Logan Lynn Music » Reviews

PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE NAMES LOGAN LYNN’S “I KILLED TOMORROW YESTERDAY” AS ONE OF THE 15 MOST GIFTABLE ALBUMS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

Logan — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:06:42 +0000

Whoa! Portland Monthly Magazine picked my record “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” as one of their top 15 records to give as gifts this holiday season and had some really nice things to say about me! So cool.

Check it out HERE.

“LIVE FROM NOWHERE NEAR YOU” IS #3 ON ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S MUST-HAVE LIST THIS WEEK!

Logan — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:34:54 +0000

It’s been a REALLY big couple of weeks since the release of “Live From Nowhere Near You” (the charity record I’m on with The Strokes, Pearl Jam, Spoon, Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, The Decemberists, The Dandy Warhols, Wilco and dozens of other killer bands). Not only is the record blowing up radio (and selling out everywhere in-stores) but the press has been all up in it since the beginning of July!

After being featured by Pitchfork Magazine, Under The Radar Magazine, and a TON of other awesome media outlets all praising the record, it was picked as #3 on this week’s Must-Have list in Entertainment Weekly! Pick up the current issue on stands everywhere now or click the front cover below to check out the electronic version! YEAH BUDDY!

To get your copy of “Live From Nowhere Near You” go to any record store anywhere or CLICK HERE.

LOGAN LYNN FEATURED IN DAVID BYRNE’S “POP MAKING SENSE” COLUMN IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF THE WINDY CITY TIMES!

Logan — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:46:57 +0000

David Byrne included me and my “Quickly As We Pass” video in his notorious “Pop Making Sense” column this week in Chicago’s Windy City Times newspaper! You can currently pick it up anywhere periodicals are distributed in Chicago or just keep reading below.

From Windy City Times, Chicago: (7/27/2011)

“Another video to keep an eye out for is Logan Lynn’s ‘Quickly As We Pass.’ Imagine forward-thinking Imogen Heap mentoring a DIY artist with the hipster sound stemming from Brooklyn. The end product would be ‘Quickly As We Pass‘. The track’s video is very cleverly done with stills looking like cutouts then being turned into 3-D objects, as they are filmed from different angles. Also, there is footage of neighborhoods in the Windy City with many of the spots being instantly recognizable. Not only is the video well crafted, but the song itself is very catchy. Lynn is based in Chicago and is openly gay. ‘Quickly As We Pass‘ can be found on the album ‘I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday‘.

Nice huh? I’m actually based in Portland but I love that Chicago wants to claim me! So cute!!! To read the full article, CLICK HERE.

LOGAN LYNN FEATURED ON BOP2POP THIS WEEK! CHECK IT OUT HERE!

Logan — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:17:25 +0000

Pop music site Bop2Pop featured my new video this week! You can check it out HERE or keep reading below…

From Bop2Pop: (6/23/2011)

“Out Portland electronic artist, Logan Lynn has released a new video for his single, Quickly As We Pass and it has a wonderfully 80s synth vibe, complete with blips and bleeps. In the video, things start innocuously, but then veer supringingly into NSFW territory at around 2:15. We at bop2pop, love the retro feel of the song and video.”

JUST OUT NEWSWEEKLY INTERVIEWS LOGAN LYNN ABOUT “QUICKLY AS WE PASS” + HIATUSES!

Logan — Wed, 04 May 2011 23:52:49 +0000

The kids over at Portland Newsweekly Just Out ran a mini-interview with me this week about a whole mess of messy stuff and posted my new video on their site! You can check it out by clicking the current issue cover below or keep reading under that for the transcript…

From Just Out: (4/4/2011)

“Unless you’ve been living under rocks and/or endlessly napping the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard/read about Logan Lynn‘s excellent new video, the visually intriguing (stunning, even) “Quickly As We Pass.” A nostalgic blend of live action people and more two-dimensional, still cut-out counterparts (oh, how art mirrors life) make their way through cityscapes, streets, buildings, living rooms, bedrooms–and even get naked. Fitting for a song that talks about waking up “clothed in our right minds and nothing else.” As usual, Lynn takes the ordinary, the banal, mixes it all up, and turns out five minutes of salacious sensory overload. Like us, you’ll probably have to watch the video a few times before catching everything that’s happening–and even then you’ll be hard-pressed to soak up every bit, every quirk.

Just Out caught up with Logan and talked briefly about retirements and MTV. On his much-discussed hiatus, Lynn, who now helps lead the gay crusade at Q Center, opines: “I think people were always cynical about my motives for going on hiatus–like it was a big publicity stunt a la Cher where I was planning to pop out of a cake in 6 months with a new band and a world tour. I really did take the break because I needed to, and always said I was planning on turning music back into a hobby rather than my job. This is what that looks like. I got rid of the parts (and people) that were making me miserable a year ago and have spent the time since cultivating a personal life and rediscovering the parts which were enjoyable to me.”

On the fruitful video collaboration: “The director, Jeffrey McHale, and I had worked together on my ‘Bottom Your Way To The Top’ video in 2009, so the collaboration was a no-brainer. He’s a visionary.” Regarding wanting our MTV, and altering content a bit for MTV’s audiences: “These days MTV means Logo, VH1, & MTV2, but I have an artist page on MTV.com where I’m sure it will end up as well. They have always been very supportive of me and continue to be. I will say we are having a lot of edits from standards and practices this time around though. Evidently life-size cardboard cutout porn is a no-no for mainstream America. Who knew?”

The video and song, both vintage Logan Lynn–you’ll recognize the first beat and lyrical declaration, “no good deed will go unpunished”–are refreshing returns to electronic-pop form and the visual stylings fans know and love. (Read: there’s no band this time around.) So, dear readers, grab your best headphones and cozy up for awhile with “Quickly As We Pass.” Pay attention to the lyrics. You’ll be surprised by how well Logan Lynn gets you. And although we’re super sad he didn’t pop out of any cakes–we’re glad he’s “back.”

-Daniel Borgen, Just Out Newsweekly

LOGAN LYNN’S CONCERT SERIES FOR Q CENTER FEATURING MATT ALBER PROFILED BY JUST OUT NEWSWEEKLY!

Logan — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:01:30 +0000

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!

PORTLAND NEWSWEEKLY JUST OUT FEATURES LOGAN LYNN IN THEIR 2010 “YEAR IN QUEER” ISSUE.

Logan — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:24:26 +0000

Portland newsweekly Just Out put out their “Year In Queer” issue this week and featured me alongside Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, and Rufus Wainwright! Neat, huh?

You can pick up the current issue on stands now in PDX or you can click HERE to read the online version or download a PDF copy for yourself by clicking the cover below.

Here’s a quick blurb to tide you over…

From Just Out (12/20/2010):

“Within the Portland-bred bubble was the departure from the music “biz” by one Logan Lynn, an artist known for, if not solely the breadth of his songwriting talent, being heavily involved in the music “biz.” Lynn’s efforts to get out from under that proverbial thumb yielded a desire to give back to the community in a new way: Administrative Coordinator at Q Center. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still buy his new album I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday, or check out his new music video early next year.”

OCTOBER REMIX CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT DANCEFLOOR MAYHEM TODAY!

Logan — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 05:35:10 +0000

Check it out! Electronic music site Dancefloor Mayhem hosted a remix contest for a couple songs off my new record “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” in October and they announced the winners today. You can download the MP3 originals + winning remixes of “Quickly As We Pass” and “Velocity” by clicking HERE.

Thanks to everybody who entered and to Dancefloor Mayhem for being so cool.

I love remixes! Happy downloading, folks.

LOGAN LYNN INTERVIEWED BY GERMAN QUEER MUSIC + POLITICS BLOG, CATCH FIRE! FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD!

