Logan Lynn

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Logan Lynn
Birth name Logan Dennis Lynn
Born (1979-10-15) October 15, 1979 (age 33)
Genres Dance, pop, electronic, techno, folk
Years active 1998-present
Labels Beat the World Records, Caroline Records, EMI, Logan Lynn Music
Associated acts The Dandy Warhols, Animotion, Styrofoam, Courtney Taylor-Taylor, Zia McCabe, Brent Deboer, Peter Holmstrom, Cars & Trains, The Gentry, Dahlia, Flufftronix, Boy In Static, The Upsidedown, Bill Wadhams, The Hugs
Website www.loganlynnmusic.com

Logan Dennis Lynn (born October 15, 1979) is an American musician, writer, composer, singer, producer and LGBT activist from Portland, Oregon.

Lynn is most commonly classified as an artist in the pop, electronic, techno and dance genres and has released five studio albums, one mixtape, two singles, two compilation records and five EP's. Videos of Lynn's singles have been featured on Logo, MTV, VH1 and Spike.

Contents

Early life [edit]

Lynn was born to parents William Dennis Lynn, a Christian minister,[1] and Debra Lynn "Debby" Lynn (née Stockburger). Lynn's paternal grandmother, LaVanda Mae Fielder, was a piano and vocal instructor who worked out of her home. One of her pupils was a young Johnny Cash.[2][3]

Lynn's father was a traveling preacher and proponent of a Christian touring sermon series known as "The Strong Family Seminar". This resulted in Lynn's family living on the road for much of his childhood and later changing their permanent residence several times. In 1981, at the age of 2, Lynn and his parents moved from his birthplace of Lubbock, Texas to York, Nebraska,[4] where they spent the next eight years. While in York, Dennis and Debby had a second son, Landon Lee Lynn (born September 1, 1984). In 1989, the family moved to Midland, Michigan, but returned to York for one year beginning in 1993. This was followed by brief stints in Jackson, Tennessee (1994–1995), another return to York (1995), Olathe, Kansas (1995–1996), and then his first arrival in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 1996.[4]

Lynn's mother enrolled him in dance classes during his childhood. To encourage their children's interest in the performing arts, the Lynns converted their garage into a stage. Lynn was also involved in local choir and musical theater, and acted in numerous plays in high school.

Lynn would in time develop a disdain for his fundamentalist Christian upbringing. As a teenager, he began listening to musical acts that were blacklisted and forbidden by many Christian literary reviews as well as in the Lynn family home.[1] At 14, Lynn first acknowledged he was gay. When his family arrived in Olathe in 1995, Lynn spent much of his time in Kansas City and vowed from that point on to never return to the rural way of life.

Lynn's exposure to raves in Chicago and then Kansas City would be the inspiration for what would become his signature sound in music. The party outlet led him to get his feet wet as a DJ and he started to write song compositions that released the angst and derision he had continued to feel from earlier stages in his life.[5] Folk music also served as another muse for Lynn, with his tastes in that genre even extending over to female vocalist bands such as The Innocence Mission, The Sundays, and Beth Orton. Lynn credits Tori Amos and Liz Phair as motivating him to begin writing.[5]

Lynn attended York High School in York, Nebraska during his returns to that area in 1993-94 and 1995, and then transferred to Jackson Christian High School and finally Olathe South High School from 1995-96. After high school, Lynn enrolled at Kansas City's Westport School of Art and Design in the summer of 1996 where he studied foundations in art. He then attended a summer art program in Portland and shortly thereafter he enrolled at the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA).

Music career [edit]

1998 - 2006 [edit]

Main articles: Glee (Logan Lynn album) and Logan Lynn (album)

In 1998 he released a lo-fi demo mixtape of his own work titled This Is Folk Techno that was made with a Casio SK-1.[6] This gave him exposure to meet and work with other producers as well as other local Portland music scene veterans Elliott Smith, Zia McCabe from The Dandy Warhols, and Dan Reed. Lynn was eventually granted a studio pass to create his first full length album, GLEE, which was released in 2000.[7] The sudden success of "GLEE" did not mix well with Logan's introverted composition and he became very reclusive amidst positive reviews. This hiatus from public appearances or performances would last for the next five years.

In 2005, Lynn began work for a design firm and fine-tuning his skills in multi-media creation. During this time Lynn also reworked songs from GLEE along with new material of a darker, emo/folk rock sound and released his sophomore studio album, Logan Lynn, in 2006. Singles such as "Come Home" and "Burning Your Glory" were instant standouts when Lynn began a following of listeners on MySpace. This led to playing in front of 400,000 people at the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco.[6]

2007 - 2010 [edit]

Main article: From Pillar To Post

In 2007, Lynn released an EP featuring a new single, titled "Feed Me to the Wolves". Along with the main track of "Wolves" and remixes by Kimono Kops and Assemble The Empire, new cuts of "Burning Your Glory" and "Come Home" were featured on the EP.

Lynn was contacted by The Dandy Warhols. The band had heard his early work and offered him a contract with their label, Beat The World Records.[6] After being signed, Lynn reentered the studio to begin work on his third studio album that contained reworked tracks from the Feed Me to the Wolves EP. Lynn was signed with Beat The World, a Caroline Records 3rd party label distributed by EMI Records, from July 2007 to July 2010.

