Well, it’s been exactly two years since I announced I would be taking a two year hiatus and I am pleased to report that it is officially over next month. I’ve been working on a new record which is slated for this fall, and am going to be releasing the 1st single, “Turn Me Out” on Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 (3 weeks from today). The song was co-written by David Appaloosa (from pop supergroup The Hugs), and was produced and engineered by Gino Mari at The Country Club Recording Studios in Portland, Oregon.

We started shooting the “Turn Me Out” video this week as well, so…stay tuned! So much fun stuff happening…

Still keeping the audio for this new track under lock and key, but I released the cover art today. Check it out:

Logan Lynn: “Turn Me Out”
Release Date: Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
Lyrics and Vocals by Logan Lynn.
Music and Programming by David Appaloosa.
Produced and Engineered by Gino Mari .
Recorded & Mixed at The Country Club – Portland, Oregon.

(Originally Published on The Huffington Post on 4/26/2012)

This week I had the pleasure of meeting up with famed New York cabaret songstress Lady Rizo on the eve of the first of two Portland, Ore. shows along her in-progress West Coast tour. We chatted backstage, and I took some photos while she transformed herself into the glamorous creature she was clearly born to be, a sultry, seductive woman whose stage presence, voice, and quick wit rendered me (and the rest of the room) completely speechless for the duration of the evening.

Lady Rizo is stunningly herself onstage, in one of the most authentic ways I have ever experienced. It is a gift possessed by few in this world, so if you have the opportunity to share in it with her, take it! I feel transformed by the spectacle of love, passion, and pure, unbridled talent I witnessed onstage that evening. I mean, who needs drugs with Rizo around?!

Do yourself a favor and get to know her right now. Mark my words: This woman is about to take over the entire world.

Here is our chat.

Hey, pretty lady! Thanks for taking some time to catch up with me before the show. For readers who may not already be familiar with you and your work, how would you describe what you do?

I am a singer, comedienne, chanteuse-y diva who performs in glamorous gowns and lashes. I theatrically explore pop and rock songs, write my own arrangements for them, and perform them in intimate cabaret settings. I have a dirty mind but usually deliver my humor bathed in a vague class that distracts you from the filth. I now also sing my own songs.

I enjoy your dirty mind very much. How is it being back on the West Coast? You’re from around here, correct?

I love the West Coast. Yes, I was raised in an intentionally artistic community by a troupe of theater hippies on the Oregon beach. It always takes me a second to readjust to the slower, relaxed pace here and the fact that waiters will smile at you. But I love it — and I love being a bridge between.

Right. Friendly servers is a real treat that comes with living here for sure. When did you move to New York? Did you move there with a mission, or has all of this come about organically?

I moved to N.Y.C. in 2004. Oh, yes, I had a mission: to continue my work as in the theater. However, when I moved there, I found that I needed to have a different game plan. I was not willing to play the role as a pleading actress, blindly sending out headshots and résumés in hopes that I could get an agent. I knew that bitterness and lack of control over my career would creep in and destroy what spark I had. I thought maybe I could perform in a cabaret setting, producing my own shows and showing my skills under my own terms. Then they would all be begging for me to come join projects. It worked eventually, but it took seven years.

Seven years is a long time to stay focused on a particular vision. I’m really glad you stuck it out! Do you have plans to tour more this year, or are you staying put once you wrap up this coastal adventure you are currently on?

I’ll be in Europe quite a bit this year. All of August I’ll be at the Edinburgh Festival at the Assembly Room. I’m very excited, because it will open me up to a whole world market. Global domination! Also, I’ll be there for Young Jean Lee’s provocative theater piece The Untitled Feminist Show that I was a co-collaborator on last year. It premiered at the Walker Center and then had a sold-out run at Baryshnikov in January.

I can’t wait for you to take over the world! Frankly, the world needs you and your spirit (fingers). Speaking of spirit fingers, you have quite the gay following. Do you consider yourself a queer performer?

Yes. Absolutely!! I don’t often subscribe to heteronormative thought patterns. I surround myself with others who consider themselves queer. I don’t rally against the mainstream as much as just live along side it… and the truth is, Lady Rizo is a decadently healthy temptation for all genders and persuasions.