Logan — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:26:17 +0000

The reaction to my new record in the press has been really great so far. Lots of love from Europe again this time around! The latest installment is an interview I did with German Queer music and politics blog CATCH FIRE! They went live with it today alongside a free MP3 download of “Smoke Rings” (song 2 on “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday“). You can read it via their site HERE or just keep reading below for the full transcript.

From CATCH FIRE: (11/2/2010)

“After going on US tour this summer, Logan Lynn, the winner of last year’s Queer Video Music Award, has announced in August that he would be taking an extended break from the music industry and leave “Beat The World Records”, a label founded and led by the Dandy Warhols. Instead he released his fourth record “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday”, the follow-up to “From Pillar To Post” independently in August, donating 100% of his profits to Portland’s Q Center where he is currently working. What led the songwriter to all these decisions and how they influenced his life he explains in an interview I did with him via email during the last two weeks. I also posted “Smoke Rings”, another track from “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” right below this introduction – the track is the perfect background music for the following text. A second free song from the album called “Things Are Looking Up” can be found in one of October’s Music Tickers.

(DOWNLOAD “SMOKE RINGS” FREE BY CLICKING HERE!)

Catch Fire: What interests me first of all is the question if you’d consider your new album “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” a “conceptual album”. To me especially compared to the stuff you’ve done before it seems very consistent, as if the decision to do this kind of eighties-pop-influenced dance music may have been a very concious decision.

Logan Lynn: Yes, both the producer Bryan Cecil and I wanted to make a dance record. We had worked together on my cover of “The Last High” by The Dandy Warhols from January of this year. The idea of doing some vintage disco dancepop take on that song was deliberate and we wrote “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” at the same time so we were already planted in 80’s dance party mode. Obviously I’m a child of the 80’s and 90’s and that comes out in what I listen to and what I create. Bryan wanted it to be authentic, like a time machine and I wanted it to sound like what I grew up imagining my records would sound like someday.

We ended up doing exactly that so it seemed like a perfect time to step away for awhile. The record is about me being totally disillusioned and leaving. Not sure if life imitated art or vice versa…but I’m much, MUCH happier ever since I did the whole career suicide bit in August. The overall concept was to have a big, spectacular going away party. “Fall Into New Arms” was chosen as the last track just in case it was literally the last song I ever put out. I’m not saying that it will be…but I could live with that.

Catch Fire: What exactly does “career suicide“ mean? What happend in August?

Logan Lynn: I spent the last 3 years signed to The Dandy Warhols owned and operated “Beat The World” records label and it ended up not really going as anyone had hoped. Here is a quote from Dandy frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor if you want his take on the whole thing:
(From The Dandy Warhols’ Website):
“We’re terrible at business, terrible. We don’t know what we’re doing. It’s like trying to have children run a household. We need to hook up with some indie label. The new stuff is sounding good. It’s a little less dirty so far.”

So…yeah. That pretty much sums it up. I love the Warhols and everybody had really great intentions going in but the label fizzled and my last record fell victim to that. No radio, no real distribution, no licensing, no PR. Without those things in place artists fail and, well…that’s what I did.

Being determined to fulfill my obligations to them and everyone I had working for me, I embarked on a US tour over the Summer and paid for everything out of pocket myself. By July I had reached a breaking point with waiting for things to get better and, in the meantime, had written a record about being disillusioned and not really wanting what I thought I had wanted for so long…so I started poking holes in the boat to sink it and began lining up a new life for myself in the non-profit world. By August I was done. You can read more about that here if you like. The Portland gay paper interviewed me shortly after I announced that I was going to call it quits for awhile (instead of continuing to tour, etc.)

My new record is a charity for Q Center and I’ve thrown myself into working full time for their organization in the months since. My unhappiness went away almost as soon as I announced how unhappy I was. I just needed to take control of my life, my future, my career…instead of letting other people dictate it all for me.

Catch Fire: I must say that it impresses me how openly you talk about all this. I mean it’s sort of a taboo in the cultural field to talk about failing, even if it is just a commercial problem. I guess it’s because a lot of people still like to think that if you aren’t successful it is because you “haven’t earned” it, because you haven’t really put your shoulder to the wheel or aren’t creative enough or stuff like that…

Logan Lynn: Yeah, tell me about it. You wouldn’t believe how very unpopular my decision to strip away the facade has been. I kinda feel like I’m one of those rat magicians that goes on TV and exposes how all their tricks are performed, but I couldn’t deal with everybody thinking everything was awesome when it wasn’t. It made me feel fucking gross. I’ve always been honest in my songs. Regretfully so, at times … so the whole pop thing started to feel weird. Like … people got weird in 2007 and the longer I was away from the world the weirder they got. This summer’s tour was the turning point. I just couldn’t deal with being on the road. It got really lonely and I just wasn’t enjoying it. I got to a point where I was just sick of people screwing me over, using me, talking about my body in gay magazines … just all of that started to creep me out in a way where I really felt like I had no future.

I’m about 10 weeks into my “break” (which isn’t a break at all, but more of a full time gear shift) and suddenly feel like that’s all been fixed. A little bit of purpose goes a long way. I’m around nice people every day now. Nobody’s trying to fuck me over. Nobody’s judging me for what I look like. Nobody’s trying to market me to anyone. I’m just alive. I go to work. I help people. It’s great.

In retrospect I would take a stage name but when that 1st record was being recorded I was 17 so … nothing that has happened since was expected. It was all just one freak occurrence after another. Now that things have slowed down I’m realizing how completely isolated I was before. Like, for years and years.

Catch Fire: Do you see a way for you to work in that business again in a more healthy way?

Logan Lynn: I am already working in the business in a healthier way. I love writing songs, I love sharing songs, I love interacting with my fans and folks in my networks, I love making videos … I just didn’t like the pressure that came along with my former situation. Having broken that, all appears to be well again. My plan is to enjoy the break, catch my breath, and play things by ear. For now, I am perfectly happy working for equal rights for the LGBTQ community full time at Q Center. It’s enough for me.

Catch Fire: Will there still be videos for songs on “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday”?

Logan Lynn: There are definitely going to be videos. The first is for “Quickly As We Pass” and is being directed by Jeffrey McHale (who directed my “Bottom Your Way To The Top” video from 2009). It comes out the beginning of December (just before the CD is released on 12/28). I believe we are going to make videos for “Velocity” and “Smoke Rings” as well over the course of 2011.

Catch Fire: Logan Lynn’s album “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” can be downloaded via Itunes. The physical release is slated for December 28th.”

LOGAN LYNN’S NEW RECORD “I KILLED TOMORROW YESTERDAY” REVIEWED + GIVEN 5 STARS BY “PART OF MY EVOLUTION” NYC!

Logan — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:59:18 +0000

Music Review Tuesday went really well for me and my new record yesterday on the “Part of my Evolution” music & pop culture blog from New York City. “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” got 5 stars! — That’s 5 out of 5 possible, people. Count ‘em. They also linked to Q Center which made me smile.

They had some really nice stuff to say about my Producer Bryan Cecil as well. Read what they think about it (and check out some super creepy Ray Gordon photos of me from this past Summer) by clicking HERE or keep reading below. There has been all sorts of love from the East Coast this week!

From “Part of my Evolution“: (10/19/2010)

“If there’s one thing Logan Lynn can do well, it’s saying a whole lot with few words and putting them into seriously addictive melodies. His latest album – and perhaps final album, I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday, is not only skillfully written and produced, it’s fun as fack! Probably not something you’d expect from reading the album title, but if you know Lynn’s work, this isn’t strange.

I’ve always appreciated Lynn’s fearless writing style. Somehow, that fearlessness really came to the forefront in this album. Bryan Cecil’s approach in production has a lot to do with it. While Lynn’s previous album, From Pillar To Post gave the impression that he was experiencing things in different places, I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday sounds like he’s home thinking about his day or week… or year. Maybe even making a few angry phone calls and leaving some straightforward voicemails.

