 5 million copies and Atif had intelligently played well than anyone could have ever predicted. Not only did he print the unlicensed band name on the cover before the case could be settled, but he released an album before Goher. The vocals for his debut album Jal Pari were recorded in a single shift at Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor’s makeshift studio in his basement. Whereas the rest of the production took just four shifts within three days. The album—which did not even mention Goher in the credits— was such a gigantic commercial success that music stores kept running out of copies.

Aamir Zaki

Mekaal Hasan

Louis John Pinto aka Gumby

The Milestones: Candy Pereira, Ali Tim & Ziyyad Gulzar

Final Cut: Azam Riffat, Rizwan Latif Khan (top row), Derek Clements, Schehzad Mughal (bottom row)

Babar Sheikh & Faraz Anwar

Karavan: Qaiser , Tanseer Ahmed Daar, Asad Ahmed & Sameer Ahmed Bakhtiari

Junoon: John Alec Raubeson, Salman Ahmad, Jay Dittamo, Ali Azmat & Brian O’Connell

Razam: Qaiser ZainUl Abedin, Umair Tareen & Khalid Butt. Photo Credits: Salman Aziz

Corduroy: Ameel Zia Khan, Ahmed Siddiqui, Sarmad Faraz & Mubashir "Moby" Noor

Jal: Farhan Saeed Butt, Goher Mumtaz & Amir Tufail aka Shazi

co-VEN: Sikandar Mufti, Omran Shafique, Hamza Jafri & Sameer Ahmed. Photo Credits: Tapu Javeri

Aaroh: Nabeel Nihal Chishty, Farooq Ahmed, Khalid Khan, Kamran Khan & Jason Anthony

Entity Paradigm: Fawad Afzal Khan, Ali Asad Khan, Hassaan Khalid (standing), Ahmad Ali Butt, Salman Albert, Sajjad Ali Khan, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan aka Xulfi & Waqar Ahmed Khan (sitting)

Noori: Ali Hamza & Ali Noor

Call: Sultan Raja, & Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan aka Xulfi. Photo Credits: Rizwan Baig 232 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

Jal Pari, however, was contaminated with noticeable blemishes of imperfection and missed opportunities for upgrades. It was evident that the album was not a sincere effort by Atif and more of a hasty exertion to capitalize on his popularity that had become over overshadowed by court proceedings and the spiteful breakup. Two months later, Goher bounced back with his band’s kaleidoscopic pop rock album Aadat with only the name of the members on the cover and a message for their fans that the case had still not reached a fruitful outcome. The heated rivalry between Jal and Atif ascended to new heights when they released their much-anticipated albums as five songs from both acts were nearly identical in terms of lyrics. The clashes between the former bandmates had already become a fixture of music folklore and the continuing hostility stemming from the disputed songwriting credits was keenly being documented by media watchdogs. If one scrutinizes the scenario, this was the very first major feud in Pakistani music history that was acknowledged by both artists involved. Heated rivalries between former band members have a fundamental dwelling in rock music history and notable feuds include Axl Rose vs. Kurt Cobain, Liam Gallagher vs. Noel Gallagher and David Lee Roth vs. Eddie Van Halen. In the long run, rivalries benefit both artists due to their loyal fanbase aiding them to increase record sales and that is precisely the reason behind several modern music feuds actually being staged exploits, including the recent beef between rappers 50 Cent and Kanye West. However, Jal vs. Atif Aslam was not at all an elaborate stunt. The 233 Rockistan devotees of both artists voiced their opinions, support and insults on internet forums as the feud became the most trending topic in the country. After seven months, the court lawfully granted Goher the trademarks, copyrights and exclusive rights to use the Jal brand name. The group emanated with another anthem for the youth titled Woh Lamhey. The music video for the song was directed by none other than Xulfi. As one of the figures responsible for inciting a revolution in the country’s music, he had given up hope from mainstream musicians to release compositions that deviated from the status quo. In order to alter the scenario, he became a producer and a music video director to promote and assist emerging artists. Upon graduating from FAST Lahore at the age of 22, Xulfi would set up his very own music studio in his mother’s clinic located in Lahore known as Xth Harmonic and that speaks volumes about his character. As a very -savvy musician, he was deeply involved during the recording of Irtiqa at Digital Fidelity Studios and enjoyed the experience so much that he launched his own. Xth Harmonic has been responsible for several bands succeeding with flying colours such as EP, Call, Roxen and Lagan to name a few. As captivating as the music video of Woh Lamhey is, it was actually a product of a rush job. At the end of a concert featuring Jal and EP, Goher requested Xulfi to direct the video for the song. The former fell under the impression that it would be made after Jal’s Ik Din Aaye Ga which was scheduled to be shot five days later. Much to Xulfi’s surprise, Goher asked him to direct the video the very next morning. 234 UNDERGROUND REVERBERATIONS

In the following morning at 6 AM, Xulfi took up the directorial task of Woh Lamhey as a challenge despite not having any set and just a camera crew. Jal, along with Xulfi and his elder brother Khurram, travelled to a Sikh temple a few kilometers away from Lahore. They shot the music video at a humid temperature of 49°C within just three hours. The Wrangler jeep shown in the opening scene was provided by Goher and Farhan’s friends. As soon as Xulfi returned home, he began editing the video and within a day, he sent it to various music channels. The project was executed on an urgent basis because there was a possibility of Atif releasing the music video of the same song from his album. It was not certain yet Jal and Xulfi did not take any chances. The serene song proved that the band’s first single was not a fluke and with Farhan as the new frontman, they showed that could still put forth one marvelous song after another. If there was any true winner from the heavily publicized showdown between the former bandmates, it was the as Jal became the front-runner of pop rock and Atif became the fresh face of a new musical era. Within two years after Battle of the Bands, the climate of rock music had flipped upside down and reached mass appeal. It was no longer clogged by Junoon and they finally had solemn competition due to the gradual emergence of rock bands such as EP, Noori, Jal, Aaroh and Mekaal Hasan Band that were now leading the next generation. The sufi rock group had previously faced burdensome endurance tests that ranged from administrative prohibitions and merciless music critics but never a saturated rock market. 235 Rockistan

However, a clash against contemporary rock bands could never occur as in mid-2005, Junoon was as good as dead. 236 UNVEILING THE PARTITION

Chapter 7 UNVEILING THE PARTITION

Junoon was because of me. I was not because of Junoon. Ali Azmat

Beginning as a lump of coal and facing immense hurdles over the years, Junoon did not crumble and turn into dust. Instead, it transformed into a diamond. In 1999, the band was invited by UNESCO to perform at the Millennium Peace Concert held in , France. The event was attended by the figureheads of the European Union, ambassadors from 170 countries and legendary musicians such as Ray Charles, and Zubin Mehta. The following year in June, Junoon became the first Asian band to perform at the annual European rock festival in Denmark, Rockslide, which also featured several rock heavyweights including Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, Nine Inch Nails and Oasis. The band never hesitated to perform for altruistic causes as exemplified by their show at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, India. On the horrific morning of Friday, January 26, 2001, an earthquake struck the northwestern region of India with a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale and lasted for 1 minute and 50 seconds. The catastrophic incident caused 25,000 deaths, more than 150,000 people with injuries and 1,000,000 citizens being homeless. Financial aid would 237 Rockistan come to India in the form of rock music as Junoon performed at the aforementioned sports stadium to raise funds for the earthquake victims. Their music has always transcended political and geographical boundaries but nothing could have prepared them for the tragedy that would happen eight months after the earthquake in India. On the cataclysmic morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four American domestic passenger flights for suicide attacks. Two of them crashed into the World Trade Center and left hundreds of civilians trapped in the 110-storey skyscraper. Killing nearly 3000 people and injuring more than 6000 others, it was the deadliest terrorist attack carried out on American soil and rattled the entire country to its core. Under the directions of President George W. Bush, America would invade Afghanistan to put an end to Al- Qaeda’s operations and apprehend its founder and the mastermind of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden. The dreadful event forever altered the course of history and made Islam synonymous with terrorism and backwardness as far as the world’s perception of the religion was concerned. As President Pervez Musharraf openly declared his support for the war in Afghanistan, terrorism and insecurity steadily crept in Pakistan. Almost 500 citizens suspected of having ties to Al-Qaeda were arrested and many had been handed over to the United States authorities. Due to Pakistan being an ally to America’s combat against terrorism, President Bush economically assisted the country by 238 UNVEILING THE PARTITION pledging $5 billion to the country over the course of the next five years. Amidst the terror, suspicion and paranoia, Junoon would perform a series of benefit concerts in numerous colleges and universities in America in an attempt to showcase Pakistan’s stance against terrorism and extremism. Salman had been deeply grief-stricken by the September 11 attacks and understandably so. In New York where the terrorist attacks occurred, Salman had spent his childhood, saw his first concert, bought his first guitar, joined his first cover band and even had his first girlfriend. “On 9/11, there was a sinister case of identity theft. Those terrorists not only hijacked the airplanes, they hijacked Islam and Muslim culture,” says Salman. Apart from the benefit shows for the victims’ families of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Junoon performed a concert in the General Assembly Hall in observance of United Nations Day. Monetary aid aside, the band released an anti-terrorism song in the English language for the American audience titled No More. As Junoon campaigned for the elimination of discrimination faced by Arabs and South Asians in America, violence and terrorism had been gradually escalating back in their hometown of Karachi. In early 2002, Pakistan was marred by controversy as American journalist Daniel Pearl had been abducted and beheaded in Karachi by Islamic militant group members. He was the South Asia Bureau Chief of New York-based newspaper The Wall Street Journal and had arrived in Pakistan to investigate militant groups linked with Al- Qaeda. 239 Rockistan

After decapitating Pearl, the terrorists chopped his body into ten pieces, cleaned the bloodstained floor, bowed down to pray and publicly released the videotaped manslaughter under the title of The Slaughter of the Spy-Journalist, the Jew Daniel Pearl. Such religiously motivated brutalities were merely beginning in Pakistan. As a tribute to the slain journalist, a network of concerts soon took place across the globe. Dubbed as Daniel Pearl Days, they propagated humanity and tolerance. Junoon was the only Pakistani band among the long list of artists that participated in the memorial concerts. In fact, they were personally requested to perform by the late journalist’s father, Judea Pearl. While doing so, he revealed to Salman that his son had applauded the band’s music. By 2002, Junoon had become a nationwide cultural phenomenon. They challenged traditional music conventions and their concerts would be packed to capacity. Junoon experienced a slight alteration in the line-up as drummer Malcolm Goveas left the band and was replaced by American drummer Jay Dittamo. Since its formation, the position of drummer in Junoon has been filled in by Zouhair Habib, Fuad Abbasi and Gumby but it was Malcolm who truly enriched the band’s sound. He played with Junoon from 1991 to 1999 and recorded songs on the albums Inquilab, Azadi and Parvaaz. The veteran Karachi-based drummer moved to Canada along with his family due to his wife Paulina insisting that their children should receive a better education but his parting ways from the band also stems from growing hostilities. 240 UNVEILING THE PARTITION

“I did plan on migrating to Canada,” recalls Malcolm. “However, the atmosphere within the band and the arrogant behavior was reaching unbearable limits, so any thought of staying was eroding swiftly.” With six studio albums and two live albums within a span of twelve years, the band had outlasted every other group in the country and had circumvented all perils that lied ahead of them including lack of audience and death threats. In one instance, the band faced both predicaments simultaneously when they refused to perform on the wedding functions of Altaf Hussain, the founder of the secular political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement. “We once played an entire concert to empty seats because the MQM had threatened violence against anyone who attended a Junoon concert in Karachi,” narrates Salman. “The sound engineer, Ishtiaq Ahmed of Shadab Sound & Lights, told me that I was on Altaf Hussain’s for refusing to perform at his walima ceremony.” Multiple years as band members began taking a toll on their friendship. After the commencement of their tour in Japan in 2000, the trio mutually agreed that each of them deserves some personal space so they could attend to their individual projects. Salman was the busiest as he had a lot on his plate. In 2001, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed him as a Goodwill Ambassador to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS. A year later, Salman migrated to the United States with his wife and three sons. He would also work on two documentaries by the BBC. The first one was the provocatively titled The Rock Star and the Mullahs. It showcased music being banned in 241 Rockistan

Peshawar areas that were rigorously monitored by the religio-political party, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. Salman would travel with his acoustic guitar in those regions to meet fundamentalist clerics and demanded concrete evidence of music being forbidden in Islam but would not receive it. He also entered religious seminaries with his instrument and encountered young students who had been staunchly ordered by their elders to avoid listening to music and befriending anyone who sings. Once the shooting of the documentary concluded, the students revealed that they knew the lyrics of Junoon’s songs by heart and even requested autographs from Salman. He soon realized that the reason behind these children being enrolled in seminaries was because of their parents’ financial limitations as they were unable to afford the cost of education in regular schools. The second BBC documentary starring Salman was It’s My Country Too: Muslim Americans which centered on Muslim citizens subjected to racial profiling and ethnic discrimination in America in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. As for Brian, he spent his time working for Christian Missionary organizations in Pakistan. He had also opened a guitar school in Karachi where he taught music theory and gave lessons on acoustic, rhythm, bass and electric guitars. Whereas Ali was doing the unthinkable— conceiving a solo album. Due to the trio being caught up in their respective undertakings, their concerts faced a sudden shortage and rumours of a possible breakup spread like wildfire. Junoon’s manager Shehryar Ahmad denied such hearsay and said that anyone who is spreading such disinformation is a “crap 242 UNVEILING THE PARTITION grinder”. The fact that Salman and Ali had been collaborating with other artists further fueled the suspicions. For instance, Salman recorded and wrote a song for Junaid Jamshed’s final album Dil Ki Baat whereas Ali contributed as a in Noori’s debut album Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan. With devoted fans and even music critics predicting that Junoon would implode, the band members kept rebuking the reports. In March 2003, Ali appeared on BBC Asia and boldly claimed that the band would never break up for as long as they live. On Monday, December 1, 2003, Junoon would release their seventh studio album Dewaar and it showcased how drastically the band had changed. The album cover had the logo of their longtime sponsor Coca-Cola. The band had never allowed the beverage company to stamp their logo on the covers of their previous albums nor gave in to the pressure of recording a jingle for them. However, Junoon would record and appear in a commercial for the beverage juggernaut the following year. Apart from being marketed as a corporate entity, Dewaar was moderately better than the disaster that was their previous album, Ishq. The most noticeable (and distracting) aspect of the album was Salman transitioning to a vocalist as he sang five of the twelve tracks. As a singer, he barely earned a commendable response. Overall, Dewaar was a dud album that signified that the band had hit a creative standstill. Its ear-piercing score Pappu Yaar was a far cry from a music masterpiece but the fans latched onto it due to its catchy tune. The only three laudable songs in the album were Tara Jala, Garaj Baras and Sapnay. Surprisingly, 243 Rockistan these songs were not a product of Salman who also served as Junoon’s primary composer and songwriter. In fact, these were Ali’s compositions. During the final years of Junoon, his musical craftsmanship steadily expanded due to his improvement as a songwriter, composer and even a guitar player to an extent. Though he was able to perform finger tapping (a technique popularized by Eddie Van Halen) but over time, he had developed decent guitar playing skills. Even with the release of an album amid ongoing predictions of a breakup, the rumours were strong as ever. Even stronger when Mekaal Hasan began performing as the band’s bass guitar player instead of Brian during their tours. Reports of the latter’s sacking from Junoon began swirling but they were false. As a matter of fact, Brian was involved in a car accident that caused nerve damage in his right hand. Not only was he unable to play bass but he could not even write properly. The injury was so severe that sometimes, his hand shook. When he went to the bank to cash a cheque, his signature was unrecognizable. Once Brian returned as the bass guitar player, he was soon replaced by Mekaal again and occasionally the band’s producer John Alec Raubeson for live shows but this time, no explanation regarding his absence was provided. Junoon was tight-lipped about Brian’s departure. During their press conference in July 2003, Salman and Ali refused to answer any queries regarding him. When a journalist kept pestering them with questions about Brian’s health, Ali furiously responded by suggesting that he should phonecall him to ask for himself. Salman eased the awkward situation by gleefully announcing that Mekaal would appear as a “special 244 UNVEILING THE PARTITION guest on bass” in the band’s upcoming shows. Brian’s exclusion from Junoon stems from a variety of traumatic reasons. As Ali explains, his former bandmate could not deal with the pressure of being away from his family due to the dysfunctional business of touring. It had proved to be quite burdensome for Brian and a gloomy divorce with his wife Ayesha Alam soon followed. He was diagnosed with clinical depression for which he received treatment at a mental health facility. Coupled with the desire to spend time with his two daughters aged 6 and 10, the single parent was going through an emotional turmoil that affected his performance as a musician. He would not leave his apartment nor attend his phonecalls and was even considering excluding himself from the touring aspect of the band. Such personal dilemmas hindered his input in Junoon’s final album, Dewar. Brian played bass only on a couple of tracks whereas most of the songs had to be sequenced. The final nail in the coffin was when he overslept and missed his flight for a Junoon concert in Kuwait. Another contributing factor behind Brian’s exit from Junoon was his return to New York due to the anti-American sentiment that had been brewing in Pakistan since the September 11 terrorist attacks. One day, he was purchasing vegetables in Karachi and came across a horde of protestors that were lambasting America. Brian was fortunate enough to avoid a physical injury but the protesters managed to leave a dent on his car. His apprehensions due to the ever-growing violence convinced him to return to the States. Furthermore, the health of his parents was weak and he desired to see them again. As soon as he left Junoon, he was immediately 245 Rockistan bombarded with employment opportunities including one from Asad Ahmed who offered him the position of bass player in his hard rock band, Karavan. A break from music was the need of the hour so he declined. After spending twelve years in Pakistan, Brian settled back in New York. Apart from being a bass player extraordinaire, it is often overlooked how significant he was to Junoon. With a B.A. in from the State University of New York at Buffalo, he had quite an impact on the band’s sound engineering. Despite shying away from the spotlight and his elusive demeanour, Brian had carved a rich legacy for himself as a rock star in Pakistan. For a number of years since he joined the band, the fans were under the impression that he was Pathan from North Waziristan instead of a New Yorker. He had adapted according to the nation’s societal culture, learned the Urdu language and adored the local cuisine especially nihari. With Brian out of the picture, rumours of impending disbandment kept overflowing as it was only a matter of time the remaining band members would let their egos swallow them whole. From a legal standpoint, Junoon could not disintegrate before 2004 since their sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola lasted till then and they had to fulfill their contractual obligations. When the contract expired, the band did not collapse and the fans were met with exciting news. Ali announced that he would release a solo album. Shortly thereafter, Salman announced that he would release one as well. The process of band members releasing a solo album while still being a part of their groups is not unheard of. 246 UNVEILING THE PARTITION

Noteworthy examples include Roger Taylor and Mick Jagger of rock bands Queen and the Rolling Stones, respectively. Members of glam rock band KISS would take it up a notch as all four of them simultaneously released their solo albums on the same day. Such solo albums are an opportunity for members to display their distinctive musical styles and sounds outside the confines of their band. Junoon would provide the same reason and explained that the solo albums would be an extension of their creative identities as individualistic musicians. On Wednesday, April 6, 2005, Ali released his album Social Circus that turned out to be dissimilar to any of his previous works in Junoon or Jupiters. “I see around me, I see one big circus,” states Ali when asked about his album’s title. “We are some sort of , the entertainers, coming and doing some juggling and doing our thing and somehow, trying to get by, and that’s how I see life. So, I named it Social Circus.” Its electro-acoustic tracks and cohesive construction of funk melodies received critical acclaim and Ali collected a myriad of awards like trading cards for his experimental solo album. Music videos of the singles from the album such as Deewana and Main Challa featured the multidimensional side of Ali as a progressing artist. Upon the release of the bloodcurdling music video of Na Re Na that was directed by Saqib Malik, it was clear that Ali had dropped all the shades of Junoon on the floor as he stood tall in all his glory. He spent two and a half years working on the album while concurrently touring, practicing and recording with Junoon. Ziyyad Gulzar of defunct rock band Milestones played most 247 Rockistan of the bass and sequenced the drums in the album whereas poet Sabir Zafar wrote a bulk of the songs. Noori’s original rhythm guitar player Murtaza Jaffar played on the album as well. A grand total of 48 tracks were composed by Ali himself out of which he chose 11 for the album. The broody ambiance of Social Circus stems from Ali’s depression at the time as he was in tumultuous relationships with his parents, friends, band members and girlfriend, supermodel Vaneeza Ahmed. As he recalls, he was at war with the world. It was evident that he had distanced himself from the conventional Junoon sound but the same could not be said about Salman’s solo album Infiniti that was released two months later. Despite the promise of a “completely new sound”, the album resembled a collection of discarded Junoon songs and not even a single memorable track. Not even the duet with classical Indian singer Shubha Mudgal in Ghoom Taana nor the HIV/AIDS awareness song Al-Vida could save the album from receiving atrocious reviews, though it achieved a better response in India. It was obvious that Salman’s musical artistry had reached a grinding halt as he had not evolved ahead of the worn-out sufi rock tantrum and the formulaic Junoon tracks. The involvement of Dittamo on drums, Alec on bass and Ashiq Ali Mir on tablas refrained the album from being dissociated with the archetypal Junoon sound. Infiniti was massacred by music critics who battered the screeching guitars, messy production and above all, Salman’s vocal abilities (or the lack thereof). Unlike Social Circus, Salman’s solo album was backed up by cunning marketing, sweepstake and a charitable cause. 248 UNVEILING THE PARTITION

The alternate album cover of Infiniti had the label of Junoon and featured both Salman and Ali. If the album was ordered online from the band’s official website, then a lucky draw would determine one fan to be awarded Salman’s double- necked Gibson electric guitar that was featured on the album cover. Following the dreadful earthquake in Kashmir in 2005, it was announced that 50% of the payment for the album ordered online would be donated as a relief fund. Despite such tactics, Infiniti failed to take flight. As compared to the sales of Ali’s album, its copies collected dust. The album operated as a major step backward for Salman who was frequently cited as the creative force, songwriter, composer and spokesperson of Junoon. Due to such responsibilities undertaken by Salman, it was expected that he would be the one making a clean sweep whereas Ali’s album would be grossly overlooked. “When the rocking duo went their separate ways, all the bets of success were on Salman and not Ali to make it big,” states music journalist Fasi Zaka. “The setup was obvious; Ali would fail badly because he would no longer have Salman’s talent to mooch off. The pocket dynamite would be exposed as a talentless musician gifted with a brilliant voice who needed someone else’s material to flourish.” Infiniti was even poked fun at by then-VJ at the launching ceremony of the music channel, MTV Pakistan. The glaring contrast between the feedback of the two albums and the separate solo promotional tours affirmed the fans that Junoon as a band was six feet under. As always, Salman and Ali kept reiterating that the band had not dissolved and would tour together again. They soon 249 Rockistan performed a show in Bangladesh where 40,000 roaring fans flocked to the concert venue and another in Dubai in which Strings and Fuzön served as the opening acts. The two band members recommenced their solo tours to promote their respective albums while continuing to reassure that the band was alive and well. On Thursday, March 2, 2006, Salman and Ali performed together as Junoon in Dubai after nearly a year. The extensive gap had convinced their fans that the concert was actually a reunion gig and their last show as a band. Prior to the performance, Salman and Ali would appear in a television special Live with Junoon on The Musik channel. It would also mark the first time after almost a year that the two bandmates shared the screen. Host Faraz Khan straightaway addressed the elephant in the room—the enduring rumours of Junoon splitting. Despite assuring that there is no animosity among them and no truth to the gossip, the live show kept receiving phonecalls from anxious fans asking why Junoon is breaking up, much to the annoyance of the band members and the host. As months passed with no further concerts, their lack of collaboration was habitually dismissed as a “vacation” or a “break” until in December 2006, Ali finally had the decency to discontinue misleading the public and confess what had been swept under the rug for over a year—Junoon is over. It was an exceedingly predictable breakup that unfolded piece by piece right in front of their fans. The acknowledgment of Social Circus dates as early as January 2001 when it was reported that Gumby was collaborating not with Junoon but with just Ali for the latter’s solo venture. 250 UNVEILING THE PARTITION

Two years later, the Junoon frontman had launched his separate website. One of the biggest clues of Ali potentially parting ways with the band, as perceived by the fans, was when the song Garaj Baras was included in the soundtrack of the Bollywood flick Paap starring . Ali was solely credited for the track. The initial reaction among the fans was shock and the false notion of him exiting the band. It ended up as a case of misunderstanding as it was soon clarified by Shehryar Ahmad that in India, only the singer of the song is given the credit. Furthermore, director was not permitted the right to use the Junoon name. Junoon’s rise to success is the most publicized and documented tale in Pakistan rock music history but its dissolution has often been shrouded in mystery. It is a tangled web of internal politics and treachery that deserves an in-depth inspection. According to Ali, the breakup period lasted for five to six years and they had ceased to be a band after the release of their fourth studio album Azadi in 1997. He further insinuates that Salman’s migration to the States in 2002 hastened the division of Junoon. With him residing in New York, there was a dearth of rehearsals, proper functioning as a band and no exchange of musical ideas. According to Salman, he shifted to New York because he wanted to get away from fame, become an artist on an international level, provide the best education to his three sons, build bridges between America and the Muslim world after the September 11 terrorist attacks, perform his duties as a UN Goodwill Ambassador and accompany his wife as she began pursuing education in the States. To his credit, Ali 251 Rockistan followed suit and moved to America for the sake of the band but could not adjust there. “I also went there initially, but couldn’t settle down,” recounts Ali. “Salman’s father lives there and so does Brian’s father—they have proper households—shami kababs in the fridge, you could have daal and aaloo qeema when you wanted. I was living in an apartment in the city all by myself and I didn’t like it so much. The most I could stay there was not more than 10 to 15 days and I always wanted to come back home. I can’t deal with America that well.” Ali had grown to loathe working in Junoon as he claims that Salman ruled with an iron hand. The latter had established himself as the sole songwriter and forbade Ali to do so. As far as their studio recording was concerned, Salman would hire session musicians in the States to make the basic tracks for guitars, drums and keyboards and email the music file to Ali so he could record his vocals on them while keeping in mind that he could not deviate from his bandmate’s instructions. Recording Dewaar was an absolute painstaking experience as they would constantly quarrel and soon stopped talking altogether. Due to the strained relationships, it was conspicuously noticeable for the organizers and other bands backstage that the two are avoiding conversations with each other. The atmosphere was identical during their concerts as the crowd would observe that the duo is not on the same page. During a Toronto gig in August 2005, Salman asked the audience whether they still believe in the persisting rumours of the group being broken up to which Ali hollered on the microphone, “broken into tiny pieces.” 252 UNVEILING THE PARTITION

Music journalists such as Mohammad A. Qayyum would point out during Junoon’s final years that they had run out of steam due to the direction of their sound remaining stagnant. Ali agrees and cites it as one of the reasons behind the band’s demise. By his own admission, Junoon did not try anything new after their biggest hit Sayonee. Another ordeal that was exceedingly infuriating for him was Salman “dying to sing” on their final album. No matter how much of a good voice he thought he possessed, that opinion does not exist outside the depths of his imagination. One of the principal motives behind Ali’s departure is that Junoon had become a brand and Salman was bent on cashing it. Taking into account a report published by Business Standard newspaper, the band was at the peak of their commercial success in the last two years leading to their split. Band manager Shehryar had registered Junoon Inc. with a paid capital of 1,000,000 rupees and it had grown into a million-dollar company. The band would perform 50 to 75 concerts per year and would charge $15,000 per show abroad and $850 in their homeland. In India, there were plans to establish an office and a franchise of Junoon stores to sell merchandise and musical instruments autographed by all three members of the band. The band had transitioned into a business enterprise and Salman believed that there was a much larger audience waiting to be tapped. In an effort to bolster the Junoon empire, there were negotiations with a record deal with EMI England. There was an English-language album in the pipeline as well and the band had even recorded a few demos for foreign record companies. Ali would finally have some breathing space 253 Rockistan from such hectic pursuits while working on his solo album although a cease and desist letter almost refrained it from seeing the light of day. It was from Salman who prohibited Ali to release the album since it went against the “existence of Junoon.” Social Circus was intended to be released before Dewaar but Salman and Brian insisted that he should not release it due to a conflict of interest. Though Dewaar sold a million copies under a month in Pakistan alone, Ali had made up his mind to take the risk of becoming a solo artist instead of being Salman’s doormat. He admits that if it was not for their crew working behind the scenes whose livelihood depended upon the band, he would have left much earlier. The plot thickens as Salman ardently rebuffs every single statement by his former bandmate. He refuses that his relocation to New York acts as one of the band’s stumbling blocks nor he ever refrained Ali from recording his solo album. “Absolutely wrong,” denies Salman. “On the contrary, I encouraged him to write more original songs throughout Junoon’s albums and even do a solo album while playing in Junoon. I have the emails to prove it. He was unwilling to do Junoon music or concerts because he wanted to be a solo star and so I wished him well.” Moreover, he brushes off Ali’s claim of milking the band as a cash cow. “Was I the one who was doing McKofta commercials or Ali?” Salman refutes that Junoon disregarded artistic fulfillment to focus exclusively on generating money and outlines several different explanations behind the withdrawal of his former bandmate. As he narrates, Ali had 254 UNVEILING THE PARTITION developed a “sibling rivalry-type jealousy” towards Salman and was not satisfied with the musical direction the latter had envisioned for the band. He had also become upset about being recognized as “the Sayonee guy” and his friends were advising him to leave the band. As a solo artist, Ali was not handed anything on a silver platter. Instead, he had to start from scratch as the only worthwhile songs in the album Dewaar such as Tara Jala and Garaj Baras that were composed by him were intended to be included in his solo album. Upon Salman’s request, they ended up in Junoon’s final album. Ali metamorphosed into a man of his own and reinvented himself while taking a stroll on the solo territory. Moreover, there was no corporate sponsorship bankrolling him. Leaving the band that made him a nationwide icon was not at all an easy decision. Before breaking up, collaborations with rock bands Aerosmith and U2 were on the cards yet Ali put it all behind as his interest in creating music with Salman had completely drained. Junoon’s ill-fated rift is akin to a soap opera and their legion of fans deeply regret the manner in which these events have unfolded. There is no doubt that the band has the most passionate admirers in the country. For instance, a fan from Karachi flew all the way to Dubai to attend their final show as it was suspected that it could be the last one. For the same concert, one fan spent a chunk of his hard-earned savings to purchase the ticket. There even have been a few bizarre episodes such as an obsessed female stalker writing a letter for Salman with her own blood. As Junoon would close its doors, the band would leave behind a phenomenal legacy as a cultural export and a 255 Rockistan representation of liberal Islam. It had established itself as the most philanthropic band in the country as it conducted fundraisers for various charitable purposes including the reconstruction of war-scarred Afghanistan. As the country was being bombed, the band played a benefit concert on Tuesday, October 9, 2001, in Islamabad to endorse peace and unity. Coinciding with John Lennon’s 61st birthday, Junoon performed the late Beatles member’s anti-war song Give Peace a Chance along with their original songs. The band subsequently released a DVD titled Junoon for Peace that was comprised of their live shows. Portions of the profits were donated to the humanitarian cause of aiding Afghanistan rising from the ashes. During Junoon’s formative years, the band played in parlours and even borrowed money from a friend to record their album. Their very first gig was attended by just six people. Due to never being paralyzed by the fear of failure, they outlived every other rock band at the time, survived state censorship, spewed seven studio albums and headlined sold-out arenas. During their peak years, Junoon created a media hailstorm wherever they performed and personified the concept of rebellion. The band made Pakistan drift away from pop to rock and expanded beyond national boundaries due to performing in India, Japan, China, America, Africa, Dubai and Canada. Fifteen years as a band is bound to cause creative differences and a clash of egos. From song selections to album covers, Salman and Ali were hardly agreeing on multiple aspects of the band. Following the band’s dismal breakup, Salman would make an unanticipated decision to continue performing 256 UNVEILING THE PARTITION under the Junoon label as the lead vocalist and lead guitar player along with a varying variety of session players. The most prominent lineup includes Pandit Samir Chatterjee on tabla, Chris Tarry as the bass guitar player and Sunny Jain as the drummer and percussionist. The unnecessary prolongation of the sufi rock group spearheaded by Salman has received fierce criticism from music journalists and even the most loyal fans over the years. Junoon as a band had breathed its last but the funeral proceedings never took place as Salman hid the shovels. 257 Rockistan

Chapter 8 ROCK RENAISSANCE

There were loads of topics that weren't really written about until rock came. Rock gave the freedom. Xulfi

