Mahesh Tinaikar, founding member of Rock Machine and Indus Creed, dies at 62

Memories of watching them perform songs like ‘Pretty Child’, ‘Trapped’ and ‘Top Of The Rock’ flashed back on Thursday afternoon, when news of the death of guitarist Mahesh Tinaikar – an inspiration to many young guitarists over the years -- spread through social media

: Back in the mid-1990s, streams of rock fans would head to the iconic Rang Bhavan in Mumbai every August. The annual Independence Rock festival had by then become an important part of Mumbai’s cultural calendar, and the band Indus Creed was at its peak.

Mahesh Tinaikar, founding member of Rock Machine and Indus Creed, dies at 62.

Memories of watching them perform songs like ‘Pretty Child’, ‘Trapped’ and ‘Top Of The Rock’ flashed back on Thursday afternoon, when news of the death of guitarist Mahesh Tinaikar – an inspiration to many young guitarists over the years -- spread through social media.

Tinaikar, 62, suffered from health issues for many years, although his friends say he had been careful. Two weeks ago, he complained of stomach pain and suffered a heart attack while undergoing an endoscopy at a Borivali hospital. The funeral will be held on Friday at the Banganga crematorium.

“We were discussing a new song, just on Wednesday,” said Zubin Balaporia, keyboardist of Indus Creed, who played with Tinaikar from the time the band was called Rock Machine. “We have known each other for 40 years, and besides various cities in India, toured the US, Russia and UK. I was 18 when we first met, and he was 20, and none of us knew if we would make music a full-time career.”

It is noteworthy that Tinaikar didn’t come from a family of musicians. Son of former Mumbai municipal commissioner S S Tinaikar, he listened to the music of his time with his friends, and often spoke of how the bands Deep Purple, The Who and Creedence Clearwater Revival had helped him cultivate an interest in rock music.

Back in the early 1980s, bands like High and Shiva from Kolkata, 13AD from Kerala and Crosswinds from Mumbai were popular on the concert circuit. Ehsaan Noorani, of Crosswinds, later part of the film music trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, remembered his first meetings with Tinaikar. He recalled, “I used to stay near (singer) Jayesh Gandhi’s home at Oval Maidan, where all of us guitarists would converge driven by a common bond. I learnt from the famous Bismarck Rodriguez, and was slightly more experienced than them. So, I would teach them certain techniques, particularly in the blues style. Both Mahesh and I were fans of the British band Wishbone Ash – we would discuss their songs, especially the twin guitar parts.”

According to Noorani, Tinaikar was known to give himself up to exploring new styles and closely observe different guitarists. “He was heavily into Michael Schenker, and jazz guitarists like John Scofield and Larry Carlton,” he said.

Rock Machine released its debut album ‘Rock N’ Roll Renegade’ in 1988, whereupon ‘Top Of The Rock’, ‘The Enemy Within’ and the title track became fan favourites. The follow-up ‘The Second Coming’, released in 1990, featured their classic ‘Pretty Child’. The band was renamed Indus Creed, and the self-titled album had the songs ‘Trapped’ and ‘Sleep’.

Along with New Delhi’s Parikrama, Indus Creed ruled the rock scene in the mid-1990s. Some years on, with the musicians wanting to do other projects, the band members took a break in 1997. Tinaikar began playing gigs with other musicians, including singer Gary Lawyer. He eventually played guitar on and produced Lawyer’s 2004 album ‘Unbelong’, later renamed ‘No Turning Back’. Said Lawyer, “I don’t think he realised the kind of brilliance he could display. No one could have done a better job than him in playing the guitar solos and the treatment he gave those songs.”

In 2008, Uday Benegal formed his acoustic project Whirling Kalapas, with multi-instrumentalists Sankarshan Kini and Ashwin Andrew. Tinaikar joined them, and eventually he and Benegal talked about reviving Indus Creed. They approached Balaporia, bassist Rushad Mistry and drummer Jai Row Kavi. Said Balaporia, “I wasn’t very keen as I had other projects on hand. But I agreed to do only the first show at Hard Rock Café in Worli. I never left after that.”

Indus Creed recorded ‘Evolve’ in 2012 -- their first album in 17 years. They opened for Santana in Bengaluru, played at the revived Mahindra Independence Rock and this March, opened for Def Leppard at the Jio World Garden. Lawyer spoke about a show at the Yacht Club two months ago when Tinaikar filled in for the regular guitarist. “It was a marvelous performance, as he just fit into the songs without much notice,” he said. That was Mahesh Tinaikar’s genius.