All in all, I’d say I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday could well be one of my favorite albums of the year. Infectious melodies, 80′s-inspired synthy fun, and bold lyrical content. To top it off, all proceeds from this album will be used to benefit Portland’s Q Center. And that ladies and gentlemen, is how you say goodbye to your fans.

You can purchase I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday from iTunes. The physical copy is going to be released Tuesday, December 28th, 2010. Though this album is completely skip-free, one of my favorites is “Velocity”. The production in this song reminds me of Chromeo for some reason.”

“I KILLED TOMORROW YESTERDAY” REVIEWED BY THE ZIP & A KICK MUSIC BLOG FROM LOS ANGELES THIS WEEK! READ BELOW.

Logan — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 03:39:19 +0000

Well, one thing’s for certain: I love it when my records get good reviews.

Read all the crazy nice stuff Los Angeles music blog Zip and a Kick had to say about my newbie “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” this week HERE or keep reading below. Oh, and to get your copy click HERE for iTunes or click HERE for Amazon. All the proceeds from sales of this record go to charity.

From Zip and a Kick: (9/28/2010)

“He created one of my favorite albums of last year, and now Logan Lynn is back with an impressive follow-up to 2009′s From Pillar To Post (you can check out my review of that album here).

With I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday, Lynn has charted a new course. You can recognize where he’s been – his own brand of electro pop has been given a decidedly 80s synth boost – but as for his destination? It remains unclear. With this release, Logan Lynn announced that he would be taking an indefinite break from the music industry. His label contract completed and IKTY released independently, the result is more of a potential farewell album than a follow-up…but let’s keep our fingers crossed that there’s more to come from this singer-songwriter.

The tracks on his recent offering display a deeper emotional weight, and give a sense of everything that’s come before. Heartbreaking and empowering, the end product is an impressive combination of pain and pleasure – something I would liken to smashing atoms together. In short: It’s not easy.

The standout track for me was definitely “Quickly As We Pass”. The beat complements excellent lyrics, and reminds me of some of my favorite Dance/Cry/Smile songs (a genre I’ve completely made up, but think about it). “We feel lucky when we wake up / Clothed in our right minds / And nothing else.”

The album is now available on iTunes, with all proceeds benefiting charity. It’s definitely worth your time, readers. But before we say goodbye, I have to share Lynn’s video for “The Last High”, which is a cover of a Dandy Warhols song. Dare I say I prefer his version to the original? I dare anything!

While I hope this isn’t the last we’ve heard from Logan Lynn, I can’t begrudge anyone for wanting to take a break from such an emotional endeavor like creating music. At the very least, the world has some great albums to look (listen?) back on. Thanks for that, Mr. Lynn.”

(So nice, right? Awwwwwww…….)

LOGAN LYNN & Q CENTER FEATURED IN THE BAY AREA REPORTER! GO SAN FRANCISCO QUEER MEDIA!

Logan — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:06:03 +0000

I love you, San Francisco. The Queers at the Bay Area Reporter and everybody who came out to my show there this Summer, especially…

Click HERE to redirect to their site or just keep reading below.

From The Bay Area Reporter: (September 2010)

“Logan Lynn: Musician-Activist”

“Gay electropop-rock singer Logan Lynn (“Bottom Your Way to the Top”), who recently stopped by to play at San Francisco’s Rock-It Room along his West Coast tour, is now offering up his music for LGBT causes. Buy his new CD I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday, and funds go to a Portland LGBT Center.

‘I’m freshly out of my contract with The Dandy Warhols’ Beat The World Records and have decided to give to charity instead of officially releasing it,’ said Logan in a recent press release. He’s also ‘taking a hiatus from the music industry to work full time for LGBTQ rights. I’m not gonna tour or do any of the bullshit that goes along with releasing records these days for some time to come but I’m really happy with how the record turned out and would love to help raise money for the gays so it would be great if you choose to cover it in whatever capacity.’

100% of the proceeds of Logan’s CD are going to his fundraiser for the Portland Q Center, Oregon’s only LGBT Community center. The only way to get the record is by donating to them directly. Info and instructions are on his website.”

(They also posted the 2007 version of “Feed Me To The Wolves” which I had not watched in ages until today. I hate how much American Apparel we’re all wearing but I was building stores for them at the time and got all that shit for super cheap. Back then who knew anybody was gonna see it anyway??? Not me!!! See for yourselves below. I was 27 years old and it shows.)

READ PART TWO OF LOGAN LYNN’S INTERVIEW WITH JUST OUT NEWSWEEKLY HERE!

Logan — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:04:53 +0000

In preparation for my big farewell show tomorrow (Friday, August 20th, 2010) at Mississippi Studios in Portland (where this whole crazy music thing began for me) Just Out Newsweekly ran a follow-up story today on their blog as part 2 to the interview they ran in this week’s paper. Check out today’s story HERE. You can also read the interview which ran in print in this past week’s paper HERE if ya wanna.

I really hope to see you at tomorrow’s show, friends! It’s going to be quite the spectacle. Tickets and info HERE. One last dance before I go…

For those of you who don’t like redirecting to other sites, you can read part 2 of my interview with Just Out below:

“In the current issue of Just Out, we sat down with Portland’s own Logan Lynn to discuss the recent announcement of his self-proclaimed “career suicide,” an indefinite hiatus from the music business. After a string of dates on the Pride circuit, tomorrow night’s show at Mississippi Studios marks the “farewell” performance for Lynn and his band, The Gentry, for the foreseeable future.

Since Lynn’s announcement July 29 on his website, he’s been busy committing himself to his newest project — getting involved at Q Center. “The fund-raiser is still in full effect and will be through the end of the month, though we will be keeping it where 100% of the proceeds from [downloads of new album] I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday go to Q Center even after the August push to raise funds is through,” Lynn told Just Out in an update earlier this week, adding,

‘I will be raising money for [Q Center] on Friday night as well and actually start working there this Wednesday officially so things are definitely moving forward in a direction that feels right. I tend to think that if things fall together painlessly like this then I’m where I need to be, doing what I’m supposed to be doing, etc. I’m really excited for the show … even more excited that my plan to help Q Center is working! YAY. My producer Bryan Cecil (who equally gave up his portion of the proceeds from the new record to the center) is … a superhero. It touched me that a straight male who has been working on this record with me for over a year would be just as down for the cause as his gay musical counterpart. He rules. We’ve both been frustrated with the industry for months and it has felt really punk rock to say fuck all and give the money to charity.

It’s a nice change of pace to go into the Q Center and have them be so excited about how well the record “release” is going so far instead of being worried about units sold, promotions, etc. One thing we are finding out the past 2 weeks is that people will still buy music in this day and age if the money goes to a charity they believe in. It makes me feel so proud of my fans, friends and family for coming through and being as awesome as I fancy them to be.

HELL YES, PEOPLE!! I love me some do-gooders.’
Lynn had more to say about the music business, and his decision to leave it, a couple of weeks ago. What follows is more of our interview that didn’t make the page, including the realizations that have hit “30-year-old Logan, not 5-year-old Logan, who needs to have everybody clap for him,” he explained. “I would rather have people hug me when I look sad than be like, ‘You better look happier, we’re all clapping for you.’”

Logan Lynn: That’s really what it has been so hard to deal with is that… [reconciling] my little boy self perspective of like, “You’re a huge success, buddy, good job, you got out of Nebraska,” but comparing it to my 2007 perspective of [being] freshly signed [to the Beat the World label] and “What’s gonna happen? The world is my oyster.” There’s been a lot of reality since then and it also just happened to be a recession right when I was starting and so anybody that might’ve been buying music kinda stopped.

Just Out: It could be considered a luxury, definitely.

