TEE-M (Tariq Mirza) grew up listening to Rock ‘n Roll on short-wave radio in Karachi and learning to play on a hand-me-down guitar. His band 21st Century won Gold Medal at Pakistan’s 1st Battle of Bands. The song Aao Aao Aao (sugi ka halwa) from his debut album EARTHIOTIC, (recorded in Hollywood) becomes a Top 10 Hit there and City FM89 Pakistan’s biggest radio network selects “Aao” as “One of The Top 62 Songs of The Last 62 Years of Nation’s Independence.”
Another song, Hallucination’s video (Dir: Chris Jean) win’s Van Gogh’s Best Avant Garde Film in Amsterdam and grabs Mexico’s Golden Palm Award. The song was also selected Top 10 Finalist at a local LA recording studio contest. The late, great Lamont Dozier (an Honor to meet the man) of Motown’s Holland/Dozier/Holland fame was among the judges.
History making at Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas, first student produced concert to SELL OUT. College gives TEE-M “LEADERSHIP AND/OR UNSELFISH SERVICE” Award. In Santa Monica, CA, 3 Live videos at Annual “TEE-M Celebrates Life & Rock ‘n Roll” from the rehearsal hall with no walls have garnered over 7 Million Views. TEE-M becomes first music act to perform at Santa Monica, City Hall Chambers. Songs, Senorita Margarita and Aao Aao Aao (sugi ka halwa), were performed.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with TEE-M about the latest music, technology in music, dream collabs, and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
AI (aka Artificial Intelligence aka Chat GPT 4.0)… How is it changing the music world? What are your thoughts about this new trend?
First I would like everybody to know that I’m probably the least tech savvy musician on the planet, having said that, this 4 song EP, I Came I Saw Margarita was made with the help of musicans from nine countries around the world, including working with 22 Piece Budapest Strings on track 2, I Came I Saw I Sang I Left. I don’t think there was AI used and as long as I can write a song and make a record, I’m happy. Tomorrow who knows what will happen but I think for the moment this first verse from track 3, Hey I Just Feel Right, sums up my feelings, even though the song was not written specifically for Ai. “This world is going crazy, well it can do what it wants, today nothing can stop me from singing my new song.”
Can you choose a favorite song of all time? Or is this an impossible task? If yes, what’s the song? If no, what’s your current Top 3?
Shake Rattle And Roll by Bill Haley and The Comets has to be one of my all time favorite song. I grew up in Karachi, Pakistan and I remember we had gone on a family picnic to Gharo, about an hour outside of the big city, I was probably about four or five years old, trying to go to sleep at night, but there was some hollering and singing going on at the edge of the long guest house, the noisemakers were my older siblings, cousins and their friends and they seem to be having a great time singing along to Shake Rattle and Roll, Rock Around The Clock and some other songs. That literally woke me up and thinking, that’s so much fun, I wanna do that. The dream seed was sown and thus it was my triggering point for rock ‘n roll. Just a few years back, I found out that around the same time a budding teenager over in England was saving his shillings to go see Bill Haley live in Liverpool and that was none other than, Paul McCartney himself. Of course by the time The Beatles arrived, it was all over for me. Today here in Santa Monica, California at TEE-M Rehearsal Hall in Palisades Park on Sunday’s (after 4pm along with AL The Bassman on the upright), we have so much fun singing Shake Rattle And Roll with our audience, which sometimes include, Academy Award Filmmaker (Woodstock ’69) multiple Peabody and Emmy Winner, Dale Bell, 3 Times Governor of Massachusetts and Presidential Nominee, Mr. Michael Dukakis and samples of all the generations that came before and after Shake Rattle And Roll was released.
What about this project makes you most proud? Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release? How did the recordings come about?
Actually I was just accumulating tracks for an album and these 4 songs had been recorded just before and during Covid. Early this year I realized that an album could take a while so I decided to put out an EP, which I had never done before and as an independent artist it was a lot practical. Track 4, Paan Kha Kay Dil May Tesali Aie was recorded while I was on a tour of Karachi. Asad Ahmed, one of Pakistan’s premier guitarman laid down some tasty slide on it, earlier on, the band and I cut the basic tracks live at Saad Hayat studios. Funny story about this song is, I had started writing it when I was a teenager in Karachi, I just had the chorus, after a friend of mine who was reading a local newspaper story, about the upcoming shortage of Paans (beetle leaves, usually consumed after lunch or dinner) and then I came for studies to the US. Almost four years later I was in Arlington, Texas and ready to revisit Karachi and then one day in the Texas heat, the song’s 3 verses came out in rapid fire. I’ve performed the song live in shows, on national TV and radio, it has been written about in National Newspapers but I never recorded it till about 3 years ago, which also became the first time I recorded a song in Pakistan.