Truer words have never been spoken. You starred in legendary performance artist Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge in 2008. How was the experience of working with him?

Taylor Mac is an American treasure. The Lily’s Revenge was so bold, smart, inclusive, and enjoyable. Taylor asked me to do the show based on listening to my band rehearsal while he was taking a nap when we were both performing in the Motherlodge Festival in Louisville, Ky. When he said it would be a five-hour play — to build the feeling of community — I laughed with disbelief and said, “Maybe.”

I really never thought it could be as amazing, wildly popular, and moving as it was. There was a palpable feeling in the rehearsals that every one of the 45 collaborators who worked on the N.Y.C. premiere knew they were working on something special. Is it obvious that I love Taylor? He is one the people that you suffer all the crap of New York City to be near.

I love Taylor, too… but I would add that you are also an American treasure, so maybe it takes one to know one. You’ve been the inspiration behind many successful singers coming out of New York recently. How does it feel to be in that role?

I didn’t fully know this. I know that the work inspires many people but not specifically singers. The only thing that constantly pushes me forward is the thought that I artistically free up anyone. It makes me so happy. I know I need other brave souls to do that for me.

Nice. Well, now you fully know. While we are on the subject of singers you’ve inspired, Taylor Mac has been very open about how he feels about a certain pop singer also self-styled “Lady.” What are your thoughts on Gaga? Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery, or do you wish she would knock it off already?

I applaud those pop artists that commit to a look outside of the box, but Gaga’s music and stage performances don’t excite me. It’s hard to pinpoint what it is about her that makes me yawn, but I don’t think my resistance to her is jealousy or possessiveness about the “Lady” title. (Though let’s get one thing straight: I was a “Lady” when Gaga was a girl.) She doesn’t perform in a way that inspires intimacy or connectedness with the audience — or at least it doesn’t connect to me. You can be a diva and reign on stage, but for adults, you usually have to earn it with respecting them first.

You are very gracious, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Enough about Gaga, though. Who are some of the people who have inspired you over the years?

Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, Fran Lebowitz, Aretha Franklin, Marilyn Monroe, Peggy Lee, Lucille Ball, Jeff Buckley, James Brown, Prince, Etta James, Freddie Mercury.

That is a lovely list of names. I can see parts of you in all of them, actually… or them in you. While we are on the subject of lovely things, what’s love like for a supertalent like yourself? Are you singing about anyone special at the moment?

Love is good. My bed is warm. Always.

Warm beds are so important. Talk to me a bit about the new record you are currently touring. Who did you work with on the album?

The record is exciting. It contains a mix of new originals that I’m loving and arrangements of other songs I’ve performed in the last years. The feeling attempts to capture the varied styles I’ve been playing in while remaining true to my vocal signature. It ranges from cabaret stylings to ’60s rock to Klezmer to old-fashioned R&B. I’m working with Yair Evnine, who I’ve collaborated with for many years now as a musician and songwriting collaborator. It’s exciting to push our artistic relationship into the production side. We are recording the bulk of the album at a fantastic, old, carriage-house Brooklyn studio run by Ian Pai and Le Chev, who also work with Fischerspooner and Ssion.

That sounds amazing. Any music videos on the way?

Oh, yes, of course. You can’t survive these days without some solid content for the Interwebs. We have exciting videos in the works.

Yay! I am officially waiting with bated breath. If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?

[Laughs.] Surely this is a joke question lifted from Teen Beat. I wouldn’t ever want to be anyone else than Lady Rizo.

Good answer. I do read a lot of Teen Beat, so it creeps in every so often. I can’t think of a single person I would like you to be, either… just hundreds of people I wish were more like Lady Rizo! Thanks so much for spending some time tonight, my dear. I should probably let you finish getting glammed up for the show and take my seat front and center. I wish you the best of luck on the rest of your tour and can’t wait to see what the coming months bring your way! Any famous last words for our readers before you take the stage and dazzle us with your sparkle?

Spread your span. Raise your hands. Sing this song of freedom. Thank you for supporting live entertainment.

For more on Lady Rizo, visit LadyRizo.com.