Lynn: It really is, and I love making songs. I’ll probably still do it in some context. … And I may make videos. I mean, my relationship with Logo is still great. I have really good relationships … I think that’s what so weird, my relationships with people and the press, whoever that I work with, it’s all good. I feel like I can step back and feel good about where things are at right now.

JO: So this marks a positive point to leave it at.

Lynn: And nobody can say that it’s ‘cause I can’t think of anything else to sing about. Cause that record’s there. I’m just like, it’s there, I’m just not gonna finish.

JO: It sounds like most of your frustration stems from the business aspect of music.

Lynn: I’ve gotten my head up my ass with the business. And it’s so far up my ass that I can’t pull it out without quitting, you know?

JO: It sounds like the live, touring aspect factored prominently in your decision, too.

Lynn: Yeah. I mean, it’d be great if I could go and do a couple of shows but to understand now fully what it means to have to go on tour in order to make it happen, it’s a lot of being gone and I’m already lonely. So to just seal the deal on that seems really irresponsible for my emotional state.

But then at the same time, the flip side of that is, okay, well you take my friends … Whoever’s in my life, you put ‘em all on a board — I actually did this. And you divide it into columns. I lost some people when I quit the drugs. … So get rid of those people first. Those people are out. Then I started telling the truth, let’s get rid of those people, they don’t wanna hear the truth. I get divorced so I lose all of his people. I lose my money, so I lose my money friends. And then I’m left with the core group of people and all these people that like me cause they think they’re gonna get something from me with this music thing. So why not get rid of this music thing, be left with the people that like me, that love me, and then kinda build it from there?

JO: You really did that?

Lynn: [nodding] I have a giant dry erase board. I just put everybody that’s up there. I have a lot of people around me, I do. But I have a very few people that I call and very few people that have called me this week to see how I’m doing. That’s always interesting. …

I actually feel better just having the bullshit off, just to finally be over it, like ahhhhgggg I hate it, I hate what’s happening. Instead of being like “Everything’s so fucking great, look at the crowd.” You can’t tell that they’re 20 feet away from the stage. I’m just sick of cropping my life where it looks how I want it to instead …. because everybody who’s around me in my real life knows how it really is. I am really actually not that stoked, so to continue to crop out my frown seems silly.

JO: Hearing the new songs on I Killed Tomorrow… then, looking back on them, there certainly would appear to be telltale signs.

Lynn: It’s all about being unhappy and wanting to leave. And getting, like, that “Velocity” song is, I mean, this has been in the works for a while. I’ve just not known how to do it. … I have been mental forever. When I was little I was like, “If I could just get out of Nebraska and get to San Francisco, I’ll be happy, and I get there and I’m totally unhappy. In fact, worse. I ruin my life even, come back here and I’m like, “Well maybe I’ll go for the real dream, I’ll be successful and I’ll be able to be like, ‘Ha ha, high school kids. I told you! I’m so fucking famous, I’m on your TV.’ I mean, [the video for] ‘Feed me to the Wolves’ was On Demand in York, Nebraska and my Aunt Judy called my mom and there’s been these magical, cool moments but that still weren’t… I’m still feeling very much the same after they happened. I mean it’s great, I’m appreciative, [but] they didn’t fix the problem so that’s been the case in my career too, ever since I realized this is not going how I want it to, or it is and I’m not going how it wants me to.

I’ve had these little moments like, “Oh my god, well I’ll just get signed and then I’ll be happy,” and then I get signed and obviously I’m not happy and then I’m like, “Oh my god, my record will come out and then I’ll be happy, I’ll be in stores, I’ll see it in stores,” no. I go on tour, “tour’s gonna make me happy,” no, and so I’ve just hit a point where all those little things are gone. And I’ve gotta get happy myself, I’ve gotta figure it out because I think it’s not a smart move to try and be miserable forever, even if you can write songs about it. It’s not conducive to long-term success and the path I’m trying to go on.

JO: You think if you get happy you’ll write songs about it?

Lynn: Oh my god, wouldn’t that be neat? I did have a dream that I came [back], that I went away. In my dream I had no beard, but it seemed like I was older. But I came back with like a folk record, I spent a few years living in the mountains. I’m trying to listen to that voice like, “You gotta go, go far.” But come back with like a Holcombe Waller folk record or something… no beats… like “Ha, ha, sorry Holcombe, I stole your style.” [laughing]

I do like the idea of doing different stuff. That’s why I did this thing with the Gentry ‘cause I was so bored… [thinking to myself] “Maybe if I change this sound I’ll be happy.”

JO: So what’s next, aside from plans at Q Center and in the community?

Lynn: I’m 30. I don’t wanna look at the next 10 years like I am looking back at these last 10 years — which is almost as if they didn’t happen, where I’m like, “I don’t have much to show for it that means a lot to me aside from this music thing.” I was able to do this and fulfill my idea of what I wanted but I do not have the love in my life that I’m wanting, I do not have the free time that I’m needing and I have way more stress than I want. … I need to be feeling good about getting up and doing stuff and feeling like where I go and put my time, I’m not gonna be judged for my pants or whatever.

JO: [laughing] There’s gotta be more to life than pants.

Lynn: I’ve gotten glimpses of that. I think that what’s funny is that my music isn’t really about fluffy stuff, so to be immersed in this fluffy world is just so silly. It’s like, “Sorry we wear black and I scream. We left our boas at home, I have no idea what to tell you. I can put a wig on if you want.”

Logan Lynn and the Gentry will perform — in all likelihood sans boas or wigs — their “farewell” show on Friday night, August 20 at Mississippi Studios (3939 N. Mississippi). Show starts at 10 p.m. Matrimony and DJ Girlfriends support. Tickets are $9.50. Visit loganlynnmusic.com for more information and details on donating to Q Center in exchange for Lynn’s new, unfinished album, I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday.”

LOGAN LYNN INTERVIEWED ABOUT HIS DEPARTURE FROM MUSIC IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF JUST OUT — DIGITAL VERSION HERE!

Logan — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 05:29:45 +0000

Last week I sat down with the editor of Portland Newsweekly Just Out (Amanda Schurr) to chat about my announced departure from my current life in Musicworld. A man has his reasons. If you care to know more, pick up a copy or keep reading below. To read the online version CLICK HERE or to download the PDF version of the 2 page ordeal, click the following two links: Page 34 – Page 35

I love how Just Out never twists my words or calls me fat and ugly. BEST. GAY. PAPER. EVER.

From Just Out: (8/6/2010)

“Will Work for Good : Portland pop dynamo Logan Lynn quits music, for now…

Logan Lynn just wants a new hoodie. Sitting outside a North Portland cafe, blue hood yanked over a navy baseball hat, he points to a missing zipper pull—and later, more tellingly, to letters on the hoodie’s front, “F-R-E-D.”

“It just needs to say ‘not what I thought it was gonna be,’” he says, half joking.

It’s been that kind of decade for the Portland musician, who took to his website Thursday, July 29 to announce his self-proclaimed “career suicide,” an indefinite hiatus from the music business. With characteristic candor, Lynn wrote: “As I near the 10-year-anniversary of my debut record,… 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.

One thing that is painfully clear to me and everyone who knows me in real life is that I AM MISERABLE. I have been for some time. I’m sick of being broke, mismanaged, overworked, screwed over by the folks who are supposed to be looking out for me … you know, all the hits.”

A few days later over iced coffee, Lynn pulls even fewer punches, with himself and others. “The more time I have to think it over, the more comfortable I am with the whole idea,” he says, in what begins a conversation about demons, downloads and the decision to withdraw from what he admits is an enviable, even courted spotlight—at least from the outside.

“I’m sure there’s at least a thousand bands in this town that I know that would be like, ‘Dude, you’re super blowing it. I have no idea what you’re talking about,’” concedes Lynn, fresh off a West Coast Pride tour with his band The Gentry, and fresh out of a single-album contract with the Dandy Warhols’ Beat the World label. “And I feel that way too. I get that.”

