(Originally Published on The Huffington Post – 1/17/2012)

In keeping with the theme of love, family, and relationship from my last post, I reached out to some famous friends to see what their thoughts were on the subject.

Singer/songwriter Matt Alber, filmmaker and photographer Bruce LaBruce, actor and musician Daniela Sea (from Showtime‘s The L Word), TV personality and activist Danny Roberts (from MTV‘s Real World: New Orleans), drag superstar and electrosleeze pioneer Jackie Beat, composer and singer Holcombe Waller, and “Charlie” Swimwear designer Matthew Zink all weighed in on the same five questions:

1. If you could sum up your concept of “relationships” in one word, what would it be?

2. What is your favorite love song of all time?

3. If you could choose any actor to play you in the movie version of your life, who would it be? What about them is you?

4. How has the relationship between your mother and father influenced your ideas about love and relationships?

5. What three qualities do you look for in a partner?

Here come their answers! (Drum roll please…)

Matt Alber

Matt is a singer/songwriter and all-around pop phenom. Dude’s cover of Madonna’s “Take a Bow” from his new record Constant Crows will make you cry. So will his “End of the World” video.

1. I guess it would be “listen.” My first answer was “summer sausage,” but then I realized that is two words.

2. Hands down, it’s gotta be “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley, 1) because we have the same birthday, and 2) because I got to sing it with a live band at the Playboy Mansion when I used to make my living as a singer in Los Angeles’ top cover band.

3. Ryan Gosling is my first choice, but mostly because of those sweet, dreamy eyes. Of course, if Jake Gyllenhaal is free, please ask his agent if he would consider the role. You can tell them that the “losing his virginity” scene will be a hell of a lot more comfortable than Brokeback.

4. My parents spent the better part of their young adult lives at war with one another. I’m very close with both of them, and they’d agree with that statement. Their relationship was founded on a lot of hope, but also on a lot of control. I think true love means you speak up lovingly when your lover crosses a personal line, and that every conversation comes back to “I want this to work” more than “I want to be right.”

5. His masculine playfulness, his handsome face I can’t stop staring at, and his chili.

Bruce LaBruce

Over the years, Bruce has been called everything from pornographer to genre genius, but one thing is undeniable: he is authentically himself, and I love that. Watch the trailer for his latest film, L.A. Zombie.

1. “Love,” “love,” and “love.”

2. “Sara Smile” by Hall & Oates.

3. Lindsay Lohan, because she’s ginger like me, a brat with criminal tendencies like me, and I think if she played it a bit more feminine than she usually does, she could nail me. Plus, she needs a good comeback role.

4. My parents will have been married 60 years in February, so I guess I’ve learned about stability and longevity from them.

5. Topness, unrehearsed masculinity, and gentleness.

Daniela Sea

Daniela is a filmmaker, musician, and actor, and is best known for her role as Moira/Max on Showtime’s The L Word.

1. Unique in each incarnation: on Valentine’s Day, “relationship with a lover” comes to mind, of course. But “relationship” is a great word for the interconnectivity of all things. My relationship to the Earth is precious to me, as well as to the animals, to my fellow humans, and to the elements that bring life to the planet. My relationship to my family and to the communities that hold me up gives me joy every day. Each spirit is unique and intertwined; being in relation to all beings in all the universes is a truth that sustains me. This is love.

2. There are some great ones, but I’ll go back to my childhood roots, my mom spinning Joni Mitchell on the record player as I swung in the living room hammock: “A Case of You.” She sings, “Part of you pours out of me in these lines from time to time.” I could be much more avant-garde or punk rock, but honestly, that would most likely take the prize.

3. Would I play me? If not myself, than perhaps Agnes Varda would make the film, and play me and herself? She’s my hero.

4. I learned that love can be unconditional and everlasting, however it shifts shape.

5. For me, a good mix of curiosity about the world, kindness, wildness, and a free-spirited soul. A great mind and heart is right up there, as well.

Danny Roberts

Danny first appeared as himself on MTV’s The Real World and has been an outspoken voice from the LGBT community for over a decade.

1. “Unity.” A relationship is a mutually beneficial arrangement where two people uplift each other, encourage each other, and support each other in every way possible. There’s no one way or best way of going about this.

2. “All Is Full of Love” by Björk.

3. Jude Law: he plays an amazing brooding cynic.

4. Well, I certainly learned from them that it’s give-and-take and that it’s important to compromise and give a person room, but at some point you have to put your foot down and bring them back to center, and it’s always a two-way road. I also learned that two people can work through a tremendous amount of adversity and continue to love each other.

5. Must be down-to-Earth and centered, must love to continue to explore and learn in life and have a natural sense of curiosity, and must have a sense of humor and never take this short life too seriously.

