At the end of 2010 I created The Q Center Concert Series in an effort to showcase LGBT musicians, dancers, comedians, actors, filmmakers and performance artists from around the world and locally at Portland’s LGBT community center. I am pleased to report that, due to the mega success of this 1st year of the program, we will be back in 2012 for another round!

This year so far I have featured Matt Alber, John Cameron Mitchell (Rabbit Hole, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Shortbus), Taylor Mac, Tom Goss, Amber Martin, Shannon Grady, Sook-Yin Lee (Hedwig & The Angry Inch), Paul Dawson & PJ Deboy (Shortbus), Jenna Riot, Kaia Wilson (Team Dresch), Adventures! with Might, Leviticus Appleton, DJ Beyondadoubt, DJ Lunchlady, Swagger, Rose City Sirens, Drag Mansion, DJ Bruce LaBruiser, ChiChi & Chonga, Fannie Mae Darling, Belinda Carroll, Hugo Orozco (Rock & Roll Camp for Girls) and many more. Thank you to everyone who performed, attended or helped me pull these shows and events off! Without all of you none of this would have been possible.

You have one last chance to catch some killer queer acts before the 2011 Q Center Concert Series takes a bow! The 5th Annual Queer Quistmas Variety Show is happening on Saturday, December 17th at Q Center. Tickets are on sale now. CLICK HERE to get yours! This year’s raunchy holiday shitshow promises to be the filthiest yet! Come get down and dirty with hosts Splendora Gabor (Lee Kyle from “Sissyboy”) and Fannie Mae Darling while we welcome another group of incredible performers to the stage: Austin Tautious, Jam N Toast, Queertet, Nico Bella, Anthony Hudson, Angel Hanson, The Julian-ettes, Eric Sellers, Korin Schneider, Daniel Thompson, Jamie Treadwell, tons of surprise guests and the incomparable Glenn Goodfellow on piano all night!!!

This is the only holiday party that has ever mattered, and it’s for a good cause! See you there…and yes. That’s me in a onesie on the poster.

Happy holidaze, everyone!

LL

Click the poster for more details:

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.

Hey kids! “Hip to be Q” is Q Center‘s theme for Pride weekend this year, with the all-ages kick-off party on Friday, June 17th being the 2nd in the Q Center Concert Series I’ve developed for the organization. As the overall theme, “Hip to be Q” is a throw-back to the very 1st pride parade in 1970 on Christopher Street in NYC. We are going vintage this year, bringing it all back to the roots of our mission as queer people.

The 1st show of the Q Center concert series (an acoustic extravaganza with Matt Alber, Tom Goss & Shannon Grady) was a huge success and this one is sure to be even bigger. Tickets went on sale yesterday and are available on the Q Center website. With this 2nd show I wanted to feature a variety of electronic, pop and dance acts from the queer and allied community. I figured since we wanted to have a pride kick-off party as well, combining the two events made sense. So…what we have is one giant mini-festival of emerging talent and acts. Some national, some local…ALL incredible.

Headlining “Hip to be Q” on Friday, June 17th are the following:

Jenna Riot
Adventures! with Might
Kaia Wilson (from Team Dresch)
Leviticus Appleton
BEYONDADOUBT
DJ Lunchlady

The show starts at 5pm and goes until 2am. In addition to a bunch of killer DJs we have the following supporting acts booked for short sets throughout the evening, before and after the main program listed above:

- Swagger
- Rose City Sirens
- Drag Mansion
- DJ Bruce LaBruiser
- ChiChi & Chonga
- Fannie Mae Darling
- Dexter Flowers
- Belinda Carroll
- Hugo Orozco

…and much, MUCH more!

SEE YOU NEXT MONTH EVERYBODY! Get your tickets or sponsorship now by CLICKING HERE.

Logan

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.

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.”

You may have heard about Paul V’s “Born This Way” blog in recent days as it has been featured on TV and all over the place in the media. My short essay was one of the 1st included when the site when live a couple months ago. You can check out the post HERE. They ended up using only one of the two photos talked about in the essay so I have included the other one as the main header image of this post. Good, gay times.

Here’s hoping we can all learn to love ourselves and be kind to one another. Now…spend a few hours getting to know this fantastic blog. It’s pretty special.

Love you all,

Logan

It’s sometimes hard for me to wrap my head around all the change that 2010 brought into my life. Nothing is as it was a year ago (Thank GAWD!) Time is amazing. I feel like the last 3 years in particular have changed me at my core, molding me into who I could and should have been years before had I just been brave enough to open my eyes. Forgiveness around this previous internal blindness is part of my journey as well but that’s a whole separate issue that isn’t ready for the world to hear about just yet. Rest assured: Daddy’s workin’ on it…

In July I made the decision to take a break from touring and proceeded to blow my musical career to bits and released what will be my final word (for now) with my record “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday“. In retrospect I might have been able to handle things differently but at the time I felt like I needed to break everything in order to get away…so that’s what I did. All in all it was quite the spectacle. I have no regrets about making the decision I made but it’s funny to go back and read how upset I was at the time, knowing that less than half a year later it would all matter very little to me. The only regret I have is not taking steps to fix what was wrong sooner (which, as you can probably tell from the paragraph before this one, is a running theme these days).

When all is said and done I am thankful for this past year. In addition to the professional changes which occurred I was single and lived alone the entire year. For the 1st time since I was a 23 year old moron I took time to be by myself, with myself…to figure out what the hell I was doing and what I needed to do to get to where I ultimately want to be. I’m not sure where this next year will take me but I know it will be on my terms. I figured out what kind of people I’m looking to have in my life and what kind of people I am not. I let painful things go and I did not follow them where they went. They left and I waved at them instead. I sat still in the discomfort of change and let it take over, let it do its thing. Now on the other side I am finding new people, new experiences, new ways of looking at the world. I am closer to free than I have ever been though I am, as ever, a work in progress.

I hope you all have a happy new year! Be who you are and don’t worry about what the world thinks. The world is most likely wrong about you anyhow.

xxLL

P.S. – Speaking of progress, below is a photo of my bald ass without a hat. That’s right. I’m coming out as a 31 year old bald man. Eat it up, popworld. Also: DUH. Why else would I have been wearing a hat in every photo and video ever taken of me since 2000???!!! I’ve been wearing a hat since I was 21 and have been bald this whole fucking time. Deal with it, gays. The shit’s real.

It’s been about 2 months since I broke my world apart and set off to build a new one. My advice to all of you is this: If you’re miserable, leave. If you don’t like the boat you’re in, poke holes in it & sink it to the bottom. The rest of the world awaits you.

Thanks so much for all of your generosity in giving to the Q Center by way of sales from my new record as well as non-musical donations made on my behalf over the past 6 weeks! It has been great to accomplish what I set out to do and I would not have been able to were it not for you!

My new record “I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday” was produced by Bryan Cecil and self-released as a fundraiser for Q Center on Tuesday, August 31st. You can preview and purchase the record on iTunes by clicking HERE or on the album cover below. 100% of the proceeds from sales go to benefit Portland’s Q Center.