The growth of music channels backed up by private media powerhouses defined a cultural shift for an entire generation. Rock music and its subgenres which had generally struggled to gain mass appeal in Pakistan were now experiencing a surge in popularity. Noori had further endeared themselves with their fans by launching their official website in early 2003. It was made possible by their rhythm guitar player Ali Hamza who stayed awake five nights to learn web designing. Noori’s website had at least a hundred visitors a day since it was set up. As a part of Mobilink Jazz concert tours, the band rigorously toured various venues of Karachi and Hyderabad from August to October 2003. In a span of 42 days, Noori had performed a grand total of 110 shows. Their biggest concert in terms of attendance was held at Dubai Shopping Festival in February 2004 where 40,000 fans swarmed the venue. It also marked the first time when the band played abroad. Commercialism can be immensely beneficial for a musical act but can also go hand in hand with a few 258 ROCK RENAISSANCE cringeworthily advertisements. In the case of Noori, the band received severe criticism for their Super New Jawan and Polo Cool Foxy campaigns. Both proved to be tremendously humiliating episodes for the band and they decided to minimize their public appearances and gigs so they could focus on their second album. During their period of inactivity, the band became the bearer of bad news—bass player Mohammed Ali Jafri was parting ways with Noori. Influenced by Adam Clayton, Tom Kennedy, Larry Graham, Stuart Zendor, Garry Willis and Flea, he was more than just a bass player. Jafri was the co- director and editor of the majority of the band’s music videos and promos. As the sound engineer and co-producer of their debut album Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan, he shaped the band’s sound. Above all, he had established a brotherly relationship with Ali Noor. For seven years, Jafri spent the evenings at Noor’s house to record music, write songs, figuring out studio techniques and learning the audio software. In November 2004, Jafri left the band on amicable terms because he wanted to devote more time to his family and wanted a stable lifestyle which was unachievable due to the erratic touring schedule of Noori. In June 2005, he became the postproduction head of media company Rola TV which has been responsible for the music videos of a variety of musicians such as Rushk, Kostal, co-VEN etc. Noori had now become a trio and Ali Hamza took over the bass. In March 2006, Jafri would reunite with Noori for one night. In a concert organized by the students of Bay View High School, Karachi, he joined the band on stage to play bass on 259 Rockistan the song Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan. On Saturday, September 10, 2005, Noori released their much-awaited second album Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya. The title was suggested by Jafri and he played bass on two tracks on the album. It was an amazing accomplishment considering the fact that so many rock bands have sunk without a trace after the release of just one album. It was a major step up from their debut album which had juvenile lyrics and pop rock textures. The sound had now matured and diverted towards hard rock and punk rock. An improvement was observed in the songwriting as well which was inspired by legendary authors Saadat Hasan Manto and Ghulam Abbas. Moreover, the trio had discarded their clean-cut, good boy image that had previously defined them. They had now grown shoulder-length hair and full beards. According to Noor, the makeover was not intentional. “Basically, we shifted to Abbottabad and we stopped cutting our hair. We’re not fashion-conscious.” In true Noori fashion, the music video of their second album’s single Kuttay ignited controversy due to Ali Noor displaying his middle finger so it had to be censored. This was not the first, second or even the third time when a music video by Noori caused a stir. The music videos of their earliest songs Khalla and Manwa Re were banned and re- edited, respectively. The music video of Gana No. 1 stands out as their biggest debacle. Shot by Babar Sheikh of death metal band Dusk, he had now cemented his name as an awe- inspiring film-maker with his production house Diagram Motion Pictures. As a director, his work includes several 260 ROCK videos and television commercials. He has directed the music videos of Karavan's Aagay Hi Aagay, Sajjad Ali's Paaniyon Mein, Jal’s Teri Yaad, Strings’ Sohniye and Faakhir's Deewana. Once Babar had directed the video of Gana No. 1, the band’s fans voiced their displeasure on internet forums so Noor had it re-edited by Wajahat Rauf, the owner of Café M-Live in Karachi and better known as Voice Over Man on YouTube. This decision was condemned by veteran music video directors such as Jami and Ahsan Rahim who claimed that Noor should have never interfered with the original director’s work of art. However, Noor clarified that he did not want Babar to go through the hassle of re-editing the video and had informed him that he intends to get it done by someone else. Noori’s second album was successful in generating interest beyond the confines of their traditional audience that listened to rock ‘n’ roll. However, Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya had flown dangerously close to cancellation as the CD manufacturing plant of record label Sadaf Stereos was temporarily shut down. One of the drawbacks slapped on Noori’s second album was the insertion of four songs— Khalla, Ooncha, Saari Raat Jaga and Jo Meray—that were already available online as demos even before their debut album. As the band toured the country to promote their second album, they would announce another shocking departure of one of the band members. In April 2006, conflicts arose between drummer Gumby and brothers, Noor and Hamza. Unlike his former bandmate Jafri, Gumby’s exit from Noori was an acrimonious one and 261 Rockistan grabbed the headlines. On the band’s website, a statement was released to shed light on the matter. It explained that Gumby’s family was undergoing financial stress so he began playing sessions for several other musicians. Due to his unavailability stemming from such engagements, the band had to cancel a lot of their concerts and felt the need to replace him. Apart from the explanation, the statement belittled Gumby as it insinuated that he had become more interested in working with other musical acts. He was downplayed as a mere drummer who had minimal involvement in the rest of the band’s domains. To add insult to injury, it was announced that Noori was considering to explore new music genres such as techno, electronica and rave by including Noor’s wife, Mandana Zaidi, as a DJ. Not so surprisingly, even the most loyal fans turned their backs on Noori and duly supported Gumby in the matter since he was the sole source of income for his family. This has been the case since his childhood as a month before being born, his father passed away. “When kids of my age were buying toys and going on trips, I was financially supporting my family,” reveals Gumby who received an immense outpouring of support from fellow musicians, fans and music journalists. It was suspected that the lengthy, malignant statement was penned by the most vocal member of the band, Noor. As it turns out, it was actually by his younger brother. “Hamza always gets away with his innocence,” says Noor. Gumby’s friendship with the Noori siblings was one that blew hot and cold but as a trio, they had engraved themselves in the hearts of countless music listeners. As an introvert 262 ROCK RENAISSANCE who shies away from the media spotlight, he wisely chose to remain mum on his firing. It was Mekaal Hasan who explained Gumby’s side of the story: Noor and his family were continuously relocating themselves in Karachi, Abbottabad and Lahore before finally settling back in the latter city. Gumby was living in Karachi and it was not financially nor physically possible for him to move to different cities so haphazardly as he had to take care of his ill mother and aunt. Such personal problems refrained him from committing to Noori’s projects like television appearances, interviews and shows. The lack of compassion towards Gumby’s domestic crisis caused a huge drop in Noori’s popularity. The band then went through a succession of drummers including Fahad Khan and even their former drummer Salman Albert as session players but the audience felt a decline in their energetic shows. Gumby was obviously not an interchangeable cog of a machine. In 1992, he was just a drummer for the Sheraton Lobby Band and by the time Noori had released their debut album, Gumby had become a celebrity musician who could also play bass and acoustic guitar. In fact, he aided Hamza in practicing a few bass lines before the recording of their second album. Fans would chant Gumby’s name during the band’s concerts and also demand to play drum solos at least twice. He truly was the galvanizing force of the band’s live shows. Few fans and even musicians argue that he was the best performer among his bandmates. “I think Gumby should have better musicians around him,” says Shallum Asher Xavier. “I’m not saying that they 263 Rockistan are bad musicians but Gumby is like way up there in Noori as far as playing is concerned.” It comes as no surprise that Gumby would go on to become the hottest free agent in Pakistan’s music scene. Now with the freedom to expand his musical craftsmanship, he collaborated with Ali Azmat, Strings, Jal, Zeb & Haniya, Kaavish, Fuzön, Mauj, Sahil and most notably, Mekaal Hasan Band. Gumby flourished on his own merit whereas Noori would continue as a sibling duo along with a string of session players to fill the void. Gumby’s presence behind the drum kit was sorely missed by the audience in Noori’s concerts. In fact, during their show at the Marquee Hall of Marriot Hotel, Islamabad, in July 2006, the crowd chanted the ousted drummer’s name at the top of their lungs right after Noor finished a song. Noori was not the only rock band at the time which was going through a partial breakup. In September 2003, Karavan’s drummer Allan Smith quit the band and joined Junoon. His motivations branched from Karavan rejecting offers to perform at several shows because they were not “financially rewarding.” According to Nabeel Nihal Chishty, even though Karavan was enormously talented and had been in the music scene longer than Aaroh, the latter band was paid more due to being signed with Pepsi. Despite releasing three brilliant rock albums, Karavan had not thrust into the limelight quite like their contemporaries such as Entity Paradigm, Jal or Noori. This can be attributed to the lack of self-marketing and their distaste for making music videos. Both were essential ingredients to make it big in the 264 ROCK RENAISSANCE ongoing media revolution. The band did not even capitalize on their behemoth hit Gardish by making its music video. Perhaps the biggest reason behind Karavan’s inability to grasp widespread recognition is that the side projects of the members overshadowed the band itself. For example, lead guitar player Asad Ahmed and bass player Sameer Ahmed Bakhtiari were touring with Haroon and Fuzön, respectively. This has been the scenario even in Karavan’s formative years as both collaborated with Junaid Jamshed on his first two solo albums. Another factor behind the band’s inconsistency is the geographical distances. Lead vocalist Tanseer lived in Lahore whereas the rest of his bandmates resided in Karachi. As Karavan was plagued with inactivity and members resorted to playing sessions for other major musicians, rumours began to circulate that the band had collapsed. When the hard rock group was touring in Houston, Texas, Tanseer sang two songs in a separate gig upon the request of a friend. He soon performed alone in Tribute Show on Geo TV as well and the fans assumed that he was testing out the waters of a potential solo career but Asad would soon dismiss the grapevine of Tanseer leaving Karavan as “complete crap.” Many musicians keep their plans under the vest but Asad and Tanseer kept in touch with their fanbase through internet forums. The two always had an otherworldly presence while performing together on stage. With Tanseer setting a high template that all other hard rock frontmen must strive to meet and Asad bleeding out hyper-distorted sounds from his Washburn electric 265 Rockistan guitar, the two had established Karavan as the best live rock act in Pakistan. Apart from Junoon, if there is any rock band that can be credited for the upsurge of rock music in Pakistan during the late '90s then it is irrefutably Karavan. Much to the delight of their fanbase, Asad assured that the band was no longer beset with idleness and geared up to “kick some serious ass.” On Monday, November 1, 2004, Karavan released their unplugged album on their website. Titled Unplugged and Unleashed, it was downloaded more than 200,000 times. Additionally, it had Tanseer’s vocals on the song Rakh Aas which was previously sung by the band’s original frontman Najam Sheraz. The unplugged album triggered a renewed interest in the band among rock enthusiasts. Proving that the band cannot be put aside as table scraps, Karavan began selling out venues again. One of their most memorable concerts was held in the mountain range near Dreamworld Resort, Karachi, in May 2002. The show was hosted by Fakhar-e-Alam and headlined by Junoon. All four members of Karavan had to travel from DHA to the venue on Tanseer’s tiny Suzuki Alto car. The band had no clue where the exact location of the show was and their journey was an excruciating one since they were crammed inside the small vehicle along with their musical equipment. They estimated that there would be about 1000 to 2000 people attending the show but upon reaching the venue, their jaws dropped on the ground as they saw record-setting 30,000 spectators. The stage was on top of the mountain and Karavan realized that a considerable distance was yet to be covered. 266 ROCK RENAISSANCE

The band sat back in Tanseer’s car but were stopped by security personnel after driving a mere quarter distance towards the stage. Vehicles were not allowed beyond that point and the band members had to walk while carrying their musical instruments all the way through the jam-packed venue to reach the stage. As they struggled through the overflowing crowd, they would be constantly met with flabbergasted reactions. The audience could not believe that Karavan was walking among them and the band was tanked with dozens of questions. “You?! What are you doing here?” “Shouldn’t you be on the stage?” The fans unexpectedly got more than what they bargained for due to the impromptu meet-and-greet session with Karavan. When the band finally reached in front of the stage, they realized that they still had to walk a few more steps as the entrance for the performers was behind it. Another band that was garnering acclaim with their second album was Aaroh. Gone were the days when the band members would squabble over puerile matters such as screen time on music videos or doing separate projects. Lead vocalist Farooq Ahmed claims that he has never utilized his fame earned from Aaroh for personal projects because he placed the integrity of the band above himself. As per his narrative, he was offered to appear in an advertisement for Sony mobiles but declined because the opportunity was presented to solely him instead of the entire band. There was considerable doubt on Aaroh being able to replicate or even come close to the levels of success they had reached with their debut album Sawal since original guitar 267 Rockistan player Nabeel and former keyboardist Kamran left the band. In the months leading up to their second album Raag Neela, Aaroh released two singles Yaara and Pyaar Ka Jaal. Both were composed and written by the band’s new lead guitar player, Haider Hashmi. According to Farooq, most of the songs of their second album are a creative result of Haider but the latter humbly classified it as a “group effort” instead of taking the credit. The members of Aaroh are devoted cricket fans, especially bass player Khalid Khan who is a walking encyclopedia of the sport. During one of their breaks from recording the album, the rock band played a friendly match against pop group Strings. Farooq and Khalid teamed up against and while the match was keenly observed by none other than Junaid Jamshed who was standing nearby. Even though he had denounced his music career and had become a religious preacher, the former pop sensation would sing in private gatherings and keep in touch with his friends from the music spectrum. In fact, he conducted the nikah ceremony of Jal’s Goher Mumtaz and would affectionately tease him to sing his new songs. “If you won’t sing your song to me, it wouldn’t be a hit,” Junaid would say. He became impressed by Farooq’s bowling skills while watching Aaroh and Strings squaring off in a game of cricket. He requested to briefly halt the casual match so he could bat against him. Upon the very first throw, Junaid was clean bowled. Believing it was a fluke, he requested Farooq to bowl for a second time but he was struck out again. The 268 ROCK RENAISSANCE bewildered Junaid asked for one more ball but got out the third time as well. With a wide smile and high in spirits, he complimented Farooq’s fast paced bowling and told the two bands to resume their match. Aaroh was the very first client of television network ARY Digital’s newly launched music label, The Musik Records. Their second album Raag Neela was crucial in the sense that it was a collection of songs that would define the new line- up of the band. It was up to their fans to decide whether they have been capable of surpassing the harmonic framework of their debut album. On Sunday, December 16, 2006, Raag Neela quickly sold out the initial batch of CDs at the launching ceremony. The new line-up won the audience over and it showcased Aaroh’s musical evolution as it encapsulated blues and funk along with rock. Farooq is not only an expert tunesmith but also a marvellous frontman. With his long untamed hair and invigorating vocals, his live performances would execute electric wallop akin to Anthony Kiedis of and Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses. Farooq’s influence as a rock frontman can be traced back to the early '90s when the Karachi-based hard rock band Overdrive was active in the underground circuit. His cousin Salman Syed was the rhythm guitar player and secondary vocalist of the group. Farooq would routinely accompany his cousin during Overdrive’s jam sessions and gigs where he would have a bird’s eye view of the band covering Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Sting. Similar to many early rock bands of Pakistan, Overdrive was unable to transition from a cult following to mainstream success. However, the band holds the distinction 269 Rockistan of being one of the very first ones to record an album with live drums. Titled Anarchist Growl, it was recorded at Aamir Hasan Studio in 1994. The eruption of music channels as a result of the media boom was a catalyst in bringing forward underground rock bands to everyone having cable television. Such opportunities were unheard of just a few years ago. Perhaps the most unique rock band to roll out from the underground circuit was the Karachi-based group Razam. Their first song Khoobsurat was a dynamite hit and its music video was aired more than five times a day for more than six months on Indus Music and The Muzik. The viewers were particularly intrigued by the music video but not because it featured a four-piece Pearl drum kit nor due to being shot in the circus sideshow attraction, wall of death. It was because lead vocalist Umair Tareen wore a black ski mask throughout the entire music video. His identity was an unsolved mystery that trailed the band throughout its existence. Formed in 1997, Razam’s original line-up consisted of Umair as the lead vocalist and bass guitar player, Omer Ikram as the lead guitar player, Khalid Butt as the rhythm guitar player and Zeeshan Hayat as the drummer and secondary vocalist. In 1999, the latter would soon leave the band and would be replaced by one of the most ferocious rock drummers in Pakistan, Qaiser ZainUl Abedin. “You play rock music,” said Zeeshan. “I have a band and it plays rock music too but I have begun my solo career so you want to join? 270 ROCK RENAISSANCE

“I’m not a very good drummer,” answered Qaiser. “I’m just a beginner and I don’t even know how to hold a drumstick.” Following their conversation, Zeeshan invited him to his house in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi, where Razam would engage in practice sessions. Once Qaiser arrived, he saw Zeeshan, Khalid, Omer and Umair playing covers of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Metallica. As he observed them, he requested Zeeshan to teach him. “I want to learn drums from you. I don’t know how to play them.” Zeeshan obliged but the band told Qaiser to play the drums so they can judge the limited extent of his abilities. As expected, he played a clunky mess with no sense of rhythm. Razam ridiculed his atrocious effort and Qaiser responded by asking them to play a song together. The band would perform a cover of Junoon’s Mera Mahi and Qaiser played the drums with sheer accuracy. Their jaws dropped to the floor as they could not believe that he could pull off such mesmerizing drumbeats with significant ease. Qaiser had pranked the band and subsequently played the drums for the songs Animal fand Even Flow by Pearl Jam with an equally stunning display of vehemence. As he caught the band off guard, he eventually joined them as their new permanent drummer and participated in their daily jams. Unbeknownst to Razam, Qaiser was the session drummer for Najam Sheraz at the time and had previously played drums for several mainstream acts such as Junoon, Junaid Jamshed, Haroon and Faakhir Mehmood. Born on Tuesday, June 3, 1980, Qaiser was inspired by Slipknot’s Joey 271 Rockistan

Jordison, Dave Matthews Band’s Carter Beauford, Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy and Rush’s Neil Peart. His father is a medical doctor and was immensely displeased after finding out that Qaiser aims to be a musician. Due to devoting his time to playing the drums, he did not appear in his exams and his father blew a gasket. “It was a very serious matter,” recollects Qaiser. “At 11 PM, my dad picked up all my stuff and my drums and threw them outside. He grabbed me too and threw me outside and closed the door.” Following the scuffle, Qaiser spent the night at a friend’s shop near the Bait-ul-Mukarram Mosque. While staying outside his home for the next eight months, he would practice for 10 to 12 hours a day and even made a customized drumkit by welding empty paint boxes and a few other boxes that he got from a sweet potato seller. As a substitute for drum sticks, he split a floor cleaning viper into two pieces. Within a year, he was spotted by pop icon Shehzad Roy and they toured in Ireland. When his father realized his potential, he welcomed back his son with open arms. As a member of the rock band Razam, he was always able to drum up a storm. Lead vocalist’s Umair’s motivation to conceal his face with a mask does not originate from nu metal band Slipknot or funk metal guitar player Buckethead as one might initially suspect. In 2001, Razam performed in Tobago Island. Upon landing at the airport, the organizers blindfolded them so they could not be aware of the concert venue. While the band members were walking across the seashore, they noticed a masked vendor who was singing and selling masks. His 272 ROCK RENAISSANCE vocals were so similar to Umair that his band members assumed that they were the same person. It was at this point he suggested that he should wear a mask as well during their shows. Once Razam made the music video of their song Khoobsurat, the higher-ups of the Indus Music channel refused to air it and banned the group due to believing that the viewers would be terrified because a masked vocalist has never appeared on television screens before. Additionally, the members of the Islamic militant group Hamas that would carry out suicide attacks in Israel were known for donning black ski masks similar to the one worn by Umair so Indus Music declined to air their music video. Razam would soon be interviewed by the monthly publication website www.bandbaja.org and Umair mentioned that the channel had banned them. The website proceeded to write an article on the discrimination faced by the band and it stirred outrage among rock aficionados. As Razam’s ban became public knowledge, Indus Music reluctantly aired the music video of Khoobsurat. Much to their surprise, it nabbed the second spot on the channel’s music charts and even surpassed the roaring hit Khamaj by Fuzön. Lead guitar player Khalid was the guiding light of the band as he came up with the compositions. Since their debut single, Razam was labelled as a punk rock band but they refused to be defined by a singular music genre. Due to Junoon, Barbarians, Nazia and Zoheb Hassan, Vital Signs, Adnan Afaq “Vai”, Pearl Jam, Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana as their collective influences, the band’s songs dabbled in 273 Rockistan punk, heavy metal, eastern classical, grunge and even commercial tracks. However, Razam personified the spirit of punk rock and can be equated as the Sex Pistols of Pakistan. From rebellious antics to a premature breakup, the band flawlessly fits the description. Razam’s interviews would showcase the band members responding with facetious answers, smoking cigarettes, criticizing underground metal bands who wore makeup and mocking foremost pop musicians Atif Aslam and . If the spectators at their gigs complained or became outraged, Umair would safely sneak inside the crowd without his mask whereas his bandmates had to run and hide. “When people were fed up and they started bad language, Umair Tareen used to take advantage of the situation and mixed with the crowd and abused the band,” recalls Khalid. “It all used to happen in a fun way. We were never humiliated. It's just sometimes the crowd was not as you expect. So Umair always had an advantage over us.” The mystery regarding Umair’s face was at the root cause of their mystique. His eccentric mannerisms in the band’s overly pompous concerts were able to acquire palatial fandom. As Razam pulverized their way to notoriety, they came under the scanner as they left the viewers befuddled about the lead vocalist’s identity. Few hours before one of their shows at City School (PAF Chapter), Umair misplaced his mask so his mother quickly made a new one from his blue coloured shirt. “We were very happy with Umair’s decision to wear the mask, as we also don’t like his face while he sang,” jokes Qaiser. 274 ROCK RENAISSANCE

Razam’s lyrics were not intellectually stimulating but sarcastic, cynical, socio-political and egocentric. The band’s strength lied in Omer’s crisp guitar solos and Qaiser’s stranglehold on the drums. Razam was also known to be never hesitant to voice their political opinions. They released an anti-war song Bebasi and would aggressively criticize former United States President George W. Bush for waging war in Iraq. Though rock legends such as John Lennon, Rage Against the Machine, Megadeth, Bruce Springsteen and Radiohead have openly condemned military conflicts and irksome political scenarios, most rock bands in Pakistan have their tongues tied but Razam was never at loss for words. Another exception was EP. During Jeemfest 2003 that also featured Junoon, Noori and Fuzön, the bands were barred from making any political statements on the stage. Ironically, the event was projected as a “peace concert.” EP’s rapper Ahmad still spoke against the war in Iraq and walked away scot-free. Umair’s bass playing skills were an enigma in Pakistani music folklore as much as his face. Khalid humorously recalls that Umair did not even know how to play it and the latter would laugh while letting go of the instrument when he had to play the difficult parts. Whereas Umair has revealed that he learned how to play the bass guitar within two days and it was out of necessity. Three days before their very first live gig at an Eid Festival in Overseas Bungalows, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi, Razam was still short of a bass guitar player nor any of the members knew how to play the instrument. Umair insisted that he would learn how to play it if he could get his hands on one. Bandmate Khalid later 275 Rockistan purchased a bass guitar for him from Sayam Rana of Gurus Trilogy for merely 2800 rupees. The price was extremely low because of its disjointed neck. During the next two days, Umair learned the basics of bass guitar and the band’s first show went without a hitch despite the instrument’s disjointed neck. Razam’s similarities with the Sex Pistols are uncanny as the latter band’s bass player Sid Vicious barely knew how to play the instrument nor he ever touched it before joining the band. Both bands did not release masterful music but their over-the-top quirks and idiosyncratic showmanship more than made up for their shortcomings. Umair agrees as he affirms that Razam made music according to their liking and barely cared about the feedback from the society. Razam intended to release their debut album Daur-e- Jahalat in the winter of 2004 but the idea never came to fruition. Khalid composed all the songs and structured them as well due to his top-notch production and recording skills. With the aid of Qaiser, the duo worked endlessly on the album. During the phase of mixing and mastering, they would feel that the tracks still have gaps for improvement and would rework on them. This carried on for the next two years and the band members had become absorbed with side projects that sank the chances of releasing their album. In December 2004, Umair had become the Senior Producer of Geo Television Network. Khalid became a cast member of the satirical comedy program 4 Man Show on Aaj TV. Omer became a director for music videos, comedy shows and drama serials. Qaiser became the session drummer for Strings and began touring with them. Parallel 276 ROCK RENAISSANCE to their endeavors, Razam remained functional and the members dedicated a few portions of their schedules to visit the music studio to record the album. In 2006, Khalid moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a Master’s degree in E- Commerce from Oxford University. He left his show and the band altogether but advised others to replace him with a new lead guitar player and keep Razam alive. Instead, they mutually decided that the band should take a hiatus and resume once Khalid returns. In December 2008, Umair moved to the and became a renowned film-maker. For over a decade, he released a series of commercials, corporate films, feature-length documentaries and food vlogs. Umair’s passion for film-making was evident since the heyday of Razam as he was the director of their music video of Bebasi. He has also directed the music video of the unexpected hit Tu Na Ho Meray Paas by Ganda Banda and the 3D Cats. One of his earliest directorial projects includes the music video of Tanhai by Arsh. In 2009, Khalid returned to Pakistan only to leave for China a year later where he became a teacher of high-level mathematics and the group never reunited again. While Umair is no longer a professional musician, he still keeps his bass guitar in his office. It was previously owned by Khalid Khan of Aaroh. The bass guitar in Umair’s office is his third one and holds a sentimental value. After his second bass guitar was stolen, his girlfriend Sarah gifted him a new one. The couple eventually got married and have four sons together. Despite the anticlimax, Razam’s legacy is defined by an everlasting impression as a result of their punk rock 277 Rockistan demeanour. They fearlessly defied the norms, kept the sight of Umair’s face under wraps and remain a memorable rock band even though they never officially released an album. Above all, they made an ordinary black coloured ski mask the most iconic headgear on mainstream music television. No other rock band in Pakistan has dared to even replicate their footsteps. As the rest of the members switched their careers following Razam’s split, Qaiser continued his rock ‘n’ roll journey and become one of the most sought-after session drummers in the country; playing for the likes of Ali Azmat, Karavan, Jal, Strings, Atif Aslam, Noori, Komal Rizvi, Aaroh, Strings, Fuzön, Azal, Chand Tara Orchestra, Shafqat , Sajjad Ali and Qurat-ul-Ain Baloch. Most Pakistani rock bands have an incredibly short shelf life. As history would unfold itself, Razam would prove to be one of the many rock groups that collapsed due to the members enlisting their side projects as a top priority or moving abroad for better fortunes. As the burgeoning rock scene steadily clutched mainstream cultural relevance, underground band Call would resurface a year later after disbandment. In September 2002, drummer Khurram Jabbar Khan returned from the United States and reformed his band with a completely new line-up. Born on Wednesday, December 13, 1967, he was heavily influenced by rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Tool along with heavy metal acts including Disturbed, , Tool, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Ronnie James Dio. During his undergraduate studies at the University of South Alabama, Khurram would regularly play drums in local clubs. He had purchased a 278 ROCK RENAISSANCE

TAMA Rockstar drum set because he was inspired by Lars Ulrich, the drummer of the heavy metal band Metallica. The position of lead and rhythm guitar player was occupied by brothers Farooq and Usman Nasir, respectively. Muhammad Sultan Raja was the band’s bass player but was initially reluctant to join. He was still pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from FAST Lahore. He was two years junior to Xulfi and learned how to play the guitar from him. Sultan would later give guitar lessons at the latter’s music studio Xth Harmonic. He had never played bass before and it took Xulfi two days to convince him to play it for one of Call’s upcoming shows. Sultan was initially hesitant but Xulfi told him to not underestimate himself. After being encouraged, he soon became a permanent member of the band as the bass player and later the rhythm guitar player. Khurram’s younger brother Danish, who had named the band, opted not to rejoin as the lead vocalist as he had got married and music was never his first priority. The void would be filled by Junaid Khan Niazi, a Mining Engineering student from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. Born on Monday, November 2, 1981, he was active in sports and performing arts before being smitten with rock music. Junaid was an inter-school champion in basketball and table tennis. During his undergraduate studies, he acted in theatre plays and various festivals. He would also spend a lot of time in pencil sketching. The apple does not fall far from the tree as his mother is a gold medalist in fine arts. Junaid discovered his vocal abilities by happenstance when 279 Rockistan his landlord, who could play the guitar was in the same age group, encouraged him to sing in a garage jam. The very first song Junaid had learned to sing with perfection was the alternative rock song Black by Pearl Jam. As a vocalist, he cites Eddie Vedder as his biggest inspiration. His other influences include Creed, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Incubus and A Perfect Circle. Junaid had asked Call’s original lead guitar player Omer Pervaiz if there was any band seeking a vocalist. He would be recommended to audition for Call where he competed against five other contenders for the spot. The audition was held in Xulfi’s room and one of the songs he sang was With Arms Wide Open by post-grunge band Creed. Junaid impressed Khurram the most out of the six candidates. Call had auspicious beginnings once it reformed as their first single Nishaan was downloaded 30,000 times upon its release. Junaid’s vocals were reminiscent of Scott Stapp of Creed and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam but his placement as the frontman of Call turned out to be an anxious ordeal for his parents. One day, Junaid’s father visited his university without even informing him and questioned the Dean about his academic progress. Fortunately, his father was assured that Junaid had kept an impressive track record as far as his grades were concerned. Khurram was absolutely relentless in making sure that Call becomes one of the most dominant rock bands in Pakistan. The stumbling blocks lying ahead of such an ambitious pursuit came in the form of the guitar-wielding siblings. Rhythm guitar player Usman was merely a beginner and the band’s live performances would suffer 280 ROCK RENAISSANCE deeply. Though his older brother Farooq was a comparatively better guitar player, he was unable to devote an adequate amount of time to the band due to his job at a multinational company. This caused numerous delays in the band’s album recording sessions. The brothers were therefore given the axe from Call and Khurram would request his younger brother Xulfi to join the band as the lead guitar player. Though he was a member of Entity Paradigm at the time, it made sense for Xulfi to join the group since he was actively working with Call behind the scenes. He was the composer and responsible for the band’s studio recordings. Call would soon enroll another member from EP as drummer Waqar Ahmed Khan joined as well whereas Khurram became the manager of the band. With the addition of Xulfi and Waqar, Call was given a new lease on life. The hard rock band had an endearing level of charisma and would frequently perform covers of Bon Jovi, Brian Adams, Queen, Staind, Nickelback, Junoon, , Lifehouse, Linkin Park, Disturbed and Creed in their concerts. On Sunday, November 20, 2005, Call released their debut album Jilawatan. Due to its dark undertones arranged with violent twists and turns, the album is regarded as the benchmark of hard rock music in the country. The majority of the lyrics in Jilawatan were written by Khurram’s brother Haider Jabbar Khan. Junaid’s vocal duties have often overshadowed his other contributions to the album. He created the melodies and wrote the song Sab Bhula Kai. The music video of the band’s hard rock anthem Shayad is a masterpiece of artistic horror and one of the 281 Rockistan finest directorial works by Xulfi. The traumatized girl and two boys in the music video were portrayed by Khurram Jabbar Khan’s children Fatima, Xaid and Zain. Since its reformation, Call had put the entire music landscape on notice. Within seven months of their debut album’s release, the band performed shows in , Dubai and Doha. It was fascinating to observe Xulfi and Waqar simultaneously being a part of two of the most prolific rock bands at the time, EP and Call. Amusingly, there was another band as well that consisted of members from EP. Rapper Ahmad Ali Butt, guitar player Salman Albert, drummer Waqar and EP’s former bass player Abid Khan had formed a side project hilariously titled Rubber Band. The group would not restrict themselves to a particular genre and would compose rock, metal, eastern classical and even parody songs. Though Rubber Band dismissed the assumption that they were a comedy group, their parody songs poking fun at pop groups such as Fuzön and Strings were their most renowned highlights. Apart from the songs that reflected the individual musical tastes of the band members, Rubber Band also provided Ahmad the opportunity to expand his horizons as a self- taught music video director. Two of the band’s music videos were produced and directed by him. Ahmad would eventually work in the same capacity with several other rookie artists in the ongoing media revolution. Rubber Band’s debut album Feedback was slated for a release in March 2007 and later pushed back to November 2008. The plans were scrapped as Ahmad, who was the primary 282 ROCK RENAISSANCE financer of the band, became preoccupied with other projects. In just over three years, EP had gone from a newly formed band to one of Pakistani rock music’s true giants. When Pepsi agreed to sponsor their album, they asked the band to include one patriotic song. Such morale-boosting tracks are bound to incorporate a rosy pop flavour but EP was more than capable to take this up as a challenge without comprising their artistic integrity. As a result, the band came up with the gloomy track Aghosh. In its music video, there was no cliché of Pakistani flags waving in the wind as one might expect from a patriotic song. Instead, it featured all the band members dressed in black and an orphaned Kashmiri girl (played by Fatima, daughter of Khurram Jabbar Khan) being persecuted by the Indian armed forces. The heavy guitar riffs and drums make Aghosh the most intense patriotic track ever recorded in Pakistan. Another music video of the band that was making rounds on the television screens was Waqt. Directed by Umar Anwar, it was his first project after the original Jal’s Aadat. The visually stunning video showcased a wheelchair-bound Xulfi in a coma. All the occurrences in the music video were a figment of his imagination. The white-dressed girl jumping with a skipping rope who randomly appears in the video was inspired by the three Elm Street girls from Freddy Krueger slasher movies. Aside from their musical endeavours, members of EP were quite fond of wrestling. Fawad, Xulfi, Albert and Sajjad usually wrestled with each other in tag team matches. 283 Rockistan

“The most fun moments were that we used to wrestle in a funny way and we were always wrestling backstage,” recalls Albert. “On many concerts, fans and organizers caught us red-handed and those moments used to be really funny. The major characters in wrestling used to be Xulfi and myself.” Tag team matches were not the only wrestling elements emulated by EP. Ahmad would habitually spray out water from his mouth during the band’s live performances. As Xulfi points out, Ahmad would attempt to reenact professional wrestler Triple H’s entrance. On one disastrous occasion, Ahmad spilled some water on the stage and it caused Xulfi to slip and break his guitar. Another unfortunate moment involving EP occurred during their tour of Karachi in 2005 where lead vocalist Fawad Khan got stung by a bluebottle jellyfish. Its venomous sting is known to be powerful enough to kill fish and occasionally even humans. The band members immediately rushed to the hospital to seek medical care for Fawad but were informed by the doctor that there is no medicine available for such predicaments. As fate would have it, the sting from the bluebottle jellyfish did not prove to be a fatal one for Fawad but he had to endure the pain for almost eighteen hours. EP is the purveyor of alternate rock in Pakistan and every member possessed impeccable musicianship. It was for this reason that the band was able to perform covers of a variety of musicians. For example, Ahmad would take the lead when the band would perform covers of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Rage Against the Machine. Lead vocalist Fawad would have the microphone when EP would cover Tool, U2 and 284 ROCK RENAISSANCE

Eddie Vedder. Drummer Albert would be upfront when the group would cover Mera Pyaar by Aamir Zaki and Jogia by Junoon. One could always depend upon Fawad’s coquettish grin and infectious charisma to send the screaming mob of girls into a frenzy during their shows. During one of EP’s concerts, a spectator walked up to the stage and kissed the unsuspecting Fawad on the cheek. Waqar and Albert were the two drummers of the band but even lead guitar player Xulfi knew how to play the drums. At the age of 16, he served as the drummer for an underground band named Prozac which also consisted of Ahsan Fida Khan as the lead guitar player, Jamshed Atray aka Jimmy Attre on keyboards and future pop idol Ali Zafar as the lead vocalist. To say that the crowd was an integral part of EP’s gigs would be an understatement. They would assemble in the form of a circle in front of the stage and headbang together, mostly during Xulfi’s rambunctious guitar solos and riffs. In a concert held in Lahore Grammar School, EP and Noori were scheduled to perform. As soon as the latter stepped their foot on the stage, the cowed heckled and taunted them. Fans of both rock bands had developed an active rivalry amongst themselves and internet forums were overflowing with flaming debates regarding which band was the superior one. Among the developing rock bands that can lay claim to a meteoric rise to success, Roxen (pronounced as Rozen) easily takes the lead. With vocalist Mustafa Zaidi at the helm, the band forced all eyes and ears towards them. Born on Sunday, December 18, 1982, he comes from the roots of music royalty. His maternal uncle was folk singer Inayat 285 Rockistan

Hussain Bhatti and his cousin is none other than Ali Azmat. At the age of 10, Mustafa was gifted a CD of Swedish dance- pop group from his father and became an avid listener of music. He witnessed his cousin Ali’s historic career from performing in family weddings to selling out arenas as the frontman of Junoon. Since Mustafa was deeply inspired by the sufi rock band, he would regularly attend their shows and purchase their albums. His earliest performance as a vocalist on a stage was not by singing a song but by reciting naat at Crescent Model Higher Secondary School. In fact, he stood second in a naat competition held at his school. Mustafa had always felt comfortable on the stage and eventually became an active debater while studying at Government College, Lahore. Even when he enrolled in Punjab Institute of Computer Science, Lahore, Mustafa never distanced himself from the stage. During the singing competitions held at his university, Mustafa would be the host instead of a participant. It was during such moments when he transitioned to the realm of music. In one of the competitions, the judges were arriving late and the crowd of students was getting restless. The university lecturer standing by Mustafa ordered him to cool the crowd down by singing himself. “Just sing something on stage!” Carrying himself with utmost confidence, he sang his original composition Tau Phir Aao and Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein by effortlessly. This marked the first time in his life when he publicly sang and assumed that it was an unimpressive attempt. Mustafa’s university friends and lecturers thought otherwise and could not fathom the 286 ROCK RENAISSANCE idea of the host possessing elegant vocals. They applauded his singing and encouraged him to pursue music professionally. On an interesting note, pre-fame Atif Aslam and Goher Mumtaz also participated in the same competition. Mustafa got his first acoustic guitar from a friend who gave it to him because he was going abroad for higher studies. It was difficult for Mustafa to get it inside his room since his parents were sitting in the lounge. They allowed him to play the instrument if he managed to keep his education unaffected and finish his bachelor’s degree. Mustafa would soon begin performing as a solo artist in various shows, events and university functions. At one of his gigs, the organizer introduced him to guitar player Jawad Muhammad aka Jodi. The two befriended each other and would engage in several unplugged jams. Mustafa then invited his friend and guitar player Haider Halim to join the duo. The latter was a student of Goher Mumtaz and had previously played sessions for the original Jal. Haider accepted the invitation and brought along his elder brother Omar to the fold. The assemblage of lead vocalist Mustafa, lead guitar player Jodi, rhythm guitar player Haider and bass player Omar would give birth to Roxen. Formed in September 2004, the band was a well- rehearsed act. It did not have a permanent drummer and would usually employ Fahad Khan and Ken Zeerick aka Kenny as session players. Roxen has a wide spectrum of musical influences. They were inspired by foreign acts such as , Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani, Dave Mathews Band and Bon Jovi whereas the homegrown rock bands that influenced them are Junoon, Call and Karavan. Getting 287 Rockistan booked for gigs was comparatively easy for Roxen as they would usually serve as an opening act for Ali Azmat’s solo shows. The band would occasionally cover Junoon’s songs, especially Neend Aati Nahin. What proved to be recurrently bothersome for the band was the mispronunciation of their name. Fans, fellow musicians, organizers, interviewers and television hosts would mistakenly refer to them as “Rocksen.” On numerous occurrences, even the host of their concerts would introduce them by their mispronounced name before the band would step on the stage. In October 2005, Roxen began recording their debut album at Xulfi’s music studio, Xth Harmonic. The band would receive a heap of encouragement and assistance from the rest of the band members from EP as well. For instance, Mustafa was personally told by drummer Albert during the recording of their first single Yaadein that it contains “hit material.” The music video of their second single Sapnay was directed by EP’s rapper Ahmad. Though both songs were explosive hits, Mustafa was still treating music as a hobby and contemplating a career in hotel management from Switzerland or as a General Duty Pilot in Pakistan Air Force. One day, his father sat with him in the lounge to stress upon education and dignified career options. While doing so, it turned out to be an embarrassing situation for Mustafa as Roxen’s hit single Yaadein popped up on the television nearby. Half a year after their foundation, the band members engaged in a quarrel about Mustafa’s song Tau Phir Aao. They were not optimistic about it and perceived its lyrics as nonsensical so they bluntly refused to record it. On the 288 ROCK RENAISSANCE contrary, Mustafa was cocksure about the song having potential and wrote on the wall of their jam room that it would be this song that would change their lives. His band members rebuffed the idea so Mustafa recorded the song on his own. He went to an ordinary music studio and had the song recorded with a puny budget of mere 3000 rupees. Roxen solidified themselves as one of the most promising rock bands with their debut album Rozen-e-Dewaar. Released on Thursday, August 31, 2006, it contained moody shades of hard rock and the reviews were broadly positive. Within mere seven months since the release of the album, Roxen had performed more than a hundred concerts all over Pakistan and leapfrogged over countless musicians who still had not escaped the clutches of their struggling phase. Mustafa’s vocals along with the guitar playing skills of Haider, Omar and Jodi were collectively a fearsome force. A year later, Bollywood knocked on their door. The song Tou Phir Aao had caught the attention of Indian media tycoon and he desired to include it in the soundtrack of his mega-budget movie, . It is no secret that brothers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt keenly listen to emerging and established Pakistani musicians and often recruit them to lend their vocals for their movies. Prominent examples include Atif Aslam, , Najam Sheraz, Annie Khalid and Ali Azmat. Mahesh got Mustafa’s contact number from Najam and personally phonecalled him to express his interest in a collaboration. “We had listened to your song,” told Mahesh. “Our film is incomplete without it. This is the song that completes our 289 Rockistan film. Our film had been incomplete for quite a while. We listened to this song so we found the film’s closing. When can you come to India?” Mustafa could not digest that one of the biggest Bollywood producers had offered him to hop aboard on his movie project. Pursuing a Master’s degree in Multimedia from the National College of Arts, Lahore, he was still a university student when he landed upon such a lucrative opportunity. He immediately informed his band members and family who were equally stunned as he was. “At first, I thought it was a prank call,” recollects Mustafa. “How could Bhatt sahib directly phone me?” Mahesh requested Mustafa to travel to Mumbai but the latter wanted to include his band members for the recording sessions as well. Mahesh complied and Roxen flew to India. Upon meeting the producer, Mustafa was greeted by a warm hug. He asked Mahesh why he usually chooses Pakistani musicians for the soundtrack instead of the ones from his own nation. The question is often raised in abundant Indian media outlets and Mahesh truthfully responded to Mustafa. “Our singers sing from the throat. You people sing from the heart.” Not many rock bands can proudly claim that they worked on an international project during their infancy stage. Roxen’s song Lams would be chosen for the soundtrack as well but underwent lyrical alteration so it could suit the movie. It would be transformed into the iconic Tera Mera Rishta which would dominate the radio stations, music channels and cafés of Pakistan, India and Dubai for years to come. When the band roamed on the streets of India, they 290 ROCK RENAISSANCE could not believe their ears that their song was being played in the clubs nearby. Indian poet Sayeed Quadri deserves an ample amount of credit for the memorable lyrics of the song that had thrust them into the mainstream. Mustafa’s first composition Tau Phir Aao was also incorporated in the soundtrack of Awarapan. The music video of its remix version featured the band along with DJ Suketu and the star of the movie, . It further skyrocketed the band across the border as it became the most demanded song in every night club across the country. Due to their sudden popularity boost, Roxen was able to strike a deal with local record label HOM Records to distribute their album Rozen-e-Dewaar in India. They inked a similar deal with Sangeet Records to have their album accessible in United States, North America and Canada. In March 2007, they performed along with Aaroh in London, England. Roxen was just a blip in the radar upon their formation and would be paid 10,000 to 15,000 rupees per show. They usually lurked in the background since they were the opening acts of rock kingpins such as Ali Azmat and EP. Within three years, they torpedoed in the global market. Expertly crafted musicianship does not always guarantee eminence. A case in point—Rungg. The pop rock band comprised of lead vocalist Iftikhar Habib aka Ifu, lead guitar player Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor, rhythm guitar player Zulfiqar-ul-Hassan and drummer Wasim Kamal. Both Ifu and Sarmad had solid credentials to their name and it seemed that Rungg was destined to succeed. Born on Thursday, October 3, 1974, Ifu received informal vocal training from classical singers such as Ustaad Mubarak Ali Khan, Ustaad 291 Rockistan

