Dan Lawson

“A rose is a rose is a rose,” wrote Gertrude Stein 913, which means “things are what they are,” a statement on the law of identity. Simply using the name of a thing connotes the associated motions and imagery. And in that way, since Dan Lawson is an awesome axeman, the perfect plank spanker and a truly great  “guitarsonist,” whenever people hear his name, stupendous six-string solos leap to mind.

Musical beginnings, The Dan Lawson Band

Lawson was born on November 16, 1956 in Baltimore, Maryland and his uncle, Roy Parks, played guitar for a while with country star Tex Ritter. “The first live band I ever saw was Led Zeppelin in Baltimore when I was 13 years old,” he said. I was hooked!” His overall tone and general style have a metal edge, which he contributes to biggest early influence, Jeff Beck, and his sound is a blend of funk, blues, rock and attitude.

Lawson has been a frequent performer at major music festivals throughout North America including the Ottawa Music Festival and the Mont-Tremblant Music Festival in Montreal. The Dan Lawson Band is a crowd favorite during the Sturgis, Laconia, Myrtle Beach and Daytona bike weeks and in 2008 they played the national anthem at an event for presidential candidate Senator John McCain. Their shows have ranged from a 45-minute set opening for Blue Öyster Cult at The Cabot in Beverly, Massachusetts to a 90-minute one at the Sturgis Motor Cycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota to a 120-minute one at the prestigious Mont-Tremblant Music Festival in Montreal. “We love to play so the size of the venue never crosses our minds,” Lawson says. Whether it’s only 20 people or 20,000, we’ve played them all with the same approach and it never gets old.”

Stoned Oak, The Keep, Nathalie Cote Band, Solo albums

From 1978 through 1981, Lawson‘s lead licks led Stoned Oak, and from 1982 to 1992 he built a huge following in The Keep. From 1992 through 1995, he played in Surgery Break, from 1996 until 2000 he powered the Nathalie Cote Band and from 2001 until today the fabulous fret man has been fronting The Dan Lawson Band, one of the biggest draws on the Massachusetts North Shore. His solo discography includes his debut album, Bill In Hell’s Kitchen (2000, Uncle Bob Records), In The Nick Of Time (2004, Plymouth Rock Records) Dan Lawson Band (2006, Straw House Records) and his self-released LP Soldiers of Fortune, which was Limelight magazine’s Album of the Year in 2015. 

Artists/bands with whom Lawson has shared the stage: 

• John Mayall
• Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad)
• Dee Snider and Mark Mendoza (Twisted Sister)
• Matt “Guitar” Murphy (The Blues Brothers)
• David Lee Roth (Van Halen)
• Chris “Whipper” Layton (Double Trouble)
• Ronnie Earl (The Broadcasters)
• The Four Tops
• Walker’s All-Stars
• The Contours
• Bad Company
• Styx
• Weepin’ Willie Robinson
• E.O. Speedwagon
• Charlie Farren(The Joe Perry Project, Farrenheit)
• Danny “D.K.” Klein (The J. Geils Band)
• Lou Gramm (Foreigner)
• Rick Derringer
• Pat Travers
• The Tubes
• John Waite
• Vanilla Fudge
• Blue Öyster Cult
• Molly Hatchet
• John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band
• Johnny and Edgar Winter
• Eddie Money
• .38 Special
• Steppenwolf and John Kay
• Foghat and Roger Earl
• ZZ Top

(by A.J. Wachtel)