What he hasn’t gotten, however, has been time to deal with issues a decade in the making, from the end of a long-term relationship to the “slimy” clingers-on to his well-publicized battle with substance abuse. “I just really don’t see myself being in a good place a year from now if I keep on this path,” Lynn shares. “This might be me being a fucking dramatic Libra, but I do have a tendency to be all or nothing about stuff. I feel like the only way to stop it at this point is to just break it. Break everything, stop doing the whole thing, kinda come clean.”

Lynn has been clean of cocaine and alcohol since 2007, about the time he signed with Beat the World and began production on his third full-length solo record, From Pillar to Post, a polished electro-pop confessional. The disc debuted to critical acclaim—the video for his single “Feed Me to the Wolves” landed among the Logo Network’s “Top 10 of 2008”—and by Lynn’s online tallies, 18,000 downloads. “For a while, I was able to see that as dollar signs,” he says. “If Billboard cared about that, if my label cared about that, then I’m a huge success. But that’s not how the industry is set up. … It’s still very much record sales. Something’s going to have to change there eventually or else everybody’s going to quit doing it, professionally at least.”

Life on the road didn’t help the financial, or psychological, bottom line. Lynn says the tipping point came earlier this year “when I was selling my furniture to pay for the van to go on tour.” Reaction to his louder, aggressive Gentry-fied sound was mixed (“There’s some video out there of this summer that’s not pretty,” he says), especially as a gay artist on the Pride circuit and in contrast with his solo, more upbeat fare. “Everybody’s dancing and they don’t necessarily want me to get up there and be sad,” he says. “And I don’t like do Shakira covers!”

Lynn considers his time with the Gentry, with whom he joined forces in December 2009, among the highlights of his career. Still, he adds, they’re not his “babysitters,” and he’s all-too-aware of the temptations—“torture,” he calls it—the road presents. “I am going to have a relapse,” he says. “Unless I can get myself to a place where it’s safe for me to be in bars and hotel rooms and away from everyone that knows me, I can’t be doing that.”

In retrospect, Lynn admits he may not have done himself any favors by being so forthcoming with his personal struggles. “I don’t think people start out by going, ‘I just got out of rehab, I’m a huge junkie, you would not believe what happened.’ That in and of itself wasn’t me intentionally poking holes in the boat, but I do think it did poke holes in it,” he says. “It is my history, and I own it.”

Nor does he want to sound ungrateful. For Lynn, his retreat from the music business is more a “mental health” decision than anything. “The good part about it is that I really have made a connection with people and I do have the feeling that I’m not really alone, which I have had that for forever. … I’ll still have that connection with people but I’ve gotta figure out a way to do that in my life where there’s not this other oppressive side. I think right now my plan, my loose plan, is to help the queers—not to sing for the queers.”

Lynn says the desire to “do something that matters”—“some good for the world”—is leading him directly to volunteer work at Q Center. (“My heart belongs to queer Portland full-time at the center,” he emails later.) “I’ve gotta stop talking about my feelings all the time, stop having everything and everyone around me revolving around me,” he laughs. “I know that people everywhere are probably like, ‘Yeah, right,’ ‘cause I’m notoriously attention-seeking, but the motivation for that has changed.”

That’s not to say music doesn’t matter anymore to Lynn. “I’m just going to turn it into a hobby. … I was happier when it was a hobby,” he says, adding that, short of plans for the proverbial day job, the only plans he has in place are what he’s choosing not to do. “I’ve never lived a normal life without being a junkie, so I’m kind of excited for that.

“I’ve gotta step back for a minute and assess how weird it is and how weird I am and whether I can deal with the weirdness,” shrugs Lynn, fiddling with that pull-less zipper. “Is that weird?”

Logan Lynn and The Gentry give their “farewell” performance at 9 p.m. Friday, August 20 at Mississippi Studios (3939 N. Mississippi). Matrimony and DJ Girlfriends support. Tickets are $8. To listen to Lynn’s new, unfinished album, I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday, visit loganlynnmusic.com. Visit blogout.justout.com for the full interview with Just Out.”

CHECK OUT LOGAN LYNN’S INTERVIEW IN CURRENT (AUGUST 2010) ISSUE OF ‘Q TOWN MAGAZINE’! READ IT HERE NOW!!!

Logan — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 05:42:48 +0000

Q Town Magazine interviewed me for this month’s issue (on stands now in Virginia, online HERE. Check out the full transcript below! I talk about the usual things people talk about in interviews: cocaine, butt sex, being a jerk, fucking my life up, Jesus, etc.

From Q TOWN Magazine (August 2010 Issue):

It’s been quite a trip for Portland electronica artist Logan Lynn. From his first studio album, This Is Folk Techno in 1998 to his latest From Pillar To Post, Lynn transports us away to his buzzing trance-like world. Famous for edgy lyrics and playful beats, Lynn creates excitement on MTV, Logo, VH1, Spike and in the pulsating indie music scene.

Q town recently caught up with Logan to chat about hooking up with The Dandy Warhols, his connection to his fans, and how queer culture influences the mainstream.

QT: Your style has been called electro-house mixed with folk, which is a really interesting combination. How did these two come together for you?

LL: I was always really interested in both genres separately growing up and coming into my own musically as a songwriter. At some point in the late 90′s I started blending the two together. Back then nobody really understood what I was doing. I would have shows and people would just stand there and scratch their heads. I could tell they were like “What the hell is this guy doing?”, but that was mostly because they just had no reference point. That was WAY before The Postal Service or some of those groups that came along in the mid 2000′s. Once that all started getting big is when people really started to gravitate to my music. I repackaged and re-released the same record in 2005 that I had released in 2000 and the reaction was amazing so I immediately recorded all the songs I had been writing during that 5 year hiatus from making records and got the ball rolling for my self-titled record in 2006. I’m glad people get it now.

QT: How did you hook up with the indie-rock band The Dandy Warhols and what has that experience been like for you?

LL: I was working on an ad campaign for a company in Los Angeles in 2005 & we hired a photographer from Portland named Ray Gordon who I ended up partying with for days in LA. He fell in love with some of the new material I played him and just happened to be really good friends with Courtney Taylor-Taylor (the Dandys’ frontman). He knew they were starting a label, Courtney and I met, he got really into my record, they signed me in 2007 and released my last record “From Pillar To Post” on their Beat The World label in 2009. It has been really great to have access to their studio and to be able to learn from them. It has been quite the journey from there to here.

QT: Can you tell us the inspiration to the lyrics behind your sharply-titled single, “Bottom your way to the top”?

LL: Well, I was in a very long-term relationship that started ending in 2007, but eluded finality until a little over a year ago. At one point, as our 6 years together were dissolving, the words “Just go and bottom your way to the top, then” was yelled my way….so I wrote a song about it. That whole record (“From Pillar To Post”) is about that time in my life. I was immersed in cocaine partyworld and was losing my love. I didn’t react very well to the breakup initially. I acted out in ways that were, well…song-worthy.

QT: We really love the video for “Bottom your way to the top”. In addition to being a musician you’re also a visual artist. Did you help contribute to the concept behind the video?

LL: Nice one! Thanks. I am always involved in some aspect of everything, but I think much of my success has been found in letting the people I work with do their jobs (be it on songs or videos). I have yet to drink my own Kool-Aid to the point where I think I know how to do everything better than everyone else. That’s bullshit. Anyway, the director Jeffrey McHale (from Chicago) had a very clear vision. I came to him because I felt like he and I had a similar point of view. It turned out that we did. He introduced me to an illustrator named John Parot who came on board to illustrate the video which Jeff then animated. Interestingly enough, John Parot is a contestant on Bravo’s “Work Of Art: The Search For The Next Great Artist” this season. He does amazing work. I love that we got him on that video. His drawings are really what next-leveled that one.