Jackie Beat

Jackie is a star of stage, screen, and sound. Her band Dirty Sanchez might as well have owned the rights to the electroclash movement a few years ago.

1. “Friends.”

2. “How Beautiful You Are” by The Cure.

3. Miss Piggy, for all the obvious reasons.

4. Listen to the song mentioned in the second question and you tell me!

5. Kindness, a sense of humor, and a deep-seated lack of self-esteem.

Matthew Zink

Matthew makes the beautiful people more beautiful through swimwear. Check out his new collection.

1. “Partner.”

2. “I Really Got the Feeling” by Dolly Parton.

3. That is a hard question! Maybe Ryan Gosling… I am such a fan of him as an actor. He’s so talented and carries himself like a gentlemen. (Perhaps a bit too handsome to play me.)

4. My parents showed me that love is patient and you constantly have to work at it, but it’s worth all the hard work.

5. Kindness, intimacy, and passion.

Holcombe Waller

Holcombe has the voice of an angel. Watch his “Hardliners” video.

1. My definition of an amorous relationship in one word would probably be “grace,” both in terms of how it describes elegance and beauty, as well as the sense of mercy and clemency implied. All people should bring beauty and forgiveness into the world around them. In a relationship, this duty is amplified and focused between partners.

2. I have too many favorite love songs to really pick just one, but the first that came to mind is Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne,” particularly because of the way it portrays a kind of ambivalent masculine love born in fascination with this mysterious otherly female dream character. It’s so fabulous, it’s honorifically gay.

3. Well, of course it would be Meryl Streep. I mean, what about Meryl isn’t me? That’s the question! I would only worry about what Nora Ephron once said about the travails of having been portrayed in film by Meryl Streep: she simply will play you better than you do, and this could be the cause of deep existential anguish for one’s own ego. I should be careful what I wish for.

4. Through thick and thin, my parents are deeply committed to each other till death do they part. I’ve seen them go through things that seem to push the limits of the phrase “for better or for worse,” and I think I’ve internalized that sense of commitment from them. It’s not just applied towards romantic partnership; I feel this way about my closest friends. I don’t want anything but death to get in the way.

5. Given that I’m partnered, let me share the three things I always tell my single friends that they should be looking for in their prospective dates and potential significant others. The first and most important quality in a person in a relationship is that they want to be in the relationship. This seems so basic, but I’ve had terrible problems with this in the past — being with someone (or with people, if they are poly) who profess ambivalence about whether or not they want to be in a relationship — and I’ve seen it a lot in my friends’ romantic trials. My attitude is that if someone is indicating ambivalence, end it. You can’t work through problems if there isn’t a reason to, and relationship ambivalence is a deal breaker. It’s one thing for another person not to know if they should or shouldn’t be in a relationship, but to know that you are ambivalent means the relationship is not good for now. The second quality I recommend is ease. People always say “relationships take work,” but they get confused and think that the relationship itself is the problem you have to work to surmount. What’s that about? The relationship should be the easy joyful wonderful thing that gets pummeled by the real and unavoidable troubles of being alive. Sure, these can make a relationship hard, if someone is going through a rough patch, but if a relationship is like hard sailing on a smooth and beautiful ocean, ditch it and look for a boat that’s easier to be on. Lastly, I highly recommend finding a partner you’re in love with who is also in love with you. I actually think this is more rare than people think, but steps 1 and 2 are a good start.

I love it when my songs are used in cool stuff! This promo for ESPN, Mutiny Bikes, and Etnies is called “Battle Los Angeles” and has the instrumental of my track “Velocity” (taken from my 2010 record “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” and produced by Bryan Cecil) in it at the 5:10 mark. I once told my basketball coach brother Landon that ESPN would never want to use my music for anything but apparently I was wrong.

The video stars adrenaline junkies Brandon Hoerres, George Boyd, Andy Martinez, Matt Roe and Justin Simpson and was filmed, edited and directed by Joe Simon. Holy shit. They are all completely NUTS.

Here:

+ Logan Lynn // “Velocity” for ESPN & Mutiny Bikes (2011) – at 5:10

Oh god. Watch my new video on MTV below or on their website HERE.

MTV is so fucking cool still.

As many of you probably already have heard, Seattle’s evangelical Mars Hill church has just set up shop in SE Portland. The story broke via the Portland Mercury last week and ignited a controversy which has been covered in the media (both local and national) ever since.

When anything notable that’s LGBT-related happens in this town I generally expect to get calls from newsrooms wanting official statements from Q Center about said goings-on. That’s part of our role as an organization, actually; to speak out and offer up a voice from the queer community. As Q Center‘s Public Relations Manager, this time-sensitive-race-to-press stuff lands on my desk – generally all at once and without warning. This was certainly the case this past week. At 4pm Thursday Fox News descended upon my office with TV cameras. The Oregonian and Just Out had both interviewed me about the church just before they arrived as well.