(Originally Published on The Huffington Post – 1/25/2012)

I grew up in a house without pets and never had any animal friends, so I didn’t know that I liked them until I was an adult. When I was in my early 20s I met a small Australian Border Collie named Isabel. She was a ginger like me and took to me right off the bat. I was resistant to her love at first, as I had grown up thinking dogs were dirty and smelly and ate their own poop (which they sometimes are and generally do). Isabel peed on my brand-new, silver, Prada sneakers the first time we met, so it was a rocky start, but she was persistent, and she adored me to no end. Eventually, the feeling was mutual, and I relished how easy it was to interact with another living being on such a basic level. I didn’t mind how dirty and smelly she was because she was such a good listener. I could tell she really was glad I was there when we were hanging out, and she didn’t want anything from me other than for me to spend time with her. We were kindred spirits (aside from the dirty, smelly bit), but Isabel was not my dog, and when I moved out of the house I was staying at with her human, we didn’t see much of each other again.

A few years later, another close friend got a hamster-sized teacup Pomeranian puppy named Dutch (who was also a ginger beast), but my friend was traveling a lot, and this new baby was a particular brand of high maintenance that wasn’t a great fit for her. When he was just 3 months old, he was kidnapped from the front yard by neighbor kids, and it took nearly three weeks for a private investigator to locate him. Whatever happened to him during this experience left the poor dear a bit fearful and needy, which I could really relate to at the time, so I offered myself up as the official dogsitter and brought him home with me.

I had never been around such a tiny creature before. He was so quiet and sweet. All this dog wanted to do was be held and reassured that everything was fine now, which I was happy to do for him. In some way I am sure I was doing this for us both, or we for each other. Our bond was strong and fast, and when my friend came home from her travels, I had a long talk with her about how her newborn dog and I had fallen in love and probably needed to just stay together. I said I would be happy to keep him for her if she was still feeling stressed about his needs. I think she could tell that I also had needs in the moment, namely something to look after, love, and be loved by. After much consideration she agreed that, with all the travel, it might be better for him to stay with me. I burst into tears and thanked her, my heart suddenly unbroken. Dutch spent the night with her that evening, and the next day he came to stay with me permanently.

I was living in a place that didn’t allow dogs back then, but I figured that because he never made a sound, it would be fine. Of course, I was wrong. The little devil found his voice while I was at work one day just after his first birthday, and my landlord busted me for having him. We moved out shortly thereafter, into a place where he could be free to speak when he wanted, and where I didn’t have to smuggle him out to do his business three times a day. This place had a yard, and he was so happy there. I spent hours upon hours watching him run around in circles amongst the trees. He was so energetic at that age, and I was thrilled that I had suddenly been thrust into motherhood. He went everywhere with me, and it was the first time in my life that I felt like I had a purpose, something to get out of bed for in the morning. Keeping this cute thing happy and alive kept me feeling happy and alive, and I promised Dutch (and myself) that from that moment on, nothing bad was going to happen to him again.

In 2005 my world fell apart, and I relapsed into a severe addiction that I had been struggling with since my teens. For the next two years I was actively using, and my world got progressively worse, as did Dutch’s world (which I was responsible for). I was sick, far too sick to take care of myself, much less this small creature who needed so much. Of all the things I regret about my years of being unwell on drugs, this is the one I have the hardest time accepting.

Over the course of the very last few months before I got clean, I lost all control, and Dutch was left alone many times. I would stay up for days, then sleep for days, during which time he was on his own in the house — going hours without food, finding himself with no choice but to use the bathroom indoors (something he knew was wrong and I’m sure was terribly traumatic for him), and receiving no affection from the only person he had in his life. There were times when I could hear him crying in the other room, but I was so far gone that I could not (or would not) move. These are the cries that haunt me in my sleep to this day. There were instances when I just left him alone in the house for days, with an open bag of food and a handful of giant bowls of water. These are the names of failures I will have strapped to my back forever.

It’s awful that I hurt so many people during my unfortunate years, but the neglect and meanness suffered by this small, innocent creature who had grown to trust me after being so terribly hurt by humans is something I will never forgive myself for. I was supposed to protect him, not forget about him. I was supposed to love him, not yell at him for crying. I had terrible people around me at the time, so he had terrible people around him at the time. He needed me so badly then, and I had completely failed him. Luckily, my dear friend came and rescued him before this went on for too long. She loved him up the whole time I was in the hospital and looked after him until I was worthy of being his parent again. I have spent every minute of every day in the four years since trying to make it up to him, and I will continue to do this until his time on this Earth is through.