QT: What would you say is the best part of being a performer?

LL: I love the connections I make with people. I think because my songs are so personal they tend to find people that are similar to me. That’s been the case thusfar at least. That connection, that shrinking of the world to a size I can deal with, has been the best part of all of this so far. I like feeling like my crazy is understandable my hundreds of thousands of people. Like…other people aren’t running away from my ugly parts on display so maybe I’m not such a fucking psycho after all?

QT: You’ve been a fixture on MTV, VH1, Spike TV and Logo Online and you’ve got a huge following. How did it feel to break into the biz?

LL: It felt different than I thought it was going to. It is amazing that I get to live out my lifelong dreams and have been able to get to the point I’m at currently with this whole thing…but I’ll be honest and say that I always had it in my mind that I would get here and suddenly be happy, suddenly feel like I belong. Unfortunately, that is not the case so I’ve had to mourn the loss of that delusional notion as it has become clear that there just simply is no golden ticket. I love singing, I love writing, I love that there are so many people who feel a connection with me and my songs…but it’s isolating, too. That’s sort-of the nature of the beast I guess…but I wasn’t prepared for that part. It gets lonely on the island, ya know?

QT: Do you think the queer community has more of a cutting-edge taste in music?

LL: I think it’s possible, but I tend to think of the queer community as equally diverse as the rest of the world which means that statement only applies to SOME queers. There has always been a queer underground that has influenced the mainstream, though. That part is safe to say with total assurance. I’m hesitant to say that we are more cutting-edge as a community after playing all these gay pride shows this Summer though. There are just as many lame fags with bad taste as there are lame straight people with bad taste. Being stupid is universal.

QT: Growing up in the Midwest, you were really influenced by the rave scene – where did the folk influence come from?

LL: I blame The Innocence Mission, The Sundays, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, Liz Phair and all the other folky singer-songwriter-y alterna-ladies I grew up listening to. Emotional songs have always been a part of my life. I listen to the same shit now that I listened to 20 years ago. I am just as inspired by The Innocence Mission’s music today as I have ever been. There is much of me that doesn’t change as time goes by. I listen to new stuff as well, but I have my roots planted firmly in old Sundays and Innocence Mission records from the 90′s. It’s real.

QT: Not many people have performed in front of a crowd of 400,000, let alone for their first time performing live. Did that totally freak you out or did it just come naturally?

LL: It totally freaked me out, as has every performance since. (Laughs) It’s gotten a lot better in recent years but I have had to deal with working through some pretty crippling stage fright. It’s still with me, but I am so many years in at this point that the fear has left except for a split second before I go on stage. Once I’m out there I am good to go…it’s the getting me on stage that’s the hard part. I had to kinda relearn how to be vulnerable in front of a crowd when I got clean in 2007. It was suddenly scary again…but having done this sober for so long now I honestly can’t imagine trying to do it wasted. Progress…

QT: Do you find it easier to write music and lyrics now after getting clean?

LL: It’s definitely easier to feel things now, so yeah. I think so. It’s different for sure. I think this new record I just finished recording sounds smarter…like I have my words back or something. When I listen to these new songs I hear someone who is much more sure of himself than on records past. I’m not so lost, the lyrics aren’t hopeless anymore. It’s more confused now than hopeless which seems like a step in the right direction…for my mind, at least. I was worried about cleaning up, like that I would lose my outlook, or like that maybe the drugs were my link to the creative world but that all turned out to be junkie bullshit I was feeding myself to authorize otherwise completely unacceptable behavior. If anything my career took off and my writing got better when I quit killing myself. Go figure.

QT: Are you seeing anyone special right now?

LL: No. I’m finally at a place where I would be open to someone’s specialness, though. Bring it on, universe!

QT: What kind of guys are you into?

LL: I like nice guys who tell the truth and don’t give a shit about being famous.

QT: What was it like coming out to your fundamentalist Christian family?

LL: It was hard back then, but I was like 14 years old and it was before “Will and Grace” had won over the hearts of middle America so…it would have been hard no matter who I was telling. In the end, we have all grown together as a family and I’m glad that things went down the way they did. I am very close to my parents now. None of us are who we used to be. It’s great.

QT: From your experience, what’s your advice to someone who wants to come out to a religious

LL: Don’t listen to them. They are ALL wrong about you and they are ALL wrong about the world.

QT: Where can people find your music?

LL: It’s pretty much everywhere these days. I always tell people that if they buy stuff directly from the store on my site the chances that I will see some of the money go up and the evil middlemen stand to make less…but my music is available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, Target.com, Barnes & Noble, Tower Records, etc. if you prefer to give the evil middlemen a cut. I’m also on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, DList, Last.Fm, iLike, and a bunch of other sites online where you can stream my tunes.

LOGAN LYNN’S NEW RECORD “I KILLED TOMORROW YESTERDAY” FEATURED ON OREGON MUSIC NEWS + MORE THIS WEEK!

Logan — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:59:29 +0000

It’s been really touching this week since announcing my upcoming hiatus to see how many people, venues, record stores and press outlets have felt that my taking a break from the stage is newsworthy (Just Out, Willamette Week, KZME FM Radio & Oregon Music News to name a few). Makes a boy feel really loved during a rather slippery, uneasy time, so…thanks for that.

In addition to the announcement of my change of plans last week on their site which you can read HERE, OMN (Oregon Music News) picked up on my swan song today and has it featured in a story titled “Logan Lynn Releases Final Album Via YouTube“. Click HERE to redirect or keep reading below.

From Oregon Music News: (8/3/2010)

“While Logan Lynn may have decided to call it quits last week, he’s at least also decided that “The last hoorah may as well have a soundtrack, right?”

Releasing his final album as YouTube playlist, “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” features lyrics and vocals from Lynn with music and programming by Bryan Cecil. The album is “an unmixed, unmastered, rough demo and it will be a little while before the record is done but we figured you might as well hear a bit of how things are coming along in the studio this time around to tide you over and stuff!!!”

Logan Lynn will be playing two more shows with The Gentry. One on August 6th in Salem at FlipSide Nightclub and in Portland at Mississippi Studios on August 20th.

Track listing for I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday:

1. Smoke Rings
2. Things Are Looking Up
3. Velocity
4. Quickly As We Pass
5. Tennis Whites
6. I Erased Who I Was For You
7. It’s Too Late
8. Fly Me Through
9. A Hundred Years Of Letting Me Down
10. Fall Into New Arms

LOGAN LYNN TAKING AN EXTENDED BREAK FROM THE MUSIC INDUSTRY TO COMMIT CAREER SUICIDE – FULL STORY HERE.

Logan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:58:09 +0000

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.

One thing that is painfully clear to me and everyone who knows me in real life is that I AM MISERABLE. I have been for some time. I’m sick of being broke, mismanaged, overworked, screwed over by the folks who are supposed to be looking out for me…you know, all the hits. Ever since I overcame my paralyzing stage fright, playing shows has been great and I’ve had a wonderful time on tour this Summer with The Gentry but the abnormalities that come along with being a working musician in the digital era without the proper, traditional support of a label are too much for me to just keep absorbing. I can’t be gone all the time like this. I don’t want to spend my life on the road with strangers in bars and hotel rooms. It’s not healthy. I’m homesick for a home that does not exist because I have been too busy to create it for myself, no other reason. I need something real in my life. I can no longer pretend that things are going to suddenly feel better like magic when I know that they are not. These things I’m putting all my energy into obtaining are not making me happy. They are not ever going to because fame and money and attention is not what I want anymore. It’s time that I take control of my own happiness, something I have been dreading and avoiding for years now because of the terrible consequences and pressures attached to doing so. I am finally brave enough and there is just no stopping me. My humanity is in need of repair. These are someone else’s dreams I’m killing myself to fulfill. It is time for me to chase the light to happiness, not acceptance by the masses.