Mohammed Aslam, Ustad Riaz Ali Khan and Ustaad Khawer Khilji. He had also been under the tutelage of Dubai-based musician Glenn Perry. In 1993, Ifu entered Lahore’s underground rock circuit and was influenced by Pat Metheny, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Sting. With his childhood friend and guitar player Zahid-ur-, the duo formed progressive rock band Once in 1997 and recorded an English language album titled Words Unspoken. After completing his MBA from Lahore School of Economics, he formed Rungg. Sarmad was born on Wednesday, November 5, 1975. The date coincides with the very first concert of punk rock band Sex Pistols. He lived in Peshawar and is the younger brother of Sajid Ghafoor, the vocalist and guitar player of eponymous electronica duo Sajid & Zeeshan. At the age of 16, Sarmad was encouraged by his elder brother to pick up the guitar so they could play together. They are not the only musicians in their family as their mother used to play the sitar before her marriage. In the mid-90s, the brothers formed a band named Stills and started an underground rock circuit in Peshawar. One of their major shows in the city occurred at the American Club and on a few occasions, the band would perform in Lahore as well. With the aid of video tutorials and magazines, Sarmad excelled in playing the guitar and would practice six to eight hours a day. Since his childhood, he would mostly listen to hard rock and heavy metal music of Metallica, Pearl Jam, Megadeth, Dream Theater, Steve Vai and Jeff Beck. Blues rock guitar player Joe Satriani acts as his biggest inspiration. 292 ROCK RENAISSANCE

When Sarmad went to London, he did a variety of odd jobs and saved enough money to purchase musical equipment so he could set up a home studio. In 2002, Sarmad returned to Peshawar and built SnM Studio in his basement. He realized that sounds of musical instruments could be produced by utilizing a synthesizer, Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) equipment, Sonar software and a digital device such as a desktop computer or a laptop. According to Sarmad, the digital sound of musical instruments seems more real than the analog sound. He built acoustic booths for vocals and drums within his basement and became a music producer. It was the very first computer-based music studio in Peshawar. Aspiring musicians eventually lined up outside the studio and his first client was none other than Atif Aslam who recorded his debut album Jal Pari. It took two weeks for Sarmad to mix and master the album. When Ifu was seeking musicians to form a band, he initially reached out to Sajid. He was not interested and recommended his younger brother instead. In their first jam session in Lahore, Ifu and Sarmad co-wrote four songs in that one sitting. Zulfiqar joined as the rhythm guitar player when Mekaal Hasan informed him that Ifu needs one for his band. The former was a member of National College of Art’s western musical society and had played with the underground band Surface Tension. Drummer Wasim embodied a bombastic style and had played sessions for Fuzön, Sajid & Zeeshan, Corduroy, Irtash, Naqsh and Lahu. Rungg was formed in December 2000 and would engage in jams to strengthen their performance as a unit. In their first 293 Rockistan gig, they were the opening act of Fuzön in Alhamra Cultural Complex, Lahore, in the summer of 2003. The band does not recall their performance too fondly since the sound systems were not up to the mark. When Rungg began releasing singles, the reception was everything that a new band could ask for. Their first two tracks Hum Na and Meri Dunya held the number one position on Indus Music channel’s Sony Ericsson Top Ten Charts; overstepping the likes of Pappu Yaar by Junoon and Chaaye Chaaye by Strings in the process. More importantly, they achieved a sponsorship deal by fast food franchise Nando’s which advertised the band on billboards across Lahore. Till then, such effective marketing campaigns had only been associated with Vital Signs and Junoon. Unlike Pepsi and Coca-Cola, Nando’s did not dictate the band in terms of music nor demanded a patriotic song. Rungg’s desire to succeed became further evident as they placed an advertisement in newspapers for a publicist and manager. Ifu’s vibrant vocals were a result of two-hour practice sessions. This was his daily routine in the early morning and it encompassed eastern classical scales and western vocal delivery. Above all, he was the band’s main songwriter and primary financer. As for Sarmad, he was not just a music producer who owned a studio but also a multi- instrumentalist who could play guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. Both were the key components behind the band’s sound as Rungg originally started as a duo. Ifu and Sarmad had written all the songs for their debut album and recorded them in the latter’s studio with the assistance of Farhad Humayun Syed on the drums and Sameer Ahmed on bass. 294 ROCK RENAISSANCE

Rungg was way past the recording of their album when rhythm guitar player Zulfiqar and drummer Wasim joined as members. The two were enlisted in the band because Ifu and Sarmad had to form a proper line-up for their live performances. Rungg’s two chart-topping songs and the colossal publicity generated by the billboards were indeed advantageous but the band fell short of the high expectations that fell upon them. They were frustratingly sluggish afterward due to the geographical differences between the band members. Ifu and Zulfiqar resided in Lahore whereas Wasim and Sarmad lived in Islamabad. The latter had relocated from Peshawar but the distance problems persisted. Due to being in different cities, it proved to be exceedingly difficult for all of them to sit under one roof for the sake of the band. Rungg was marching towards an early grave as their jam sessions, music videos and recordings would take place with extensive gaps between them. Worst of all, their debut album kept being delayed. Initially announced to be released in mid-2004, the album was pushed to late-2005. For two years, Rungg teased a new release date after the passing of every three months to the point of being perceived as a recurring joke. On Saturday, April 1, 2006, Rungg finally released their debut album Green but the hype had dissipated. It could not measure up to the expectations, though the live drums played by Farhad and the guitar played by Sarmad were particularly praised. Most of the tracks in the album lacked experimentation and were marred with generic commercial zest. Fans inevitably compared the album to the works of premier pop rock band 295 Rockistan

Jal and there was an astronomical disparity between the compositions of the two bands. The cracks on the wall grew wider as Rungg’s gigs began drying up and they could not regain their momentum. Green failed to propel the band into commercial success and bitterness inflamed amid the distressing circumstances. “Our business side was not as strong as our music,” admits Sarmad. During their show in , only thirteen people turned up to see them perform. This was particularly disappointing for Sarmad who had played at a crowded venue as the session guitar player of Atif Aslam in another city the previous night. Rungg faced another financial setback when they were not paid after their live gig at the luxurious Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. Moreover, the band’s record label Super Records never paid them any royalties for their album nor effectively promoted them. Though the contract stipulated that they would get 30 to 40% of the profits earned by album sales, the record label did not hold up their end of the deal. Rungg was devising to have Green released internationally and had even worked on new material for a second album but none of it materialized. In February 2007, the band members went their separate ways. Among the plethora of rock bands that have worked their way into the hearts of the country, Mauj deserves the highest plaudits. The band was consistently original and the brainchild of Omran Shafique. Born in Bahrain on Monday, January 7, 1974, he is the youngest of four brothers who had a jam room in the basement of their home. He was exposed to a myriad of music genres due to the diverse tastes of his family members. His father was fond of ghazals whereas his 296 ROCK RENAISSANCE three elder brothers individually listened to Bollywood music, old school classic rock and English pop music. During the mid-80s when Run DMC’s popularity was at its peak, Omran adored . His two eldest brothers had a band of their own. The elder siblings would play the drums and guitars in the jam room but Omran was never allowed to even touch the musical instruments and only permitted to observe their rehearsals. The only chance he got to touch them was when his brothers would go out of the house or fall asleep. When Omran was caught touching the guitar by one of his brothers, he was given an ultimatum—learn how to play it or never touch it again. Omran was eventually allowed to play their musical instruments in the jam room. At the age of 10, he learned how to play the drums. Omran was mostly inclined towards heavy metal but listened to all kinds of music. He began playing the guitar at the age of 15 and was inspired by Slash and Kirk Hammett. It took him one and a half years to accurately play the songs Sweet Child o’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses and One by Metallica. As a teenager, Omran had an untapped potential just waiting to be unlocked. When he was a student at high school, he formed an underground heavy metal band called Hemlock Society. In 1992, Omran moved to Houston, Texas, after gaining admission at Texas A&M University for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration but soon switched to English literature. Omran’s university roommate was a Pakistani who affectionately nicknamed him “Momo” and the moniker stuck. Within the first week at the university, he bought his 297 Rockistan own guitar and an amplifier. On the weekends, he jammed and rehearsed with his friends. He later joined a progressive rock band unimpressively named Bob. None of the members could suggest a proper name and this was the best they could come up with. It would coincidentally rain on every night of their gigs so the band renamed itself to Drench. Omran later became the lead guitar player of rock band OPRE. The acronym stood for Order to the People’s Rock Empire but the name was often stylized as Öpré. Regardless of the case, Omran disliked the name. Despite being based in Houston, Texas, Öpré was Omran’s first step into the realm of Pakistani music. It was an active group in several American cities and even opened for Junoon during their shows in Houston, Texas, and Washington, DC. The band recorded their debut album Suragh in Sunrise Sound Studios. It was financed by Faisal Afzal, owner of Extreme Records and contained Urdu language tracks aimed at Pakistani audiences. Bass and drums were sequenced but the dark undercurrents of hard rock in the album were splendid. On Saturday, February 14, 1998, Öpré released its album but it was not even a moderate success. Suragh was not marketed well and there was no proper distribution for it. Furthermore, the album fell into an abyss of obscurity in Pakistan since the band itself was residing in Houston, Texas. Due to such discouraging situations, Öpré would rarely practice, play nor write songs afterward. As for Omran, he became frustrated with the lack of progress and no longer felt attracted to the songs they had worked on so he quit the band. 298 ROCK RENAISSANCE

After graduating from Texas A&M University, Omran dived into the world of Information Technology and worked in several companies such as Shell, Duke Energy and British Petroleum. Parallel to his corporate sector job, he would continue playing music. When Omran understood that computers have become capable to record multitrack, he felt no need to go to an expensive music studio anymore. With the aid of his computer, microphone and a soundcard, he recorded a song as a “test dummy” to figure out how such a digital process would work. It was the very first time when Omran sang as he had been primarily known as a remarkable guitar player. His friend and Öpré’s final bass player Mohsin Atif was also a part of the experimentation. Both had tremendous musical chemistry together and used to perform covers of Junoon and Vital Signs. There was no concept of home studios at the time. After satisfactory test results, Omran would record a demo titled Khushfehmi with the same methodology on his computer. He wanted “authentically Urdu vocals” and three people tried to sing it. He rejected their attempts because he found them either “too western or too desi.” He had briefly advertised the vacant spot of the vocalist online as well. In order to showcase exactly what he wanted, Omran sang on the demo himself and it ultimately became the final vocal track. Mohsin complimented his vocal delivery but Omran shrugged it off. “You seem to know exactly what you want,” told Mohsin. “No one else is doing it. You’ve already sang it now. It sounds good.” 299 Rockistan

Omran was not fond of singing nor considered himself a talented vocalist. As he recalls, remembering the lyrics of a song is a nightmare for him especially if they are in the Urdu language. He prefers playing the guitar instead of being the frontman of a band. On his trip to Pakistan in the fall of 2003, he met Ali Noor of Noori and Hamza Jafri of underground rock band Coven. They admired his song and so did Mekaal Hasan. They encouraged Omran to make a music video for the song and he would do so with Mohsin and Drench’s drummer Dennis Harvey. The trio had teamed up to form the band Mauj in the summer of 2000. To make the music video of Khushfehmi, Omran got in touch with Babar Sheikh through MSN Messenger. Both quickly bonded due to their similar music interests that involved Black Sabbath and a multitude of thrash metal bands. Babar liked the song and offered to make a music video for it. “Dude, the song sounds good,” commended Babar. “You wanna make a video for it? I’ll make a video for it cheap but you have to come to Karachi.” An agreement was reached between the two but the music video was shot one and a half years later as both musicians were busy with their respective schedules. The song was shot in a movie studio located in Karachi and the set was constructed on a sound stage. The shooting was incredibly arduous for Mauj as they could not afford air conditioning in the studio and had to withstand the humid temperature. The music video for Khushfehmi did not contain any fancy elements. It featured cut-outs of female models on the walls, close-up shots of the band members and random shots of a coffee mug. 300 ROCK RENAISSANCE

It took six hours for the entire shoot of the music video and four days for the post-production. Two weeks after editing the music video, Khushfehmi was played on the Indus Music channel and its fate rested in the people of Pakistan. Members of Mauj were staying in Karachi for a very limited amount of time and had left back to the United States to resume their day jobs. Omran’s mother used to inform him whenever his song aired on the television but he would always take it lightly. Unbeknownst to him, Khushfehmi had become a hit and gained heavy rotation on numerous music channels. “I wasn’t aware of how big it was because I wasn’t there,” recalls Omran. Upon its release in the summer of 2004, Mauj broke new ground with funk rock music. Such a genre was relatively unexplored in Pakistan. One of its earliest implementations was observed in Junoon’s second album Talaash. It was a hard rock album with ounces of funk rock and eastern folk. Omran was astounded by the overwhelming feedback his song had received and planned to leave his well-paying IT job in Houston, Texas, to release an album and become a full-time musician in Pakistan. After being motivated by the Noori brothers, Hamza Jafri and Mekaal Hasan, Omran decided to take a leap of faith. While submitting his resignation letter, he was offered a promotion to a management-level position but was fed up with working in a cubicle. In early 2005, Omran and his American-born Mexican wife Eva shifted to Lahore but later moved to Karachi. She had never been to Pakistan before but fully supported her husband. He knew that Mohsin and Dennis would not be joining him so Mauj would undergo a 301 Rockistan revamped line-up. Apart from himself as the lead vocalist and lead guitar player, Mohammed Agha would be the rhythm guitar player and Shuja Yasin would be the drummer. Within six months, he performed many shows with Mauj and even became an honourary member of the reformed underground band Coven that was on the verge of hitting the mainstream. In the summer of 2005, Mauj began recording its debut album Now in Technicolor. Shuja was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts so the band reverted to their original drummer Dennis. During this time, Mauj would serve as an opening act at a Junoon concert in Meridian Club in Houston, Texas. The album was initially recorded in Omran’s bedroom and then in DJ Taha Malik’s garage. The latter produced and mixed the album. A drum kit had to be crammed inside a vocal booth to create the sound that Omran deemed fit. Recording the album was an extremely painstaking ordeal as Malik subjected Omran to do abundant takes for every song. The efforts that went into cultivating the funk rock album should not be taken for granted. Now in Technicolor had been fully recorded by the spring of 2006 but searching for a record label proved to be even more challenging. It is exceedingly admirable that Omran travelled from halfway across the globe to upgrade not just the Pakistani rock scene but the overall music landscape. Over the years, he would be skating on thin ice due to the ebb and flow of the nation’s capricious conditions. Due to his desire to make music for a living, he became one of the 302 ROCK RENAISSANCE most indispensable performers to ever grace a stage in Pakistan. Recording songs or even a full-fledged album is not enough for a musician. Music videos accompanying their songs are an incumbent component to manufacture a dedicated following because television was the principal medium for the source of entertainment at the time. Moreover, the release of a music video after every six months keeps the popularity of the artists afloat otherwise they get sidelined. However, the entire process of making a music video is economically draining for a musician. One can get a clear idea of the financial aspects of a music video by having a glimpse of the unprecedented career of film- maker Jamshed Mahmood Raza. Better known as Jami, he graduated from Art Center College of Design with a Bachelor’s degree in Cinematography and Film/Video Production. His wide array of clientele includes high-profile artists such as Strings, Fuzön, Ali Azmat and Ali Zafar just to name a few. The music videos and Anjane by Strings cost 1,000,000 rupees each. Their Chaaye Chaaye music video had a price tag of 850,000 rupees. Fuzön’s Akhiyan and Ali Zafar’s Chal Dil Meray were made with a budget of nearly 350,000 rupees. Most musicians especially the rock bands that had cropped up during the reign of President Pervez Musharraf were unable to cough up such exorbitant amounts of money. According to Jami, only Strings was able to pay up easily. The liberation of media gave birth to a slew of 24- hour satellite music channels, with Indus Music laying the blueprint for the rest to follow. The true stars of the channel 303 Rockistan were video jockeys Mohammed Ali Charlie aka Dino, Anoushey Ashraf, Younis Shahid and Faizan Haqquee. They would share interesting tidbits regarding the lives of professional musicians while presenting their shows and developed a fanbase of their own. VJ Anoushey hosted a show called IM Requested which featured a checkered shirt-clad frog puppet named PK as her co-host. The duo would read e-mails of the viewers, attend their calls and play songs upon their requests. VJ Dino was undeniably the most adored host of Indus Music. He once got severely ill and had to take two and a half months off from his duties. His witty personality was deeply missed by the concerned viewers and they would frequently call on live shows to ask about his whereabouts instead of requesting a song. On one occasion, VJ Younis sarcastically remarked that he had murdered him after being bombarded with questions about Dino’s health. Indus Music was also known for re-editing corporate-sponsored music videos to remove product placements. On Monday, October 23, 2006, Indus Music would be rebranded as MTV Pakistan. It was a $10 million business initiative headed by Vice President and Head of MTV Networks International, Wiqar Ali Khan. MTV Pakistan was accessible in 3.5 million homes across the country and showcased local and international musicians. CEO and Chairman of MTV Bill Roedy assured that the channel would be a reflection of the Pakistani cultural identity. It had two alternate logos: one involving traditional truck art and the other encrusted with the nation’s flag. 304 ROCK RENAISSANCE

By January 2007, the entertainment sector was submerged with music channels as The Musik, Aag TV, G Channel and Play TV had severed the competition for viewership. Though the music channels mostly promoted domestic artists, they would be occasionally accused of being biased towards Karachi-based bands. Aside from such discriminatory treatment, they allegedly provided extended airplay to the musicians who were close friends with the people in charge of running the channels. Nonetheless, such channels played a pivotal role in invigorating Pakistan’s music. Moreover, the advertently became responsible for the proliferation of event management companies as concerts, tours, meet-and-greets, album launches and press conferences of musicians became a norm. Such operations were not even imaginable almost two decades ago during the ultraconservative regime of military dictator Zia-ul-Haq. As rock music came sweeping in, pop music’s control over the market slipped. A new wave of wholesome rock music had gripped Pakistan, particularly the urban and middle-class youth. EP, Call, Jal and Roxen were the finest rock bands the country had to offer and were in the first line of defense in the war against pop. There is a reason behind these bands shaking the tectonic plates of rock music in the country. They were all managed by Khurram Jabbar Khan. The former drummer of Call had graduated from Bowling Green State University with an MBA in Marketing and launched his artist management company, Jilawatan Productions. EP requested him to be their manager right after the 2002 Battle of the Bands and an empty-handed Goher 305 Rockistan

Mumtaz also approached him following the heated breakup of the original Jal. “I could not say no to Goher because he was the one who was innocent and what Atif did was not justified,” recalls Khurram. The historic leap forward in the acceptance of rock music in Pakistan can also be attributed to the artist management company Jilawatan Productions as the groups under it represented a call for an uprising. Without a shred of doubt, Khurram is the most successful band manager since Shehryar Ahmad of Junoon. Over the years, Jilawatan Productions would also manage Akash, Inteha, Soch and Lagan. “Using my connections in the mainstream music world of Pakistan, I decided to form Jilawata,” states Khurram on his motivation to form the artist management company. “The basic dream behind Jilawatan was to help musicians from Lahore who were talented but were not able to get connected with the mainstream that was located in Karachi. With Xulfi’s production and my connections, we were able to create something that is still missing in the music industry. We did it for the love of music. Making money was never the reason. I didn’t make money but indeed respect that people still remember Jilawatan and myself.” Jilawatan Productions had its offices established in Lahore, Dubai, America and Canada. Under Khurram’s management, his bands took the entire music scene by storm as they not only performed in Pakistan but also in India, Dubai, Qatar and the United States. He was more of a mentor to the bands and they affectionately called him Khurram 306 ROCK RENAISSANCE bhai. Before a concert in Defence Auditorium, Lahore, featuring EP, Call and Jal, he was making sure that all the band members were behind the stage. A security guard soon informed him that a little boy had requested to meet him. Since Khurram was busy, he had to refuse. The security guard then revealed that the little boy had claimed that he was a band member and the show would be cancelled without him. Concerned about the boy’s identity, he decided to personally meet him. As it turned out, the whole setup was an elaborate prank orchestrated by none other than Salman Albert who was impersonating as a little boy. On Saturday, October 8, 2005, the Pakistani- administered area of Kashmir and North-West Frontier Province were struck by a calamitous earthquake that measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. The death toll exceeded 80,000, more than 200,000 people were injured and over 4,000,000 citizens were left homeless. Taking account of the mentioned misfortunes, it is the deadliest earthquake in Pakistan so far. Jilawatan Productions assembled a donation camp in Mini Golf Club, Kalma Chowk, Lahore, for two weeks but Khurram had an urge to contribute in a more sizable manner. As per the suggestion of Roxen’s Mustafa, a charity concert called Umeed-e-Sehar was organized to obtain funds for the devastated victims. Held a month after the earthquake in Kinnaird College, Lahore, the benefit concert featured EP, Call, Jal, Roxen and Ali Zafar. The charitable efforts by Jilawatan Productions were successful in raising more than 400,000 rupees. Rock bands have always been at the forefront of philanthropic gestures following natural 307 Rockistan disasters. Another benefit show was arranged by the students of Bay View High School, Karachi, in which Noori, Mekaal Hasan Band and Fuzön delivered a fiery performance. The tickets were charged at 1000 rupees and all the proceeds from the show were distributed among the earthquake victims. The vibrant rock dominion was not entirely comprised of praiseworthy bands. There were substandard bands like Mizmaar, mediocre bands like Rage, Junoon copycat bands like Y2K and one-hit-wonder bands like Raeth. Even the mainstream rock bands were not immune to criticism. The major disapproval against them was their reliance on DAT (Digital Audio Tape) as playback during their concerts. This trend has been prevalent even before Vital Signs and the sister-brother pop duo of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan burst on the music landscape but as Pakistani rock music reached its halcyon age, it was still somewhat persisting. Ironically, the underground bands were the most outspoken opponents of DAT yet after reaching nationwide superstardom, they would occasionally utilize it. When Call was reformed, Khurram proclaimed that “there won’t be place for DAT performers and rock will take over.” The times had changed and the audience had become intelligent enough to realize that they are being deceived if an artist merely pretends to sing on stage. Even the most uncompromising rock bands such as Junoon, Karavan, Noori and Roxen have resorted to lip-synching but there are rational explanations behind such practices. This is predominantly done during television shoots as the hustles 308 ROCK RENAISSANCE and bustles of show business can lead to insufficient time to set up musical. DAT is usually adapted when a concert features multiple musicians who will play just a few songs each. To assemble the musical instruments, speakers and amplifiers of a particular band is an extensive process that could require three to four hours and includes the collective assistance of sound engineers, stage crew and sometimes the musicians themselves. It would be unbearable for the audience to consecutively watch bands perform a few songs and having lengthy gaps in between so they could have their respective musical gear set up. Therefore, gigs featuring several rock bands usually rely on DAT. According to Noori’s former bass player Mohammad Ali Jafri, DAT is usually utilized when a concert is organized by multinational corporations as they do not want to go through the hassles of soundchecks. In fact, a proper soundcheck can last for two days so corporate giants prefer hosting “variety shows” by paying several bands and artists so they could pretend to perform on stage while music plays in the background. One spot that was dedicated to live shows featuring a different artist every weekend was the renowned Café M- Live in Karachi. Owned by Wajahat Rauf, he would lend the stage in his venue for rising rock bands such as Mizraab, Aaroh, Mekaal Hasan Band, Akash, Razam, Noori, Roxen etc. While studying for his Master’s degree in Mass Communications at California State University, Fullerton, he would frequently visit restaurant-cum-concert venue House of Blues. After his graduation, Wajahat returned to Pakistan to launch a similarly styled venue called Café M- 309 Rockistan

Live that could accommodate a hundred people. On every weekend, it hosted live gigs that would be televised on The Musik channel. The venue even had a Walk of Fame that featured the signatures and handprints of local celebrities. Aside from being credited for hosting televised live shows, Wajahat deserves substantial acknowledgement for his services as a promoter for multiple rock bands. He would assist Lahore-based groups such as Noori, Mekaal Hasan Band and Entity Paradigm in getting their very first shows in Karachi. Moreover, Wajahat was always willing to go the extra mile by arranging press coverage for the bands so they could get necessary media attention. Café M-Live has witnessed several historic moments of Pakistani rock music. For instance, it was at this venue when Ali Noor realized that his band had grasped a massive following and became motivated to take his music career seriously. In June 2003, Noori performed at Café M-Live. Members of the security personnel were unable to control the crowd as they gatecrashed their way inside. When Noor sang the first few lines on the stage, he was astonished to observe that the audience was aware of the lyrics and singing along with him. When Mizraab performed in Café M-Live, Ali Azmat sat in the crowd and saluted Faraz Anwar when he played the guitar solo of Meri Tarhan. Commercialism can provide exposure and financial edge to artists but such deals are frowned upon by music critics and even some fans. The multinational corporations that sign sponsorship deals with musicians provide financial muscle but usually interfere in their creative process and dilute the songs. 310 ROCK RENAISSANCE

“Commercialism has helped the industry to grow,” states Goher Mumtaz. “If labels are sponsoring the acts and promoting music sincerely, then there is no harm in it.” Sponsored concerts are known to capitalize on the audience by selling their products at the venue. It can be very distracting if the company’s logo is printed on the background of the stage and consumes a sizable portion, especially when it is at the center and bigger than the printed name of the performing artists. Despite such diversions, musicians are eager to hop aboard corporate sponsorships. Ali Azmat, who has openly criticized multinational companies, has been featured in advertisements or sung jingles for Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Walls, Lifebuoy, Sony Ericsson and Paktel. For composing the latter’s jingle, he was paid 1,500,000 rupees. Objections by music critics and fans are raised when musicians endorse a product that does not suit their music. A prime example is Junoon’s sponsorship with Close-Up toothpaste. Through their promotional deal, the group was able to tour Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar throughout the summer of 1992. However, the cheesy tagline “Clean teeth help you rock to Junoon” can never convince anyone that a sufi rock band and a toothpaste has any sort of association. On the other hand, many western rock and heavy metal bands endorse motorcycles, tobacco products, hot sauces and beers. In fact, Motörhead, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and KISS have their exclusive brand of wine. Such practice cannot occur in Pakistan due to alcoholic beverages being banned since April 1977 by then-Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali 311 Rockistan

Bhutto. On a related note, the politician himself had publicly admitted to being a drinker. During a political rally in the same year, he confessed that he consumes alcohol but not the blood of the general public. Bhutto would eventually win the forthcoming General Elections in a landslide victory. During his tenure as the President and Prime Minister of the country, he would drink whisky while reading books in his public library. The most nauseating case of a band endorsing a product that does not complement its music is Fuzön’s deal with confectionary and biscuits company Mayfair. As long as Khan was the lead vocalist, the band was considered a legitimate contender to dethrone Junoon as Pakistan’s biggest band. They had an outstanding debut album, chart-topping songs, exceptional musical videos and brilliant musicianship. Fuzön had even performed at Wembley Arena and , the two most reputed concert venues in England. Such achievements deemed the band’s endorsement of a candy product by Mayfair beneath them. Its television commercial featuring the band was so atrocious that director Jami refused to put his name on it. The real drama took place behind the scenes. Originally, music video director Saqib Malik had agreed to direct the commercial but would become unavailable due to conflicting schedules so Fuzön had to find someone else. As recalled by Jami, the band had begged him to shoot the commercial because they had a deadline to meet otherwise they would be sued for 15,000,000 rupees. Immense pressure was piled on Fuzön to come up with the commercial since the candy was already launched in the market and was 312 ROCK RENAISSANCE not selling well. The band had already accepted the money from sponsorship and had yet to shoot the commercial. Jami stepped in to ease the matter but even he knew that the final result would be a disaster and did not even bother to have his name on the infamous commercial. “You signed up for a candy ad, what do you expect? You’ll get Marlon Brando?!” Regardless of the notable drawbacks, mainstream musicians defend corporate sponsorship. Asad Ahmed, who has experienced it with Pepsi twice while being the lead guitar player for Vital Signs and Awaz, believes that corporate sponsorships are acceptable as long as they do not force musicians to do something against their will. As Shallum Asher Xavier points out, commercialism is necessary for survival or else there is no money to be made. Ali Noor echoes similar sentiments. Due to the Mobilink Jazz concert tour, Noori performed in the unlikeliest places such as Lyari. “Name me one artist who’s not or doesn’t want to be endorsed by a multinational company?” asks Gumby. “Everyone deserves to see your work unless you don’t want to. An individual from an average family can’t afford to make their work recognized without some kind of financial backing. So what does one do then? It all goes hand in hand.” As rock bands flourished, wearing their T-shirts would become a fashion statement. Clothing brand Voodoo Tee would make T-shirts, caps and bandanas with the logos of various rock bands on them. Owned by Rehan Ul Haque, it signed apparel and merchandising contracts with EP, Call, Noori and Jal. The outlet would also sponsor some of their 313 Rockistan gigs in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. On a few occasions, the audience had to purchase two T-shirts or caps in order to attend those shows. Voodoo Tee functioned for nearly eight years. In March 2005, EP, Call, Jal, Karavan and Mizraab rocked the Global Village Amphitheatre in Dubai. Pakistan would get a dosage of rock music from overseas as well. In January 2006, Bryan Adams performed a benefit concert dubbed Rock for a Cause in Karachi. The Canadian rock ‘n’ roll legend was invited through pop superstar Shehzad Roy’s Zindagi Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating underprivileged children across the country. The tickets for the charity show ranged from 3000 rupees to 5000 rupees and was attended by 15,000 people. For an entire month, the event was heavily publicized by sponsors Nokia, Citibank and ARY Digital. The money generated from the concert was utilized for reconstructing 20 schools in the earthquake-shattered northern regions of Pakistan. The charity show by Adams occurred at a crucial time as on the same day, the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory that listed Pakistan as an undesirable destination. Within the previous two years in Karachi alone, a car bomb ravaged a KFC outlet and killed 3 people, a suicide bomber murdered 15 worshipers in a Shia mosque and 5 cops were murdered in a shootout against 10 armed assailants inside the local police station. Despite the city being engulfed in a wave of fear and discomposure, the Rock for a Cause show was not disrupted by any kind of security concerns. Three check posts were established to check the tickets and 314 ROCK RENAISSANCE paramilitary rangers were deployed to thoroughly search the incoming audience’s vehicles for any firearms or explosives. The musical climate had become filled with music channels, FM radio outlets, artist management companies and corporate sponsorships. To top it all off, wholesome rock music dominated media outlets. Its numerous subgenres such as hard rock, alternative rock, funk rock, punk rock, pop rock, psychedelic rock and blues rock catered to different needs and desires of the listeners. As the steamrolling dominance of new bands continued, rock had become the most relevant, if not the best, music genre in Pakistan.