Track 2, I Came I Saw I Sang I Left, features 22 Piece Budapest Strings, which was a very thrilling experience for me as I never thought that as an independent artist I would be able to afford something like that, but due to Covid there were a lot of new companies and studios (Portugal) around the world who were offering some special deals and I’m so happy that I grabbed the introductory offer. Had no idea how I’d deal with the string arrangement as I’m not a trained musician but I was hearing strings in this song. Initially I thought it would just be my vocals, acoustic guitar and the strings but then they said we have all these great musicians, so I picked a piano man from England, the bassman from Brazil via New York and drummer from around Los Angeles. The basic tracks for my acoustic and vocals were done here in LA at Jodie’s studio.
For, Hey I Just Feel Right, track 3, myself and AL the Bassman recorded our tracks at Jodie’s, with backup vocals from everyone and then it was sent to the great guitarman, Geoff Tyson (we co-produced my debut album, EARTHIOTIC, when he was living in LA) in Prague, Czech Republic where the song was completed instrument wise and additional back-up vocals along with Dashi. A pop song that I think everybody can sing along wherever they maybe and feel just right. The song made its live debut at the 5th Annual TEE-M Celebrates Life & Rock ‘n Roll at the Rehearsal Hall in Santa Monica’s Palisades Park with the live video getting over a MIllion Views on my facebook.
Senorita Margarita the leading lady of the 4 song EP inaugurates the party with a jarring trumpet call, the intention is to wake up everybody and take notice. The trumpet man, Pena, was in Los Angeles via Mexico and Gustavo from Agentina laid down the Spanish guitar, electric guitar rip from Steven, from the Bay area and then myself on acoustic, AL The Bassman and Chuck on drums and percussions rounded up the line up. Just a week ago myself and AL The Bassman were performing at a private party and in between our break there was an improv group who picked up my setlist that was lying around and asked the audience which of the song they should do a skit on. Some of the songs she mentioned were, Boppin’ The Blues, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Pretty Woman, Hotel California, Bye Bye Love and a gentleman who was from San Francisco, shouted out, Senorita Margarita. Then the improv group did a hilarious skit on it, after just hearing the song once, that was too funny and an honor.
The fact that I was able to write these songs, learn enough about the technolgy so I could work with musicians from 4 continents including the 22 Piece Budapest Strings, put it all together for the world to enjoy the songs, is a miracle for me and that’s what I’m most proud off. The other day I gotta another surprise, these 4 songs can now be put behind your facebook and Instagram stories and posts. So if you’re reading this, please try it, all you have to do is put the song title in search along with TEE-M and it should come up.
What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?
Usually something triggers me and then I go oh, this could be interesting, lets explore this further, see if I can turn it into a song. I’m not one of those people that need to sit everyday and try to write a song, nothing wrong with that, it’s just not my style. I respect inspiration, it could happen everyday but it doesn’t. Here are some examples, earlier on I mentioned Paan Kha Kay how it came about and took 4 years from start to completion which is rare, there’s another song, not on the EP, On The Ground which took about 20 years, I had started writing that in Karachi and finished it in LA in the 90’s and made a demo of it with TEE-M & The Noizemakers, my then band.
I Came I Saw I Sang I Left, track 2, was inspired by a photograph that was sent to me by the Producer/DP of an interview I did with a Pakistani TV Channel here at the Rehearsal Hall in Santa Monica. When I initially viewed the photo, I just blurted out and captioned it and then it became a song later.
I was driving on a beautiful, crisp, sunny Southern California day and feeling really up when suddenly some bad news came on the radio and I said to myself, I’m not going to let these people get me down, so I started singing, hey I just feel right with the sunshine in my eyes and sky of blue, when I reached home, I picked up the guitar and completed the song, which is track 3, Hey I Just Feel Right.
I gotta mention one more song, it was inspired by my mom’s cooking, Aao Aao Aao (sugi ka halwa) recorded in Hollywood which was on my debut album EARTHIOTIC…the song came to me in a dream here in LA, where I was smelling the aroma of the dessert Sugi Ka Halwa that she used to make. I completed the song in about an hour, and eventually it became a Top 10 Hit in Pakistan and CityFM89 (Pakistan’s biggest radio network) selected it as One Of The Top 62 Songs Of The Last 62 Years of Nation’s Independence. Never thought that as an independent artist I would have a Top 10 hit somewhere in the world without the hit making machinery, money and resources of the music industry behind it.