I am going to take some time completely off far away from the business of being myself professionally, then we’ll see where life has led me. These final shows next month with The Gentry in Salem, on August 6th & in Portland on the 20th are going to be the last shows I play for at least a year or two so I hope you can make it. They are going to be very special nights. Please, PLEASE come to the final show at Mississippi Studios on Friday, August 20th and wish me farewell on my new journey.

I don’t know what I am going to be doing from here but I fulfilled my contract with Beat The World (so I know what I’m not going to be doing, which is a very clear start…or finish, as it were). I am Free, an unsigned independent artist once again, not bound to any contracts, people or associations. I find myself in a moment where I can do one of two things; and I gotta choose the peaceful road, you guys. Think I’m gonna go help people for awhile, do something that actually matters—that isn’t so self-serving and based in phony, superficial publicity opportunities. I am leaving the door open for me to change my mind later on so I’m not saying I’m done forever by any means but it honestly does feel that way at the moment. I just finished that new record with Bryan Cecil and have been leaking the demos all week, freeing myself of the rules and regulations that come with being a brand instead of just some stoner dude who makes funny sounding synthpop songs about death and darkness on his keyboard. If another label comes along and picks me up to release it I’d be down to mix it properly and put it out, otherwise it will most likely just stay as-is for the time being. I would consider coming back for the right label opportunity for sure and I love these new songs. I honestly think they are my best work but I’m in no shape to start this process over again with the way things are set up currently so it seems like a perfect time to press pause, catch my breath, regroup.

Before I get into all of that, let me say how wonderful I think each and every one of you are and how much it means to me that you have found a connection with me and my songs and I with you. It’s truly an honor for you to have let me fill the silent spaces in your life with my small, silly thoughts and melodies for the past 10 years of me releasing music. The magnitude of this access into your world is not lost on me. I really hope you believe me when I say that my dissatisfaction with this life I’ve made for myself has absolutely nothing to do with the part you play in it. I have only the warmest feelings for every single one of you. The ironic part is that some of you are just discovering me now and must be thinking “What? 10 years? He’s brand new!” but that’s not actually the case. It’s true that I got signed and have been on TV and in the press a shitload in recent years—I have found most of my success since 2006, I’d say…but that doesn’t make me any less tired from all the fighting years that came before that “lucky break” came along. To those people who helped me fight, who lent their talents to my songs throughout the years, who opened doors for me to walk through, THANK YOU. I could never have gotten this far without you.

The connection I’ve made with all of you new folks and all the people who have stood by me from day 1 has been one of the most magical things I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing my whole life so far and I have no doubt that it will be one of the things I think about during my final moments as I am leaving this Earth. Out of all the drugs I have ever tried (and I have tried them all at least 800 times individually as well as in combination with each other) the rush of not feeling alone in the world anymore is better that any high ever was. It fixed something that was broken in me and is something that will be with me forever. I hold all of your kind words and shared sorrows close to my heart in ways that you will never fully be able to understand. You people actually saved my life. My mother thanks you for that. I thank you for that. I mean it when I say that I love you.

Growing up the gay son of a preacher man in the Church of Christ in York, Nebraska was hard. It did not leave me with very good feelings about myself. To have had this sort of healing experience with all of that gay guilt bullshit as well—where the thing that I was literally tortured for my entire childhood and adolescence suddenly overnight became a selling point, became the thing that set me apart, that got the attention of MTV, that propelled me forward…that shit was fucking amazing. Thank you to Perry Turcotte at MTV (and now, Vevo) who for whatever reason hand-picked my gay wannabe ass from an endless sea of gay wannabe popstars and pushed my face and music into another dimension overnight.

It is a very strange thing to have all of my emotional growing pains documented so extensively from the time that I was 17 up through the present day. There is really no hiding from the truth about who I have been and what it took to get me to be who I am now with the audio blueprints so widely available in such a permanent way, spanning the years of my life I would otherwise most likely be happy to forget. This has been a very good thing for me in many ways, horribly tragic in others.

If I knew then at 17 what I know now at 30 about what it really means to put yourself out there like this, to allow so many people to see you in such a personal way, I might have chosen a stage name or something to protect myself emotionally a bit more. Back in 1998 when I was first recording songs it did not even occur to me that anyone would ever be interested in what I had to say enough to actually listen. It was unfathomable to me, in fact. I was gay, I was a drug addict, I was singing about God and violence and my horrible stolen childhood and said “Fuck” something like a hundred times on that first album. I mean, let’s face it: Everyone back then thought my music was psychotic and they did not know what to do with me. In many ways it still is psychotic; and in many ways they still don’t know what to do with me. I actually love that part. The being a weirdo factor has been so thoroughly satisfying. Yay.

So here’s the thing: I have to stop the stress of it all from continuing to build or I am totally going to snap a twig in the worst way. I need something new. I will still write and record songs because I’m a songwriter and I love music but I am done with this whole mainstream crossover thing, I’m done with the endless work, I’m done with the ratrace. I can’t stand having to pimp myself out and do things I would not otherwise do in order to get ahead. Fuck that. I’m realizing that my priorities have changed somewhere along the way and I’ve missed out on getting some of the things I actually want in this world (family, free time, privacy, normal everyday life, peace of mind, and FOOD mostly) because I’ve been chasing this other dream for so long. I will still keep moving forward with things musically but at a slower, more hobby-like pace…and on my own terms.

Now that I am getting what I wanted and realizing said dreams I am also realizing that i don’t want all of it like I thought I did. “It” is very different than I thought it was going to be. “It” is very isolating and strange. I don’t actually enjoy being looked at all that much. I’m fairly shy when you take the booze and chemical help out of me (which I removed in 2007). I think when I started out on this quest to become whatever I am now it was to fill a void that I no longer have. I can’t keep fighting for this thing that is making me miserable. It’s too much pressure, you guys. I think I might actually hate the mainstream and don’t really wanna be famous at all. I know, I know…roll your eyes. I’m saying that I used to have those intentions and now I don’t. My intentions now are to stop everything dead in their tracks and switch gears…which is just exactly what I am about to do.

Come to these shows in August and watch me commit the most spectacular career suicide this town has ever seen. The big finish is coming right up! To listen to audio from my unreleased record “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” click HERE and go to the NEW UNRELEASED DEMOS playlist on the right!

Like I said, I love you. All of you. Always.

xxLL

P.S. (I wrote a song about this whole mess called “Velocity” for the as of now unfinished and unreleased new record. You can listen to and download the MP3 Demo Version for free HERE if you wanna. Also, HERE is another new one called “Things Are Looking Up” for you. This whole bit may as well have a soundtrack, right?)

LOGAN LYNN’S “LAST HIGH” FEATURED ON EQTV IN THE UNITED KINGDOM! THANKS, LONDON… LOVE, OREGON.

Logan — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:13:36 +0000

The Electroqueers across the pond at EQ in the UK featured the video for my cover of The Dandy Warhols song “The Last High” on EQTV today! They dig it. You can watch the video and check out what they had to say by clicking HERE or just keep reading.

EQTV – Watch “The Last High” by Logan Lynn

From Electroqueer, UK: July 1st, 2010

“You know, I’ve been vaguely aware of Logan Lynn for years but I never had much of an appreciation for his music until I (watched) his video for a cover of The Dandy Warhols hit “The Last High” just now. Amazing stuff! I haven’t heard his album “From Pillar To Post” yet, but after watching this video – I am intrigued – even more…”

LOGAN LYNN & THE GENTRY’S WEST COAST SUMMER TOUR IS THE FEATURE STORY TODAY ON NW MUSIC BLOG!