315 Rockistan

Chapter 9 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH

People who bother to listen to Urdu rock are the ones that listen to English rock anyways. Mubashir “Moby” Noor

As rock had become commercially palatable to a mass audience, Pakistan’s music sphere would witness several artists walking on the unconventional path of composing their music catalogue in the very language the genre has originated from. Among the musicians that would do so, Shahzad Hameed is second to none. In December 2005, he released the music video of his album’s first single Fish Out of Water and established himself as a towering blaze. As he created a few ripples in the rock music scene, Shahzad’s iron grip on his ability to play the electric guitar and sing in the English language was immensely admired. As initially perceived by the public, he was not a rookie artist who had just stepped inside the music business. By the time he had released the single, Shahzad was a veteran with nearly fifteen years of experience as a hard rocker in the underground circuit of Lahore. Born on Tuesday, February 10, 1976, Shahzad listened to classic rock and blues. He would spend all of his allowances to purchase magazines and books about music. During his 316 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH childhood, a wave of euphoria was surging through the country as pop pioneers Vital Signs were dominating the music landscape. When he attended one of their concerts, Shahzad was repulsed by the group’s dependency on DAT as it was glaringly obvious that the show was not live since the band’s musical instruments were unplugged. Shahzad preferred listening to rock and metal bands whose lyrical content dealt with noteworthy concerns such as Black Sabbath. The Birmingham-based heavy metal band has been notable for highlighting war and holocaust through their songs. He also listened to Rage Against the Machine due to their political and protest-driven lyrics. All of Shahzad’s friends could play instruments or were members of underground bands. He would frequently hang out with them during their jam sessions. Eventually, he taught himself to play the bass guitar. In 1995, he joined the underground hard rock band Call. It was then known for playing music for the theatrical performances conducted by students of the National College of Arts. Though most underground bands restrict themselves to playing covers or at least a handful of their own compositions, Call would always perform their original songs. The band’s shows were nothing short of a mesmerizing spectacle. For instance, their very first gig was held in an open area with flame torches, mime performances and large projected screens. As recalled by drummer Khurram Jabbar Khan, the event received negative coverage by print media and one of the newspapers labelled them as “death metal maniacs.” Due to such theatrics, Call always left the audience gobsmacked during their shows. The band 317 Rockistan would highlight the energetic state of their live performances by writing “Alive Actuality” on their concert pamphlets. In recent years, Call has changed the tagline into “Asli Wala Live.” A year later, Shahzad transitioned from hard rock to -based grunge music as he became the bass guitar player for Dog Tag. The band was also comprised of Babar Peerzada as the lead vocalist, Muzmil Shafi as the rhythm guitar player, Sameer Ahmed as the lead guitar player and Fahad Khan as the drummer. Though Shahzad was not attracted to the band’s music genre, he fondly remembers his tenure in Dog Tag as an invaluable experience. In 1998, he joined Mind Riot but membership was anything but an easy task. He had previously failed three auditions to be a part of the group. Mind Riot also featured lead guitar player Haider Hussain Hashmi and drummer Farhad Humayun Syed. Six years later, the two would go on to be a part of rock bands Aaroh and Overload, respectively. As the bass player for Mind Riot, Shahzad got the opportunity to play in a music studio for the very first time as the band recorded three original tracks. Unlike his previous groups, Mind Riot would have countless full-length shows that would last for two to three hours. In the fall of 1999, Shahzad departed from Mind Riot and formed a band of his own by the name of Traveller. He would switch from the bass guitar to lead guitar for the band as he found it to be a much better compositional tool. In the summer of 2000, Shahzad formed Blue Buzz with his friend Ismail Tahir. The two befriended each other after meeting at Mathematics tuition at the Lahore Lyceum 318 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH

School in 1992. For their live shows, the duo would be accompanied by two session players to play the bass and drums. With Salman Albert on the drums, Blue Buzz recorded a cover of Good Golly, Miss Molly by the Architect of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Little Richard. The group lasted for one and a half years. From the early 1990s to the late 2000s, Lahore’s underground circuit had become a world unto itself. It was a reactionary movement against the corporate pop music and lip-syncing performances masquerading as live concerts. As the antithesis of mainstream music sponsored by multinational companies, the circuit consisted of youth in their teenage years or early 20s. Most of them were self- taught musicians and they would teach each other how to play the guitar and drums. Their bands would usually cover songs of classic rock, hard rock, grunge and heavy metal bands. These musicians would engage in endless jam sessions in the most cramped places and play for hours on end. What was the motivating factor behind the unwavering commitment to rock music? It was not financial ambition nor corporate pressure but an artistic expression. As opposed to mainstream musicians who hire sound engineers and musical crew to set up their equipment on stage, the underground musicians organize their entire shows from scratch. They are their own band managers, publicists, equipment crew, organizers, stage decorators and ticket distributors. Underground musicians undertook all these physically taxing responsibilities for their own shows. The posters, pamphlets, broachers and tickets of the underground bands were artistically compelling enough to be kept saved 319 Rockistan as souvenirs; often designed by Babar Peerzada of Dog Tag. Bands would regularly perform their gigs in vacant homes, small cafés, Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre, National College of Arts and Hall 1 of Alhamra Cultural Complex. On a few occasions, their performances would be held in open areas and the elevated stage would be made on trucks. The circular peace symbol or a marijuana leaf would be customarily printed on the background of the stage. Drugs such as hashish were indeed a fragment of the Lahore underground rock circle, especially among the audience during live shows. That does not necessarily mean that the musicians were advocates of drug abuse. During one of the gigs of the Trip, a spectator was injecting himself with heroin. When lead guitar player Cecil Shane Chaudhry saw him, he immediately signalled his band to stop performing and urged the crowd to advise the drug user to mend his ways. Junaid Jamshed was particularly disgusted by such practices and labelled the underground rock circuit as “demonic” and overflowing with “druggies”. Hatred was swung back as the underground rock bands would sometimes bash corporate-backed pop artists such as Vital Signs, Awaz and Ali Haider. In the age of state-owned television as the sole broadcast media outlet in the country, the underground rock bands never got the opportunity to display their remarkable vibrancy. A few did when they were featured on the show Pepsi Top of the Pops on Pakistan’s first private television channel, NTM. The episodes featuring those groups would be edited as they would verbally abuse Pepsi. Outside the 320 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH confines of the underground circle, their music was deemed as extremely unfashionable. Their performances were not mere concerts. In fact, they were an act of rebellion and frustration. Shahzad Hameed’s extensive years in the Lahore underground rock circle have served him well. Although he came into the limelight by releasing the music video of his single Fish Out of Water, his first exposure on television was three years earlier. In the 2002 Pepsi Battle of the Bands, his band by the name of Shahzad Hameed Project was among the ten shortlisted groups to appear in the show. In the qualifying rounds of the corporate-sponsored show, Shahzad and his bandmates pretended to perform live due to DAT being utilized for playback. The entire experience was against every principle that he stands for and regrets it as a “big mistake.” He disowned Shahzad Hameed Project shortly thereafter and does not recall his appearance on the show too fondly. “If given the chance, I would like to apologize to all the citizens of Pakistan for pretending to play live in the 2002 Pepsi Battle of the Bands,” he states. Two years later, Shahzad became a solo artist. Most of his contemporaries had either dissociated themselves from music whereas a few ironically became mainstream musicians bankrolled by multinational companies. Shahzad still delivers barn-burning performances with unrelenting brutality but takes offense to the term “underground.” Instead, he prefers to be known as an independent musician. Considering the mechanism employed by him to get his critically lauded album released, he aptly fits the title. 321 Rockistan

Shahzad comes forward as a conscientious musician who does not compromise on his artistic integrity. He recorded all the songs in the English language and lambasted oppression, totalitarianism and oppression through lyrical expression. Titled Songs from the Nowhere Land, the razor- edge album was recorded at Mekaal Hasan’s Digital Fidelity Studios and mastered at Xulfi’s Xth Harmonic. Though ready for release by December 2005, it took additional two years to hit the market. Shahzad was either rejected or not offered a favourable deal by various record labels because his daringly original language album was deemed unworthy from a commercial standpoint. Premier record label EMI Pakistan was among the ones to decline his album and Shahzad considers meeting them as his “worst mistake.” Since no record label was keen on signing him, he released the album independently. He printed the booklet, produced the CDs and manufactured the casing from separate outlets and assembled them as an album. Songs from the Nowhere Land would be distributed across the three major cities of the country. It would be available in Laraib Music, Clifton, Karachi, and in Radio City, F-6 Super Market, Islamabad. In Lahore, it could be purchased from a variety of shops across DHA, Liberty Market and Fortress Stadium. Despite the limited release, English language lyrics and absence of a major record label handling the distribution, the album was a huge breath of fresh air. It exhibits Shahzad’s enormous portfolio as a multi-instrumentalist since he played the lead guitars, tambourine and harmonica on the album. His companions from the Lahore underground rock circuit such as Salman 322 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH

Albert, Fahad Khan and Farhad Humayun Syed also poured their musical contributions into the album. Aside from the independent release and the technical mastery, Songs from the Nowhere Land is virtually free from any stains of interference from corporate enterprises and is a reflection of a struggling rock star’s aesthetic sense. As Shahzad points out, corporate-induced music is the “king of mediocrity” whereas his compositions touch the themes of tyranny and injustice in a Pakistani context. With his artistic integrity intact, Shahzad is the personification of principle over profit and was able to erect a dedicated niche. When compared to Lahore, Islamabad’s underground rock circle wears a miniature look but it is not any less vibrant. Lahore has more musicians, recording studios, music stores as well as universities such as LUMS and FAST in which music flourished. Several students of schools and colleges in Lahore would organize musical concerts as well. Additionally, the majority of the people in Islamabad are not musically inclined to live gigs as evident from the sole Junoon concert in the capital city throughout 1996 to 1999 despite the sufi rock group being at the peak of their popularity and creativity during those years. Even when most live shows occur in Islamabad today, they are projected as a sideshow attraction in food festivals, carnivals or corporate events. In the early 2000s, Corduroy, Surge, Electro March, Irtaash and Saturn were among the very few underground bands in Islamabad. It was Corduroy that was not only performing original songs but also went on to record an English language rock album. Formed in 2001, it was 323 Rockistan initially named Rust but changed it since it gave a pre- conceived notion that they are a death metal band. Corduroy was, in fact, an alternative rock and grunge band. In their gigs, they would usually play covers of Pearl Jam, Def Leppard, Temple of the Dog, the Doors, Stone Temple Pilots, REM and Strings. Mubashir Noor was the lead vocalist, Sarmad Faraz was the lead guitar player and Ahmed Siddiqui was the bass player whereas the spots for rhythm guitar player and drummer became a revolving door for seven members. Corduroy chose to perform in the English language because it was the most preferred medium of communication among the band members, especially Mubashir. Born on Monday, July 28, 1980, and nicknamed Moby, he is from Thal, . Due to his family’s religious background, objections were raised by his parents when he was pursuing rock music. He did not shed his tribal roots in the band’s music video for the song Leeway as instead of typical rock elements such as wearing torn black jeans or applying black eyeliner, he wore a traditional Pashtun dress and a Chitrali cap. During his childhood, he would mostly listen to the bands that were prevalent in the '90s Seattle grunge era such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Seven Mary Three. Mubashir’s hard-hitting baritone vocals were often compared with Eddie Vedder though he has clarified that he is lyrically inspired by Pearl Jam’s frontman rather than vocally. Aside from Pearl Jam, the Islamabad-based underground band was notably inspired by hard rock group Van Halen due to self-taught guitar player Sarmad. Born on Monday, April 324 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH

21, 1980, he is the son of legendary poet Ahmed Faraz and younger brother of politician Shibli Faraz. When Sarmad was given the cassette of Van Halen’s album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge by a friend, he became enthralled by the opening track Poundcake. Upon listening to the song, he was determined to learn the electric guitar so he could play it. Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Deep Purple, Dream Theater and Ritchie Kotzen also act as Sarmad’s musical inspirations. Due to Pearl Jam and Van Halen being displayed as the principal influences during Corduroy’s live shows, the band was locally known as “Van Vedder.” The band drew attention in Islamabad due to the frenetic energy unleashed during their gigs. For instance, Corduroy performed at the NIC Auditorium for the students of FAST Islamabad campus. While playing their grand finale Roadhouse Blues by the Doors, Sarmad resorted to playing the guitar solo for ten minutes straight as Moby kept headbanging with the crowd. The band had a fierce reputation for always playing English songs. In fact, Mubashir once furiously walked out of a Battle of the Bands show organized by FM 101 because the DJ requested them to perform Urdu songs. However, Corduroy would occasionally cover Anjane Kyun by Strings. Since March 2003, Corduroy would regularly perform every Saturday in Civil Junction, Gold Market, F-7/3, Islamabad, and consistently jam at Sarmad’s house for the rest of the days. Owned by Arshad Bhatti, the café would host live shows on the upper floor which could occupy fifty people. The venue would serve as a platform for emerging stand-up comedians and underground bands. 325 Rockistan

Unlike Lahore’s underground dominion which mostly revolved around heavy metal, Islamabad had rock and folk music and thus consisted of a wide range of aspiring musicians that attracted a diverse crowd. Zeb and Haniya, Arooj Aftab, , Khurram Waqar, Natasha Ejaz, Jehangir Aziz Hayat and Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor have performed at Civil Junction multiple times years before they burst into the mainstream. Anyone could turn up at the café to attend their live shows without being pressured to purchase even a single food item from the menu. It was also the sole platform for underground musicians to perform live in Islamabad whereas Lahore had plentiful public and private spaces scattered across the city. Even restaurants such as Café Zouk and Nando’s in the latter city would host live gigs on their premises. Corduroy would always succeed in delivering a cannonball performance in Civil Junction despite a few mishaps. During one of their gigs, drummer and congo player Ameel Zia Khan tore a drum skin halfway through the show and had no choice but to keep performing with it for the rest of the night. “One of our few laugh-out-loud moments happened at my expense as well,” he recalls. “I was playing the drums despite my 100-degree fever because that’s what you do when you’re in your 20s. And I was already tired from bringing the drum kit upstairs and setting it up. So, as we launched into the first chorus of our opening song, I hit one of my sticks on the side of a drum and it practically flew out of my hand. Everyone–including the audience–broke out in laughter so we had to stop playing and restart the song.” At the culmination of their shows at Civil 326 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH

Junction, Moby would habitually pass a sarcastic comment to the audience. “See you next week. Same time, same place. That is unless they chuck us out of here. Or we make it big and head to play at Wembley.” The number of people attending the shows of Corduroy on the upper floor of Civil Junction would reach beyond capacity, forcing the surplus of crowd members to stand against the wall. After nine months of being the mainstay at the café, the band took an extended break so they could dedicate their time to record their debut album, The Morning After. Produced and mixed by Sarmad in his home-based setup Shock Studios, the album was digitally recorded on a modest computer with Cubase SX installed in it. Due to a lack of options stemming from financial restraints, Sarmad had to learn studio recording by reading numerous articles and mostly trial and error. Whenever he came up with a stellar guitar solo at night, he would think that it was awful the following morning and his bandmates would bash their heads on the wall in order to convince him otherwise. The tracks Leeway and Your Song were recorded during the holy month of Ramadan. The launching ceremony of The Morning After took place on Saturday, September 11, 2004, at Civil Junction where a batch of 300 CDs was sold. The first hundred people that registered on the forum of Corduroy’s official website were given a free copy of the album. In Islamabad alone, the album sold nearly 2000 copies. These are not dismal sales figures for underground bands. Similar to Lahore’s underground bands, the album had a limited release and 327 Rockistan

Corduroy took the responsibility of distribution of the CDs upon their shoulders. The Morning After could be purchased in Islamabad from Civil Junction and Illusions, F-6 Markaz, Islamabad. In Lahore, it was available in Shahzad DVD Stores located in Fortress Stadium and DHA. In Rawalpindi, it could be bought from Sadaf Mall and Rainbow Super Market. Though primarily presenting themselves as the flagbearer of original English language songs, The Morning After featured one Urdu track titled Aas. It was not intended to be included in the album but Corduroy decided to do so since it had received heavy radio play. In the same year of the album’s release, the band opened for Fuzön at a show held in Islamabad Marriott Hotel. Corduroy was the headlining act at an annual awards ceremony of Islamabad Convent School and the only band to perform at the Dawn Lifestyles Expo at the Convention Center. The transparent influences of Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Megadeth, REM and Collective Soul in The Morning After were too palpable to ignore yet the album sounded surprisingly fresh and established Mubashir as the most formidable songwriter in the underground rock scene. Corduroy was a rare breed of talent taking the ship forward. They were not only the house band of Civil Junction but also managed the restaurant’s live music. Parallel to their regular Saturday night shows, they would invite rookie musicians to play before or after them. Numerous emerging artists are indebted to Corduroy for providing the opportunity to perform in front of the public for the very first time in their life. Such prospects were not 328 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH limited to underground bands of Islamabad but also from Lahore and Peshawar. Corduroy can be credited for boosting the confidence of underground rock bands that orbited around Islamabad. The group was the sole underground act to ink a merchandising deal with the clothing brand Voodoo Tee. The future seemed bright as the band was signed on by fashion stylist Tariq Amin’s record label Indispensable Communications but in late 2006, Corduroy had collapsed as Sarmad moved to Scotland to pursue a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Edinburgh. He and Mubashir were unquestionably the driving forces of the band. Coinciding with their mournful breakup, Civil Junction discontinued its live shows due to being a source of disturbance for the local community as they recurrently complained. For underground rock bands, releasing an album in a city is a difficult task, let alone the entire country. Its distribution is even more challenging and some artists have to depend upon online platforms. This was the case with Peshawar- based rocker Jehangir Aziz Hayat. One might never expect the conservative city to have homegrown rock, grunge or even heavy metal music. Yet here he was turning the page in the fabled city of flowers by accommodating such genres through his original songs. Born on June 5, 1989, Jehangir was profoundly influenced by Nirvana, Megadeth, Metallica, Alice in Chains, Guns N’ Roses, Pantera, Pearl Jam, U2, Dave Matthews Bands and Velvet Revolver. He is the protégé of brothers Sajid and Sarmad Ghafoor from 329 Rockistan whom he learned studio recording, vocal delivery and the basics of playing the guitar. At the age of 12, Jehangir began writing songs and making music with his guitar. While he was still a student, he had his first gig at the International School Peshawar. Due to the circumstances he grew up in, he had to treat music as a hobby instead of a career. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a 3.74 CGPA from the Institute of Management Sciences, he spent a considerable amount of time managing his family’s furniture business M. Hayat & Bros. The company was established in pre-partition India way back in 1870 and manufactures furniture inspired from the colonial era by predominantly utilizing highly seasoned Sheesham wood. Jehangir’s motivation to sing in the English language is a result of his formative years at the International School of Peshawar which mostly consisted of foreign students. The English language ultimately became the common medium of communication for his interaction with students belonging to various ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. “As time went by, I started listening to more American bands as they seemed to resonate with me,” recollects Jehangir. “This is not to say that music is less worthy of praise. With a formal education delivered in English as the language of instruction, I sometimes found it very difficult to understand the different dialects of Pashto while listening to them. Additionally, I had not come across any Pashto music catering to the temperament of a disillusioned teenager. Therefore, English seemed like the suitable 330 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH language to express myself in delivering my earlier angst compositions.” After mastering his craft and excelling at it, he desired to form a band but was unable to find musicians with similar tastes. Due to the limitations of being a solo artist, Jehangir sang and played the guitar and bass by himself whereas the drums would be either sequenced or played by his friend, Saad Salman. Utilizing the multitrack editing software Guitar Pro, he would make his songs on it and then rendered them in Sarmad’s homebuilt S&M Studio. In September 2004, Jehangir released the music video of his first single Never Change which was directed by Zeeshan Parwez of the eponymous electronica duo Sajid & Zeeshan. The viewers were left starstruck after witnessing a grunge track from Peshawar and Jehangir’s vocal prowess drew comparisons with Kurt Cobain. He was merely 15 years old at the time and his debut single could be easily mistaken for a Nirvana song. Though predominantly inspired by western rock and heavy metal bands, his songs had a tinge of the rich cultural heritage of Peshawar. According to Jehangir, rock music in the city was finally acknowledged when he performed at the British Council. Jehangir soon dropped off the radar and went on a hiatus so he could focus on his education. Five years later, he released his debut album Read Between the Lines and a follow-up titled Above the Fray after another gap of five years. His angst-ridden albums were his means to vent out his frustrations as a result of the persecution faced by his father and former Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khalid Aziz. 331 Rockistan

In the aftermath of d’état orchestrated by General Parvez Musharraf in October 1999, Khalid was detained in solitary confinement. He was locked in a torture cell without any ventilation and references were filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau for misuse of authority and possession of illegal assets beyond his source of income. In October 2011, Khalid was honourably acquitted by the Supreme Court. Unlike Shahzad Hameed and Corduroy, Jehangir did not physically distribute his albums in Pakistan through a limited release. Instead, he made them available for purchase online on iTunes whereas digital copies of a few songs could be downloaded from his official website. The alternative rock, heavy metal and grunge tracks from his albums are evident compositions of a powerhouse musician. Sweeping numerous awards for his songs, lyrics and one music video on international platforms, Jehangir is a rocker in the truest sense of the word. Composing rock songs in the English language is not every musician’s forte. Even Junoon was ridiculed for making them as their songs Lady Magic and You Never Give Me Your Love are considered their worst efforts. After their first two studio albums, the sufi rock band ceased to include English language tracks. One rock band that has been able to fling open the door for musicians to sing in the English language is Coven. Along with the Trip, both bands pour an equal share towards the opulence of the Lahore underground rock circuit. Though most underground bands have a cult following or cater to a limited fanbase, Coven plunged to stardom even 332 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH before releasing an album. The group would initially perform in the backyard of empty houses in Gulberg for a selective audience. In 1991, Coven did a live gig at Saloo’s Café which was attended by more than 300 spectators. Two years later, Coven rocked the Chandni Banquet Hall. The show was attended by impressionable youth who would be inspired to make a name for themselves in Lahore’s underground rock circuit including Ahmad Ali Butt and Danish Jabbar Khan. Coven would steadily get booked to perform at venues outside Lahore such as the Islamabad Club and Agha Khan University, Karachi. In September 1997, their debut album Not in Your World hit the shelves of limited stores in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Sialkot whereas a few copies were manually distributed free of cost. The band soon dissolved when lead guitar player Hamza Jafri moved to London. Throughout its existence, Coven served as one of the earliest stepping stones of numerous rock supremos such as Ali Noor, Shahzad Hameed, Farhad Humayun Syed, Khurram Waqar, Mohammed Ali Jafri and even a few members of Entity Paradigm. Hamza’s motivation to move to London stemmed from the desire to explore the city as he had a British passport. “My parents knew I wasn’t going to follow the standard life pattern of completing studies then getting a job in an office or whatever. They said go and see what’s out there for you in London. If you like it, find a way to stay there or come back if it doesn’t work out.” While residing in London, Hamza did several odd jobs to support himself. He learned the art of mixology while 333 Rockistan working at the night club K-Bar. A year and a half later, he began working at the luxurious Savoy Hotel where he was taught restaurant management, hospitality skills and mixology through training programs. Parallel to his odd jobs in London, Hamza formed a band named Shiver with Craig Whinney. The duo lasted for two years and had even flown to Lahore to record a few songs at Mekaal Hasan’s Digital Fidelity Studios. After working seven years at the Savoy Hotel, Hamza was considering moving back to Pakistan. He could not apply for the position of General Manager because he did not have a business degree. In addition to his hospitality career unable to grow further, his father had fallen sick so he wanted to be with him. Moreover, he wanted to make music his bread and butter as it was always his first passion. In December 2006, Hamza resigned from his job and returned to Pakistan. He was in touch with Omran Shafique at the time who was living in Houston, Texas, and also contemplating leaving his IT career in order to become a full-time musician in Pakistan. “The day I quit my job, I called Omran and told him,” recounts Hamza. “I think that gave him the little bit of motivation he needed to actually quit his job too.” After shifting to Pakistan, the duo reformed Coven along with original drummer Sikandar Mufti and bass player Sameer Ahmed (not to be confused with Sameer Ahmed Bakhtiari of Karavan). The band restyled their name as co-VEN and Hamza took over the vocal duties along with playing the lead guitar, songwriting and music composition. His decision to become the frontman of the band results from a missed opportunity to have Not In Your World released 334 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH abroad. After the album received a tremendous response, he was hyped up about following the rock dream. Hamza’s supportive father bought him a plane ticket to London and he sold his guitar to cover up the expenses for his trip. The aunt of his sister’s friend was singing backup for Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant at the time and she submitted a copy of Not In Your World to the London-based artist management company Trinifold. Over the years, it has represented several major names such as Judas Priest, Joan Jett, the Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimmy Page and the aforementioned Plant. Trinfold’s Managing Director Robert Rosenberg was beyond impressed upon listening Not In Your World and phonecalled Hamza to let him know that he could not believe that a band consisting of Pakistani teenagers had recorded the album and wanted to meet them to discuss a record deal. “As you can imagine, I was over the moon,” recalls Hamza. “It was winning the lottery! I called up the band and told them to get themselves on a plane to London. Everyone was game except Ali Noor. Him and his parents refused, they kept talking about Ali wanting to become a lawyer. They just didn't understand what was on offer. And so the co-VEN of '97 missed a chance of a lifetime. As you can imagine, that broke me into several pieces. From that day on, I had decided I'm singing myself.” Hamza was not only a mixologist at the Savoy Hotel but was also teaching it at the London Catering School. When he returned to Pakistan, he passed on his knowledge to bandmates Sikandar and Sameer. The trio then launched a side business parallel to their music career. They would only 335 Rockistan set up the bar whereas the client would be responsible for providing alcohol. “We started a catering business called The Service,” reveals Hamza. “We would get hired to set up a fancy bar at parties. We did some real high fly shit, the Porsche launch, Mia Mansha's son's wedding, Pak Golf championship. Us three would be behind the bar mixing funky drinks. Sometimes, we'd even jam at these parties. It was crazy fun.” Omran was the honourary member of co-VEN who would either play the rhythm or lead guitar depending upon his presence. In February 2007, co-VEN had their first live gig in ten years. In the same year, the band released their double album Vol I & II which was sponsored by international clothing brand Levi’s. All the lyrics were penned down by Hamza. Similar to the band’s previous album, Vol I & II all of the tracks were in the English language. “I was influenced by western rock music Bon Jovi, GNR, Metallica, Iron Maiden, then the grunge scene Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice in Chans, Faith No More, and some heavier metal Slayer, Rage Against the Machine. So I followed my inspiration and sang and wrote in English,” explains Hamza. The underground band was able to daringly flip their niche upside down and catapult into the mainstream stratosphere without compromising their musical integrity. Recorded at Mekaal Hasan’s Digital Fidelity Studios, Lahore, Vol I & II is perhaps the most outstanding Pakistani album in the English language. The double album was entailed with socially conscious lyrics and entrenched with elements of grunge, punk and rock. During co-VEN’s concerts, the band members would be dressed in tangerine 336 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH orange jumpsuits like the ones worn by the prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp that are labelled as non- compliant. The trait of wearing jumpsuits is also exhibited by nu metal band Slipknot and rock band Devo. As a rock frontman, Hamza sang as a man possessed due to his evocative showmanship. The London-born musician had quite a convincing English accent whereas Omran would always push the technical limitations of the electric guitar to unknown realms. Sikandar’s fearlessness would venture his drumming skills to extreme territories and Sameer’s thumping bass lines set a new standard of excellence. It was their collective dynamic efficiency that translated into another band altogether. Omran’s rock band Mauj kept having a rotating cast of musicians since its formation while himself being the only stable member. After joining co- VEN, he incorporated the same line-up within his band Mauj. The two bands were, of course, not clones since co- VEN was whereas Mauj was funk rock. Hamza would be the frontman and Omran would be the lead guitar player for co-VEN and the two would trade positions while performing as Mauj. Whereas bass player Sameer and drummer Sikandar would have the same roles in both rock bands. Mauj and co-VEN possessed a ton of flair and concert organizers would expect to have both groups perform for the price of one only to be refused by the band members. At the Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs Summit 2008, Mauj was all set to perform along with Noori and Canadian bhangra duo Josh but hit a snag. During the soundcheck, Hamza was electrocuted and was immediately rushed to the nearest 337 Rockistan medical facility. The remaining members of Mauj would then discuss if they should play without their bandmate or not. They mutually decided that they should not let the audience walk back to their homes with an unquenched thirst for rock music. As for Hamza, he fortunately recovered from the electric shocks. In the corridors of Pakistani rock music, one veteran artist was not at all pleased with the overall landscape. After releasing his debut solo album Signature in 1995, Aamir Zaki did not fully capitalize on its success. In the following years, he joined Awaz as a session guitar player once Asad Ahmed parted ways with the dance-pop group but performed in very few concerts as a solo act. One of them was held in 1997 and was organized by MTV Asia in Karachi which featured him, Junoon and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The next year, Zaki shifted to the United States and mostly played in jazz and blues clubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. By the time he returned to Pakistan, the music scene was going through a seismic shift towards improvement but Zaki felt otherwise. According to him, the outbreak of music channels was not a reflection of quality music. Moreover, he complained that music had become a business and the shortcut to appear on the air was to pay your way through it or hang out at the television station offices to befriend the head of the channel. Back in the States, Zaki played at international jazz festivals and his music was chosen for Hollywood but his popularity dwindled in his motherland due to his absence. It had been nearly a decade since he released a new song in Pakistan and was met with 338 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH disappointment at every turn while intending to make a comeback. He released the single Bhula Dayna which was intended to be the first single from his second solo album Ten Year Eclipse but it was quaint as compared to his previous works. Music journalist Fasi Zaka deemed it one of the worst songs he ever heard and believed that Zaki sounded as if he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The follow-up track People Are People fared none the better and received minimal airplay. A sharp decline in the quality of Zaki’s vocals was observed upon his return to the country’s music sphere. By his own admission, they were very limited so he focused more on playing the guitar to express his emotions in ways his words never could. “The guitar has sort of become my voice and I like to think that I can make the listeners feel exactly what I’m trying to say. Sound happy, aggressive, painful, totally confused, which is not good.” By the time Zaki resurfaced, the competition had severed as the rock market had been penetrated by new and younger acts that were dominating the music charts such as EP, Call, Rungg, Noori, Razam and Mizraab. Worst of all, Zaki was shunned by most of his contemporaries as they refused to work with him. Not because he was a member of the persecuted Ahmadiyya community as one might suspect but for a multitude of reasons that included mood swings, inability to get along with a lot of people and the difficulty to find musicians that were up to his caliber so he could jam with them. On one occasion, he clashed with Ali Azmat during the recording of Garaj Baras. 339 Rockistan

“It is my song,” narrates Ali. “I recorded a version with Aamir Zaki and Gumby but the problem was that Aamir Zaki is also an egoist and, at the end of the day, the song was not recorded the way I wanted it to be. He recorded it at such a speed, just to show off his skills, that it basically killed the song.” Ali would subsequently ask his bandmate Salman Ahmad to play the guitar on the song instead. “Yes, I tried to do the original version with Aamir Zaki but I realized that I shouldn’t even ever try to work with him.” According to Nabeel Nihal Chishty, the reason behind most artists refusing to collaborate with Zaki was due to the latter’s brilliance which acted as a double-edged sword. “The biggest problem with Zaki was that he was one of the best musicians,” explains Nabeel. “This was his problem. So with whomever he would play, they would get insecure and dismiss him from the band.” Zaki was brutally honest about his opinion regarding most of the artists during the peak years of Pakistan’s music sphere—mediocre. He openly lashed out at artists who would utilize DAT as playback during their performances and was a relentless critic of anyone who plagiarized music from international artists and considered it a crime. For example, he particularly pointed out that compositions of Salman Ahmad and Vital Signs have been ripped off from Jimi Hendrix and Neil Diamond, respectively. The most apparent example is Junoon’s song Pappu Yaar which contains guitar riffs identical to the ones in the opening segment of Hendrix’s song Who Knows but Salman states that the tune of his song is completely different. “You know, 340 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH if I was some kind of mad judge, I would sentence him to death or something, I don’t know,” snickers Zaki. After making his return to Pakistan, Zaki barely brought forth new material and was accused of being complacent. In reality, he had recorded nearly thirty songs but record labels and television channels were more interested in music videos so he deleted Ten Year Eclipse. His potential second solo album was rejected by five different record labels. “If I walk into a record company’s office here, I get a royal reception,” reveals Zaki. “They immediately stand up and greet me: ‘Aamir bhai, you! Please come.’ They’ll praise me to no end, but when comes the time to release my album, they’re nowhere to be found.” Zaki was unable to obtain the exact sound he had in mind while recording new tracks with the musicians he was collaborating with due to the difference of musical tastes between them so he resorted to playing all the instruments himself with a multi-tracking system and attempted to make the sound live instead of overdubbed. He even sold off many guitars that he owned so he could purchase a custom-made six-string bass guitar to add a new dimension to his work. Zaki had songs worth two albums but burnt one and threw away the other. He put his own projects on hold as he became engaged in producing albums of mainstream artists such as Junaid Jamshed, Najam Sheraz and Hadiqa Kiani. It took a while for the audience to warm up to Zaki. During one of his shows in Lahore, he was pelted with bottles when he began singing his song Karachi Ki Laila. Over time, he had established himself as the most versatile guitar player in the country. He could play rock, pop, jazz 341 Rockistan and blues with equal precision. In March 2005, he began giving guitar lessons at the semi-government institution National Academy of the Performing Arts in Karachi. A grand total of 150 students applied for his class out of which he chose just 10. Zaki’s career following his debut album Signature still wore a withering look for a whole host of reasons. It all seemed to change when he and the glitzy pop icon Hadiqa Kiani announced to release a collaborative album in the English language. The two would occasionally perform as a duo dating back as early as 2002 when they did a show at Teradata IT Excellence Awards in Karachi. The same year, Hadiqa released her third album Rung which had the track Iss Baar Milo that was penned down by Zaki. When she asked him to write the song, he casually asked her if they could do an English project together to which she agreed. The music video of Iss Baar Milo made great strides due to its spine-chilling ambiance combined with the teal-grey colour effect. Directed by Jami, it was shot in a mental asylum and featured Hadiqa as a schizophrenic patient whereas Zaki stood beneath the shadows playing the guitar. For the preparation of her role, she did not wash her face nor hair for an entire week. Hadiqa’s method acting pulled off a stunning performance as a traumatized patient due to observing ten real ones while working on her research thesis for a Master’s degree in Psychology from Government College University, Lahore. After bearing the brunt of rejections by various record labels, Zaki had the chance to return to the limelight again. His earliest album in the English language called The Bomb 342 THE UNCONVENTIONAL PATH was recorded with his band Axe Attack but was declined by local record labels. This was not the case with the album he recorded with Hadiqa but it was continuously delayed due to geographical differences. He temporarily moved to Canada whereas Hadiqa remained in Pakistan. Titled Rough Cut, it was announced to be released in early 2006 but hit the stores a year later. Zaki, who felt more comfortable in writing English language songs, was the bass player and principal songwriter for the album. Baqir Abbas played the flute and Arshad Ali was behind the tablas. On Tuesday, March 6, 2006, Zaki and Hadiqa released their heavily anticipated album only to blow up in their face. It had noticeable flaws and ended up as a critical and commercial disaster. Even casual music listeners agree that Zaki’s greatest strength is playing the electric guitar yet there was not even a single solo, riff nor shred in the eleven-track album. It was a missed opportunity since heavy guitar-oriented music was at the peak of its popularity at the time. The lifeless album underutilized Zaki as it showed no signs of his musical evolution. In his 1995 solo album Signature, he was the lead vocalist, lead guitar player and bass player. Twelve years later, he was demoted to a mere backing vocalist and bass player in the overhyped collaborative album. Despite the low sales figures and being mauled by music critics, Hadiqa was the only one to benefit from the album as she could now add English to her list of multiple languages in which she can sing such as Urdu, Turkish, Chinese, Arabic, Persian and Pashto. Rough Cut suffered under the weight of expectations and left many fans 343 Rockistan unimpressed. It nearly shattered Zaki’s aura and the disconsolate decline of his once glittering career had merely begun. 344 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Chapter 10 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Rock in Pakistan is dead. Fawad Afzal Khan