After we were reunited it took some time for Dutch to get to know Mommy again. I was different now — clearer. I’m sure this change in energy was scary to him, as the change in energy had been when I relapsed. I pushed through my deep shame over having been unfit and tried every way that I could to let him know I was back, that I was sorry, and that it was safe to relax now (again). Eventually, he began to trust that I was me. I watched as his guard fell and rejoiced as his spirit came back, bringing pieces of mine back with it. His graciousness and big, deep love touched me and gave me new hope for the world at a time when I really needed some. It was a beautiful gift and taught me a lifetime’s worth of lessons about forgiveness and compassion. And so, an 8-pound holy terror became my most treasured teacher.

Over the next few years we toured all over the U.S. together, and he was there with me when no one else was around. He was my connection to the outside world while I was on the road, always eager to get me out of the tour bus or hotel room so that he could mark his territory in as many places as I would allow. I got to spend most of my time with the little dude in tow, and it made the loneliness of touring not so lonely. He made me laugh, he got me in trouble with hotel staff, he made me proud, and he let me dress him up in all kinds of ridiculous outfits. It was perfect.

Dutch is 10 now, and he is officially an old man. It remains clear to me that he is much wiser than I will ever be, and much more evolved. A couple of weeks ago he started drinking water compulsively and was acting kind of freaked out. He began having accidents indoors (something he rarely does), and he wasn’t taking treats (something he never does). He just wanted more and more water. His thirst was unquenchable. My boyfriend and I have taken him to the vet a couple of times in the weeks since, and I have called the emergency dog nurse at least 100 times in between my own attempts at Internet diagnosing him. This past weekend we did extensive blood work on him after he was acting very strange and not moving at all. The results came back today, and he has diabetes, so he will need shots of insulin every day for the rest of his life.

I know that my sweet boy has officially entered into his final act on this planet, though it is almost too painful to really look at. All of this regret is on the surface again, and a feeling of wanting to make sure he is comfortable and happy for the rest of his days is front and center. If I could speak Dog for a few minutes, I would tell him how much I love him and how very much he means to me; I would find Dog words to make him know how special he is, and how much I will miss him when he is gone; I would let him know what’s going on with his body now so that he isn’t afraid during the treatment, and I would explain why he isn’t in trouble for going potty in the house since he’s been sick, so that he could stop feeling bad about it; I would thank him for trusting me all of these years, and for letting me earn that trust back when it was broken; I would ask him to trust me once again through his being sick, and I would let him know that I will be here with him every day until the end so he doesn’t worry.

A couple of years back I had a dream in which a woman with long hair gave Dutch to me in a basket. He was miniature, like when he was a baby, and he had a full coat of hair. The woman said to me, “He will be your guide in life and through death,” and then handed me the basket. At the time I didn’t think much of it other than that it had been a creepy dream, but as I look back at our years together, it takes on new meaning. Dutch really did come into my life at a time when I needed something to tether me to this planet. He waited until I was well to get sick himself, and my guess is that he will wait to die until I am ready for him to go. He has been my guide in many ways through these years and is now set to teach me this last lesson, the hardest lesson. I can’t look away like I have done in the past around death, and I don’t want to.

Our experience together, this relationship as living creatures who care about each other, has been one of the most beautiful things I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of in my lifetime. It is a great honor to be with this small creature now in his final years. I will be present with him through this new process of illness so that I might learn to be present with others through theirs. I will love him and make myself vulnerable to being hurt by his departure until he is gone. I will not pull away. I will come closer. I will try not to fear his passing before it comes, and when it arrives, I will greet it with open eyes. I will be brave in the face of death so that he can be, too. I will hold him as he goes, and I will send his spirit off onto his next adventure, thanking him for staying with me for this time during mine and wishing him well on his journey. I will remember the good days, and I will feel grateful that we had so many together… and I will love other animals in his memory, always bringing the lessons I learn from them into my relationships with people.