Logan — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:29:54 +0000

My Summer tour with The Gentry is the feature story on NW Music Blog today! They had some super nice stuff to say about me, our recent shows in the Pacific Northwest, The Gentry, and the rest of our tour (which we are just about 6 weeks into) with almost exactly that many weeks left!

Check out what they had to say HERE or keep reading below. It’s super nice. Awwwww………..

From NW Music Blog: (July 1st, 2010)

“Logan Lynn is touring in support of his recently released and critically acclaimed CD, From Pillar to Post, on The Dandy Warhol’s indie Beat The World Records. His three CDs have generated an extraordinary amount of buzz, particularly in the Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, and New York LGBT communities. Additionally, his videos have been well received on MTV, VH1, and LOGO channels. Comparisons ranging from The Postal Service to M83, Lykke Li to Cut Copy, and even Ladytron, Goldfrapp, and indie rockers Metric, are often applied to Logan’s music.

The Gentry, a separate entity providing Rock & Roll to Logan’s emo-tronic sound, also have a new record recently released entitled ‘Sex by the Unit’, which sports an awesome condom-like package which is well worth the $10 I paid for mine. You even have to tear it like a condom package.

Recent shows in the Pacific Northwest have been raucous parties, featuring lines stretching around the block, and satisfied partied-out party-goers filtering out into the early morning. The Oregon Music News recently profiled Logan’s growing impact on the Portland live music scene.

This past Sunday, June 27, marked the launch of Logan’s West Coast tour, starting in Seattle at The Cuff’s Gay Pride Block Party and playing to an estimated crowd of 6,000.

Dates are below – try and catch one if you can.”

+TOUR DATES

6.27 – Seattle, WA – The Cuff Pride Street Party

7.4 – Portland, OR – Independence Day Party @ Rontom’s with 1776 & The Hugs!!!

7.13 – San Francisco, CA – Rockit Room with Special Guests The Hugs (Portland, OR) & Little Black Bats (Sacramento, CA) $8

7.14 – Sacramento, CA – Blue Lamp with Special Guests The Hugs (Portland, OR) & Little Black Bats (Sacramento, CA) $8

8.6 – Salem, OR – Flipside Nightclub $10 (brownpapertickets.com) / $15 at the door

8.20 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios

LOGAN LYNN INTERVIEWED BY “DIRTY” MAGAZINE THIS MONTH!!!

Logan — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:32:11 +0000

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.

DIRTY: WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

LOGAN LYNN: The Midwest, but we moved around a lot: Nebraska, Michigan, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas. I moved to Portland when I was 16 and, aside from a few failed attempts in larger cities, have basically stayed put.

D: ASIDE FROM SINGING, DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?

LL: If you put quotation marks around the word “play”, then yes. I took just enough piano and guitar lessons as a child to know my way around the basics in both, but I write lyrics and make vocal melodies, mostly. That’s my instrument.

D: HOW PRESENT WAS SINGING IN YOUR CHILDHOOD?

LL: Singing was always very present. I was raised in an A cappella church and my parents were both choir singers. My Dad was a preacher and I was not allowed to listen to secular music. I watched a lot of “Kids, Incorporated” though (so I was heard 80′s pop music), and “The Mickey Mouse Club”. Every now and then CCM Magazine, a Christian music magazine that I subscribed to, would review a record by a secular band. In 1989 they reviewed the self-titled first release of “The Innocence Mission”, because there was an old Catholic song tagged to the end of it. This changed my life for sure. I got really into them and began following their career. I had a real connection with Karen Peris’s lyrics and they would, in time, be what got me through much of the solitude I was faced with growing up, as well as the rehab-laced, drug-fueled solitude of my 20′s. I still listen to her songs still now; they have the same effect on me that they used to.

D: WHAT IS THE FIRST SONG YOU CAN REMEMBER FALLING IN LOVE WITH? HOW OLD WERE YOU?

LL: Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” was the recital song for my tap and jazz dance class when I was eight. It was the first record I destroyed by playing over and over. It was love for sure.

D: HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU WROTE YOUR FIRST SONG? WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?

LL: I was pretty young when I started making up my own lyrics and melodies. Basically, as soon as I could speak I started to sing. There are cassette tapes of me singing original material dating back to when I was two or three. The first proper song that I wrote, recorded, and performed was when I was 12. I had just gotten heavily into drugs and wrote a song about Windowpane [LSD] that I recorded in my cousin’s studio and then performed at a Christian talent show. Needless to say, I didn’t win.

D: WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES?

LL: The Innocence Mission, Styrofoam, The Breeders, Simian, Of Montreal, The Sundays, The Cardigans – and a bunch of bad pop and techno from the 80′s and 90′s.

D: WHEN DID YOU JOIN YOUR FIRST BAND? WHAT WAS IT CALLED?

LL: I’d always either been a DJ or a solo artist until 2006, when I started forming bands to perform with me. When I was a kid my brother and I performed after dinner for my parents and whoever else was around. I guess that was kinda like a band.

D: YOUR LATEST ALBUM IS TITLED “FROM PILLAR TO POST”. WHAT IS THE ALBUM ABOUT FOR YOU?

LL: It’s about my life turning from bad to worse; my journey away from a 16-year cocaine addiction; and a six-year relationship with my former partner coming to an end. It’s a snapshot of my life from 2007 to 2008. It journeys through some dark stuff, but out the other end into the light again.

D: DO YOU FIND THE DARKNESS HAS HELPED YOU GROW?

LL: Definitely. The record I’ve been working on for the past few months has taken shape in the light and is turning out to be about what I’m doing to put the pieces back together in my life. I have a much clearer perspective on the subjects addressed in “From Pillar To Post” and feel like I’ve grown a lot. I’m not so heartbroken and confused these days – just a little roughed up from the journey.

D: ANY UPCOMING TOURDATES FOR LOGAN LYNN?

LL: I’m playing some regional shows on the West Coast this summer, then we are planning to add cities in the rest of the country this fall. We are still ironing out the details with tour stuff, but one thing is for sure: The next show is on May 27th at Doug Fir in Portland. (NOTE: THIS ANSWER IS OUT OF DATE. THE INTERVIEW HAPPENED WHEN WE WERE FIRST BOOKING THE TOUR WE ARE CURRENTLY ON ALL SUMMER THROUGH AUGUST!!!)

D: WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

LL: Mainstream pop or Indie pop that sounds mainstream. I’m going through a phase: All La Roux, all the time.

D: YOU’RE GOING ON A LONG TRIP AND YOU CAN ONLY BRING A PLAYLIST OF 10 SONGS WITH YOU. WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

LL:
1. The Vaselines: “You Think You’re A Man”
2. Kings of Convenience: “I’d Rather Dance With You”
3. Simian: “LA Breeze”
4. Jaguar Love: “Up All Night”
5. The Sounds: “Painted By Numbers”
6. Styrofoam: “The Long Wait”
7. The Dandy Warhols: “Mis Amigos”
8. Console: “14 Zero Zero”
9. Liz Phair: “Headache”
10.The Innocence Mission: “July”

D: BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME?

LL: Rickie Lee Jones: “Ghostyhead”

D: IS THERE ANYONE YOU HOPE TO MEET SOMEDAY? WHO & WHY?

LL: For fun, Joy Behar. I wanna be on “The View” in the biggest way.

D: DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE VISUAL ARTIST?

LL: Charlie White. I want my world to look like his photographs.

D: IS THERE A DECADE IN WORLD HISTORY YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE BEEN ALIVE TO EXPERIENCE?

LL: I’m fascinated by the 1920′s, but I’m into being alive now. It feels right.

D: WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE FILMS EVER?

LL: “The Garbage Pail Kids”, a live-action movie from the 80′s. Oh, and “Showgirls”. That was two. Sorry: I’m historically bad with limitations.

D: WHAT’S SOMETHING THAT NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT YOU.

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.