Devoted fans were left in a flood of tears when Goher Mumtaz and Atif Aslam parted ways. The duo split on a bitter note and squirmed their way out of the scrutinized controversy that followed. The popularity of Goher’s reformed Jal and Atif exceeded beyond any measures due to their overflowing music videos which were not just an expectation but a requirement in the ongoing media revolution. It was apparent that their debut albums were recorded in haste so they could keep their momentum intact. Their mettle was truly tested with their follow-up albums that were released a year apart. It is not exactly fair to compare the two but it was inevitable. Jal’s second album Boondh was released on Sunday, December 16, 2007, and was sponsored by Warid Telecom. The band members were appointed as the cellular network company’s brand ambassadors and soon landed upon another lucrative sponsorship deal with the prestigious guitar manufacturing corporation Gibson Brands, Inc. Lead guitar player Goher was chosen as one of their brand ambassadors; 345 Rockistan an honour also bestowed to Slash of Guns N’ Roses and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains. Jal would endorse their guitar models such as Les Paul, SG Standard and Epiphone. Jal garnered national acclaim with Boondh as it was sharply superior to their debut album. Featuring Salman Albert and Gumby on the drums, it was recorded at Mekaal Hasan’s Digital Fidelity Studios. Both drummers were aggressive yet precise and Albert’s expertise was not limited to the drums as he was responsible for the musical arrangement on four tracks. Jal was warned beforehand that it would not be easy to work with Mekaal. According to Noori’s former bass player Mohammad Ali Jafri, the producer is much scarier than people say he is. Entity Paradigm’s lead guitar player Xulfi has also worked with him and found it difficult to understand how he operates. As he recalls, Mekaal’s sudden mood shifts and backtracking on his decisions in a matter of seconds had become a nightmare for him. Though Xulfi and Mekaal argued a lot during the recording of Irtiqa, their work never suffered. Mauj’s frontman Omran echoes similar sentiments as he explains that working with Mekaal in the studio can be stressful and even painful but the culminating result is always amazing as the producer has forced musicians to raise their standards. Much to Jal’s surprise, Mekaal informed them that out of all the artists he has ever professionally worked with, they were the first band with whom he had not engaged in a tussle. As a producer, Mekaal has received a lot of flak over the years but he clarifies that he is only firm when the musicians are not willing to work hard. “Yes, I’m strict but I’m also very forgiving,” he states. 346 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Upon comparing Boondh with Atif’s second album Doorie which was released a year earlier, there lies a dissimilar musical direction. The latter album was tailor- made for the Indian market due to the abundance of dance numbers. The sedative charm in Atif’s vocals spilled out countless chartbusters over the years and the constant comparison with Jal remained intertwined with his career. Contrary to the rumours of a perennial feud, Atif and Goher buried the hatchet and became friends again in mid-2008. They were initially not even on speaking terms but ran across each other during the New Year’s Show on Geo TV. During the encounter of the allies-turned-rivals, Atif acknowledged that both of them have risen to prominence and discussed the possibility of a collaborative project a decade later. Goher responded that he would consider if his former bandmate would “correct himself” first. Eventually, their longstanding feud was put to rest and the two would cordially meet and talk on the phone similar to their memorable days as university fellows. Goher had yet to be through with his educational endevours. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Punjab Institute of Computer Science, he subsequently pursued a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Due to his concerts and practice sessions, he skipped numerous classes. It was futile to even ask his classmates to mark a proxy attendance for him as he was a celebrity and his professors were familiar with his face. Goher could barely keep his eyes open in the morning classes which were held mere hours after his late-night shows. One of his lecturers used to taunt him that he would 347 Rockistan not be able to complete his studies and should stick to music. Regardless of such setbacks, Goher was a bright student during his postgraduate studies. In his macroeconomics presentation, he received the highest marks. Along with Jal’s Boondh, it was expected that Entity Paradigm would be releasing their second album around the same time but their fans were met with a deafening silence. Four years had passed since their breakthrough album Irtiqa and lead vocalist Fawad Khan was the talk of the tabloids not because of his involvement in EP but due to returning to his acting roots. Television director Shoaib Mansoor was venturing into motion pictures with his ambitious project Khuda Kay Liye. The movie valiantly dealt with complicated subjects such as Islamic fundamentalism and the likelihood of music being permissible in the religion. The critically acclaimed movie was a tremendous success at the box office and Shoaib had initially cast his longtime protégé Junaid Jamshed and newly crowned pop prince Ali Zafar in the leading roles. The former had become an Islamic preacher yet hopped aboard the project and even shaved off his long beard for his character. Though Junaid asserted that the removal of his beard was for a temporary duration and he would not be back to show business, he and his family received death threats and was forced to review the entire situation. Additionally, he did not agree with multiple aspects of the movie that were at odds with what he was preaching so he withdrew himself from the role and was replaced with veteran . As for Ali Zafar, it is frequently rumoured that he was also uncomfortable with the script so he declined the role but 348 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL that is not the case. In fact, he shot two hours of footage during the first phase of production. He was even shot in a scene in which his character Sarmad Hussain Khan dies in the courtroom (which was changed in the final version of the movie as the script underwent alterations). It was increasingly difficult for him to spare time for his acting obligations due to concerts and other projects so he opted to bow out from the movie. Ali would be swapped by Fawad who pulled off a flawless performance despite his professional acting experience being limited to the slapstick comedy show, Jutt and Bond. As shocking as it may sound, he left Shoaib unimpressed upon their first meeting. Fawad gave an audition at the behest of his school friend and assistant director but was rejected due to being overweight. In fact, his waist measured 38 inches at the time. Six months later, Bilal called him to meet Shoaib again as Ali had quit the movie. Fawad had lost considerable weight by then and was selected for the role. Khuda Kay Liye was marred by controversy even before its release. During the shooting, the movie was struck by multiple fatwas including one from Lal Masjid, Islamabad. As Fawad was on the cusp of being an actor again, fans had been hankering to see EP release another rip-roaring album like Irtiqa. Fawad had revealed that he had come up with new sound engineering concepts to be incorporated in the second album. The band had released a demo titled Kya Hota which was composed and sung entirely by Xulfi. During their concerts, EP would perform a new song called Raah Ki Zuban which was intended to be included in their 349 Rockistan second album. Both tracks were signs of another landmark album in the making. Half of the song structures had been done and the band planned to record their second album in November 2004. Unfortunately, EP was no longer able to gel as a unit as a storm was brewing inside the band. The bulk of side projects of the members kept rocking the boat and the plans of a new album rescinded. Fawad became a model, acted in a few television commercials and was working on a solo album. Rapper Ahmad Ali Butt had embarked on a career as a music video director and was working on several television shows and commercials either as an actor, host, producer or scriptwriter. Lead guitar player Xulfi had become a music video director as well. In addition to directing for his own bands EP and Call, his projects include Woh Lamhey and Ik Din Ayega by Jal, Yaadein by Roxen and Jhoomay Zindagi by Rhythm X. He was also the producer of the debut albums of EP, Call, Jal and Roxen. Salman Albert was a session drummer for Jal and Noori and session rhythm guitar player for Mekaal Hasan Band. EP’s second drummer Waqar Ahmed Khan was playing sessions for numerous bands as well aside from being a member of EP and Call. Rhythm guitar player Hassaan Khalid was establishing his own recording studio with Fawad and running the production company Dreamweaver Productions. Bass player Sajjad Ali Khan was pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Lahore University of Management Sciences. In January 2007, EP announced their breakup. Their ambitions extended past their own band and even rapper 350 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Ahmad admitted that the members were no longer functioning as a band but functioning individually instead. As a result, their jam sessions had become significantly less frequent. No account of EP’s split is complete without the resentment against Xulfi. He was simultaneously playing the lead guitar for rock bands EP and Call which were in competition with each other and this did not sit well with his bandmates. Moreover, Xulfi composed Irtiqa on his own and was instructed by his bandmates not to do so while making the second album. On one occasion, tempers flared between him and batchmate-turned-bandmate Fawad as the two indulged in a huge scuffle. It was an upsetting situation for Xulfi as he was the closest to Fawad among the members and their friendship hit a rough patch. Tensions kept boiling to the point of apathy towards recording new tracks, jam sessions and discussing matters related to the group. According to EP’s manager Khurram Jabbar Khan, the band dissolved due to creative differences, citing that Fawad and Xulfi had the same musical tastes whereas the musical mindset of Albert and Ahmad (which can be observed from their songs released under the banner of Rubber Band) was the same yet very different from the group’s overall sound. Khurram further reveals that Xulfi and Albert were the only ones who wanted to be full-time musicians whereas some members were drawn towards postgraduate education in order to have separate careers at a later stage. Sajjad went to LUMS for MBA, Waqar went to the University of Technology, Sydney, for a Master’s degree in Telecom Networks and Hassaan went to Cardiff University, Wales, for MBA. 351 Rockistan

Having various side projects and commitments proved to be contentious for the band. Embroiled in a civil war, EP collapsed. The alternative rock group is one of the pillars of rock music in Pakistan and their demise left legions of fans distraught. As for Fawad, he traded his music career for a life of lights, camera and action. The former musician became an acting megastar flying high due to starring in one hit drama serial after another. This was not the first nor the last time when a new rock band vanished right after a promising debut album. Akash followed suit a year after EP’s breakup. Formed in 2001, the band was a royal addition to rock music mainly due to its frontman Akash Lazarus. Better known as Sam, his musical proficiency extended far beyond the smooth richness of his voice. He was also the lead guitar player, songwriter, composer, producer and owner of PMR Studios. Born on Saturday, August 24, 1985, Sam stumbled upon the marvels of the acoustic guitar when he listened to Heeray, the opening track of Junoon’s second album Talaash. He got a free copy of the album after buying a twin pack of the toothpaste Close-Up. At the age of 16, Sam started making music. He received vocal training from classical singers Ustaad Parvez Paras and Ustaad Ateem Shaker. Sam’s neighbour and best friend since childhood Shaleem Vincent aka Miki was Akash’s rhythm guitar player. Both were members of the music society at Cathedral Higher Secondary School, Lahore. Miki was inclined towards music after noticing his father’s ability to play the keyboards and fondness for classical tracks. He learned the keyboards from his father and then transitioned to playing 352 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL the guitar. After joining the school’s music society, Sam requested his parents to purchase an acoustic guitar for him. Though his mother and father suggested choosing the tablas and keyboards, respectively, he convinced them to buy the musical instrument of his choice. His brother-in-law was also a guitar player and he taught him the basics. As Sam steadily improved his guitar playing skills, his brother gifted him a Fender electric guitar purchased from London. While studying BBIT at Superior College, Lahore, Sam decided to form a band with his childhood friend Miki. The duo engaged in countless practice sessions for the next two years to excel in their musical craft. Three years after Akash’s formation, Faisal Majeed aka Fiz joined as the bass player. He had previously served as the vocalist for Lahore- based underground band Seth. One of the reasons behind Akash’s incomparable aura was their drummer, Ken Zeerick aka Kenny. Influenced by Joey Jordison of Slipknot, Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, Lars Ulrich of Metallica and Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree, he seamlessly upgraded the band’s power-packed performances. In 2006, Akash signed onto Khurram Jabbar Khan’s artist management company, Jilawatan Productions. Despite financial restraints, the group was able to bring forward good concept music videos with slick production values which were among the finest on music channels and they assisted them as the standout band in rock music. This was an exceptionally remarkable achievement since the majority of quality music videos are not bankrolled by musicians but by corporate brands and a few record labels. Due to Sam being 353 Rockistan heavily inspired by Junoon, Akash would occasionally cover their songs in concerts, most notably Lal Meri and Dosti. Sam and Miki were mostly absorbed in eastern classical music whereas Fiz and Kenny were keen listeners of hard rock and heavy metal. Their band was capable of bending their listeners’ emotions to their will through the splendid compositions that were a result of their diverse musical tastes. In July 2006, Karachi was struck by a devastating flood and the residents had to endure power outages. Akash was staying in the city as they were scheduled to perform in The Musik’s weekly show M-Live Nights. Due to the unforeseen flood, the band remained stuck for three days in an apartment located in the neighbourhood of Bath Island, Saddar. To get basic items like groceries and other essentials, they had to swim to the nearby departmental store. An acoustic guitar was the only musical instrument in the room where they were staying at and Akash would not waste their time without being productive. During the three days being stuck in the apartment, the members would conduct their jam sessions with the acoustic guitar whereas Kenny smacked his drumsticks on the pillows. On Saturday, November 24, 2007, Akash released their debut album Aks. Featuring rock anthems, love ballads, punk numbers and eastern classical songs, the album had an unprecedented amount of nineteen tracks. Due to their experimentation with so many genres, the album did not restrict itself to guitars and drums but also incorporated violin, sitar, , harmonium, flute and Arabian tabla. As a producer, Sam was not being satisfied with the sound 354 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL of the album so it took him two years to pave it with perfection. He was the principal lyricist as well and received assistance from Sami Khan of Lagan. The release of Aks was a pivotal moment of their musical career as it defined them as a rock band to keep an eye on. Akash had more than forty compositions under their belt which made their potential second album even more enticing to grab onto even before its release. Just as Akash was being touted as the next big rock band of Pakistan, Sam moved to London where he became a solo act and a music producer. Even though many rock bands came and went like a puff of smoke during the reign of President Pervez Musharraf, the genre was at the centre stage of the country’s thriving music scene. As Pakistan was engulfed in rock music, it caught the attention of Mark LeVine, an American musician and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of California, Irvine. For his book Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam, he travelled travelled to the Muslim countries of the Middle East and South Asia where he met hard rock and heavy metal musicians to document their careers amid oppression, religious extremism, censorship and political tyranny. Such antagonistic elements are widespread in the Muslim world and LeVine discovered that Pakistani rock stars have much more freedom as compared to their counterparts in other Islamic countries. For instance, Egyptian heavy metal musicians requested him to avoid using their real names in his book out of fear of getting into trouble. In , long-haired musicians had brushes with the law as they were assaulted and arrested. The 355 Rockistan country has also witnessed homes being raided to apprehend heavy metal fans. Morocco exhibits an extreme form of suppression as fourteen heavy metal listeners were falsely convicted as Satanists. For his research, LeVine visited Pakistan in early 2007 and met several musicians such as Ali Azmat, Salman Ahmad, Asad Ahmed, Sajid Ghafoor, Zeeshan Parwez, Faraz Anwar, Mekaal Hasan, Farooq Ahmed, Rahail Siddiqui, Arieb Azhar, Ali Raza Farooqui (of the heavy metal band Black Warrant) and even Junaid Jamshed. He observed that rock music has prospered in Pakistan despite religious fanaticism and conservative mindsets prevalent in the society. LeVine particularly pointed out Aaroh, Aakash, Mizraab, Karavan and Mekaal Hasan Band as rock bands that are writing certifiable hits and personally found the country’s rock music much better than most of the western music produced in the United States and . Owing to original material rooted in a multicultural framework, he believed that Pakistani rock music was “by far the best scene in the world” at the time. LeVine proposes that and heavy metal music has Islamic roots. The genres stem from West African slaves who were mostly Muslim. Furthermore, their songs draw comparisons with the Islamic call to prayer and African Islamic melodies. Lebanese-American guitar player Dick Dale is considered one of the founding fathers of heavy metal who has influenced numerous iconic rock heavyweights such as Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May and Pete Townshend. As a pioneer of surf rock, he 356 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL played the electric guitar like an oud and integrated Arab and Middle Eastern riffs while doing so. Rock bands grew exponentially during Musharraf’s era but since March 2007, his presidency was hanging by a thread. His reign was marred by controversy due to the unconstitutional suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the subsequent Lawyer’s Movement that demanded the restoration of the judiciary, Lal Masjid Operation and occupancy of Swat valley by Islamic fundamentalist group Tehreek-e-Taliban. As Pakistan descended into political turmoil, Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November 2007. The questionable decision was condemned by even his most loyal supporters including musicians such as Ali Hamza, Farhad Humayun Syed, Omran Shafique, Zeeshan Parwez, Ali Haider, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan etc. Political destabilization escalated when the leader of Opposition and Pakistan Peoples Party chairwoman Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday, December 27, 2007. The cataclysmic event spurred riots, arson, mass hysteria and looting across Sindh as a macabre chain reaction kept unfolding. The assassination of Benazir marks a turning point in the history of Pakistan as militant Islamist groups, radicalism, security threats and socio-economic qualms became even more ubiquitous. Owing to the possibility of impeachment lingering over him, President Musharraf resigned eight months later. Misgovernance and the crumbling security aside, Musharraf was a true patron of arts and culture. 34 years and six governments after the initial proposal of the National Art 357 Rockistan

Gallery, he was the one who inaugurated it in Islamabad. According to Ali Azmat, musicians had significant ease during his tenure. Musharraf once attended a concert featuring Aamir Zaki and personally commended his performance after the show. The latter did not expect the President to meet him so he could show appreciation for his guitar playing skills. Musharraf’s departure effectively signaled the end of rock music’s last boom period and the liberalization of electronic media remains one of the hallmarks of his era. More than a hundred channels dedicated to music, news, sports, cooking, fashion and religion were present by the time he resigned. The dramatic rise of terrorism since 2006 and Benazir’s assassination a year later acted as a prelude to the miserable period of Pakistan’s music landscape ahead. Amid political melodrama and the spike of terrorism, musicians always pay the price. “After the assassination of Benazir, the entire showbiz scene especially the performance circuit went down suddenly,” states Overload frontman Farhad Humayun Syed. In a baffling turn of events, Benazir’s widower Asif Ali Zardari succeeded Musharraf as the President of Pakistan on Tuesday, September 9, 2008. Nationwide ailments such as austerity, intolerance, social unrest, US drone strikes, terrorism and inflation augmented throughout the duration of Pakistan Peoples Party’s governmental term and rock stars were once again treated as social outcasts. The deteriorating security system was the significant reason for the slump in concerts which were their prime source of income. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, live shows were mostly restricted to schools, colleges and 358 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL universities. Their occurrences diminished further as concerned authorities rarely issued No Objection Certificates due to the waning security situation. A frisson of terror swept over Pakistan as militant Islamic groups would bomb crowded shops, shrines, mosques and restaurants. Since the PPP government did not propel music as an art form like its predecessor, rock music was thrown into disarray. There was a sharp decline of album releases in 2008 which proved to be a grim year for rock music. In the previous year, multiple rock artists such as Akash, co-VEN, Jal, Shahzad Hameed, Mizmaar and Aamir Zaki released their albums but in 2008, Ali Azmat was the lone mainstream musician to do so. Having shed his Junoon image, Ali became the ultimate counterculture icon. On Friday, January 4, 2008, Ali released his second solo album Klashinfolk. Similar to the approach taken with Social Circus, he explored new music genres instead of reusing the tropes and clichés of sufi rock. Ali’s eclectic taste in music is evident in his two solo albums. While Social Circus explored electroacoustic and noir-jazz territories, Klashinfolk exhibited reggae and country jazz. Due to the growing security concerns, Ali barely promoted the album through tours. For Social Circus, he played seventeen shows in September 2005 alone. Despite the setbacks, his second solo album was a soaring success and a testament to Ali’s ambition to stay on top even when the country was going through a repressive phase. Recorded at Mekaal Hasan’s Digital Fidelity Studios, Klashinfolk also featured musicians that became a permanent lineup of Ali’s backup band for his live shows— 359 Rockistan

Omran Shafique as the lead guitar player, Kamran Zaffar aka Mannu as the bass player and Gumby as the drummer. The quartet displayed excellent cohesion while practicing together for two weeks. They recorded the first five songs from the album within three days and the rest of the songs in mere four days. Former Vital Signs member Rohail Hyatt was particularly impressed upon hearing Klashinfolk. When Ali introduced him to Omran, Mannu and Gumby, he took their contact numbers so he could offer them spots in an upcoming “project” he had in mind. Ali had hit another grand slam home run with Klashinfolk. His second solo album brought more virility to his legacy as a rock ‘n’ roll sensation. His story reads like a movie script because it is a classic tale of zero to hero. He did not even have money to purchase his first guitar. For many years, he did not own a car nor a house. He resorted to living with his friends or in an apartment in which he took in roommates (one of them being Brian O’Connell) to divide the rent. Ali even had to learn the English language because he and his family mostly communicated in Punjabi or Urdu. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Junoon released a vignette in which they promoted peace and it was glaringly obvious that Ali was nervous as he struggled to speak in English. Even three years after disbanding with former bandmate Salman Ahmad, reconciliation was out of the question. Both are among the founding fathers of Pakistani rock music along with Asad Ahmed and Faraz Anwar. Junoon built cultural bridges through their music as they not only became the most dominant rock band but an ideological symbol. 360 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Years of tension between Ali and Salman had built up to vehement resentment and the wounds from their volatile breakup were still fresh. Salman did not surrender the Junoon label and was adamant about availing its brand value for his solo career. As a result, numerous fans have accused him of dismantling the band’s legacy. Unlike Ali, Salman held on to the threads of Junoon’s glory days. Following the sufi rock band’s acrimonious split, Salman dropped off the radar. That is partially due to being based in New York and shouldering the responsibilities as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Polio eradication and HIV/AIDS. In September 2006, he was a speaker at former United States President Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative panel to promote cross-cultural dialogue and a better understanding between the West and Islam. The event was attended by international dignitaries such as Bill Gates and Queen Rania of . A year later, he performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony held in , , along with Grammy Award winners Melissa Etheridge, Alicia Keys and Annie Lennox. While residing in the States, Salman performed in numerous colleges and universities including Princeton, Harvard and Stanford. His most ambitious concert was held in Srinagar, Kashmir, on Sunday, May 25, 2008. During Junoon’s tour in India ten years earlier, the band wanted to perform in strife-torn Kashmir as well but were discouraged by their Indian tour promoter due to the presence of militant conflicts. A decade later, the cross-border turmoil was still rife. Terrorist groups United Jihad Council and Hizb-ul- Mujahideen demanded from the to 361 Rockistan make sure that the show does not happen and even warned Salman that he would be shot on sight. Nonetheless, Salman ignored the death threats as the concert lasted for more than two hours and took place without any militant interference. Organized by the Indian chapter of the South Asia Foundation, the event was held at an open-air theatre on the edge of Dal Lake and attended by SAARC dignitaries, then-Indian President Pratibha Patil, former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mandanjeet Singh. More than 10,000 Kashmiri students flocked the venue whereas many even climbed over the barbed wire fences just so they could be part of the first-ever rock concert in Indian-administered Kashmir. “When young people in a society appreciate arts and culture then they would never come towards extremism,” states Salman. In 2008, Salman and his wife Samina founded the non- profit organization Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative (SSGWI) to promote interfaith dialogue, girls’ education and health. One of its first projects was providing free education to female students at a school in Mansehra. A year later in September, SSGWI arranged a benefit concert at the United Nations to gather funds for IDPs of Swat Valley and to rebuild girls' schools that were desecrated by the Taliban. Aside from himself, the show also featured rock legends Sting, Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale and klezmer violinist Yale Storm. A grand sum of $1 million was raised through the UN concert. 362 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Salman has faced a storm of criticism for pocketing session players and leading Junoon as the vocalist yet it is often overlooked that it was through such actions that he became a commendable social worker, philanthropist and political activist. Two of his most heroic pursuits are attempts to fix the distorted image of Islam following the September 11 terrorist attacks and campaigning for peace between Pakistan and India. As for his former bandmate, Ali Azmat was the brash bad boy of Pakistani rock music. True to the persona, he thanked “no one” in the album credits of Klashinfolk. When asked about the total amount of affairs that he has had in the past, he answered that he was a lover instead of a mathematician. In a Karachi gig held in October 2008, a spectator pelted a plastic water bottle at him. Ali did not ignore the disrespectful gesture and temporarily halted the performance, kicked the bottle off the stage and pointed towards the insolent fan who was publically humiliated by the rest of the audience. While being a guest on a radio station in New Delhi, the host asked him to suggest a song to be played. When Ali requested one of his own, the host refused to do so as he would only play Bollywood songs. Ali then stormed out of the radio station. A similar situation occurred in a Mumbai-based radio station as well. He once wrecked the set of VJ Natasha Saleem after she told him that she did not like it and the show’s higher-ups refused to change it. On the very next day, they were forced to give the set a brand new look. Ali’s eccentric bad boy image was unapologetically displayed with full gusto on the 2008 . 363 Rockistan

During the ceremony, pop superstar Faakhir Mehmood was wearing a black tuxedo with a bow tie and Ali remarked that the “waiter wants his clothes back.” As Faakhir tried to ease the confrontation by announcing on the stage that the world adores a “joker”, Ali’s razor sharped tongue hurled another insult. “Yeah, I talk like one and you dress like one.” A visibly upset Faakhir later revealed that the heated encounter in the awards ceremony was not scripted as initially suspected though Ali claimed otherwise. Political anxiety, terrorism and economic woes would result in a crumbling music scene and the rock genre was among the casualties. Even Lahore’s underground circle was not spared. From 2007 onwards, it began fading due to escalating taxes, security concerns and refusal to issue NOCs for gigs. It was a breeding ground for numerous rock bands including Call which was expected to keep the genre alive amid the abysmal conditions. In August 2006, cellular networking company Warid released a lighthearted jingle titled Rang Dau which was sung by Xulfi and Junaid Khan. Both members of Call were known to push the limits of hard rock and it was rather surprising to see the band exploring uncharted territories. In hindsight, it was a sign of what was to come ahead. In early 2007, Call did an unprecedented move by releasing the pop song Laaree Chootee. The track was part of the soundtrack of the Bollywood movie Ek Chalis Ki Last Local and became a slamming hit on both sides of the border. The band was not unfamiliar to India before as they had performed for more than 6000 people at Channel V’s Birthday Bash in Mumbai the previous year. The song raised eyebrows for a variety of 364 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL reasons as it was entirely sung by Xulfi whereas frontman Junaid was not even featured in the music video nor the accompanying photoshoot. Contrary to the rumours, Junaid did not depart from the band. On the day of the shoot, he became ill and since the funding and scheduling were already done, the band could not afford a delay so Junaid was not involved in the project. The original plan was to feature him playing the acoustic guitar in the music video. Additionally, Call had mutually decided that it would be better to have Xulfi sing the entire song as Junaid’s vocals were unsuitable for the upbeat Bollywood ditty. Though he is primarily the lead guitar player instead of the lead vocalist, Xulfi had previously served as the backing vocalist for numerous songs of EP and Call. The unlikely prospect of rock band Call recording a Bollywood song was made possible through Xulfi’s elder brother Khurram Jabbar Khan who was a close friend of Said Maklai, the A&R Manager of Indian record label HOM Records. Xulfi was briefed on the plot of the movie and even met director Sanjay Khanduri twice in Mumbai before composing the song. With mild assistance from his brother Danish, Xulfi wrote the lyrics in merely three hours. The catchy chorus melody of the track popped into his mind while he was walking on the treadmill in a gym. After recording a rough version of the song, he sent it to the producer the next morning and was eagerly given the green signal. Normally when Pakistani musicians collaborate with Indian media moguls for movie projects, they have to travel across the border for recording sessions and usually have 365 Rockistan their lyrics altered. In Xulfi’s case, he was given complete creative freedom and sung, produced, wrote, composed, mastered and recorded the entire song in the comfort of his own music studio, Xth Harmonic. The icing on the cake was the violin in the song that was played by Javed Iqbal. The critical response for Laaree Chootee was overwhelmingly positive as it reached the number one spot on the music charts of MTV Pakistan, The Musik, B4U and MTV India within the first week of its release. However, the song sent Call’s earliest fanbase into a meltdown as they were not too pleased by the abrupt switch from rock to pop. It is not uncommon for hard rock groups to release pop or pop rock songs. Prominent bands that have softened their guitar-oriented sound include Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and even Linkin Park. Nor is it uncommon for rock bands to entirely switch their genre to pop later in their career as Maroon 5 and Paramore are a few examples. As Call drew more media attention and cultivated a wider audience due to their new pop song, Xulfi was castigated by his earliest fans for doing so. The change did not last for just one song either as Call soon underwent a complete makeover. As their upcoming releases showed, the band had distanced themselves from rock. Though Xulfi explained that an artist should explore new musical realms, the severe backlash was quite understandable as he was previously quite open about his disdain for pop music. For instance, when television host and music journalist Fasi Zaka was interviewing members of EP in his pythonesque humour show On , he asked if they want to give a message 366 POLITICAL UPHEAVAL to the people of Peshawar. Xulfi was not at all hesitant to provide a rather blunt answer. “Stop listening to pop.” Moreover, Xulfi would take great pride on social media by highlighting how his team comprising of rock artists beat the opposing pop team in cricket tournaments under his captaincy. One of the matches was held in LUMS in October 2007. The pop team was captained by Ali Zafar and consisted of Atif Aslam, Abrar-ul-Haq among others. Whereas the rock cricket team had a stacked roster comprising of Junaid Khan, Tanseer Ahmed Daar, Ken Zeerick aka Kenny, etc. The match was organized by event management agency JBnJaws Productions and Sports Student Society of LUMS whereas Wateen Telecom and Radio1 FM91 stepped forward as corporate sponsors. Xulfi’s rock team stood victorious and won a cash prize of 50,000 rupees. Once Call diverted to pop, one of the few saving graces of Pakistani rock music at the time was Mauj. Their first major breakthrough was due to Khushfehmi and it was followed by Paheliyan in late 2007. Directed by their previous collaborator Babar Sheikh, it was another masterstroke by the funk rock band. Aside from being the frontman of his band Mauj, Omran Shafique was an honourary member of co-VEN and a permanent session player for Ali Azmat’s solo shows. He was quite eager to join Ali on the stage due to being his childhood hero. Additionally, Omran had been covering Junoon tracks even before becoming a professional musician. Though Mauj consolidated to new heights of 367 Rockistan superstardom, Omran was contemplating moving back to the United States. Owing to the frequent terrorist attacks, the music scene was declining with every passing day and being a full-time musician was no longer a feasible career. Omran’s plans altered when he received a phonecall from Rohail Hyatt who presented him a lucrative offer in a show that became a staple of Pakistani music for over a decade— Coke Studio. 368 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

Chapter 11 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

In India, the concerned authorities stopped piracy by cracking down on the culprits, but here we weren’t able to shut down Rainbow Centre. Faraz Anwar

The The state of Pakistan’s music sphere has a long and tangled history with the political landscape. The governments after Pervez Musharraf have been impotent, or rather apathetic, in elevating the country’s music landscape and have resulted in horrific long-term implications. “The Pakistani government has more pressing matters they need to take care of first. I hope.” Answers Omran Shafique when asked about the possibility of the government aiding Pakistan’s music spectrum. “If they do ever get around to forming an updated version of a ministry of music there would be hope for all the hungry starving artists. But I think there are some hungry starving public that need hope and salvation first.” During Asif Ali Zardari’s tenure as President, Pakistan would be battered with skyrocketing inflation, rupee depreciation, suicide bombers, energy crises, deteriorating security and economic headwinds. Such deep-seated conditions had serious ramifications on the music scene as 369 Rockistan well as numerous rock bands could not stagger back to their feet. Ironically, it was during this dismal period when a few pop stars would experience (albeit briefly) a religious awakening. As nationwide grievances continued to mount, Pakistan would be in the eye of the storm multiple times due to accentuating terrorism. In March 2009, a bus loaded with Sri Lanka’s national cricketers were violently attacked by militants near Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Not even Islamabad Marriott Hotel, Islamic International University and GHQ were immune to terrorist attacks that involved explosives or suicide bombings. In 2012 alone, more than 3500 civilians and security personnel died due to ascending levels of terrorism. It was hugely worrisome for musicians as well since it reduced their commercial mileage. For instance, Mekaal Hasan Band had to cancel one of their gigs at Rafi Peer Festival in November 2008 when three bomb blasts occurred in succession near the Alhamra Cultural Complex, Lahore. The declining security situation significantly reduced the occurrences of concerts which are the prime source of income for musicians. The sharp drop of live shows can also be attributed to Coke Studio as several artists after being featured on it would quote an increased price that would be too steep for the organizers. “Once bands appeared on Coke Studio, they would double or triple their asking price which would make it very difficult for the organizers to conduct their shows,” reveals Mizraab’s manager Rameez Asif. Coke Studio has been linked to the instantaneous growth of the personal brand of musicians and while the decision to 370 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES increase the price is debatable, the show cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor to the diminishing occurrences of live gigs. Aside from the lack of concerts, rampant piracy further reduced the earnings of musicians. Contrary to the popular belief, piracy was not a new problem that sprang up with the rise of the digital revolution in Pakistan. “I see about 500 websites selling my first album that I released through Sonic in Pakistan and they’re still selling the CD for $10 on the net and I’m not getting a single penny of that,” complains Aamir Zaki. “How is an artist supposed to survive that way? Can’t!” Piracy opened up a new frontier for crime and the income of musicians reduced from millions to dimes. In September 2009, international piracy watchdogs ranked Pakistan in the world’s top 10 pirate countries. The International Federation for Phonographic Industries (IFPI) concluded that Pakistan’s illegal replication facilities were producing 25 million discs for local consumption and exporting 205 million copies on an annual basis. Even the country’s oldest and largest music company EMI Pakistan had suffered major setbacks due to piracy and was left with no choice but to suspend its operations for sixteen years. According to COO Zeeshan Chaudhry, the company was selling fewer cassettes to the public as compared to the people producing unauthorized copies. For musicians, illegal CD manufacturing plants are nothing short of grisly crime scenes and they have often complained that law enforcement agencies are ill-equipped to handle such crises. Their demands of swift and decisive action against the culprits have been met on a few occasions 371 Rockistan as the local police have sometimes conducted crackdowns on computer shops in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad for engaging in piracy and violating intellectual property rights. In Pakistan, the punishment for such unethical actions is a fine of 200,000 rupees, up to three years of imprisonment and confiscation of equipment utilized for piracy. Counterfeited cassettes and CDs had been a lingering issue but the availability of songs on the internet accelerated piracy. The ubiquity of songs that could be downloaded free of charge completely eliminated the need to purchase cassettes and CDs and the general population became accustomed to listening to music without paying a single penny. “Nobody buys music,” says Overload frontman Farhad Humayun Syed. “Nobody buys CDs, DVDs, merchandise because Pakistan is the second largest piracy market in the world.” The struggle of musicians to stay afloat is a perilous one since the concept of royalties is virtually non-existent in the country. This has been the case since the heyday of Noor Jehan as even the melody queen would often lash out over not receiving her share of the royalties. Though EMI Pakistan has been known to pay royalties to the artists, COO Zeeshan Chaudhry reveals that 95% of radio and television channels across the nation would not do so. Faraz Anwar still receives royalties from Finland’s progressive metal record label Lion Music that released his instrumental album Abstract Point of View but none from Pakistani record labels that released Mizraab’s first two albums. One might suspect that an artist or a band receives the lion’s share or at least some portion of the revenue from the 372 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES sales of their albums but that is not the case. In Pakistan, record labels purchase the album from the artist for a lump sum amount. When copies of the album are sold in the market, the profits are shared between the parties involved in the distribution including the record label and music stores. Even if an album sells in millions or just one copy, it is not a statistical validation of how much the musicians have financially earned since they do not get even an iota of the amount. Ironically, the record labels would ferociously encourage the public to financially “support the artist” by purchasing their albums. Considering the fact that this business model has been operational for decades, the music landscape of the country demands significant upfront costs but can potentially promise a paltry sum in return. Such sordid business dealings have cultivated a perennial distrust in record labels and a few groups such as Mekaal Hassan Band and Overload opted to release their albums on online platforms like iTunes, CD Baby, or their official website instead. In essence, nearly all Pakistani record labels are actually record distributors. They do not own music studios, do not nurture their musicians and do not have talent scouts that search for emerging yet promising artists. Their structure is built on systematic exploitation due to the absence of royalties and copyright. On the bright side, some record labels such as EMI Pakistan and LIPS Music cover the costs of music videos of their signed artists. “There is no copyright here and everyone loses millions in royalties because of piracy,” states Salman Ahmad. “The Beatles broke up in 1970 but they have been kept alive by their music. Their intellectual property has been protected 373 Rockistan and brings their families a regular income over half a century later. On the other hand, Pakistani artists, composers, writers and poets struggle to eke out a living because the lack of copyright protection deprives them of over 90% of their legitimate royalty earnings.” In April 2006, Ali Azmat and Haroon Rashid had co- founded the Association of Music Professional of Pakistan (AMPP) with the aim of making the musicians aware of their fundamental rights and collecting royalties from the television and radio stations that play their music without paying them. The unionization gained momentum and AMPP would later induct Mekaal Hasan, Asad Ahmed, Ali Zafar, Gumby, Fuzön, Zeb and Haniya, Arieb Azhar, Farhad Humayun Syed, Hadiqa Kiani, Sajjad Ali and Noori as members. AMPP once sent a letter to President Musharraf to voice their concerns and even held a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce to suggest the launch of a much- needed royalties collection agency. There were even plans of communicating with the Ministry of Education to include music in the syllabus. As commendable as the initiative was, it failed to bring forward the desirable results. One of the reasons is that most of the members declined AMPP President Ali Azmat’s suggestions to boycott major events, be it corporate-sponsored or related to television channels. Inflated egos and insecurities of the artists played a significant role in the downfall of the union as well. Not all rock bands have ever been on the same page as there have been instances of a bigger group demanding the organizers of a concert to drop the less popular group from the list of featured acts in favour of adding another band that they were 374 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES friends with. Moreover, session players of mainstream solo acts have often complained that they are criminally underpaid and even threatened to be replaced if they ask for an increment. “If you are being paid 15 to 20 lakh rupees per show then on what ethical values can you justify paying just 25 to 30 thousand rupees to your session player in this day and age?” asks Gumby. According to Asad Ahmed, AMPP fizzled out because categories were formed within the music fraternity and not every musician had the same agenda. The efforts of musicians towards the betterment of Pakistani music are not all futile. In 1996, Junoon’s Salman Ahmad asked his band’s longtime sponsor Coca-Cola to invest in Pakistan’s burgeoning music landscape. Around the same time, he started an awareness campaign for the protection of intellectual property rights. Salman gave Coca- Cola a proposal which eventually became Coke Studio. “Since I was out of the country in America, Coke hired Rohail Hyatt to the launch Coke Studio,” he claims. “Junoon’s Azadi and Parvaaz albums were the perfect sufi rock fusion model for Coke Studio.” As the music scene continued to submerge in malaise, Coke Studio became one of the rare sources of quality songs. Similar to Salman, his former Vital Signs bandmate Rohail Hyatt also recommended his group’s corporate sponsor Pepsi to uplift Pakistan’s music landscape. This culminated with the 2002 Pepsi Battle of the Bands and though the initiative was a huge leap for the music scene, the commercial results were below the beverage juggernaut’s expectations and the show was not followed up with a second season the following year. Musicians and even 375 Rockistan concerts have relied upon financial muscle by multinational companies but from 2007 onwards, corporate sponsorships began to rapidly decline due to economic recession. One could have a glimpse of Pakistani music going into a vicious downward spiral through private music channels. Most of them shut down due to lack of revenue and the ones that survived the nosediving business steadily began to include Bollywood content at the expense of promoting homegrown artists. As the tracks from across the border barged into local music channels and eventually made their way to weddings, restaurants, clubs and festivals, Pakistani music took a backseat. The light of hope for rock music became even dimmer as it was already struggling to establish a foothold in the market again. Though Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) permits only 10% of foreign content to be aired on television channels, Bollywood songs exceeded way beyond the legal limit and swept aside rock music. Digital media mogul Dr. Akbar Yezdani pins the blame on Indus Media Group’s music channel G-Kaboom which was overflowing with Bollywood content. With a meagre expenditure and neglecting licensing fees, the channel would air pirated Indian songs and its ratings went off the charts. G-Kaboom would generate a revenue of approximately 1,00,00,000 rupees on a monthly basis and swiftly snatched a massive chunk of audience members of every other music channel. It is essential to note that even the viewership of MTV Pakistan, which was being operated under the same television network, plummeted. As the viewer consumption behavior clearly showed that local content was being 376 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES discarded, the rest of the music channels resorted to air the tunes from across the border. According to Noman Malik, owner of a private production house, there were three reasons behind Bollywood content invading Pakistani music channels. Firstly, the artists themselves were releasing less music and since the 24-hour satellite music channels constantly needed fresh material to air, they utilized Bollywood music to fill the voids. The second reason was the financial constraints as music channels would demand hefty payments to run Pakistani music videos. According to Ali Azmat, television channels asked for 25,000 rupees per airing. Whereas EMI COO Zeeshan Chaudhry specifically points out music channel 8XM for demanding 20,000 rupees per airing. “The musicians cover the costs of the recording of their own songs and production of their music videos,” states Noman. “How could you expect them to have enough money to pay music channels as well when the country was going through inflation?” Lastly, as Pakistan was entering the digital age, the artists realized that television was no longer the sole medium to showcase their music and proceeded to utilize online platforms such as their official websites, pages and YouTube to upload their content. This compelled music channels to air Bollywood content and Pakistani artists moved to the background and their share of the market tumbled. As beneficial as the option of YouTube was, it was no longer available since September 2012 as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) banned the video- sharing website. 377 Rockistan