My advice to all of you is this: go to the animal shelter in your town and adopt a creature of your own. Your spirit guide is probably waiting there for you.

Now watch this video of Dutch doing his ridiculous trick:

Photo credit: Xilia Faye

For those of you who missed it, John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Shortbus, Rabbit Hole), Portland-gone-NYC performance queen Amber Martin, Sook-Yin Lee (Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Shortbus), PJ DeBoy (Shortbus) & Paul Dawson (Shortbus) partnered with me on a Q&A meet-and-greet event in Portland this month while they were in town throwing their Mattachine dance party! It was really fun. They are all lovely. I’ve included a couple of shots here but you can look at the whole batch of photos on my Facebook page HERE if ya wanna!

Thank you John, Amber, Sook-Yin, PJ & Paul for being sooooooooooooooo awesome!!! See you all again soon.

Love,

Portland/San Francisco-based photographer Jeffrey Horvitz has an ongoing photo series called Queer Aperture which features the diversity of the LGBTQ community in even more diverse scenarios, pairing the photos with subject interviews. I was asked to participate and ended up having a shoot with him last week. The result was a sort-of Satanic goat priest experience. It’s super creepy. ha ha ha – You can check out my favorite shot below. The people in the photo were just passing by and called themselves “God-Fearing” just before the pic was taken. It was perfection. To see the rest of the photos as they are posted, CLICK HERE. To redirect to the Queer Aperture website to see more of Jeffrey Horvitz’s work, CLICK HERE.

QUEER APERTURE FEATURES LOGAN LYNN (August 2011)

QA: What is your name?

LL: Logan Lynn

QA: How long have you lived in Portland?

LL: I originally moved here in ’96 but have had tragic attempts at other cities sprinkled throughout. I always come back. Portland is home.

QA: What is the first time you noticed that Gayness existed?

LL: I was raised in a notoriously anti-gay fundamentalist Christian cult in Nebraska so I knew about gayness very early on…mostly as a way to get sent straight to hell, though. When I was a child my dentist had a poster of Magnum P.I. hanging on the ceiling above the chair so I stared at Tom Selleck’s chest hair for an hour every 6 months while I was getting my teeth cleaned growing up. I’m pretty sure that’s what did it.

QA: What would you consider a guilty pleasure?

LL: The Real Housewives of ANYWHERE. Gimme.

QA: Your having a dinner party of 6 , whom would you invite?

LL: My boyfriend, mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law and best friend. I prefer having dinner with people who actually know me and still love me over dinners with famous strangers who don’t give a shit.

QA: What would you consider a perfect meal?

LL: Some sort of Mexican fiesta.

QA: What would be a perfect day off?

LL: Sleep in late, watch TV in bed until I get hungry, eat things, play with the dog, play with the man, watch more TV, eat more things, get back in bed, play with the man some more, go to sleep.

QA: Favorite book?

LL: “A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey.

QA: Favorite movie?

LL: “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

QA: Favorite word?

LL: Dude

QA: Least favorite word?

LL: Church

QA: Favorite swear word?

LL: Jesus

QA: What is your profession?

LL: Pop Musician/Activist

QA: If you could with a snap of a finger what would be another profession you would like to do?

LL: If I could snap my finger and get something I would snap myself into independent wealth and never work again.

QA: Whom would you like to meet dead or alive?

LL: My grandmother. We never met. I hear she was pretty cool. She gave Jonny Cash singing and piano lessons on the piano I learned on.

So…as you all know I am taking a break from playing shows myself but have created a concert series for Q Center (featuring all sorts of queer artists) which started this past week. The 1st installment featured Matt Alber, Tom Goss & Shannon Grady. Portland newsweekly Just Out profiled the show HERE. I’ll be announcing the 2nd installment of the concert series (happening Friday June 17th) soon but for now you should watch Matt Alber‘s beautiful new video “End of the World” just below!

Hooray for queer music!

After this coming weekend’s show at Flipside Nightclub for Salem Pride there is just one more chance to catch me live before I go on extended hiatus! The last hoorah will be going down in Portland at Mississippi Studios on Friday, August 20th at 9pm. I’ll be performing with The Gentry and Portland superstars Matrimony and DJ Girlfriends are also on the bill. Because of the special nature of the evening, KZME Radio will be filming, recording the audio, and broadcasting the event so…wear your best rock video outfits!