Here’s where this whole thing gets tricky:

I know that ultimately what comes out of my mouth in these initial unplanned moments matters much more than any of the well thought out words I will think to say in the days following…so I try my best to speak from the heart and stay focused on the issue at hand instead of my past experience or perceptions. I’m not gonna lie, though- This particular issue is hard to stay objective about…impossible, maybe…so I decided not to.

Instead of fighting to stay removed I dove headfirst into my personal experience. I thought about how different my relationship with my family, the church and the world is these days compared to when I was coming out as a teenager and I thought about how it was that we got from there to here. In the years since coming out I have been able to change the hearts and minds of the people in my life. The once conservative views alive in my family are no longer anywhere to be found. We live in a profoundly free, new world together; a world full of love and celebration of our differences. It’s really quite beautiful. Had you told me this would be the case with my loved ones when I was 14 and miserable I would have laughed in your face at the impossibility of it all.

When I think about how this change in our lives came to be there are many variables. The common factor is me, however. In getting to know me, in seeing what it means to be a gay person through my life, my parents and these anti-gay people around them have changed their minds. It has taken years…but eventually is so much better than never. There are educational opportunities in front of my face all the time. Sometimes I am the teacher, but I am ALWAYS the student. When I heard Mars Hill Pastor Tim Smith speak in this video (click HERE to watch) I knew this was one of those times. I invited them to come take a tour of Q Center and chat and they took me up on the offer.

This afternoon MH Pastor Tim Smith arrived at Q Center with his colleague and we (along with Barb and Paul) spent nearly 2 hours together, chatting first about our similarities to find common ground and then about our differences and what that means for the local LGBT community here in Portland now that they have arrived. It was a very respectful, civil afternoon. We spoke about what all we do at Q Center, about youth suicide, bullying, queer families, the local political landscape and the state of the LGBT community here in Portland and worldwide. They spoke, we listened. We spoke, they listened. We had “ah-ha!” moments, they had “ah-ha!” moments. It was really that simple. No screaming. No fighting. Just talking. I believe we all left today’s meeting with a better understanding of one another’s perspective and with a resolve to take this dialogue to the next level.

In discussing what that would look like initially, we have decided to gather a dozen people – 6 from the LGBT community and 6 from the Mars Hill/Evangelical Christian community – to meet and dive deeper into these discussions over the course of a period of time yet to be determined. This will be an opportunity for the hard questions to be asked, answered, cried about, talked over, etc in a safe space, with the end goal being that both sides walk away with a better understanding of the other. There is so much fear on both sides of this particular coin…and we often are most afraid of the unknown. My hope is that we can replace the fear with knowledge, swap out the misinformation with education. I have seen this happen in my immediate family and believe wholeheartedly that it can happen in the larger human family as well. We are all just people, after all.

Today was a victory for courage, compassion and kindness; for being heard and for listening to. I’ll keep you all posted as this develops. I have high hopes that something really good comes out of this bridge we started building today.

In the end, love wins. Always. You’ll see.

xo,

Logan

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.

Hey folks! Saturday, August 6th at Q Center in Portland I’m throwing an ALL AGES Q&A Meet-and-Greet with John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Shortbus, Rabbit Hole), Portland-gone-NYC performance queen Amber Martin, PJ DeBoy (Shortbus) & Paul Dawson (Shortbus)! They are in town for their traveling Mattachine dance party spectacle that evening but will be spending some of their afternoon with us at Q Center before the show!

You are all invited. Spread the word. RSVP to the Facebook Event Page HERE.

Now watch John Cameron Mitchell in “Hedwig & The Angry Inch”:

The Boy In Static remix of my song “Alone Together” (from my new record “Blood In The Water” available on iTunes HERE) was used in Trent Finlay‘s promotional video for the Q Center, Basic Rights Oregon, Cascade AIDS Project & Pride NW “Hands Across Hawthorne” anti-gay bashing event.

Read what The Advocate had to say about the event itself HERE, then watch the video below.

Together we can stop the violence. To get involved with LGBT community safety in Portland, CLICK HERE. To find the LGBT community center closest to you, CLICK HERE.

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.”

Watch my new video “Quickly As We Pass” in all its censored for TV glory on VH1 below or CLICK HERE to watch it on the VH1 website!

So awesome!!!

My new video “Quickly As We Pass” is featured on AfterElton.com today! Check it out HERE or keep reading below!