A blasphemous and anti-Islamic short film titled Innocence of Muslims was uploaded on YouTube and a wave of riots and protests erupted in Pakistan which resulted in the desecration of cinemas, banks and restaurants. The violence even spilled to government offices that left at least fifteen people dead. Similar protests were witnessed across the Muslim world as the citizens of Bangladesh, and also expressed their disgust. Instead of blocking the particular short film, PTA took down the entire website and this neutered the Pakistani musicians who had just become accustomed to YouTube for the promotion of their content. Even music critics were no longer active as the overall landscape was teetering on the brink of collapse. Third- generation lawyer and “part-time music nut” Mohammad A. Qayyum’s music reviews became less frequent. On the other hand, the country’s forefront music critic Nadeem Farooq Paracha completely vanished from the scene. Known for being hard to impress and brutally honest in his reviews, he once received a court notice from pop star Ali Haider for “hurting his sentiments.” The music critic had the privilege of sneak of multiple iconic albums throughout Pakistan’s rich music history months before their official release. A few examples include Junoon’s Talaash and Inquilaab, Vital Signs’ Hum Tum and Aamir Zaki’s Signature. He would receive numerous advance copies and demos every month but remained extremely selective when it came to deciding which album to preview. Due to the declining state of Pakistani music, Nadeem eventually stopped reviewing albums. 378 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

Even when rock musicians were neck-deep in misfortunes, they never hesitated to cast aside their own issues and help fellow citizens in the hour of need. In July 2010, heavy monsoon rains caused a catastrophic flood in the country which affected nearly 20 million people through destruction of homes, business losses or property damage. About 1.6 million houses were either damaged or devastated, an estimated 14 million people were rendered homeless and the death toll was approximately 1200 and may have been as high as 2200. Rock band Noori extended their humanitarian support to flood victims by forming a Celebrity Camp in Lahore. Benefit shows, special appearances and speeches were organized through the platform which featured the likes of Ali Azmat, Noori, Roxen, Ali Azmat, Fariha Pervez, Shiraz Uppal etc. Almost 300,000 rupees were raised for the victims of the flood through Celebrity Camp. In August 2010, Noori held a two-day event in the Mall of Lahore to collect donations and sell items for auctions by them, Jal, Munib Nawaz and . Apart from the relief items, Noori also conducted a series of charity concerts so the proceeds could be distributed to the flood victims. Similar acts of generosity were also showcased by Mekaal Hasan Band, Call, Fuzön, Strings, Jal and a reunited Entity Paradigm as the bands performed across Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and several other cities so they could donate the money earned from tickets and merchandise sales to the families affected by the flood. With Eid-ul-Fitr around the corner, Noori attempted to lighten the distress of the children affected by the massive flood by visiting and gifting them new toys, books, clothes and food packets. Whereas rapper 379 Rockistan

Ahmad Ali Butt from EP teamed up with the students of the University of Lahore and embarked on a collection drive that raised more than 300,000 rupees. The relief efforts of rock stars during recurring nationwide crises deserve as much recognition as NGOs, local charities, military personnel and foreign governments. In January 2012, the prime source of income for musicians was in jeopardy as concerts across Punjab were on the verge of being banned. Earlier in the month, Atif Aslam held his concert at Alhamra Cultural Complex, Lahore, which was organized by the administration of Punjab Group of Colleges. Due to lack of security and a crowd way beyond the capacity, a stampede occurred at the end of the show which resulted in three college girls trampled to death and five critically injured. In light of the tragedy, the Punjab Assembly did not pass a resolution that tightened security, introduced emergency exits nor prohibited the number of crowd members from crossing the capacity limit. Instead of exploring the root causes of the unfortunate incident, the provincial assembly imposed a ban on concerts at private and public educational institutions. The resolution was presented by PML(Q) MPA Seemal Kamran and was passed unanimously. The decision caused a whirlwind of controversy and several rock luminaries including Ali Azmat, Mekaal Hasan, Ali Noor and Ahmad Ali Butt voiced their displeasure as their livelihood was at stake. On the flip side, the resolution banning concerts was applauded by moral lobbies, conservative citizens and right-wing religious parties. Musicians across Punjab became vociferous critics of the 380 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES ban as live shows are among the commercial high points of their career. After drawing much criticism, the resolution was soon withdrawn by the Punjab Assembly. The musicians of the province had no time to rejoice as they faced a cruel reversal of fortunes when the government of Punjab introduced a 65% entertainment tax on concerts, regardless of being ticketed or not. The tax hike was a virulent attack on rock music and musicians across the province bemoaned the decision as it meant that live shows would be operating within an extremely low-profit margin. “The new government enforced a 65% tax of music performance in particular so promoters don’t organize shows anymore because they don’t make anything,” states Farhad Humayun Syed. “Plus there’s a general lack of security in the country. So, if bands can’t play concerts, they can’t sustain their careers.” The tax increment foisted on live gigs was a lethal dose of poison for Punjab’s music scene which was already sliding down on a slippery slope due to frequent terrorist attacks and security threats. Such a discouraging situation forced numerous rock bands to break up. Some bailed out and some withered away. Whereas a few musicians found the temptation of a possible acting career too irresistible. Ali Azmat, Ali Noor, Goher Mumtaz, Farhan Butt, Salman Albert and Junaid Khan have all tried their hand at show business with varying results. Though Sindh had its fair share of political unrest, energy crises and bomb blasts, the entertainment tax on performing arts was merely 25% so the concert culture in the province was moderately more vibrant 381 Rockistan than Punjab and Karachi remained the rock capital of Pakistan. Karachi has always been a top destination for musicians as the local clubs, restaurants, outdoor festivals, coffee shops and small-scale venues across the city have never been short of a diverse variety of musicians excelling in various genres such as rock, pop, electronica, jazz, folk and trance to cater to different needs of the audience. Karachi’s status as the undisputed epicenter of music could be observed in the early '90s as well. During that period, rooftop concerts were frequently held and during the funfairs, bands from the local underground circuit and the Christian community would cover English language songs. According to Omran Shafique, one must go to Karachi in order to earn money through music. That has been the case for decades as both Vital Signs and Junoon, which were based in Islamabad and Lahore, respectively, relocated to Karachi for the sake of their professional music careers. Lahore’s underground rock circuit suffered the most amid the tax spike. Rock gigs and heavy metal jams at Alhamra Cultural Complex and Gaddafi Stadium became a distant memory for most underground bands and independent artists. In addition to the 65% taxation, the audience gradually reduced due to diminishing security. Amid the dwindling concert scene, underground musicians became more vulnerable to dishonest organizers who did not have their best interests at heart. For instance, new groups are often exploited and asked to perform at clubs and small events for the sake of “exposure” instead of payment. There even have been instances of organizers replacing a band at 382 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES the eleventh hour with another one that had agreed to perform at a fraction of the former’s price or without any charge. So many potentially great bands have remained vastly undiscovered due to calling it quits after being ripped off. Even mainstream rock bands have been victims of unethical practices that are rife in the music scene. For instance, minutes before Vital Signs, EP and Jal were about to step on stage before their respective shows, they were told by organizers that they do not have the full payment. If a band refuses to perform under such unprofessional circumstances, it is their reputation at stake, not the organizers’. It is immensely rare for large-scale concerts to go without a hitch as organizers are usually more concerned about the front row of the seating area reserved for the chief guests instead of the sound system. "It's amazing how the so-called rock concerts we have today are treated like some or VIP culture get-together,” complains Gumby. “You have die-hard fans waiting to hear or get a glimpse of their favorite artists but can't do so because obviously they are standing way out there at the back and the so-called VIPs are in front pretending to be all sophisticated and digging their fingers in their ears complaining that the music is too loud. My question to these VIPs is why are you even there at all? Leave, go home, adios amigo, let the kids have their good time. Give the fans a chance to come upfront and enjoy a concert like it's supposed to be. Another aspect is that most organizations are more concerned with how everything looks rather than focusing on the acoustics, sound equipment, and other stage details. A flimsy stage, a jungle 383 Rockistan of cables just thrown around at the last minute and electricity issues have sadly become a norm for us musicians. Audiences normally think that it's the rock-star attitude of the performers not showing up on time to perform, but that is so not the case most of the time. It seems like people cut corners and just want to make money at the end of it. It’s sad but true and I guess all us musicians have no option but to cope with it.” The state of Islamabad’s underground scene was breathing its last gasps as well as a new crop of spectacular rock bands barely emerged. Among the few was Ehl-e-Rock. The group was one of the most active ones in the capital city’s underground circuit. Be it Hellfest II in Islamabad or Rafi Per Theatre in Lahore, the rock band radiated charisma every time they stepped on the stage. Their guitar player Saad bin Salim always left the audience starstruck by playing the instrument with a murderous rage. Ehl-e-Rock was facing minor hiccups and had undergone a series of vocalist changes before finally gaining steam when Aaiz Khan filled the spot. Before moving to Islamabad with his family, he resided in Multan and instantly became a fan when he heard the band. He would sing with his cheap acoustic guitar in school but was told by his seniors that his vocals are better suited for rock and heavy metal. One of them recommended Aaiz to give an audition for an Islamabad-based underground band that was searching for a new vocalist and to his surprise, it turned out to be none other than Ehl-e-Rock. During Aaiz’s two-year stint as the vocalist, the band would perform covers of Alter Bridge, Black Label Society, 384 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

Saliva and Drowning Pool. Ehl-e-Rock would also record an instrumental track and original songs inspired by Rage Against the Machine. According to Aaiz, disgruntled youth of the country leans towards playing rock music to vent out their frustrations over the pitiful situation of the country. “The story of the youth in Pakistan is a sad one,” he says. “Strict, abusive parenting (which is deemed normal and anyone objecting to it is termed as being disrespectful to our culture) followed by a 15-year long course in ‘subjugating to authority’ whether it be to teachers, parents or any adult for that matter. You are not allowed to question, express or share your honest point of views on any matter. During their developmental years, teens find recluse and freedom of their honest expression in different activities. Sports, gaming, music etc. The more sensitive ones end up angsty and rebellious and for such teens, rock and metal become the saving grace. Allowing them to vent out their frustrations and angst. Plus, the DIY attitude that comes with these lifestyles ensures that every avid listener of the genres tries at least once to either play an instrument or write their own songs.” Similar to their underground counterparts, Ehl-e-Rock has also felt the wrath of the organizers during their live gigs. For instance, they had their show cut short due to “time constraints” and on several occasions, the organizers switched the microphones and instruments off during the performance which would always lead to violence and a frenzy of swear words back and forth. “I do understand now that there was little the organizers could do,” admits Aaiz. “It was our ‘experienced adult generation’ at work yet again, 385 Rockistan they wanted to make sure that their arbitrary, stupid and illogical curfew times are respected since women having too much fun always hurts everyone in this country.” During such unpleasant moments, fans of Ehl-e-Rock would aid the band and fight back. One such incident happened at Beaconhouse School System, Margalla Campus, Islamabad. There was a 9 PM curfew that night and by the time the band got up on stage, there were only 15 minutes left whereas their setlist lasted for half an hour. The crowd wanted Ehl-e-Rock to continue but the school’s principal had the main power of the hall shut down to force them off the stage. However, the audience continued singing with the group. “The show must go on” is a renowned phrase in the entertainment sector and it is best exemplified by rebellious underground rock bands. While Ehl-e-Rock and contemporary groups have been frequently mistreated and exploited by their organizers, Aaiz maintains that newly formed underground rock bands with zero followers cannot expect payment right away. They have to focus on self-marketing and selling their brand to their target audience first. Before an underground rock band begins to consider themselves as royalty, they have to sell their brand of music almost forcefully to reach the point where people would start paying for the tickets to their shows. Aside from deceiving organizers, the people attending concerts have also caused impediments for underground rock bands. According to Aaiz, the exploitation of musicians is a deep-rooted problem in Pakistan as it has not been welcoming towards arts and music in the post-Zia era. “The general population does not understand the 386 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES importance arts and artists have in shaping and moving a society forward,” he says. “As long as they keep asking for backstage passes or fraudulent ways to enter a show just to save 500 rupees then I doubt this will ever change. The audience will have to start respecting art and artists.” As the overall scene was clinging to life, rock stars made it quite clear that music as an industry does not exist in Pakistan. In fact, sweeper and technician as a profession are present in the occupation list of National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) but not a musician. One day, Xulfi went to renew his passport and when he told the person at the counter that he was a musician, he received a disheartening response. “Tell your profession, not your passion.” Omran Shafique and Faraz Anwar have shared similar experiences at NADRA’s office as well. “Musician is not in the list but it can be included by initiating a request addressed to the chairman,” says a representative from NADRA Zonal Office in Rawalpindi who preferred to stay anonymous. Since being a musician is categorically not even listed as a profession in Pakistan, it should not come as a surprise that rock stars do regular 9-to-5 jobs parallel to their music careers since the former does not provide enough income to sustain a satisfactory standard of living. For example, Aaroh’s second lead guitar player Haider Hashmi worked as an Assistant General Manager (Sales &Marketing) at IGI. Call’s lead vocalist Junaid Khan has vast experience in the corporate sector as well due to working in Eden Developers, Packages Limited, Wateen and Telenor. His bandmate Sultan Raja has worked as a software engineer at United 387 Rockistan

Bank Limited. EP’s Fawad Afzal Khan worked as a Marketing Manager at Eden Developers. The band’s drummer Waqar Ahmed Khan has worked as an IT Operations Officer at Telenor. EP’s rhythm guitar player Hassaan Khalid was the Assistant Manager (Commercial and Key Accounts) at textile company Nishat Chunian Ltd. Mizraab’s rhythm guitar player Jamal Mustafa was a real estate developer. Karavan’s drummer Allan Smith was an automobile engineer at Toyota. There have been very rare cases of artists leaving their corporate jobs to become a full- time musician. One of them is Ali Azmat who briefly worked as a clerk in Bank of Punjab for three days before co-founding Junoon. Omran Shafique, who worked for five years in the field of IT before becoming a full-time musician, is also a noteworthy example. Due to an inadequate inflow of cash, bandmates are prone to squaring off in heated confrontations regarding the division of money. Conventional wisdom suggests that every band member has an equal share after earning from a gig or endorsement but that is not necessarily the case. , Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters and Dave Matthews Band are known to split their income equally. Sometimes, the co-founders of a band have a bigger share of the profits than the rest of the members. A case in point is the Smiths. The British rock band was formed by vocalist Steven Patrick Morrissey and lead guitar player Johnny Marr. The duo took a bigger cut of the profits than bass player Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. This proved to be a bone of contention among the bandmates and the Smiths lasted for merely five years. 388 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

Occasionally, some bandmates are actually salaried employees who are underpaid than the rest. Ronnie Wood, the rhythm guitar player of the Rolling Stones, was treated as such for decades and got his first pay raise after seventeen years of service. Though Pakistani rock bands have never publically disclosed how they split their payments, a false perception exists that the money is divided equally. Even though the classic telefilm Dhundle Raste starring Vital Signs explicitly showed a scene in which the bandmates shared their profits equally, that was not always the case in reality. After being signed with Pepsi, the three core band members Rohail Hyatt, Junaid Jamshed and Shahzad Hasan felt that their new guitar player Rizwan-ul-Haq should be paid from the moment he started contributing. His successor Aamir Zaki was treated the same way and though he received a share from the concerts, the money stemming from sponsorship was off-bounds for him. “It was a complicated formula that we used to divide the money,” recalls Rohail. “That always left the fourth guy feeling he was not really part and parcel of the big picture, and I remember on numerous occasions I had meetings with the band members saying we should do away with it because this isn’t good for the band.” Any sort of financial imbalance among the band members is likely to flare up tensions and create rifts despite spending years in each other’s intimate company. When the Rolling Stones began to taste superstardom in their formative years, rhythm guitar player Brian Jones would book their shows and pick their setlist. Due to his managerial services, he would pay himself £5 more than his bandmates. When lead 389 Rockistan vocalist Mick Jagger and lead guitar player Keith Richards found out, an internal power struggle soon ensued. Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 divide their royalties equally regardless of the varying contributions by the members. As a result, both rock bands have thrived for more than three decades with a comparatively stable line-up. As for Pakistani rock bands, they usually follow the distribution model implemented by Vital Signs. “Members are paid according to when they start contributing towards the band’s catalogue of music,” reveals Aaroh’s Farooq Ahmed. “If a new member joins, he will be paid less than the ones already present in the band. That is the method generally applied in Pakistan and also in the west. Do you think Robert Trujillo of Metallica gets paid as much as founding members, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich?” While being engulfed in international humiliation due to failure to stop terrorists from blowing up girls’ schools or Osama bin Laden finding refuge just 0.8 miles away from Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, the rock stars were the ones who were building a stunning reputation for the country through their music. In December 2009, Islamabad-based rock band Qayaas won the Rolling Stones-Jack Daniel’s Award for Best Pakistani Rock Band in New Dehli, India. The same year, Faraz Anwar registered himself in the international competition Guitar Idol and held the rapt attention of listeners around the globe. By now, Faraz had scratched and clawed his way to mainstream recognition due to his lightning-fast guitar playing and had cultivated an extremely loyal following. 390 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

In fact, Faraz had become a cult figure to a few as evident from one of his live gigs in which some fans touched his feet while he was playing the guitar on the stage. On another occasion, a fan bowed down in front of him as a gesture of respect though Faraz immediately asked him to stand up. Among his fans, he became the closest to Rameez Asif. The Mizraab superfan had made quite a name for himself on internet forums due to his passionate support for the band and even coined the popular term “Mizraabianz” to define its listeners. Eventually, he became the progressive rock group’s manager and even designed their official website. Faraz submitted his instrumental track Autumn Madness for Guitar . Despite the late entry, he went from the 30th spot to 2nd place overnight. He reached the finals which were to be held at London International Music Show in June 2009 and judged by guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw himself from the competition because he was unable to obtain a visa. Faraz had already applied for a student visa for the United Kingdom as he intended to study a professional music course after being granted a scholarship. Since the UK law does not permit two visas for the same country, he could not perform at the final round which was ultimately won by Jack Thammarat from Thailand. Faraz’s guitar playing evokes emotions and images whereas his musical brilliance is only matched by his humbleness. His technical proficiency is yet to be rivalled as no other guitar player in Pakistan stands shoulder to shoulder with him. Though Faraz was forced to pull out from Guitar Idol 2009, the platform did provide him the opportunity to 391 Rockistan represent Pakistani rock music on a global scale. Overall, he reached the third spot in the competition and was the only Pakistani to reach the top five positions. Later that year, Faraz enrolled in Tech , London, where he studied for a Master’s degree in Jazz Music and Music Production. “The music scene will get fixed when first of all, we understand that music should be accepted as an art form,” he answers when asked about how to revive the country’s music landscape. “This is the first step so the foundation would be made. Things would build upon it later on. This never happened because we have always seen an artist as a joker.” Though reviving the music scene, or at least bringing it back to the limelight, is never easy but few attempts have been made by corporate brands. In early 2011, cellular networking company Ufone launched Uth Records, a show where young and obscure musicians would be further groomed by established artists and provided proper recording facilities at the Gumby’s state-of-the-art LJP Studios in Karachi. The episodes of the show would feature a relatively unknown artist collaborating with a major musician for a song. In addition to their teamwork, both would have a shared music video in their repertoire. were Gumby and Omran Shafique whereas Zeeshan Parwez directed the show. As a music video director and animator, the latter had worked for Ali Azmat, Mekaal Hasan Band, Call, Jehangir Aziz Hayat, Lagan, Hashim Saeed aka Hash, Irtaash and even Coke Studio. Although the first season of Uth Records showed promise, 392 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES the second one ended up as a disappointment. Worst of all, Omran opted to skip the second season due to scheduling problems and budget constraints. Multinational coffee corporation Nescafé did a much superior execution of the format in late 2012. With Xulfi as the producer, the show Nescafé Basement was able to unearth enormous talent from every nook and corner of the country. The show had a diverse collection of musicians that featured vocalists, guitarists, drummers, saxophonists, flutists, violinists and percussionists. The first season mostly consisted of musicians from Lahore but the following ones branched out to Karachi, , , Quetta, and Islamabad. Only 98 young and budding artists submitted their auditions for the first season of the show and by the third one, the figure had surpassed 5000. Visiting booths were placed in multiple schools, colleges and universities across the country so musicians could have an audition while hoping to be recruited by Xulfi who clearly has a great ear for talent. After all, he has recorded countless young artists in his studio Xth Harmonic and judged several music competitions. Due to the show’s fierce marketing and Xulfi acting as a mentor, Nescafé Basement catapulted unknown yet supremely talented musicians into the mainstream and also provided them a solid foundation of legitimate music careers. Few became composers for Pakistani movies, television dramas and even Bollywood projects. Others became commercially successful solo stars in their own right. Some joined the live line-up of Xulfi’s rock band Call. Abdullah Qureshi, Bilawal Lahooti, Haroon and Sharoon Leo aka the Leo Twins, the All Girl Band, 393 Rockistan

Sibtain Khalid, Hadiya Hashmi, Rizwan Butt, Maria Unera and Zeeshan Ali stand tall as some of the biggest success stories to come out of the critically acclaimed show. Nescafé Basement would not only be limited to a televised show but a live one as well. The musicians would collectively perform dozens of concerts in a variety of universities such as Lahore University of Management Sciences, Foundation of Advancement of Science and Technology, Pakistan Institute of Fashion Designing and Air University. The undeterred Xulfi managed to uproot fresh talent beyond the underground rock circuits of Lahore or Karachi and has been a pivotal factor in jumpstarting their music careers. This can be closely examined by taking a glimpse at Fazian Bukhari, the percussionist on the third season of the show. While pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Air University, Islamabad, he witnessed a live gig of Nescafé Basement and was determined to join the show. Faizan submitted a video of himself playing a five-piece Mapex drumkit and another in which he was playing a djembe. An impressed Xulfi offered him to join the show as the percussionist since the aforementioned Bilawal Lahooti was already the drummer. However, Faizan’s mother was not at all excited about the selection and made her stance very clear. “Son, you can’t go. Do you want to drag the family name through the mud?” Although Faizan had been playing drums at home since the age of 19 and had been the drummer of Islamabad-based underground rock band Smugs, his mother took offense to 394 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES the idea of him appearing on national television as a musician. “Xulfi literally fought my mom over the phone,” recalls Faizan. “He said that I can make a good career out of it and he was right but my mother didn’t agree.” As a result, Faizan could not join the show but a year later, Xulfi reached out to him with the same offer. “You want to come?” “Yes, I want to come,” replied Faizan. “What about your mom?” “I won’t tell her!” Bent on performing at the forthcoming season, Faizan skipped his university classes and travelled all the way to Lahore so he could attend the recordings and jam with other musicians. His sessions at Nescafé Basement were kept in the dark from his mother and the door to a lucrative music career soon swung open. “Xulfi has played a very integral part in what I’ve done musically. It’s because of him I got to meet with very, very good musicians,” says Faizan who later had the chance to collaborate with Bakshi Brothers, Maria Unera and Zoha Zuberi. Moreover, he even joined the Leo Twins for an international tour in Dubai. “I literally earned money because of music. It was all after Nescafé Basement. Before that, there were obviously unpaid gigs. After Nescafé Basement, I actually experienced what a touring musician goes through and the life is awesome. It’s a dream come true! Five-star hotels, lavish dinners, the Dubai tour. Xulfi was the cause as it was him who actually took me on board.” Now working a corporate job as Assistant Manager HR at the agricultural juggernaut Sharif Group of Companies, 395 Rockistan

Faizan still takes out time as a session drummer in the Islamabad underground circuit whereas his mother became increasingly supportive of his side career after finding out about his performance at Nescafé Basement.

* * *

Record labels were a casualty in the slumping music scene as well. Noteworthy outlets such as EMI Pakistan, LIPS Music, BMN Records and Sound Master went bankrupt or shut down. In late 2006, Geo Television Network launched a music label of its own called Fire Records headed by Dr. Akbar Yezdani as its CEO. A year after graduating as a medical doctor from Sindh Medical College (now Jinnah Sindh Medical University) in 1991, he switched to the television industry and began his career as Director Sports Content at GEO Network Television. Throughout the next fifteen years, Dr. Yezdani rose through the ranks of the private television company to become CEO of Digital Media Assets. Initially perceived as a platform to propagate homegrown musicians, Fire Records would later receive a tremendously polarizing reputation. Almost every major act in the country signed up with Fire Records such as Ali Azmat, Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar, Abrar-ul-Haq, Shehzad Roy, Hadiqa Kiani, Strings, Jal, Call, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ahmed Jahanzeb, Zoheb Hassan, Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Najam Sheraz and Jal. Emerging musicians also inked deals with the label including Mauj, Kaavish, Zeb and Haniya, Roxen, Raeth, Gurus Trilogy, Azal, Laal, Rabi 396 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

Pirzada and VJ Dino. Fire Records even had a separate catalogue for na’at albums with the likes of Junaid Jamshed and Aamir Liaquat signing on. With over fifty solo artists and bands, the record label had fundamentally established itself as a monopoly in merely two years of its formation. Unlike its predecessors, Fire Records was not solely functioning as a distributor but provided genuine facilities to the musicians. The record label would offer its clients studio recording, video production, regular advertisements, album launches, live shows, televised interviews and substantial airtime. It even had an exclusive contract signed with YouTube over revenue-generation. However, signing up Fire Records had severe drawbacks as well. In exchange for their services, the artists had to give away their albums along with composition rights and distribution rights for a substantial lump sum amount. This meant that they would be deprived of the royalties earned from their albums sold in the market. Since Fire Records held the exclusive copyrights of the songs, they could only be played on the channels associated with Geo Television Network such as Aag TV and Geo TV. If any other music channel or a radio station wanted to play those songs, they would be legally obligated to pay royalties to Fire Records. The strategy backfired as music outlets began playing even more foreign content, mostly Bollywood, without worrying about licensing fees or copyright infringement. Such restrictions made it exceedingly difficult for music channels to air Fire Records’ licensed music where necessary such as reward shows and televised concerts. The record label had an iron grip akin to a stranglehold on 397 Rockistan

Pakistan’s music division and in mid-2009, a few music channels including MTV Pakistan, Oxygene TV and Play TV finally agreed to adhere to its strict copyright laws. In their signed contract, the channels were granted permission to air the songs legally owned by Fire Record in exchange for royalties. As ambitious as the record label was in maintaining its dominance, a whole host of musicians openly expressed their dissatisfaction. For instance, Roxen’s frontman Mustafa Zahid claims that Fire Records “ruined” their album release with “zero promotion” so the band had to shoulder the responsibility themselves alone. The most frequent complaint by the bands signed to Fire Records was the constant delays of their album releases which were varied two to three years. Both Call and Kaavish had their albums postponed but none suffer more than the white-hot Mauj. Omran Shafique initially hoped that his funk rock band’s debut album Now In Technicolour would be released in the summer of 2006 but finding a suitable record label derailed the plans. In January 2009, Mauj signed on with Fire Records with an album that had been fully recorded since the spring of 2006. Due to being postponed as usual, their momentum snapped and by the time it was released, the tidal wave of hype brewed by Mauj’s hit singles Khushfehmi and Paheliyan had long vanished. Even though the album was recorded in a garage, its sheer quality shines through. It wowed music critics and is still talked about in the highest regard. Mastered at Shahi’s music studio, Now In Technicolour is timelessly brilliant but the recurrent delays 398 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES caused irreparable damage. In fact, Fire Records kept the status of the album under wraps from Omran, forcing him to release it on , iTunes and before the official release in Pakistan. CEO Dr. Akbar Yezdani has often been vilified by musicians for how he ran the record label. Faraz Anwar has gone so far as to hail him responsible for destroying the entire music scene of the country. “In the early 2000s, he earned a lot through bands,” accuses Faraz. “He conducted award ceremonies, all that stuff, got sponsors, this and that, but he never paid the bands for anything.” However, Dr. Yezdani strongly denies all the accusations hurled at him over the years. He maintains that he never stole any artist’s money and explains that the clients themselves wanted to follow the lump sum business model that would dispossess them from exclusive copyrights, distribution rights and royalties. According to Dr. Yezdani, Ali Azmat was the lone exception as he preferred to sign a royalty-based agreement so he could own his songs while Fire Records solely dealt with the distribution of his album. Though he made less money than the rest of the clients due to the royalty-based contract, Ali took a stand for his art and went on to have the freedom to have his songs played on music channels, radio stations and televised concerts. Dr. Yezdani justified owning composition rights, royalty collections from music channels and radio stations, lump sum payments and rigid piracy laws by asserting that they were the necessary means to recover the expenditures of the facilities provided to the clients as physical copies of CDs 399 Rockistan were not selling enough for Fire Records to break even. Regarding the persisting album delays, he attributes them to the bomb blasts, Long March, elections, floods and the overall political instability that had beset the nation. The music label might have been sincere in bringing Pakistan’s music landscape out of the ventilator but closed its doors after seven years of operations and left an extremely divisive legacy among musicians and listeners alike. With local platforms diminishing and opportunities drying up, Pakistani artists would eye the Indian market. Numerous rock and pop acts such as Junoon, Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar, Call, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Strings, Mekaal Hasan Band, Jal and Roxen have made their mark across the border by either holding shows or lending vocals for a soundtrack. Though their longwinded praises for India are well documented, they are not baseless due to the country’s music being treated as a genuine industry. Xulfi claims that releasing a song in India has a higher likelihood of success because a bigger market equates to more listeners. According to Atif, India possesses better sound quality and aggressive marketing campaigns. Jal’s Farhan Saeed Butt echoes similar sentiments. “Bollywood is a very serious business that feeds a huge number of families, and has a significant amount of competition within it, even though it has a very big following as a whole,” explains Farhan. “The stakeholders make sure they promote the artist/product in every way they can in order to achieve their goals. A lot of people’s success depends on your success. So basically, artists receive a much bigger platform to begin with and hardly have anything to 400 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES worry about once their product is ready. On the contrary, the music business is not as serious and competitive in Pakistan, because of which artists are mainly ‘one-man-armies’ and have to almost do everything on their own.” Junaid Jamshed, who flew all the way to India to record his final album Dil Ki Baat, felt that both neighbouring countries have their fair share of strengths when it comes to music. “I believe that in India, the facilities are huge in comparison to Pakistan while expertise in music recording are far better in Pakistan,” he states. “We understand music better than the Indians but don't have well-equipped studios which makes India superior. If I say that in Pakistan, the producers have a better ear while in India, they have better equipment, then I won't be wrong.” Music journalist Fasi Zaka believes that the actual motive behind so many Pakistani musicians releasing their songs in India is to eventually hit the international market. He cites the example of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who gripped India in a frenzy through his qawwali and ultimately got references who eagerly recommended him abroad. The legendary musician would go on to collaborate with Eddie Vedder and Peter Gabriel. Omran Shafique has revealed that there have been instances of Pakistani musicians giving away their music for free to India due to being desperate to work there. “I don’t think they appreciate our singers any more than we do, but for some reason getting a song released in an Indian movie earns you more respect in Pakistan. I suppose it’s some sort of inferiority complex in play.” Though members of the artist community from both countries have encouraged cross-border collaborations, they 401 Rockistan are often put on hold amid political turmoil. From the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks to the periodic shooting at Line of Control (LoC), the potential projects or concerts of Pakistani musicians in India become caught in the crossfire of the soaring hostility between the two nations. The overwhelmingly unfavorable conditions chopped rock bands like trees and Aaroh was no exception. After their second album Raag Neela in December 2006 and the subsequent UK tour three months later, the Karachi-based band slipped under the radar. By March 2009, Aaroh had recorded a few demos for their third album but eight months later, lead guitar player Haider Hashmi parted ways with the band because he shifted to Lahore. He would subsequently release solo material along with playing sessions for Ali Azmat, Ali Zafar and Atif Aslam. Within a month of his departure, Aaroh collapsed. In early 2010, Farooq and his family relocated to the United States. His parents, siblings and relatives had already been settled there since the late '90s and his immigration process had finally been completed. While residing in the States, Farooq did a variety of jobs such as driving an Uber cab, managing a Dunkin Donuts outlet and running a dollar store. In early 2013, the remaining members of Aaroh reassembled for a brief spell with a new vocalist named Rizwan Anwar but disintegrated after one forgettable song. Apart from Junoon and Mekaal Hasan Band, no other group comes close to Aaroh in terms of magnificently criss-crossing eastern classical melodies and heavy guitar music. Despite their highly publicized internal clashes that unfolded behind the curtain and 402 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES occasional inclinations towards balletic tracks, Aaroh has left a lasting mark on Pakistani rock music. The domino effect would take down several more casualties. In early 2013, members of Mirzaab drifted. Due to the group being a revolving door to so many musicians that would not stay for long, it made more sense for Faraz Anwar to disassociate himself from the Mizraab moniker and perform as a solo artist. In addition to an ever-changing line-up, he felt that rest of the members were not improving with time. Mizraab did not release their third studio album tentatively titled Vabastagee that would have slightly inclined towards jazz and pop rock instead of limiting to progressive rock. However, the band continued to upload a truckload of live albums on their official website throughout their final years. Mauj suffered the same fate as the band became inactive due to frontman Omran Shafique growing sick of the debut album after hearing it multiple times. Though he had five demos ready for a possible second album, he preferred to expand his repertoire by experimenting with a diverse set of music genres to show the true range of his ability as a guitar player. Noteworthy examples include techno with Kostal, doom metal with Dusk, blues with Zeb and Haniya, fusion at Coke Studio, sufi rock with Chand Tara Orchestra, reggae with Undercover, fusion with Sounds of Kolachi and with Rushk. The exit of a lead vocalist usually leads to the entire band falling apart or the lead guitar player taking a page out of Salman Ahmad’s book and becoming the frontman as well. The same was the case with pop rock band Jal. In mid-2011, 403 Rockistan vocalist Farhan Saeed revealed to his bandmates that he was trading his role as the group’s vocalist for an exclusive membership of the solo club. His commitments with the band left him unable to “explore a wider horizon.” After leaving the band, Farhan spent more time on his acting career and released singles that were a world apart from his previous works. As for Jal, lead guitar player and founding member Goher Mumtaz took over the singing duties which felt like a downgrade as he is not up to par nor close to the band’s first two lead vocalists. “Atif was young when he left,” says Goher. “Farhan left because he thought he would become another Atif Aslam.” Jal’s popularity suffered a steady decline after Farhan’s departure and their long-awaited third album Pyaas was a joyless affair. Within a year of its release, bass player Shazi quit the pop rock group as well, citing bad moments being more memorable than good ones. Jal soon became a shadow of its former self due to the absence of key members that the fans had become overly attached to. Moreover, Goher’s craggy vocals were unable to breathe new life into the band. Even after the misstep of the yawn-inducing album Pyaas, he was bent on continuing his music career under the banner of Jal and recruited Saad Sultan on leader guitars, Amir Azhar on bass and Salman Albert on drums as part of the band’s live line-up. While Jal as a band is way past its shelf life, it does deserve to be in the conversation as one of the most influential acts in Pakistan as no other group has motivated more college and university students to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. 404 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