There will be much dancing…only on this last special night we will dance the dance of many magical years together one more time before I bid you farewell and step away from the bright lights and loud noise for a few years. Please come so I can thank you for the past 10 years of love in person.

Tickets are on sale now. CLICK HERE to get yours. RSVP to the Facebook Event Page HERE.

Hey everybody. As I near the 10 year anniversary of my debut record, “GLEE” (which was originally released in October of 2000) I’ve been thinking a lot about all the years from there to here. I have come to some conclusions not only about the journey I’ve been on since then musically and in my personal life, but also the journey I intend to be on moving forward with both.

I’ve actually been home from our trip since last Friday but it’s taken me 5 days to decompress. That was wild, wild stuff people. ha ha ha — Thanks so much to The Gentry and The Hugs for making the long journey to California with me and putting on amazing shows all week.

We shot video at both the San Francisco and Sacramento shows which I’ll post as soon as I get them from AC. It was really fun to see all of our California friends. I forgot how beautiful everyone is in San Francisco! Also, those kids aren’t “too cool” to dance. It’s fucking awesome. We’ll be back soon to do it again!!!

Check out all the photos from our California trip (as well as shots from the shows) on Myspace HERE and on Facebook HERE.

Whoa, Portland. You made me enjoy the 4th of July more than I think I have since becoming an adult. (Whatever that even means). For those of you who weren’t with us at Rontom’s this past Sunday night, here is a bit of what happened:

After a set by Snow Bud & The Flower People, The Hugs (pictured above) performed all their hits. Those boys are awesome. I’m bringing them to California on tour with me next week so you can see for yourselves.

Here’s the video of me and The Gentry playing “Bottom Your Way To The Top” while Portland gets down:

Then, as you can see from the photo above, I played a set with The Gentry. We got the kids dancing at Rontom’s which I heard from some of their staff is not something that just happens all the time. Ummm….Yeah. It was fucking rad.

Watch “Come Home” below. I LOVE THE DANCING LADIES IN THE FRONT ROW!!!

The dancing continued after our set with the 1776 working the crowd into some sort of 1960′s rock and roll frenzy by the time they were through. It was a really good night. Thanks to 1776 for inviting us to be on the bill. We had a great time.

I totally love playing shows at Rontom’s!

Here’s a clip of us performing “Bleed Him Out” in the loudest way.

Oh, wow. I’m not even really sure where to start when it comes to summing up our adventure this past weekend performing at The Cuff’s annual block party on Capitol Hill for Seattle’s Pride Festival. From all accounts it was wild times in the Emerald City from the moment we arrived until the moment we left.

Late on Saturday night after we checked in and freshened up at the hotel we mobbed it up to The Cuff where we were welcomed and given the V.I.P. treatment for the duration of the evening. Needless to say, The Gentry was feelin’ the “everything’s free” part. I was glad they were there to enjoy the open bar perks that my dry ass hasn’t been taking people up on since I quit drinking in 2008. It was a really nice to have them taking such good care of us. There was not a time where I did not have a bitters and soda in my hand. Those guys were ON IT!!! The Cuff rules.

We got to sleep in on Sunday morning, then went for our sound check around noon. I was relieved to see that the stage was tented and that David from DA Sound was a total pro. The Cuff, sticking to their strategy of totally pampering us, had trailers for the entertainers to hang out in while the festival was going on. I shared mine with Frenchie Davis (from “American Idol” & Broadway) & Shannon and may I just take a moment to say that FRENCHIE DAVIS IS SO GREAT!!!!!!! I love it when I meet genuine people in this fake fucking industry. Check us out in our trailer below!!!

I opened the party with The Gentry at 4pm. Chi Chi LaRue hosted the event and did her part to get the crowd going before we took the stage. There were over 6,000 people there! It was insane. Derrick Barry (from “America’s Got Talent“) did his Britney Spears/Lady Gaga impersonation just after us, followed by Frenchie OWNING the crowd, and Shannon doing her thing to wrap things up. Here we are playing “Come Home” at the very beginning of the party and “Feed Me To The Wolves” toward the end of my set. (It sounds like shit because our camera was behind the stage this time and only picked up on the drums and some of our stage monitors…but you get the idea.)