I’m not the youngest pup around the block but as long as the songs keep coming and the spirit is there, motivation will follow and it also helps knowing a little bit of history of this music industry which rejected the Beatles and accepted Milli Vanilii.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
The Beatles had a tremendous impact on me as a kid, while growing up in Karachi, especially the time I learned they were self-taught. I remember thinking wow! that’s magic, you mean, one doesn’t have to go to school to learn all that, if that’s the case, I’m in, time don’t matter. Since the Beatles set the bar for me, it would be out of this world if I could collaborate with John, Paul, George or Ringo.
What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?
Rag Mama Rag, by the Band. Somewhere in early 2000’s I was sitting in a 3rd Street Promenade sidewalk cafe having dinner here in Santa Monica when amongst the crowd I saw this tall man walking who looked familiar, I did a double take and realized it was Robbie Robertson, the man behind Band’s such great songs as The Weight, Up On Cripple Creek, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Joan Baez) and others. The first time I heard Rag Mama Rag and the Band was in Karachi, on my short-wave radio on BBC World Service Top 10. It entered at 10 and then the following week it disappeared, it was gone, but made an impression on this teenager, first the title and then the instrumention with the tuba playing the bass was unusal for a top 10 hit. But the most shocking and pleasantly surprising thing for me was, the single was manufactured and available at the Gramaphone Company of Pakistan record store in Bhori Bazaar, couldn’t believe it, of course I bought it, my favorite part is…”we could be relaxing in my sleeping bag, but all you want to do for me mama is a rag mama rag”…RIP ROBBIE.
Bill Hayley and The Comets triggered the rock ‘n roll dream, The Shadows (their Apache was the first tune I learned on guitar) along with Cliff Richard (British) sustained it and by the time The Beatles arrived, my rock ‘n roll surrender was complete. Elvis, James Brown, Hank Williams Sr. and Willie Dixon are some of my favorite artists and songwriters. I remember listening to Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival for the first time on my short-wave radio in Karachi and thinking to myself, wow, this band is going to overtake the Beatles and sure enough for a couple of years it happened. Then to top it all off, in the late 80’s I got to meet John Fogerty at a restaurant in Hollywood, the most down to earth rock ‘n roller, what a pleasure it was meeting him. The other 60’s era band that I got into from the very first song I heard was the Doors, yes, Light My Fire, pretty impressive catalog. I’ve met, Robbie, John and Ray on different occasions, the benefit of living in LA and if Jim Morrison was alive, I would’ve probably met him too.
There are some singers and artist from the Sub-Continent that I was listening to in the early days who were everywhere, in the bazaars, films, radio and TV, like, Mohd Rafi, Ahmed Rushdi, Kishore Kumar, SB John and later on the qawali great, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who had a real powerful voice and delivery.
Some of my favorite new artists and writers are Dan Auerbach, (Black Keys) I really like his songwriting and what he does to the songs, production wise. Then there’s Wilco, I enjoy most every song of there’s I hear on the radio.
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
Here are some of my social media links, website and email, just in case somebody would like to keep in touch.
https://www.instagram.com/halwaking/
https://www.facebook.com/HalwaKing/
https://tee-m.bandcamp.com/
https://www.tee-m.com
tmgig@yahoo.com
I appreciate Your time. Want to say or plug any other projects before we part ways?
Well, thank you so much for the interview, you guys (IMD) are doing a great service for the independent community, it’s not easy, it requires a lot of time, effort, energy and dedication to music to do all this. From 2004 to around 2010, I had a show out of WPMD, Cerritos College, TEE-M UNsigned Music Show w/ Mike Stark, (Mike’s other monthly show was with Bill Ward, drummer, Black Sabbath) it was a two hour show where we’d play recorded music for the first hour and the second hour was dedicated to live music and on the anniversary shows we’d have about 10 to 14 artists with live performances, lots of food, snacks, juices and merry of a time. We started before Spotify entered the scene…
Just like everybody to know that recently I had an atmospheric burst of songs like never in my life before, so I’m hoping that another EP or an album will follow in the near future if everything goes well.
In closing I’d like to dedicate track 2, I Came I Saw I Sang I Left, to Robbie Robertson and Tony Bennett.