None of the news regarding vocalists leaving rock bands was as devastating to the fans as that of Junaid Khan of Call. Ever since their pop song Laaree Chootee, the band’s career trajectory changed and experienced a renewed success. Xulfi has revealed that Call’s concerts increased after the song’s release. As the band steered the ship towards pop, longtime fans accused him of denouncing his rock roots. With Call appearing in advertisements or composing jingles for Wall’s, Warid Telecom, PTCL, Nestlé, Jazz, Pepsi, McDonald’s and Huawei, their earliest fanbase was met with a crushing disappointment due to the stark departure from their hard rock-driven sound. By late 2009, the band had composed tracks for four Bollywood movies. As for their own tracks intended for a second album, Call gradually distanced themselves from their style of music and switched to radio-friendly tones and pop sensibilities. While Junaid’s vocals flawlessly fit the dark and brooding songs that Call released upon its reformation, he did justice to the upbeat, lively pop songs. As the rock genre was taken off the rails, Xulfi would constantly receive huge fan backlash but stood firm regarding the band stepping away from their original sound. “I think we diversified,” he says. “Some people say that we changed. I don’t think it’s a change. It’s a good thing that experiences in life change you so your music slightly changes as well. It’s not a change. Actually, we experimented with different music categories.” On Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Call released their sophomore album Dhoom and the fans were pleased to notice that the band had switched back to their edgier style 405 Rockistan of hard rock music. Featuring live drums and denser guitars, the twelve-track album predominantly consisted of rock songs and Xulfi was back in the good graces of rock fans. As far as live shows are concerned, Call’s technical virtuosity and energetic presence are unmatched. Their raucous concerts are a hard rock assault that stimulates the crowd into headbanging due to Xulfi’s ferocious guitar solos bursting through the speakers on the stage. Junaid credits Junoon as a primary influence when it comes to their puissant gigs. “When I met Ali Azmat, I told him that we’re inspired by Junoon," reveals Junaid. “When we were young, we saw Junoon performing live on stage and they motivated us to do the same. We make sure that the guitars, drums, sound system and the wiring in our live shows are up to the mark so we can inspire the next generation of fans to pick up the musical instruments.” As Call was spearheading the rock music scene, tensions began to spark within the band. In March 2012, Call performed for the final time with Junaid as the lead vocalist. After a few months passed without any live shows, it was formally announced that he had left the band. Roxen’s Mustafa Zahid and Irtaash’s Yasir Jaswal routinely took up his spot as guest vocalists for concerts. Xulfi claims that not only Junaid was recording a separate solo album but also kept the band in the dark about the project. According to Junaid, he left Call because the band members were crossing their domain which caused motive clashes and the development of insecurities. “What I believe is in every partnership, there has to be harmony in terms of the ideology. Especially in music, you 406 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES know? You have to be creatively in sync. But I think it was time that we realized that we have different ideologies and different paths when it comes to our future and in terms of our profession. So I think that's when I decided that we should part ways. The idea was in my head for a bit but of course, you know you tend to understand and tend to think that you can compromise to a level and you can actually maintain a relationship or partnership and you can actually take it a long way but at times that fails and you then have to think that you can't really do more or can't really think of compromising anymore so I think now I reached a point that I think that, yes, now we should part ways.” Unlike Fawad Afzal Khan who also hinted at a solo album following EP’s breakup but never followed through, Junaid not only released a couple of solo tracks but also did a few live shows despite his hectic acting schedule. His first concert took place at Karachi Medical and Dental College where he was the headliner act. His live line-up consisted of Faraz Rizvi as the lead guitar player, Hassan Sohail as the bass player, Shahid Rehman as the rhythm guitar player and Bilawal Lahooti as the drummer. As upsetting as it was to see Junaid dissociate himself from Call, the rift between him and Xulfi did not last long. In August 2015, he reunited with the hard rock group. According to Junaid, he reconciled with his band members because, by the time he rejoined, their insecurities had simmered down as they had grown up, become more stable and resolved their problems. Apart from Call, fans had long been craving for Gumby to reunite with Noori. The band would occasionally utilize Sikandar Mufti, Fahad Khan and even their former 407 Rockistan drummers Salman Albert and Farhad Humayun Syed for their live shows but the fans’ desire to see Gumby rocking again with Noori on stage never waned down. Since his dismissal from the band in April 2006, the drummer was not even on speaking terms with Ali Noor nor Ali Hamza. "Noori has always been basically Ali Noor and his brother and if you take the current situation of the band, again, it’s only the two of them that are there in that band now,” states Gumby. “So that's what Noori has always been. It has not been a third person outside that setup. And these are Ali Noor's words in which he has said that Ali Noor and Hamza are Noori." The Noori brothers met Gumby for the first time in two years after the latter’s sacking when they had to rehearse for their separate performances on The Musik Awards 2008 a day before the ceremony. Ali Noor persistently requested his former bandmate to have a conversation outside the venue and the duo was soon accompanied by Ali Hamza, Mandana Zaidi and Kaavish’s Jaffer Zaidi. Realizing his mistake, Noor apologized to Gumby for stabbing him in the back and they were back on good terms. Though he did not immediately rejoin the band, the fans would witness the trio sporadically performing together again on Coke Studio episodes when Noori would be the featured artist whereas Gumby would be the drummer in the house band. In October 2010, the trio had a one-off reunion on stage for a charity gig at the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture, Karachi, which also featured Ali Azmat, Mauj, Zeb and Haniya, Faraz Anwar among others. All the proceeds were generously donated to the flood-hit victims. 408 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

Noori performed six songs at the show and the fans hoped for the trio to reunite. Their wish was granted half a year later when the brothers hyped their upcoming concert at PACC Karachi as “a gig not to be missed.” On Friday, May 6, 2011, the classic four-member Noori line-up—Ali Noor as the lead vocalist and lead guitar player, Ali Hamza as the rhythm guitar player, Mohammad Ali Jafri as the bass player and Gumby as the drummer—officially reformed for the first time in seven years. As the excitement levels of the rambunctious crowd skyrocketed after seeing the quartet again, the band performed Manwa Re, Bol, Aarzoo etc. Unfortunately, the nostalgic reunion soon ran its course. Jafri left Noori after a year because he could not pour in the bulky amount of dedication that was being expected from him since he could not strike a balance between his band duties and family commitments. He had not seen his family for two months and once his daughter got hospitalized due to dehydration, he quit Noori so he could give considerable time to his close ones. Jafri would subsequently join indie rock band Rushk where he did not feel restricted nor stifled like his time in Noori. As the bass player and music video director of Rushk, he was able to express himself to the fullest extent of his capabilities. The remaining members of Noori would embark on dominating Pakistani rock music with heightened passions once again by releasing a live album titled Live at the Rock Musicarium in May 2012. Around this time, Noori’s live line-up included Faraz Anwar and Zeeshan Parwez on lead guitars and keyboards, respectively. Just a year later after the album’s release, the band’s status as an incendiary live act 409 Rockistan culminated when the Noori brothers and Gumby locked horns once again. The latter felt that the only reason that the brothers wanted him to rejoin the band was so they could ride on the success of his high-profile projects such as LJP Studio, Ufone Uth Records and Coke Studio. Furthermore, he never felt like he was on equal footing with the brothers, citing that the booklet of their United States tour in mid-2012 listed him as a session player instead of as a band member. Gumby narrates that as hostilities escalated, it was mutually decided that Noori would be taking a break. However, he soon found out that the band was performing a concert in the Karachi campus of Bahria University with Kami Paul as their drummer. When he called Ali Hamza to inquire about the show, he was told that they were testing out how to take the band forward. In a fit of rage, Gumby immediately quit the band. “Do you think I’m stupid?! Do you think I’m 12 years old?! Clear my money and consider me out of the band!” In June 2013, Gumby formally announced that he had departed from Noori for the second time and vowed never to work with the brothers ever again under any circumstances. As integral as he was to the band throughout his tenure, he barely recalls his Noori memories with affection. “The songs they used to sing, hum duniya badlein gay, it was all bullshit! They didn’t mean it!” According to Aamir Zaki, Gumby is the most talented rhythmist in the country. Similar compliments have been expressed by countless musicians who proclaim him as the greatest drummer in Pakistan. Had he not dissociated with Noori, fans might have never seen him evolve as the multidimensional drummer he is known 410 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES today by sticking to the band. Though Gumby’s professional relationship with Noori had reached the end of the trail, he continues to influence a surfeit of aspiring drummers and still leaves major imprints on the overall music landscape. “Bands have come and gone but the reason I am still here is because of my survival instincts and because I have learned how to adapt with different people.” While Ali Hamza has preferred not to comment on Gumby’s second departure, he has revealed that he truly admires his former bandmate. “I guess the relevant take away here is that very few bands have stuck it out with the same line-up. Before Gumby entered the band, Noori had already gone through two iterations of drummers; so my counter-question is why are we always talking about Gumby in Noori’s journey? Beyond this, it’s all petty talk for me and I have no intention to indulge. What I can conclude on this is that, with time, I have only developed respect for all the musicians who have been part of the Noori journey— Gumby being one of the many.” Similar to Noori, an alternative rock band reunited as well. On the night of Thursday, March 12, 2009, the students of Lahore University of Management Sciences were in for a pleasant surprise. As they were waiting for a local band to begin a concert at their annual event LUMS Olympiad, they saw few familiar faces stepping on the stage—Fawad Afzal Khan, Ahmad Ali Butt, Waqar Ahmed Khan, Hassaan Ali Khan and Salman Albert. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have an official announcement to make,” revealed rapper Ahmad as the rest were indulged in soundcheck on the stage. “EP is back!” 411 Rockistan

That statement drove the crowd to the edge of hysteria as their reunion was always considered a pipedream due to every member being involved in side projects. As EP kicked off the show with Kahan Hai Tu, fans in attendance became well aware that the reformed group would be limited to five members as original lead guitar player Xulfi and bass player Sajjad Ali Khan were missing in action. Truth be told, both were not even invited to the band’s reunion. Xulfi’s absence was particularly peculiar as he was the group’s creative force and composed their melodies but considering the pop direction Call was going at the time, his exclusion was a wise decision. The reformed EP’s line-up included Fawad as the lead vocalist, Ahmad as the keyboard player and rapper, Albert as the lead guitar player, Waqar as the drummer and Hassaan as the bass player and the band’s manager. With Fawad’s blockbuster acting career in full swing, the band got a major popularity boost. Waqar had vastly improved and incorporated new styles in his drumming like swing, dance, club, shuffle and rock ‘n’ roll. While pursuing a Master’s degree in Telecom Networks from the University of Technology, Sydney, he did not disassociate from music as he played drums for several Australian bands such as Black Out Orchestra and the Harvest. As crucial Xulfi was to the band in its first run, Albert proved to be a reliable replacement due to his meticulous guitar playing and his music studio called Albert Studios that he had founded with his elder brother Farhan in 2007. Unlike its counterparts, the studio is known for granting discounted rates for emerging musicians. 412 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

After their comeback concert, EP would embark on a vigorous tour across schools, colleges and universities across Lahore and Rawalpindi such as Saint Mary’s Academy, Beaconhouse campuses and Roots International School. They further received strident applause by covering Sajjad Ali’s song Bolo Bolo on the third season of Coke Studio. Though considered an odd choice for a rock band, EP has been performing a rock version of the song as early as 2002. On some occasions, Ahmad dedicated Bolo Bolo to the “broken-hearted ones” in the crowd right before the band performed the song. Moreover, had the band played any of their original songs on Coke Studio, they would have been obligated to pay a certain percentage from their payment to their record label LIPS Music. Fawad clarified that EP would now legalize and document their undertakings and decide matters by involving the consent of every member, unlike their previous run. The band’s first song since their return was the patriotic hard rock number Shor Macha. Directed by Bilal Lashari and released on Friday, August 13, 2010, the music video was shot in Lahore, Karachi, Cholistan desert and Kallar Kahar’s Salt Range. It was a challenge for rapper Ahmad to climb 200 steps to film his monologue for the song at the top of Minar-e-Pakistan due to his acrophobia. Whereas the shooting of Albert’s guitar solo at the Cholistan Desert almost cost his life. A woman nearby thought that he had become possessed by an evil spirit and gathered approximately twenty people to beat him up. Since their debut album, the Lahore-based group had become the measuring stick for all rock bands and expectations were sky 413 Rockistan high regarding their second one which intended to include ethnic instruments and percussions. EP’s second album was expected to be released in December 2010 but could not record it in time. As Fawad’s shooting schedules kept knocking on his door, he was steered off the course. In May 2012, EP announced that they were amicably parting ways with their lead vocalist so he could focus on his acting career. Drummer Waqar left the band as well since he was relocating to Islamabad. With only three members remaining, the trio declared that they would continue as a band with Ahmad as the lead vocalist. The decision was met with a mixed response; while some fans felt that EP would not be the same without core member Fawad as the lead vocalist, others welcomed the interesting venture with the hopes of the band walking on the similar paths of bands such as Limp Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine that have a rapper as a lead vocalist. The assumption made sense as Ahmad had been performing covers of both bands since his underground days in Entity. The trio lasted for just one more song titled Ajab Tamasha which featured Overload frontman Farhad Humayun Syed on the drums. In August 2015, EP released a statement to address their expected demise. “We all know music scene in Pakistan is at its lowest, there are no music channels to play your songs, no record labels to produce or distribute your music and there are no more concerts happening that were main source of income for any band. When we decided to put EP on hold, it was a mutual decision for all the members as it was not feasible anymore.” 414 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

EP may have gone out with a whimper instead of a bang but their legacy will forever be known for being a seven- headed monster that introduced alternative rock and popularized headbanging in Pakistan. The members shouldered different responsibilities and though they often worked haphazardly, EP still stands as one of the most fondly remembered rock bands in the country. Their socially conscious lyrics, distorted guitar riffs, heavy drums, unapologetic rapping, gritty demeanor and addictive compositions set them apart from traditional music groups. Despite their small catalogue of songs, EP became one of the most influential rock bands in Pakistan as their sole album Irtiqa was able to lay out the blueprint for countless up-and- coming underground acts to follow. As rock music was being swallowed up in the cavernous depths of obscurity, Karavan crashed and burned as well. The Karachi-based hard rock band has the reputation of being one of the most consistent groups in Pakistan, having released three studio albums within the first five years of their formation. In 2005, drummer Allan Smith shifted to Islamabad where he played sessions for Fuzön’s former vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and numerous bands in the city. Karavan would soon replace him with Razam’s Qaiser ZainUl Abedin who has always served as a backup for the band in case of Allan’s unavailability including the shooting of their music video of Shoure in which he appeared shirtless and his face was purposely hidden by his flowing long hair. By 2007, bass player Sameer Ahmed Bakhtiari had shifted to Dubai and Zeeshan Hanif filled his spot. Even with the absence of core members, founding 415 Rockistan member Asad Ahmed and lead vocalist Tanseer Ahmed Daar kept the rock spirit of the band intact. In December 2006, cellular networking company Ufone conducted a series of live gigs in Islamabad and Lahore called the U-Rock Concerts which featured Ali Azmat, Mekaal Hasan Band, Lahu, Nafs and Karavan. The corporate-sponsored shows would, of course, include booths to sell Ufone’s sims and T-shirts. Initially, the concerned officials of the company were unwilling to include Karavan in their shows. Tanseer recalls that none of them had even heard about the band before. According to Asad, since the headquarters and advertising agencies of most of the multinational companies are situated in Punjab, they would give preferences to the bands that belonged in their own province so Karachi-based bands such as Aaroh, Karavan and Fuzön would often get sidetracked when it came to selecting artists for corporate-sponsored concerts One of the organizers of the shows engaged in a torrid debate with the higher-ups of Ufone in order to convince them that if they are organizing rock shows, Karavan must be included. After much persistence, they finally agreed. Parallel to the U-Rock concert that took place in Islamabad, Atif Aslam’s show was being simultaneously held at Lok Virsa nearby. Despite being pop’s golden boy, the rockers were able to draw a much bigger audience. It had already passed midnight when Karavan stepped on the stage and the band did not expect that the spectators would stick around for long due to the freezing winter. Much to their surprise, the packed crowd welcomed them with booming applause, much to the shock of the same Ufone officials that were 416 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES reluctant to let the band join their shows. After Karavan’s electrifying performance, Ufone’s higher-ups personally met the band backstage to express their gratitude and shock. “Who are you guys?!” asked one of them. “Where were you guys?!” “We were always there,” replied Tanseer. “You didn’t know the right people.” Contrary to their status as an album-oriented rock band, Karavan had no plans to release a fourth one. Since not all core members were present in the line-up, making another album was not particularly high on Asad’s agenda. After a few shows including one in Dubai’s Al-Nasr Arena in March 2008, the band would quietly dissolve without a formal announcement. Tanseer would take a break from his music career and became a Clearing and Forwarding Agent in Karachi. While assessing customs and documenting imports and exports, people would occasionally recognize him as the singer of Karavan’s roaring hit Aagay Hi Aagay. As for Aasd, he was recording with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and former Awaz bandmate Haroon. Unbeknownst to fans, he was composing a solo album that intended to include instrumental tracks and a few songs sung by various musicians including himself. While many bands such as Call and Strings have a lead guitar player who can sing as well, Karavan was no different but Asad chose to refrain from singing in any of the band’s songs. In addition to his vocal prowess, he has partially written a handful of hit songs throughout his career including Main Chup Raha, Janaan Janaan and Namumkin by Vital Signs. 417 Rockistan

The first vocalist Asad approached for his solo album was former bandmate Tanseer. Bass player Sameer, who had returned to Pakistan in 2008 and became a part of another rock band named Azal, soon joined Asad and Tanseer when he found out about their collaboration. Drummer Allan did not want to miss out on the fun so he paid a visit as well and the stage had been set for a reunion. What started as Asad’s solo album eventually became Karavan’s fourth studio album titled Saara Jahan. Allan flew all the way from Islamabad to Karachi on two separate occasions to complete the recording of his drumming for the album. In October 2009, Karavan wisely signed up with ARY Digital Network’s record label The Muzik Records for the release of their fourth album. It was a reasonable alternative to the monopolized Fire Records since the former would purchase the album for a lump sum amount and handled the distribution whereas the artist would retain the copyrights. Other clients of The Muzik Records include Atif Aslam, Aaroh, Mekaal Hasan Band, Fuzön, Azal, Haroon, Faraz Haider, Inteha and Falak. On Monday, April 26, 2010, Karavan released their highly anticipated fourth studio album Saara Jahan and became the first and only Pakistani rock band so far to release albums in three consecutive decades—the 1990s, the 2000s and the 2010s. Not even Junoon has that accomplishment. Karavan would soon be featured in two episodes of Coke Studio’s third season in which they performed the songs Kaisay Mumkin Hai and Yaadein from their latest album but the band could not ride high on the wave of commercial success for long. A few days after their appearance on the 418 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES show, Tanseer had a near-fatal accident in which he severely injured his left arm, left hand, lower jaw and left eye. He would be bedridden for four months and the band would be unable to effectively promote their album and cancelled their planned tour. This could have spelled the end of Karavan but they persevered. When Tanseer was able to walk again, he could care less about the orthopedic cast on his hand and the band recommenced their live gigs to market their album. Behind the scenes, the existence of Karavan was walking on a tightrope. As the lead guitar player, co-founder and de facto leader of the band, Asad had grown increasingly frustrated with his bandmates. He had outgrown the music that Karavan had been making and it had become a struggle to keep everyone together. Though Asad admits that they are amazing musicians, he believed that they should have contributed much more towards the band. On Saturday, May 28, 2011, Karavan performed for the final time at Carlton Hotel, Karachi, as the headlining act. The show was attended by a thousand people and also featured underground heavy metal bands, classically trained vocalist Fizza Ali who sang Aamir Zaki’s Mera Pyaar twice and the reunited Noori. Two months later, Karavan announced that their fourteen-year reign of rock ‘n’ roll had finally come to an end and all four members parted their separate ways. Sameer became a bass player for Atif Aslam’s live setup. Allan continued his sessions for Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and would play drums in his own band named Qawalistan. Tanseer became a Sales Manager at Idealliance Pakistan and briefly collaborated with Aaroh’s original guitar player Nabeel Nihal Chishty. Though the duo 419 Rockistan intended to release an album, they dropped three singles instead. According to Nabeel, releasing singles was more suitable than a full-length album in the music climate back then. Asad’s credentials grew by the minute due to being part of Coke Studio’s house band up till the sixth season and a permanent member of Ali Zafar’s live line-up since mid- 2009. On an interesting note, the duo had performed live together for the first time on stage five years prior. In a concert held at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karavan was the opening act and Ali was the headliner. The band mischievously decided to pull a prank on the unsuspecting rising star by performing a rock version of his debut super hit single Channo. Ali was standing by the side of the stage with his eyes bulging out and mouth open when Karavan was performing his song. As soon as the band stepped off the stage, he quickly requested Asad to join him during his performance of the song. “Bro, you gotta play this version with me live right now when I go on!” Even the bubblegum pop star could not resist being amused by the hard rock rendition of his own composition. That marked the first time Asad played guitars for Ali on stage and they eventually befriended each other. Five years later when both were heavily involved in the second season of Coke Studio, Ali offered Asad to join his live line-up and he accepted. Merely fourteen months after Karavan’s split, rock fans were caught off guard as the band reunited again. As exciting as the news was of the seasoned veterans coming out for one 420 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES last ride together, the reunion was short-lived because it actually stemmed from the promoters of the upcoming show Rock Karachi '13 pleading the members to patch up for the event since there were barely any rock bands left in the city. Due to the public demand in their hometown and the rest of the bandmates insisting Asad to accept the lucrative offer, Karavan was back. In the months leading to Rock Karachi '13, the band would perform a slew of concerts across notable venues of the city such as PAF-KIET, Base Rock Café and Beach View Club. During this tenure, Qaiser ZainUl Abedin would serve as the drummer due to Allan residing in Islamabad. On Saturday, February 16, 2013, Karavan rocked the boisterous audience to its core at Rock Karachi '13 in what would be their farewell concert. In addition to the band, Ali Azmat, Ali Gul Pir and Zoe Viccaji were also featured in the event. As the driving force of the band, Asad has been constantly asked over the years about the possible chances of Karavan resurfacing again. While he has thrashed the likelihood of the band reuniting again for the long term, he is open to the option of a one-off performance. “I had enough of picking up the burden of sustaining the band and towing the cart with three deadweights who were contributing nothing to the band and business-wise,” reveals Asad. Karavan’s legacy is indisputable despite its long tenure being thwarted by bad luck. Even with major bumps on the road such as their bookings drying up and popularity sliding into a slump, the rock supergroup survived through all adversities due to sheer force of will and made a profound 421 Rockistan impact on Pakistan’s rock music. The team of Asad, Tanseer, Sameer, Allan and even Qaiser is the most naturally cohesive unit one can ever catch live due to their onstage chemistry and together, they are the purveyors of hard rock in the country. Multiple bands have boasted for lasting more than a decade as an “achievement” but only a few of them have done justice to that duration by consistently releasing music. Karavan is definitely one of those rare Pakistani bands and can be credited along with Junoon for the eruption of several next-generation rock bands that were heavily influenced by them to pick up musical instruments. While they were predominantly a hard rock band, it is often overlooked that they were able to pull off equally great soft rock songs as well. With four studio albums and one live album during their span of fourteen years together, Karavan would exit on the highest of high notes.

* * *

Rumours of Junoon reuniting had been swirling ever since Salman Ahmad and Ali Azmat performed side by side for the last time in Dubai way back in March 2006 despite their subsequent separation. While rock fans have always been excited by the tantalizing idea of the sufi rock band making music again, Salman and Ali clearly had several issues that were yet to be resolved. However, mini-reunions would occur whenever they performed their separate shows in the United States as former bandmate Brian O’Connell would occasionally join them as the bass player. Once he returned 422 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES to New York, he privately taught guitar, bass and music theory to budding musicians. After the commercial success of Ali’s back-to-back solo albums, he became a staunch proponent of right-wing nationalist Zaid Hamid. The former Junoon frontman would also become notorious for peddling conspiracy theories regarding Zionist bankers and Pakistanis being mindlessly brainwashed by the Western media. Outspoken as ever, Ali became a voracious critic of democracy, globalization, imperialism and USAID. Whereas Salman continued his solo career under the banner of Junoon, a move that alienated many fans. He would collaborate with a diverse set of international musicians such as Peter Gabriel, Melissa Etheridge and Ziggy Marley over the years. While residing in New York, Salman became a lecturer at Queen College’s Aaron Copland School of Music where he taught the course of and Culture of South Asia for seven years. As far as Junoon was concerned with him being the lead vocalist, it was a mindless reanimation of a once legendary rock band. In late 2011, Salman released two volumes of a compilation album titled Junoon 20 to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the band. It featured rehashed Junoon songs with his vocals, Brian returning as the bass player, covers by other musicians, English language tracks and a cover of Rubina Badar’s Tum Sung Naina by . Now serving as the band’s manager, it is often overlooked how much of an ardent supporter Salman’s wife was during Junoon’s struggling phase. During the band’s first four years, the members underwent financial woes and 423 Rockistan

Salman would live on her meagre salary as a doctor in a government hospital. She would also extensively promote the band as well during that time by printing flyers, booking shows and physically dragging her friends to their live gigs. Salman’s vocals have constantly been slaughtered by music critics and longtime fans alike. As a backing vocalist during Junoon’s peak years, his shortcomings were barely noticeable. Upon a reasonable and unbiased assessment, it can be argued that his vocals on Urdu tracks are decent at best and mildly better on English ones. While Salman has been praised for his keen business intellect and inventing the genre of sufi rock, his vocal abilities have a fair share of limitations. Ever the Beatles fan, he incorporates each member’s distinctiveness. In terms of guitar playing, Salman is George Harrison. In terms of peace activism, he is John Lennon. In terms of songwriting, he is Paul McCartney but in terms of singing, he is undoubtedly Ringo Starr. “I sing because like , George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and a million other guitar players known and unknown, I love to sing,” justifies Salman. “Singing allows me to express my desire for social change more directly.” While countless fans have soured on him throughout the years for continuing Junoon as the lead vocalist, Salman’s peace activism of bridging the gaps between America and the Muslim world in the aftermath of September 11 terrorist attacks, social work of polio eradication across Pakistan and humanitarian efforts of constructing thirty-four homes in the flood-struck areas of Suleman Mallah in Sajawal can 424 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES never be neglected. “Life is not unidimensional for me,” he says. “I never left medicine as a career just to become a guitar player or a member of Vital Signs or Junoon. If you don’t embrace all aspects of life, you will stagnate and decay.” Salman often points out that under his direction, post-Ali Junoon has performed at the United Nations, the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony and conflict-torn Kashmir. While doing shows at prestigious venues surely counts as a milestone, they are not an ideal perimeter of how great a musician is. For instance, Metallica is the only musical act to perform in all seven yet they are known as one of the leading heavy metal bands due to their stellar stacks of albums instead of the places they have performed at. Conversely, Elvis Presley has never performed outside of the United States (with the exception of three shows in Canada) yet he is known as the King of Rock and Roll. The absence of an overseas tour from his résumé does not undermine his status as an influential icon. Venues do count as an achievement but they are not necessarily a criterion of greatness. Though Salman’s vocals have frequently succumbed to a poor critical reception, his guitar playing is adored by generations of fans including those who were not even born during Junoon’s heyday. Judging on the criteria of musical craftsmanship, commercial success and influencing aspiring artists, Salman is easily the greatest Pakistani guitar player of all time and that is not an exaggeration in the slightest. Asad Ahmed and Mekaal Hasan are next in line but certainly not as a close second. Aamir Zaki played too sporadically to 425 Rockistan merit the title. Faraz Anwar is a likely contender as well and in a league of his own. Shallum Asher Xavier and Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan also rank in the top spots due to being among the most methodical guitar players in the country. Ali Azmat, who had long since shed the skin of Junoon’s frontman, exceeded expectations as a one-man rock wave. While Salman has vociferously advocated for the sufi rock band’s reunion and even approached his former bandmates for the endeavour, Ali did not reciprocate the sentiment. One of his prime concerns regarding Salman has been his decision to lingering on the Junoon brand for his own interests. With the star power of Salman, he could have easily formed another band named after himself like so many prominent musicians after the breakup of their respective groups. Notable examples include Paul McCartney and Wings, Slash’s Snakepit, Page and Plant, Jason Newsted and the Chophouse Band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion and Frehley’s Comet. So why has Salman been so possessive about the Junoon label? “It has a simple answer,” he explains. “I came up with the name Junoon. It’s my copyright. Having said that, I performed at the United Nations General Assembly. It wasn’t Junoon. It was Salman Ahmad. I performed at Kashmir, right? Salman Ahmad. When Al Gore received an award at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, I was Salman Ahmad playing with Samir Chatterjee. But it is my full right that the band that I named, the band whose all songs I composed, it is my right to be able to use that name legally. It’s also my moral right because I didn’t tell Ali to do a solo career. When Junoon’s album was about to be recorded in 426 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

2005, Ali Azmat said, ‘I don’t have time because my solo career is about to take off’. This is what Ali Azmat told me. So I said, ‘brother, so you are going after ditching me and you say that I also cannot use Junoon then that’s a little too much to ask.’” By the time Junoon had recorded their final album Dewaar, Ali knew that he would not be collaborating with Salman again because there was a dearth of rehearsals and discussions between them. He admits that Junoon had become caricatures of themselves at the end of their run and preferred to take the risk of going in an entirely new direction as a solo act. “Band is a band as long as they play music together, as long as they interact, as long as they collaborate,” says Ali. “If a band is a cross-continental band, we want to call ourselves an intercontinental band, Brian is nowhere to be found, he’s not playing music anymore. Salman Ahmad sits in New York City and says that you know my life is here now. I don’t want to have anything to do with Pakistan. I hate the people there. If you want the band to run, then come to America as well. And the second thing is that if you are not making music while sitting together and you send me a file on a computer and say that I have recorded a track and this is the melody and now you have to sing this and don’t deviate from it then that’s now how things work. So I figured that, you know, I should write my own songs, produce my own record and find the guys that I liked playing music with.” With lead guitar player Omran Shafique and bass player Kamran Zaffar aka Mannu in his line-up, fans and even Ali 427 Rockistan have often acknowledged that the duo surprisingly resembles Salman and Brian, respectively. Though primarily a vocalist, Ali plays the guitar and drums as well but is fully aware of his limitations. He once played the drums for Entity Paradigm at Lahore University of Management Sciences but wisely sticks to his strengths. Similar to numerous fans, Ali agrees that Salman should have never grabbed the microphone. “He should’ve got another lead singer and started another band. He’s such a good songwriter. He’s actually a very, very, very good songwriter. He’s one of the top songwriters of Pakistan and I still say that with pride because I sang hundreds of his songs. He’s a great songwriter but the day he wanted to become Ali Azmat, that’s when everything falls on the ground. He figured well if Ali Azmat is getting all the popularity singing my songs so maybe I should sing.” While the clamorous tracks such as Kaise Bolun, Imran Ka Naya Pakistan and Bulleya (Lonely Heart) sung by Salman serve as a huge black eye on Junoon’s legacy and ample evidence of his best years passed by, it cannot be denied that the sufi rock band with the classic trio is a classic example of David taking down Goliath. With modernized sufi poetry, Punjabi folk sounds and hard rock music, Junoon burst on the mainstream despite being told that they were the least likely to succeed in the music scene. They butted heads with the government on multiple occasions and remained relevant despite so many bans imposed on them. Considering the levels of international reach occupied by the group, it would be almost impossible for any future rock band to unseat their throne. 428 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

Junoon demonstrated raw expressions of political turbulence, social unrest and blatant anti-authority through their barrage of rock albums and their fans followed them with near-religious devotion. It is exceptionally rare for any Pakistani rock band to last even half as long as them. Without Salman, it is quite unlikely that rock music would have ever scraped mainstream acceptance in the country as Junoon not only influenced dozens of bands a generation later but also became the bar for every single one of them to be judged on. The political climate would spiral out of control during Asif Ali Zardari’s reign as President. Soaring inflation, widening fiscal deficits, large-scale corruption, recurrent bomb blasts, currency devaluation, pro-Taliban riots and militant Islamic students torching American and Israeli flags would make regular rounds on news channels. There was a precipitous drop in the popularity of rock music as well since the audience consistently dwindled. In the shadow of political instability, new yet promising rock bands could not secure a firm footing in the music landscape. When Qayaas burst the scene, the group was trusted to pump life into the dying genre. While there has hardly been any new legitimate megastar to erupt from the realm of Pakistani music since the dawn of pop wunderkinds Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar, Qayaas vocalist certainly stands as the cream of the crop. His older brother Yasir Jaswal was a frontman as well and headed the rock band Irtaash. With the threat of a declining music scene over their heads, the two rock bands put their genre back into the public spotlight, albeit briefly, and outshined even the 429 Rockistan veterans due to consistent critical acclaim. However, their rock fury did not last long as Qayaas and Irtaash fell to pieces after their respective debut albums that were released in early 2011. After relighting the fire of the diminishing rock genre through their bands, Umair became a solo artist whereas Yasir forayed into filmmaking. In the aftermath of the 2013 General Elections, Nawaz Sharif would become the Prime Minister for Pakistan for the third time. After fourteen years of exile, his political party PML(N) received maximum votes and won the most seats. While the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan was able to provide a stiff challenge and his political party PTI had been harshly taunted as an entity that did not exist outside the confines of social media, it still managed to win the majority of the seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sharif did not force the musicians to adhere to the strict guidelines and regulations that he had laid out in his previous tenure. While long hair, guitars, jeans and jackets were not banned from state-owned and private television channels during Sharif’s third term as the Prime Minister, music remained one of the most neglected sectors of the country. By the time Sharif rose to power for the third time, Mekaal Hasan Band was a saving grace of the crumbling music scene. Furthermore, it was the only group from the 2002 Pepsi Battle of the Bands to outlast every other contestant including Aaroh, EP and Mizmaar. “If there was anyone that deserved to win that contest, it should have been Mekaal Hasan Band,” reveals Aaroh’s former keyboard player Kamran Khan aka Kamijee. “But due to some 430 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES political reasons of Pepsi, they were ousted. I know that my words would bother a lot of people but I will say the truth.” When it comes to listing Pakistan’s greatest guitar players, fans hold Mekaal Hasan on the highest spots. A true- to-the-core musician and an equally venerable producer, he has worked on numerous seminal albums such as Irtiqa by Entity Paradigm, Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan and Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jaani Ki Gol Dunya by Noori, Boondh by Jal, Klashanfolk by Ali Azmat and Chup! by Zeb and Haniya. There is a clear difference in the quality of their songs that are not recorded in Mekaal’s Digital Fidelity Studios. Over the years, the line-up and live setup of Mekaal Hasan Band became a rotating cast of several musicians including but not limited to Gumby, Salman Albert, Farhan Albert, Fahad Khan, Waqar Ahmed Khan, Sameer Ahmed, , Kami Paul and Amir Azhar. Even the spot of the lead vocalist underwent numerous swaps which featured Javed Bashir, , and Pakistan Sangeet Icon winner Asad Abbas. Due to the ever-changing line-up, one of the biggest challenges faced by Mekaal is countless re-recording sessions as he never intended to form his group so it could be a launching pad for singers. “No band leader wants continuous line-up changes,” he admits. As an artist and producer, Mekaal is a revolutionary figure and an indispensable professional in the Pakistani music spectrum. Nearly every sought-after session player in the country has gained invaluable experience while being part of his band or recording at his music studio. According to rock historian 431 Rockistan

Mark LeVine, Mekaal Hasan Band is on par with Junoon in terms of conceptual innovation and sheer musicality. Mekaal Hasan Band has performed in America, Canada, England, France and India. During one of their shows in the latter country, the group was supposed to play for half an hour at the Bombay Press Club but due to the audience’s consistent demands, their performance lasted for more than three hours and culminated with playback singer joining them on stage for an impromptu rendition of Allah Ke Banday. However, the group was rarely getting any live shows on their own soil. In fact, while on a tour across the border in January 2013, he revealed that his band has not done even a single show since the last seven months in Pakistan due to the deteriorating security situation. “The funny thing is I wonder if the corporates and the government realize how much they'd be appreciated if they started promoting education, health, culture as long term benefits of investment in Pakistan and its people,” says Mekaal. “I for one would be really proud of Pakistan if just one corporate stood up and said let's invest in creating a platform for these artists who provide us with our entertainment so that we have a stake in creating more than just one-hit wonders. Imagine if these entities considered the positive social impact such a platform would provide many talented people who may not have had the chance to flourish. They could also start proactively making sure Pakistan is represented on the world stage by sending our top artists to festivals and cultural tours so that the world can see what amazing music and tradition we have to offer.” 432 DIMES, CRIMES AND HARD TIMES

In February 2004, Mekaal staged a press conference at the Bombay Press Club to announce that his group would now be an Indo-Pak band. The Indian musicians that joined the group were bass player Sheldon D’Silva, drummer Gino Banks and lead vocalist Sharmistha Chatterjee. Mekaal states that such an unprecedented partnership stemmed from his desire to have similar music-minded people from India as band members. Unfortunately, the press conference was invaded by nearly fifty workers of India’s far-right Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena who violently wrecked the premises and demanded the Pakistani band to leave the country. A few protesters were immediately arrested whereas Mekaal Hasan Band was able to escape from harm’s way. When it comes to live shows, Mekaal Hasan Band established itself as the most fearsome act whereas their first two albums Sampooran and Saptak have set new standards in terms of composition and music production. The group further elevated with the release of their third album Andholan which showcased all the instruments layered harmonically to generate diverse tracks. From their spiritually charged lyrics to the elegant merging of jazz, folk, classical, traditional, soul and rock, it was liberating and refreshing to witness what the cross-border collaboration had come up with. However, mass appeal still eluded rock music. With Pakistan deeply embedded in religious conservatism, terrorist attacks, political humdrum and a slumping economy, rock music wandered in the wilderness 433 Rockistan

Chapter 12 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH

I’ve been in the industry for more than three decades and have seen Pakistani music rise, fall and rise again. Gumby

In March 2013, the departing provincial assembly selected seasoned journalist Najam Sethi as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab. One of the first steps undertaken by the interim government was decreasing the entertainment tax of concerts from 65% to 20%. Despite the tax reduction, live shows barely grew in number across Punjab due to the ever- looming security issues. The once buzzing rock music scene was now wearing a dusted look. The dynamics had entirely changed as musicians would intermittently release singles instead of a full-length album. Public concerts became a thing of the past or extremely rare due to lingering complications such as mushrooming terrorism, NOC denials, inadequate sound systems, incidents of gatecrashing and sexual harassment. Corporate gigs were still prevalent but with exclusive invites. The entire music landscape was on a downward turn and people gradually drifted away from habitually watching music videos on television in favour of other mediums of entertainment. 434 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH

“The format of TV, especially in Pakistan and even abroad, that is changed now,” states Babar Sheikh of doom metal band Dusk. “To sit on television sets and watching a music video on channels is something very obscure and not many people do that now. Especially in Pakistan, all we people watch are soap operas, Urdu-dubbed Turkish dramas, talk shows and 6 to 8 politicians screaming at each other.” It would be a media spectacle whenever news anchors, political commentators or senior analysts squared off in a heated debate while being live on air. Such talk shows, as unethical and chaotic as they may be, are effective in providing genuine entertainment whereas music would be pushed to the alleys of oblivion. On the other hand, news anchors became the forefront figureheads (or stars) on national television. Even Ali Azmat has claimed that Junoon never earned as much money as news anchors. As the music sphere was standing on its last legs, Coke Studio became an exceptional outlet that would release a constant stream of hit songs. The show would be critically applauded for its high budget production, sound quality and fusing traditional folk music with western instruments but would occasionally be criticized for its sugary blandness and being mind-numbingly repetitive. The most persistent complaint regarding the show was the lack of original music due to constant new renditions of classic folk songs. Even Ali Noor believes that releasing old songs done in a new way is detrimental to the future of Pakistani music. Despite the formulaic mold, appearing on Coke Studio translates into smashing levels of success since the musicians appearing on 435 Rockistan it get the opportunity to tap into a wider audience due to the show’s global reach. “The Vice President of a company will be listening to them and the truck driver will be listening to them,” Asad Ahmed comments on Coke Studio. “That’s the kind of range they have. It’s unbelievable!” During the break between the third and fourth season, Ali Azmat and Omran Shafique were in Downtown Manhattan, New York. They took a taxi cab to reach the rehearsal space for a concert and the Sikh driver instantly recognized Omran who was holding his guitar. However, he did not even have a clue that Ali, the biggest rock star of South Asia for the last two decades, was sitting in the backseat as well. “The reach of the program goes beyond anything that I actually ever imagined being a part of,” says Omran who has been a fixture of Coke Studio either as a guest musician or part of the house band throughout the first ten seasons. Coke Studio became a game-changer for the music scene and altered the ambitions of countless emerging musicians as they would no longer fight for relevance that normally takes years but would only strive to appear on the show as it had become a ticket to prompt superstardom, popularity boost and much more shows. Another drawback of the show was that the conventional music listeners would only tune in Coke Studio to become aware of which artists are currently hip. “There’s so much music now that people don’t search for themselves to know who’s good,” states Omran. “Instead, they just watch Coke Studio and if there’s a new musician there, the perception is that he’s the new good emerging singer.” 436 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH

Similar to Coke Studio, multiple corporations such as Levi’s, Pepsi, Nestlé and Unilever would capitalize on music and launch their own version of music shows that attempted to be stylistically resonant. In recent years, Strepsils, Bisconni, Kashmir Cooking Oil and Velo have jumped on the bandwagon as well. “Now all the viral stuff is corporate- backed and corporate-sponsored and basically fake,” claims Omran. “So everything that goes viral nowadays is faked, bought by numbers and generally can’t be trusted to be the real deal anyways.” With the music scene tumbling downhill, record labels and music channels were nearly wiped out. It was much more feasible for artists to sell a single to a forthcoming movie or a drama serial instead of releasing it. By mid-2015, Ali Azmat had enough material to release two full-length albums but could not do so due to the absence of distribution networks. The same was the case with Faraz Anwar who had fifty to sixty unreleased songs on his system. As rock music was on life support, Noori promised to take the fans on a thrill ride by releasing their long-roumoured third studio album despite the odds stacked against them. Known for consistently releasing music, the rock band would later be accused of moving at a snail’s pace after their second album. In Noori’s defense, whenever they planned to release new material since then, the country would be struck by natural disasters such as earthquakes. During such devastating moments, the band would postpone their own projects to solely focus on benefit shows. In true Noori fashion, the third album had a ridiculously long name of Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh and featured Ali 437 Rockistan

Noor’s wife Mandana Zaidi as the cover model which came as a surprise to precisely no one. As one of the earliest supporters of the band, longtime fans may recognize her from her appearances in the music videos of Manwa Re and Tum Hans Diye. Behind the scenes, she is a foundational pillar for the band as she shoulders the responsibilities of their management, coordination and video productions. Mandana has also directed the music videos of Nishaan, Meray Log and Do Dil. Additionally, she has served as Noori’s photographer and backing vocalist in their studio recordings. Making an album when the music spectrum was passing through a shambolic phase was an arduous task as all the CD manufacturing plants had been shut down. Both brothers burned the CDs and pasted stickers on them by themselves. Due to the absence of a record label that customarily handles the distribution, Noori conducted meet-and-greets across Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad to release signed copies of their album along with a 46-page booklet. Released on Friday, October 9, 2015, Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh was the hottest thing to happen in a pitifully bleak rock landscape. It served as a shining light in a dark hour but the album had its fair share of criticism. The worn-out patriotic gimmick decorating the album had been done to death by virtually every music act ranging from Vital Signs to Entity Paradigm. Overall, Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh only had nine songs (less than every album previously released by Noori) including the national anthem. Out of the remaining eight tracks, Kedaar, Mujhay Roko and 1947 were already 438 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH available as demos online years ago. Summing up, the intensely overhyped album released after ten long years consisted of merely five new songs. Noori pulled off the same stunt on their second album as well by including four songs that were already accessible as demos online even before their debut album. Relying on songs from a bygone era showcased that the Noori, after all these years, had become creatively defunct. However, Ali Noor maintains that although the demo versions of few songs were already available online, they deserved an official release as they were special to the brothers. Keeping the debate of the third album being a step backward or forward aside, it was praised for its technological innovation, masterful production, accompanying music videos and efforts to revive the album culture. In December 2016, Salman Ahmad released Junoon’s first studio album since Ali Azmat’s highly publicized departure. Titled Door, the monotone vocals only served as a heartbreaking reminder of a groundbreaking band with a tremendous fighting spirit. The egregious album was all flash and no substance whereas the music video of the title track would signify Salman as an aging rock star seeking his past glory. Apart from releasing music that was plagued with staleness, he would vigorously support Imran Khan and his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Following the 2013 General Elections, the former cricketer raised allegations of electoral rigging and conducted a slew of sit-ins, rallies, marches and protests across Lahore, and Islamabad. Imran had declared a crusade against flagitious politicians and accused 439 Rockistan them of being unscrupulous traitors who looted and scourged the country to bankruptcy. While fomenting political unrest through sit-ins, the stage would occasionally feature concerts or appearances by Ali Azmat, Strings, Abrar-ul-Haq and Shehzad Roy. Imran’s close friend and longtime ally Salman would join the political brouhaha as well for performances that were beyond embarrassing to watch. Not only would he pretend to play an unplugged electric guitar in front of thousands in attendance but would also lip-sync to Ali’s voice while classic Junoon songs blared through the loudspeakers. The concept of musicians receiving royalties was always viewed with a pinch of salt but there were little sparks of hope with the launch of the audio streaming website and smartphone app in February 2015. The music streaming service is similar to which is unavailable in Pakistan due to licensing restrictions. Patari would be commended for being the first digital platform in the country to pay royalties to the artists that were exclusively signed on it. Merely three months after its launch, the streaming service announced a grand payout of 1,250,000 rupees that was divided among the registered musicians. Among the artists, both Noori and Strings received 150,000 rupees. A year later, Patari would have a diverse collection of 25,000 songs from 600 musicians whereas the total sum of monthly active users was approximately 60,000. Eventually, the streaming platform would also conduct concerts and exclusive album launches as well. Mass-scale piracy had always been a challenge that the musicians wanted to rise against. Six months after the launch 440 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH of Patari, pop stalwart Haroon unveiled a similar android app named Taazi. Instead of signing musicians through exclusive invitations, anyone could upload their music to be monetized by the means of online streaming and retain the copyrights. After realizing that iTunes could not practically operate in Pakistan due to merely 8% of the population owning credit cards, he aimed for a model that targeted smartphones instead. If users downloaded a song, Taazi would deduct 10 rupees from their mobile’s credit and 70% of the revenue would be awarded to the musician whereas the app would keep the remaining 30%. Within a month of its release, Taazi would have 100,000 songs from 2500 registered musicians and listened to by more than 40,000 users. While user-friendly streaming services Patari and Taazi have not completely toppled the menace of piracy and have received complaints regarding non-payments by musicians and download errors, respectively, both are a moderate success. In January 2016, another digital outlet became accessible in Pakistan as YouTube was finally unblocked. After facing a ban for three years, PTA restored the video streaming website but particularly kept the blasphemous and anti-Islamic videos censored. On Friday, June 2, 2017, Pakistani rock music suffered a tragedy of mammoth proportions as Aamir Zaki passed away at the age of 49 due to heart failure. As details regarding his demise unfolded, it was extremely gut-wrenching to become aware of the financial struggles throughout his final years. Zaki could not afford to take care of his ill mother nor his medication for depression because he had no stable source 441 Rockistan of income due to hardly receiving any worthwhile opportunities. “During his last years, he was getting very few chances to perform live. In Pakistan, your face is more valued than your talent,” reveals Zaki’s nephew Daniyal Sohail. Though Zaki was unrivalled as a guitar player, he barely received offers to perform live. One of the reasons was because he would get quickly upset if a musician would slip up during the rehearsals. Additionally, he would reach a boiling point if the practice sessions for concerts did not begin at the allotted time so the organizers eventually stopped inviting him. While the lack of shows does play a crucial factor in Zaki’s financial downfall, the root cause stems from him selling his father’s furniture business after the latter’s death. It was not going through a loss but since Zaki did not have sufficient knowledge to properly run a furniture business, he decided to sell it. Neither his siblings desired to own it as everyone was in different fields. His elder brother Shahid was a painter whereas his sister Abida was a model and actress. She had appeared in the drama serial Musafir Din Musafir Ratein and the music video of Un Ka Khayal by Vital Signs. Zaki shared an incredibly close bond with his nephew Daniyal who served as his manager as well. “Aamir Zaki was my paternal uncle by relation but he would prefer being called Aamir bhai because he didn’t want to sound old,” he states. On one occasion, Daniyal organized a public speaking event at Tariq Road, Karachi. Seeing how busy and dedicated his nephew was while arranging the event, he insisted on attending it since guests were needed. Upon 442 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH entering the venue, an anchorperson from a radio station was interviewing a motivational speaker who was invited to give a lecture. As soon as the anchorperson saw Zaki gracing the event with his presence, his microphone dropped in shock. While Zaki’s prominence did not translate into commercial success and barely made ends meet, he would always make sure that he had enough food for his pet cats and kittens so they could never sleep with an empty stomach. “Whenever Aamir saw a stray cat, he would take care of it,” recalls Aaroh’s bass player Khalid Khan. “He would grab them and wouldn’t let go even after his hands started bleeding by the scratches of the sharp claws. Aamir would take them home and nurture them.” Throughout his career, Zaki would publically endorse numerous musicians such as Zoe Viccaji, Karachi-based rock band Spoonful, Nabeel Nihal Chishty and Gumby during their emerging phase. “Zak definitely played a very major role in getting me into the music scene and teaching me a lot of which I never would have known what I know about music today,” recollects Gumby. “His musicianship and his confidence made me a fan of him and I always looked up to him as a musician.” Prior to forming Aaroh, Nabeel was merely a session guitar player who had yet to become a major name on the scene. After being observed by Zaki, he did not hesitate to bring Nabeel’s talent into the public limelight. “I used to play at Café Blue with Schehzad Mughal as a side guitar player,” narrates Nabeel. “At that time, Zaki’s concerts were held on the weekends. If you look at the availability of the people inside Schehzad Mughal’s Café Blue, people would 443 Rockistan occupy 30% to 40% of the space. And whenever Zaki would have a concert in Café Blue which was located in , then there was no space to sit at the tables. People would have to stand outside. He would only play with Gumby on drums and Khalid Khan on bass. They only played English covers. This was way back in 2000. I was a session player who nobody knew and would play cover songs with Schehzad Mughal. One day, there was Zaki’s concert and I was a really big fan of him, to be honest. So I was sitting in the crowd and Zaki spoke on the microphone, ‘I’m seeing a very talented guitar player sitting in the crowd and I would like to introduce him to my crowd.’ He pointed at me and said, ‘I don’t even know the name of this new guy sitting here but I’ve seen him play and he’s one of my favourite guitarists these days. Come here on the stage!’” Nabeel could not believe that none other than Aamir Zaki had personally invited him on the stage for an impromptu live performance. Zaki handed his electric guitar to Nabeel and picked up a bass guitar for himself and the duo performed Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix. While there have been reports suggesting that Zaki arrogantly considered himself a superior musician as compared to his contemporaries, Karavan’s Tanseer Ahmed Daar narrates a story that backs up the deceased guitar player’s opinion about himself as an irrefutable fact. “Three fellow musicians were sitting and figuring out how to play a certain tune on the guitar. It was a difficult one and they weren’t being able to replicate it. Aamir was sitting quietly in the corner and just observed them. After some time, he left. Two days later, he came back, played the exact 444 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH tune correctly in front of all of them and went out of the room. They still hadn’t figured it out yet and he left them speechless without saying even a single word. He was that good!” Zaki was a consummate performer who believed that the music business was just as corrupt as any other and filled with tight-knit friends who do favours for each other. While Zaki’s catalogue of released music is extremely less when compared to the length of his historic career that spans over three decades, his brilliance was demonstrated during his live shows which featured soul-stirring performances and intense overdrive distortion. He could even deliver the simplest of guitar notes with so much gravitas. Over the years, his name has been besmirched by false rumours that still persist to this day such as burning his guitars as a result of a meltdown and spending all his money in Las Vegas following his divorce. Both accusations have been vehemently denied by his close friend Asad Ahmed. “Zaki never burnt his guitars,” he assures. “He loved them. He used to take them apart to form a modified guitar with blocks of wood but he never burnt them.” Another persistent rumour suggests that Zaki had developed a drug addiction but his sister Abida has clarified that he was on prescribed medication. As great as Zaki was as an artist, he did not keep up with the changing times nor grasped the business aspect of the music spectrum. In an era when visuals trump audio content, he was not too keen on the idea of music videos and barely released them. Moreover, he never conformed to the commercial trends, varying musical tastes nor popular 445 Rockistan genres that were hip at certain times. In essence, he was the sole guitar player who has never compromised on his art. Hard rocker Asad Ahmed played floral pop with Awaz and Ali Zafar. Faraz Anwar has gone on record as saying that his music is not about “two idiots meeting in a garden” yet he made the love song Tu Kareeb Hai. Whereas the pop direction of Xulfi’s rock band Call does not even need a reminder. Almost every major musician has in some form or another compromised on their signature sound but Zaki stands as a rare exception but it played a key role in keeping him distant from a mainstream appeal. Despite his own financial calamities, Zaki was extremely generous towards his guitar students. After seeing his guitar solo on Sab Aakho Ali Ali on Coke Studio’s seventh season, aspiring guitar player Mirza Awais Ahmed Khan contacted him on Facebook so he could learn how to play it. Much to his surprise, he received a reply. “Aamir Zaki’s first reply to me for the solo was ‘I improvised brother so don’t exactly remember what I played. Financial crisis has caught me by the throat and I would have to listen to the solo and then teach you step by step but now, I don’t get time for it so hope you understand.’” After the rejection, Awais tried his absolute best to replicate that guitar solo by relying purely on instinct as a tribute and shared a video of it with him. Zaki was impressed by the attempt and pleased to see that someone legitimately believes in him so much that he is hankering to learn that one guitar solo. Eventually, he took the passionate Awais as his guitar student and insisted on not accepting any payment. 446 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH

“I met with him for the bass guitar tutorials. I talked to him about the fee as I am also from a middle-class background and I would have to pay the fee on my own from my pocket money. He told me if I'd go to MAD School [where Zaki taught as a guitar instructor since January 2013], they'll charge 15,000 rupees and if I get personal classes from him at home, he'd charge 10,000 rupees. I couldn't even afford that and told him that I could only pay him a maximum amount of 6000 rupees. He noticed at once that I was genuinely interested in learning and so just to make me happy, he refused to take any fee from me and agreed to teach me for free. But then I realized he was already having too much crisis so I urged him to charge 6000 rupees so that it becomes a little fair deal.” As revealed by his nephew Daniyal, Zaki wholeheartedly admired aspiring guitar players and declined to take money from his students. “He really loved children who used to play the guitar or were learning how to play it,” narrates Daniyal. “In fact, he did not take fees from his students who were really passionate about playing the guitar and would encourage them to learn it. One day, Zahid (another one of his nephews) accurately played a guitar tune and Zaki was not at all expecting that someone from his family would learn how to play it because everyone is in a separate field. So when Zahid played that tune, Aamir bhai took out a 5000 rupees note from his pocket and he handed it over to him as a gift to show his appreciation. He actually wanted someone to take his place which was obviously not possible but he loved the idea of anyone of his family members actually trying to take his place. He was a loving, caring person.” 447 Rockistan

Zaki was not able to emerge from the depths of despair and his health issues deteriorated. During his final years, he would find solace in his longtime friend and Barbarians bandmate, Asad Ahmed’s guitar room. “He would regularly come to my place,” recalls Asad. “We would exchange greetings and I would leave him alone with my guitar collection. We wouldn’t talk after that and he would peacefully play the guitars for hours on end.” Zaki is continuously cited as a major influence by scores of musicians as his career is a highlight reel of phenomenal live shows. Though he never had a proper career resurgence despite a couple of heavily publicized comeback concerts and the long-overdue appearances on Coke Studio, he has left an enduring legacy that continues to inspire future musicians. Undervalued and underappreciated, Zaki largely went under the radar due to rarely releasing new songs. He recorded plenty with several musicians but would not complete them. According to his nephew Daniyal, Zaki would not finish the songs because he barely trusted the musicians he was working with. While his vocals were underwhelming as compared to most big-league singers and he was unable to duplicate the success of his hauntingly beautiful ballad Mera Pyar, the entire rock music sphere of Pakistan would not have been the same if Zaki had never picked up the guitar.

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Amid the political downturns, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family were embroiled in scandal in the wake of the Panama Papers revelations. Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz were named in the leaked documents and reports emerged that the family owns properties in London through offshore accounts. The judicial investigation determined that his three children accumulated much more wealth than what their declared sources of income could possibly account for. Opposition leader Imran Khan immediately capitalized on the Panama Papers scandal and professed that the had been stockpiling a gargantuan amount of illegal wealth through corrupt practices for decades. On Friday, July 28, 2017, the Supreme Court dismissed Nawaz from his office after finding him and his family guilty of concealing their actual wealth and offshore assets. “In our seventy years of history, I think this is the Pakistani version of the peaceful transfer of power,” laughs Omran Shafique. “Someone has to get kicked out. He’s at the end of his term. This is how everyone leaves in disgrace. There is no other way.” Similar to Sharif’s predecessors, he could not complete his tenure as the Prime Minister even on his third term. Every politician who has taken hold of the office before him was either assassinated, dismissed, forced to resign or removed by the vote of no-confidence. The tornado of controversy erupting from the Panama Papers was able to turn the tide against the democratically elected government which was already facing ferocious opposition. In addition to his disqualification, the Supreme Court permanently barred 449 Rockistan

Sharif from holding a public office ever again. “When I did Ehtesaab, people in Pakistan thought I was crazy,” remembers Salman Ahmad. “Twenty-one years later, the people who banned Junoon are now banned themselves for life.” Pop, Bollywood songs and Coke Studio dominated Pakistan since the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf in August 2008 but the second season of Battle of the Bands tipped the balance of marketability and control in rock’s favour. In mid-2017, Pepsi announced that it would relaunch the show and give a chance to many bands who fell short of a breakout moment. A key moment in the revival of rock music in the country, the reality show was backed by corporate sponsorship and aggressive marketing campaigns by Pepsi. It was evident that the rock bands being featured in the second and the following seasons had been lurking in their underground circuits for far too long and were wise beyond their years. Notable examples include Kashmir, Madlock, Bayaan, Roots, Auj, Black Hour, Aarish and E Sharp. It was their youthful exuberance that acted as a decisive element in taking the rock ‘n’ roll back to the public consciousness. One of the principal highlights of the second season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands was the brief return of Aaroh. Frontman Farooq Ahmed was invited by Pepsi to join the show for two performances and to serve as one of the judges. He accepted the offer but insisted on bringing his band as well. Farooq returned to Pakistan and reunited with bass player Khalid Khan and drummer Jason Anthony for the first time in eight years. The trio searched for a new lead guitar 450 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH player as Haider Hashmi had passed away in July 2014 due to unexpected complications after a brain tumor surgery. He was 40 years old. Aaroh did not reach out to the original guitar player and co-founder Nabeel Nihal Chishty for the reunion. Nor did the band extend an invitation to their original keyboard player Kamran Khan aka Kamijee. As much as this decision came as a major blow to fans who hoped for them to rejoin, Farooq was still not on speaking terms with them since parting ways on fractious terms way back in early 2004. For their two performances on the second season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands, Aaroh recruited Mizmaar’s lead guitar player Kashan Admani. The band would later select Asad Ul Hafeez to fill the spot. The guitar player had an impressive portfolio to his credit due to playing sessions for Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Atif Aslam and Najam Sheraz. Asad was offered by Khalid to join Aaroh as the lead guitar player. Both had been friends for over a decade and previously played sessions together for Najam Sheraz. Like several musicians, Asad broke into the music scene due to being encouraged by Aamir Zaki. In early 2002, guitar player Shallum Asher Xavier wanted to dedicate his time to his band Fuzön so he could not continue his sessions with Najam Sheraz. Shallum asked Zaki to take his place but the latter recommended Asad who used to play at festivals and had been part of the Karachi-based underground rock band Josh. After being motivated by Zaki, Asad played his first professional gig with Najam and became his session player for the next three years. During Aaroh’s short-lived comeback, the band released two new singles and performed 451 Rockistan at a series of shows including FACE Music Mela and Lahooti Melo Festival in 2018. In addition to Farooq, Fawad Afzal Khan was featured as one of the judges on the second season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands as well. In the grand finale, his rock band Entity Paradigm set the stage ablaze with their one-off reunion performance of their rock anthem Hamesha. On an interesting note, the alternative rock band had performed the same song on the final episode of the first season fifteen years prior as well. Most importantly, original members Xulfi and Sajjad Ali Khan (who had been excluded from the 2009 reunion) were back in the fold this time. By now, Xulfi and Fawad had reconciled and would frequently collaborate on the latter’s projects. Though Fawad’s musical days were long behind him, he did not skip a single beat while resuming his role as a headbanging frontman on the stage again. While corporate sponsorship is often bashed by independent musicians, it unveils an entirely new avenue of music content to a variety of listeners. The broadcast syndication of Pepsi Battle of the Bands on major television channels pumped the popularity of rock music back to life. With the genre taken out of the doldrums, pioneering rock artists steadily began to resurface. Rock supernova Asad Ahmed became a solo artist and spent four years recording an instrumental album. Initially, it intended to feature guest vocalists and two original Karavan songs but plans fell through after being advised by none other than the business-savvy music producer Mike Clink to ditch the idea of a vocal album and stick to instrumentals. Throughout his illustrious career, he has worked with numerous hard rock 452 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH and heavy metal titans such as Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, , Megadeth and Mötley Crüe. Upon his first meeting with Asad, Clink ended up changing his preconceived notion about Pakistan. “So you’re from Pakistan?” asked Clink. “Do you live in a cave?” “I live in a house bigger than yours!” responded Asad. “And there’s a McDonald’s nearby!” “There’s a McDonald’s in Pakistan?!” Clink would recommend Asad that in order to hit the international market, he must limit his solo album to instrumental tracks as Urdu language vocals and even the songs sung in the English language by a Pakistani singer are bound to be viewed with a certain amount of prejudice. Whereas an instrumental album can easily be projected as the efforts of an Asian guitar player. Asad realized that there indeed was wisdom in the accomplished music producer’s advice and agreed that being restricted to instrumentals was the right decision. However, based on how their conversation started, he understood that the electronic and print media shoulders a pivotal responsibility in propagating his country’s image. “What you show in the news becomes the perception of Pakistan abroad,” he says. “The west believes that Pakistan is filled with bearded men carrying Kalashnikovs and living in mud huts. The media will never show the urban regions of Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad.” Back in Pakistan, the concept of a guitar player releasing a solo instrumental album meant swimming against the tide and Asad was discouraged by fellow musicians from 453 Rockistan recording one. After Karavan, the grizzled veteran had the freedom to do as he pleased and by carrying an unmatched strength of will, he released a solo instrumental album titled Rebirth on Friday, July 14, 2017. Unlike Noori’s third album, Rebirth was not available in limited physical copies but released on more than 800 streaming websites like Taazi, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Tidal etc. Within two weeks, the album had about 50,000 legal downloads mostly from Pakistan, America and Europe. The eagerly awaited album proved to be a massive step forward for instrumental rock music in Pakistan as evident from Asad’s sold-out solo show at PACC Karachi in March 2018. Fresh off the commercial success of Rebirth, he soon dropped an extended play and second solo album titled Severe Cuts and Ascension, respectively. The follow-up releases feature a mini-reunion of Karavan as Allan Smith played the drums and percussions on them. When it comes to artists expanding the overall appeal of Pakistani music, rock or otherwise, Asad is among the ones that are held in the highest esteem. With more than thirty historic years as a professional musician, his extraordinary efforts have laid down a rock-solid foundation for so many artists to grow on. Only a handful of musicians have persevered for that long in the turbulent music spectrum of the country and lived to tell the tale. With rock music finally on the upswing again, the stage had been set for numerous comebacks. In early 2018, Lahore-based independent artist Shahzad Hameed resurfaced by forming the eponymous group Shahzad Hameed Band which featured himself as the lead vocalist 454 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH and lead guitar player, Kamran Farooque as the drummer, Imron Illahi as the rhythm guitar player and Usama Sabzwari as the bass player. A year later, Karavan’s Tanseer Ahmed Daar made his emphatic return to the music scene as well with a new rock band named Dyra. Accompanying him were drummer Ken Zeerick aka Kenny, guitar whiz Steve George and bass player Amir Ajmal. Funk rock band Mauj was briefly chugged back to life as well with a brand new line-up of original member and founder Omran Shafique as the lead vocalist and lead guitar player, Anas Alam Khan as the bass player and Aziz Kazi as the drummer. In mid-2020, Omran’s fifteen years of musical journey in Pakistan reached the end of the trail as he moved to Bryan, Texas. Though primarily known for his contributions to Coke Studio, he is a sublime performer and a multi-genre guitar player who left behind an unassailable legacy as one of the most trailblazing rock musicians in the country. A few years after their weak third album, Noori went on a hiatus and the fans got to witness the brothers expanding their horizons by venturing to individual projects. Ali Hamza would serve as a producer for the eleventh season of Coke Studio whereas Ali Noor would release his solo album titled Pagal. Noori’s legacy is incomparable due to a whole host of reasons. Both brothers are among the most prolific songwriters in the country. Noori has always been ahead of the competition due to their abundant music videos, DIY approach, engaging lyrics that swept the youth off their feet and having the most accomplished drummer in the country. As the band has been around for more than two decades, 455 Rockistan disputes among members are bound to happen at some points. Controversies aside, Noori is one of the most charitable rock bands in Pakistan. According to Noor, the band has successfully made a cultural change by establishing music as relevant as the fields of law, business and medicine. Whereas Hamza believes that Noori aroused the thinking process of the Pakistani people, particularly the youth. “We focused on creating new songs with original and contemporary lyrics,” explains Ali Hamza. “The motivation behind our work was to develop communication that would help young Pakistanis contextualize their existence in reference to the bigger processes of society and nature; and thereafter find the motivation to do something worthwhile for themselves, for society and even for nature. In all practicality, Noori’s evolution has been the evolution of live music in Pakistan. The energy and precision with which a Noori performance is delivered is unmatchable and continues to remain a reference for upcoming as well as established musicians of today.” Working with a missionary zeal, Faraz Anwar took rock music a step further with the release of his fifteen-track album Ishq Ki Subah in mid-2020. Over the years, the progressive rock maestro has become a huge draw as far as crowds in live gigs are concerned. In May 2016, during his show at Classic Rock Coffee Co. located in F-6, Islamabad, the venue was packed to capacity and part of the overflowing audience had to sit outside the stairs. Though they could not see Faraz, they sat outside the premises because they could not resist hearing the beloved rocker play the guitar. 456 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH

While fans have often voiced their desire for his band Mizraab to make a comeback, Faraz has clarified that the progressive rock band never actually existed since there were no contributions from the rest of the members and he was solely responsible for the input worth a dozen people. Faraz’s role has never been limited to singing and playing the guitar as he is also the producer, recorder, mixer, composer and arranger of his own songs. Behind the scenes, he has also worked as the producer for a myriad of rock bands such as Aag and Taraaz. In mid-2018, Junoon sent shockwaves throughout the country as Salman and Ali finally buried the hatchet after thirteen years of bitterness and resentment. Scores of rabid fans breathed a sigh of relief after finding out about their reconciliation. Brian O’Connell, who had built a reputation as the most dignified bass player in Pakistan, joined the reunion too. Furthermore, their long-tenured percussionist Ashiq Ali Mir returned as well. Backed by corporate sponsorship of biscuit brand Peek Freans Sooper, the sufi rock band held their comeback concert at DHA Sports Club, Karachi, on Tuesday, December 25, 2018. More than 10,000 people flocked to the show and applauded the band with a rapturous welcome. While Ali had been in touch with Salman’s sons and even jammed with them, he had not met his bandmate for thirteen years and barely spoke to him. After more than a decade of fighting back and forth at each other in the press and experiencing varying commercial success in their solo careers, the two agreed to let bygones be bygones. 457 Rockistan

There were plans to have Junoon making their hotly- anticipated comeback on the tenth season of Coke Studio or the second season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands but nothing came to fruition either due to Ali’s scheduling conflicts and Salman being busy because of his responsibilities as a Polio Goodwill Ambassador for Rotary International. The stars finally aligned when Peek Freans Sooper stepped forward. “Junoon recognized that coming back after a long hiatus, a totally 100% Pakistani owned company like Sooper would reap the benefits from our reunion,” explains Salman. While corporate sponsorship did play a fundamental role in bringing back the sufi rock trio, Salman claims that his close friend and former bandmate Junaid Jamshed hoped for a reunion as well. In November 2016, they engaged in what would ultimately be their last conversation with one another. During that two-hour call, Junaid revealed to Salman that he would be travelling to Chitral and also mentioned that he hopes for the classic Junoon trio to reunite for a one-off concert. A month later, the former pop icon passed away untimely in a plane crash that left no survivors. He was 52 years old. The catastrophic incident stirred a whirlwind of national outrage and cast a dark cloud over Pakistan International Airlines. Following their sold-out concert in Karachi, Junoon embarked on a rigorous international tour and blew the roof off the venues across Dubai, America, England, Bangladesh and Canada. The band’s music has held up over time and has played a paramount role in shaping the music scene into what it is today. Junoon can be credited for motivating other artists to incorporate live drums in their recordings as they 458 TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH were the very first band to regularly do so. The sufi rock group has also been a subject of academic research papers but perhaps their biggest accomplishment is introducing the heart-stirring poetry of Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Bulleh Shah to a whole new generation. Despite being near their twilight years, Junoon does not seem to be a pale shadow of itself and remains a cornerstone of the nation’s contemporary music. Over recent years, the concert culture has reemerged due to the significant decrease of gratuitous violence as the country has been steadily sliding out of the abyss of terrorism. As for the resurrected rock music scene in Pakistan, it has been saved from going through a meat grinder. 459 Rockistan

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would not have been possible if dozens of hard rockers across Pakistan and even abroad had not taken out time from their hectic schedule to narrate the intricate details of their musical journey. I am indebted to Faraz Anwar, Irfan Charlie and Rameez Asif for recalling their personal memories of Mizraab. Members of Aaroh were exceedingly helpful as well and I am deeply appreciative to Farooq Ahmed, Khalid Khan, Nabeel Nihal Chishty, Kamran Khan aka Kamijee and Asad Ul Hafeez for disclosing the historic details of their band. I sincerely thank esteemed movie director Wajahat Rauf for revealing his contributions towards the promotion of emerging rock bands. Thank you Omran Shafique, Rizwan Latif Khan, Ameel Zia Khan, Faizan Bukhari, Jehangir Aziz Hayat, Cecil Shane Chaudhry, Aaiz Khan, Sarmad Ghafoor, Abid Khan and Salman Albert for sharing your personal recollections with me. I am exceptionally grateful to Qaiser ZainUl Abedin, Umair Tareen and Khalid Butt for answering my questions regarding their rock band Razam. I am deeply indebted to Shahzad Hameed for inviting me to his home so we can discuss Lahore’s underground rock circuit, struggles of independent musicians, contemporary music and corporate sponsorship. The bundles of newspaper clippings and pamphlets regarding himself and rock bands of Lahore’s 460 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS underground circuit shared by him were immensely insightful. I am especially grateful to Daniyal Sohail and Mirza Awais Ahmed Khan for making me grasp a better understanding of the reclusive yet influential musician Aamir Zaki. A great debt of gratitude goes out to Ali Noor, Ali Hamza, Louis John Pinto aka Gumby and Mohammad Ali Jafri for being so open with me regarding Noori. As an avid reader of news, magazine and website articles regarding Pakistani rock artists, I am extremely grateful to countless music journalists such as Maheen Sabeeh, Huma Imtiaz, Saba Imtiaz, Sonya Rehman, Insiya Syed, Sadaf Fayyaz, Maliha Rehman, Sameen Amer, Muniba Kamal, Rizwana Malik, Fariha Rashed, Shahshams Zaheer, Natasha Noorani, Shaiba Rizwan, Mariam Khan, Rafay Mahmood, Hashim Nauman, Waseef Akhtar, Asif Akhtar, Hamad Dar, Salman Siddiqui, Najeeb-ur-Rehman, Ziad Bashir, Hasan Mansoor, Nauman Saeed Anwar, Rohail Khan, Ali Asghar Taha, Rohail Khan, Ziad Bashir, Asad Abrar, Omer Tariq and Qasim Abdallah Moini. Thank you all for your invaluable help as your journalistic integrity in the form of articles and interviews was a great resource for quotes, crucial details and historical moments. I humbly apologize if I left anyone out. A voluminous quantity of information was gathered from the interviews conducted by radio jockeys such as Mohammed Ali Charlie aka Dino, Wes Malik, Sophiya Anjam and Khalid Malik. They deserve an ample amount of recognition for numerous quotes and material compiled in this book. I must express my heartfelt appreciation towards forefront music critics Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Mohammad 461 Rockistan

A. Qayyum and Fasi Zaka whose reviews I have been reading since my childhood. The interesting tidbits mentioned in their articles were immensely helpful. I am most thankful to Salman Ahmad who has been very kind to narrate various facts about Junoon that were either obscure or not publicly known. Moreover, thank you for permitting me to borrow a few quotes from your autobiography Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution. Above all, I am forever indebted to Asad Ahmed for generously engaging in conversations with me for three years to recall his historic career that involves the Barbarians, Junoon, Awaz, Vital Signs, Karavan etc. In addition to being open about his trailblazing journey, he pulled back the curtain on the ins and outs of the music business in Pakistan. During my two meetings with him, Asad was exceedingly polite beyond my expectations. As the founding fathers of Pakistani rock music, I had an immeasurable amount of questions for both Salman and Asad and I have no words to express how grateful I am for their patience, honesty and prompt responses. I extend my sincere appreciation to Ali Azmat, an equally instrumental figure who revolutionized the rock genre in Pakistan, for answering my questions. I am highly appreciative to Tanseer Ahmed Daar for graciously inviting me to his home twice to interview him. Thank you so much for your hospitality. I am tremendously grateful to Mekaal Hasan for unearthing facts about his band and clarifying a few misconceptions. A heartfelt thank you to Pawan Rawat. The die-hard Junoon fan from across the border courteously provided me footage of the band’s 462 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS interviews that are no longer available on the internet. A special word of gratitude is due to Hamza Jafri, Ken Zeerick aka Kenny and Malcolm Goveas. I would like to acknowledge Khurram Jabbar Khan. He has been a significant figure, both in front and behind the scenes, of Pakistani rock music and it was a pleasure interviewing him regarding his selfless contributions to the genre. I owe a particular debt to the very humble Junaid Khan. Despite his busy schedule as a leading actor and rock frontman, he spared time for me to answer my questions regarding Call and shared the details of his upcoming projects. Two sources that have been particularly useful to me in my research regarding the origins of rock music in Pakistan are Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam by Mark LeVine and lmkofficial.com, a website that preserves the vibrant history of several early Karachi-based musicians. I owe a debt of gratitude to Osman Shakir, Sana Khattak, Iqra Saman, Syed Adeel Akhtar Shah and Said Muhammad who assisted me with the literary aspects of this book either in the form of editors or proofreaders. They have been extremely supportive and their recommendations, comments and feedback had a significant role in improving the book. Lastly, thank you Syed Ommer Amer, CEO of Daastan Publishers, for getting this book published.

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464 Tayyab Khalil