After we finished playing we had our driver (that’s right…The Cuff hired us our own limo driver for the weekend) take us back to the hotel so we could change clothes and get the trucks for all of our gear. When we arrived back, Chi Chi LaRue was just wrapping up an on-stage “Tastiest Ass” contest where she had pulled 10 random strangers from the crowd and had one volunteer eat all of their asses, then decide whose was the tastiest. However this may sound to you, believe me…it’s nothing like being there was.

My poor keyboard player who had been designated the guy who gets to stay with the gear while we went to the hotel was there for the whole event. Upon my return, he said “When they said ‘Tastiest Ass Contest’ I thought they were just going to vote on who had the best-looking ass but all 10 of those folks lined up, pulled their pants and underwear down, and that dude in the green shirt right there actually ATE their asses.” I’ve expressed my appreciation for my bandmates before, but those heterosexual Gentry boys sure have open minds and are super good sports! ha ha ha — I bring them to perform at parties and places they would probably not otherwise be attending, but they are all 3 so fucking cool that they can just hang out wherever. Bravo, straight people who are impossible to shock!!!

From there, our booking agents overdosed everyone in our trailer with magic pot brownies and I was left all by myself in Seattle to fend for myself. It was fun, actually. I went to Dick’s drive thru and ate cheeseburgers with Steve, then hit the town solo in pursuit of my Portland friends (who I never found but later learned had pulled a Gentry and passed out after the show ended). I went back to The Cuff and had a few more free soda waters before going back to the hotel and spending some quality time packing up for my exit from the lap of luxury. It’s always hard to say goodbye to cable and wall-mounted HD flatscreen televisions to watch it on.

Thanks again to The Cuff for having us play this year’s event. We had a blast. Any of you who haven’t ever been to Seattle Gay Pride, you should go. Not only is everyone attractive in Seattle, but the hot dog vendors on the street smear cream cheese on their buns before they put their giant wiener in it. Come to think of it, that last sentence pretty much sums up my trip.

Well, people…we did it again! Last Saturday night was the biggest Blow Pony ever. Thanks so much for coming out, y’all! My favorite part of the night was when Beth Ditto & Nathan “Brace Paine” Howdeshell (from Gossip) were dancing front and center during “Come Home”. Oh my God. Portland is my favorite.

For those of you who weren’t there (and for those of you who were, but couldn’t get past security to get upstairs for my set) below is a bit of what went down on stage with me and The Gentry.

Here are our opening 2 songs, “Smoke Rings” and “Bottom Your Way To The Top”. This was so fun.

…we went from there into “Come Home”…

…and “Write It On My Left Arm” (with a little bit of me preaching to the queers beforehand about telling all the gay hating fuckwads who think we should burn in hell for being ourselves to go screw)…

Big thanks to Airick and the Pony crew for having us play their Pride party and to Kaj-Anne Pepper, Jer Ber Jones, Christeene and all the resident Blow Pony DJs for being so cool and making things awesome with us! We had a great night.

I was interviewed for the premier issue of Dirty Magazine (available in July) and our chat is currently one of the feature stories on their website! You can check it out HERE or just keep reading below.

From Dirty Magazine: (July 2010)

“LOGAN LYNN’S LAST HIGH: LOGAN LYNN – MUSICIAN, PORTLAND RESIDENT, SELF DESCRIBED “EMO-PROPHET” – TALKS ABOUT HIS STRICT CHRISTIAN UPBRINGING, COCAIN ADDICTION, AND THE JOYS OF JOY BEHAR.

LL: I’m really very frightened of being in love, of being close with someone. I’m obviously someone who craves closeness; I’ve written and released over a decade of songs about it, for fuck’s sake, but when it comes down to it I have a really hard time being close with anyone. It’s something I’m working on. My guess is it’s something I will always be working on.

I spent Monday afternoon and evening with The Gentry boys at The Dandy Warhols Odditorium space setting up, rehearsing & doing some interviews about our upcoming tour in preparation for today, when a TV crew from “Studio 6” filmed us performing “Bottom Your Way To The Top” for tomorrow’s show!