From AfterElton.com: (6/23/2011)

“Logan Lynn channels the 80′s with “Quickly As We Pass”: Out artist Logan Lynn has been producing music for over a decade, but I confess to somehow having missed him until now. But as a huge fan of 80s music, I’m quite pleased to have made his acquaintance through his new video “Quickly As We Pass” which reminds me of what was best about early 80s music. This song wouldn’t have been out of place in the dance clubs being played along side the best bands of the 80s, including New Order, OMD and Eurythmics. But take a listen yourself and see what you think!”

After months of re-edits to get my new video “Quickly As We Pass” ready (aka “clean enough”) for American television, it finally made its debut this week in the states on “NewNowNext” on Logo. It’s no big deal, really…just my song and video playing in millions of homes. For those of you without cable you can watch the very censored version of the video below or on their website HERE, then watch the original UNCENSORED VERSION HERE.

Thank you, Logo. I love you as much today as I did when you first started playing my videos 5 years ago.

I was interviewed for The Accidental Bear about music, activism and a bunch of other stuff this week. You can check it out on their site HERE (complete with photos of me and my boyfriend) or just keep reading below for the full transcript.

From The Accidental Bear: (6/2/2011)

While hiking through a creek the other day I lifted up a rock and found a gem. Ok, no that’s a story, I just really enjoy analogies. Nonetheless, the gem that was brought to my attention is singer-song-writer-ginger-beard-acitivist Logan Lynn. When I found him, it just happens, he is on a little hiatus, charging up for whatever the future holds.

LL: On Logo again here shortly. My new video is premiering sometime later this month. The rest is going to unfold however it decides to unfold. I have a day job, dog and boyfriend. Life is simple and good. I’ve gone inward for the time being.

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.

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

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!

OMG. The 5th annual Queer Documentary Film Festival (sponsored in part by Q Center) is happening June 2nd through June 5th at The Clinton Street Theater in Portland. “The Advocate for Fagdom” (the doc about our dear Bruce LaBruce) is showing at this year’s QDoc alongside a bunch of others. You can check out the full list of films playing at the 2011 festival HERE.

For tickets & passes CLICK HERE.

Now…watch the official QDoc trailer:

As most of you probably already know, I spend most of my time working for LGBT rights at Portland’s Q Center. If you have ever wondered why, you can watch the video below. To get involved in Portland, CLICK HERE. For everyone else, to find the LGBT center closest to you CLICK HERE.

To watch the rest of the videos in the “We Are Q Center” web series, CLICK HERE.

New music Tuesday has brought with it another brand new music video! This time for a remix of my song “Burning Your Glory” that was just officially released on the new SCHLOCK! record “Star Whores” (2011). The video was Directed by Tony E. Valenzuela and stars Taryn Southern as a psycho killer with a conscience. Filmed by Andrew Seely & MusicKillsKate and edited by Tony E. Valenzuela & Anthony Huang with additional editing & sound design by Gianluca Licciardi.

Watch the video here now:

German music, pop culture and politics blog Catch Fire! featured me and my new video on their site this week alongside Dntel, YACHT, XiuXiu, Deerhoof & a bunch of other cool bands in their music ticker. You can check it out for yourself HERE!

Looks like I got some more local love today for the new video! This time from The Portland Mercury. You can watch the video and see what they had to say by clicking the current issue cover below or keep reading below that…

From The Portland Mercury: (3/22/2011)

“Portland electronica artist Logan Lynn’s been pretty quiet since taking a break from music to focus on LGBTQ rights at Portland’s Q Center, but today he premiered a new video for his single “Quickly As We Pass,” directed by Jeffrey McHale. There’s some NSFW stuff happening here, as the 2-D cutouts populating Lynn’s world become braver and more amorous, but it’s still pretty tame for End Hits standards. Enjoy!”

Watch Logan Lynn’s “Quickly As We Pass” video on YouTube HERE.

My new video “Quickly As We Pass” premiers in the UK this week and GT Magazine (the UK’s largest glossy GLBT Magazine) had some lovely stuff to say about me (and the video) today!

To redirect to their site to watch the video, click the current issue cover below or scroll just below that for the complete transcript…

From GT Magazine (3/21/2011):

“Logan Lynn’s music rides a bright green fixie bike through the same non-prescription specs and skinny jeans hipster soundscape as the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and Owl City; Except he’s not as whinily self-deprecating as Death Cab, and not as much of a twat as that guy from Owl City. Relaxed synths and deliciously soothing vocals bring to mind perhaps a laid back bar in Amsterdam that’s too cool to have a name but has an artsy clientele who wear their hair in dreadlocks and pretend they’re too poor for the designer clothes on their backs.

And with MTV and Logo already interested it’s set to be a big ‘un, so braid you hair, take a cycle ride to your nearest too-cool-for-school bar, sit back with your organic cocktail, and enjoy.”