your stories
from Nikki Hoshal
I met Lolly in 1997 when I saw the Paperboys at the Victoria Folk Festival. In 1998 I moved from Victoria to Vancouver for school, and continued to see him at numerous Paperboys shows. In summer of 1998 (shortly after I moved to Vancouver) I went to see the Paperboys play at the PNE. I was backstage with the band, and had just introduced my new roommate to the band members (including Lolly). My roommate was ranting about how some random rock star was such a great songerwriter…in fact she thought he was the best songwriter in the world. My friend Brian piped up “you know who my favourite songwriter is of all time? Paul Lawton.” To this my roommate responded “Who the f*#* is Paul Lawton? I’ve never heard of him, so he can't be that good.” At that point Lolly walked up to my roommate, stuck out his hand again, and said “Hello Lisa, my name is Paul Lawton” with a big grin on his face. It still makes me laugh to think about what a humble guy he was, and how un-offended he was to her comments.
After Lolly retired from the Paperboys I still saw him around town often at the Railway Club or the Commodore, watching bands like Wilco, Travis, Lunasa, and REM. We would always have a drink, talk about music, and catch up on what was going on with each others’ lives. What was great about Lolly is that while we weren’t close friends, he still treated me like I was his best friend when we met. He remembered things I had told him from previous conversations. He would constantly ask me about school, my job, my new apartment…and I would ask him about driving bus, and any local musicians that he was playing with at the time.
The last time I saw Lolly was in Seattle on Jan 14, 2005, just a few days after his birthday. I was planning to go watch my friend Hanz Araki (who lives in Seattle) play a gig. As soon as he told me Lolly would be sitting in on the gig it sealed the deal – I totally wanted to watch Lolly and Hanz play together again. I remember having a great dinner at a Thai restaurant with Hanz and Lolly, and then watching their fabulous gig at Conor Byrnes. I understand that gig prompted them to have several more together, which I know Hanz really enjoyed.
I already miss running into Lolly around town at concerts, as well as the occasional times when we would get to hang out and catch up. I will always remember his kind smile and his genuine joy of life.
Nikki Hoshal
Vancouver, BC