Tune in at 4pm (Pacific Standard Time) tomorrow (Wednesday, May 26th) or set your Tivo to record “Studio 6″ and you’ll see us play for a minute on daytime TV! For more information on the broadcast click HERE.

I announced a week or so ago that Logan Lynn & The Gentry will be playing next month on Sunday, June 27th at The Cuff‘s annual block party for Seattle Pride, but now the rest of the acts have been announced, too!

Also performing will be my idol from the 80′s pop diva Shannon, Frenchie Davis (of American Idol and Broadway fame), and Derrick Barry (from America’s Got Talent – he impersonates Britney Spears & Lady GaGa). Oh, and…The party will be hosted by Chi Chi LaRue, the queen of everything.

I’m really excited to be sharing the stage with Shannon. She’s my fave. Holy shit!!! I love Summer!!!!!!!!! RSVP to the Facebook Event Page HERE.

Those of you who have followed my career will recognize the name “Ray Gordon” in relation to photography. He has, once again, brought a smile to my face with this new batch of shots!!!

Here are a few of the new photos from our shoot with Ray…

For more info on Ray Gordon CLICK HERE.

OK, so…Let me just start by saying HOLY SHIT THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE AT THAT “BLOW PONY VS. LOGAN LYNN” SHOW ON SATURDAY!!! Thanks for coming out like a badass, Portland. I have never seen “Rotture” at capacity (which it hit at 11pm) and I have NEVER in my life seen a line that goes all the way around an entire city block to get in to any party in this town. It was pretty amazing. My lighting guy Chad Crooks got video of the line which I will post sometime, but check out this picture of the crowd! It was literally wall to wall with people in there when I took the stage with “The Gentry” at 12:30. Good Lord.

Thanks so much to my new backing band “The Gentry“. They have been busting out amazing new arrangements of my songs and have truly infused something really exciting into my live show experience. It’s a whole new world, people. Go check out their site HERE. Also, big thanks to Airick & the “Blow Pony” crew for having us play their party…and to Artemis Chase for taking such good care of me and “The Gentry” boys all night. We had so much fun.

For those of you who missed it (and for those of you who were still standing in the line when we played) here is some video. It’s kind-of like being there, but with crappy sound!

COME OUT TO SEE US THIS SPRING & SUMMER WHEN WE START PLAYING ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! LOGAN LYNN + THE GENTRY = REALLY, REALLY GOOD TIMES.

Y-Tron and I had fun hanging out, eating tofu quesadillas, drinking Red Bull Cola & Ginger Ale, and making beats come out of loud speakers all night last night at “East End“. OK, fine. I was the only one having drinks suitable for a 10 year old at the 2010 Mixtape Meltdown. (FYI: Red Bull should change their slogan from “Gives you wings” to “Gives you the jitters and makes you feel crazy ’til 8am the next morning”).

Anyway, thanks for swinging through. We love you guys. Oh, and the tofu quesadilla they made me was the best shit I have ever had. Just sayin’.

Yesterday I got an email from “Google” Alerts which had a link to a painting called “Feed Me To The Wolves” by Adam Osgood. It’s super cool and the guy in the portrait looks really familiar.

Here it is:

Neat, huh? For more information on Adam Osgood & his paintings, CLICK HERE. He also posted scans of his process if you’re interested.

Oh my God. We had such a good time at “Holocene” on Tuesday for “The Rumble: Portland” with “Jaguar Love” and “DJ A Train”! Thanks to all of you who came out on a school night to “make party” with us! It was great to see ya. Big thanks to “Future Sounds“, “Pampelmoose.com“, “Cravedog, Inc.“, “XO Publicity“, “Music Millennium“, “WOXY“, & “SPIN Earth” as well for sponsoring the event and making the party FREE for all!!! A good time is ALWAYS better when it’s FREE!!!

Speaking of FREE, Samuel Thomas (from “The Portland FREE Music Project“) was in attendance and filmed me performing “Write It On My Left Arm” with “Cars & Trains“. This was our final performance together for a while, so…I’m glad we have this to remember the evening for years to come. Tom Filepp is a truly special performer who I love dearly.

Have a look:

See you again at the end of the month, Portland! Until then, MY LIPS ARE SEALED.

xxLL