His association with DList.com owner Daniel Nardicio landed him a gig playing at the gay-themed 2007 New York City Pride celebration. His performance was seen by a representative from MTV's Logo network. The LGBT-interest channel was interested in building its offering of artists and acts and recruited Lynn."Logan Lynn on NewNowNext Music". Logo Online. Retrieved 2009-08-31.  They secured the rights to his music videos for "Burning Your Glory" and "Feed Me To The Wolves". Logo entered both videos into heavy rotation of the series "NewNowNext" as well as "The Click List: Top 10 Videos" in late 2007. Both spent weeks on the countdown and Logo nominated "Burning Your Glory" for video of the year in 2007 and "Feed Me To The Wolves" for video of the year in 2008.

During this time, Lynn's addictions reached a peak and he spent a large portion of the year in rehab for chemical dependency[8] at a St. Helens, Oregon rehab center.[9] Lynn's stay in St. Helens stopped work on an in-process album for Beat The World Records and caused him to be let go from an in-process reality show with The Weinstein Company. In a slew of interviews and press, it was clear that the profound loss which accompanied Lynn's substance abuse treatment made an impact. From all reports, he remains clean to this day.

While in rehab, ADD-TV picked up the "Burning Your Glory" and "Feed Me to the Wolves" videos, which were directed by Trip Ross,[10] and nominated Lynn for Best New Artist and in Two Best Video categories for the HX Magazine/ADD-TV 2008 "Pill Awards". Lynn was unable to leave rehab to appear at the awards show in New York City. Upon his release later in the year, Lynn returned to the album project, but made major changes. "When I got back to Portland, I threw out everything we had recorded and started over", Lynn told Portland's Just Out magazine in June 2009. "I had taken the time away to sort things out, but the only way I knew how to do that was by writing songs, so that’s what I did. I came back feeling like a new man and proceeded to make an even newer record."[8] In September 2008, Lynn made his first TV appearance as host of Logo's NewNowNext countdown, in which he discussed his beginnings, influences, and career happenings.[11] Lynn's videos have continued to show up on Logo, VH1 & MTV as well as in commercial spots and hosting gigs for the Logo channel since 2007.

It was soon announced that Lynn's new album would be titled From Pillar To Post, borrowing an expression that was commonly used by Lynn's maternal grandmother. From Pillar To Post had a digital release date of September 4, 2009. On November 24, 2009, the album was released in selected stores as well as on iTunes. The widespread physical release date, for all stores nationwide, happened via Caroline Records/EMI in February 2010.[6] The release of From Pillar To Post coincided with a 4 Volume Remix EP Collection of reworked, original songs from the main album. Titled Blood In the Water, it featured collaborations between Lynn and Styrofoam and Boy In Static as well as 16 other bands and DJs.[12]

Lynn recorded a cover of The Dandy Warhols' song "The Last High", which was produced by Bryan Cecil and released as a single by Beat the World Records on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. The video for the single, directed by Rebecca Micciche, aired on MTV's Logo Network nationwide in February 2010 and has been featured on MTV, VH1, Spike TV, LogoOnline and many other major music video hotspots ever since.[13]

In July 2010, after completing a Summer tour of the U.S. with Portland electronic rock band The Gentry and fulfilling his contract with The Dandy Warhols label Beat The World, Logan Lynn announced that he would be taking an extended break from the music industry to go work full time for LGBTQ equal rights at Portland's Q Center.[14] "I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday", the follow-up to 2009's "From Pillar To Post", was self-released by Lynn digitally on August 31, 2010 and was Produced by Bryan Cecil. One hundred percent of the profits of "I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday" went to benefit Portland's Q Center the 1st year of its release.[15]

2011 - Present [edit]

In June 2011, Lynn’s “Quickly As We Pass” video premiered on Logo and MTV to rave reviews in the press. His remix record, “Blood In The Water”, was released the same month and features Logan Lynn remixes by Styrofoam, Boy In Static, Flufftronix, Naked Highway and 15 other bands, producers and DJs. Lynn contributed an original, previously unreleased song titled "Movies" for Live From Nowhere Near You (Volume 2) alongside Pink Martini, The Strokes, Pearl Jam, Spoon, Elliott Smith, Queens of the Stone Age, The Dandy Warhols and dozens of other bands in July 2011 on Greyday Records.

Lynn released a free five song digital EP titled "Everything You Touch Turns To Gold" made entirely of new, acoustic material in December 2011, and is reportedly working on a new record titled "Tramp Stamps and Birthmarks", slated for release in December of 2012. He released the first single from the record titled "Turn Me Out" on Tuesday, June 5th which was co-written with David Appaloosa from Portland band The Hugs, produced by Gino Mari, and recorded at The Country Club recording studios in Portland. Lynn released the "Turn Me Out" Remix E.P. in August of 2012 with the second single from the new record titled "Do You Want Me Or Not?" following closely behind in September. The "Do You Want Me Or Not?" single also includes a new remix of "Turn Me Out" by 1980's synth pop sensation Animotion.

In January of 2012, Lynn began writing a weekly column for The Huffington Post and has published articles for HuffPost Gay Voices, HuffPost Green, HuffPost Healthy Living, and HuffPost Entertainment. Lynn has interviewed James Franco[16], Mink Stole[17], Bruce LaBruce[18], and many others. Lynn also writes for Moviefone[19], The Portland Mercury, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of QBlog in Portland.

After taking a two and a half year hiatus from the music industry, Lynn released a new 10 song album in December 2012 called “Tramp Stamps and Birthmarks”. Produced by Gino Mari and recorded and mixed at The Country Club studios in Portland, the record features collaborations with Los Angeles electropop band Father Tiger, David Appaloosa from Portland indie boyband The Hugs, Spencer Lee Carroll from DJ duo LackLustre, The Gentry, Rowan Wren, Noah Daniel Wood, and more. Lynn released a 5 song remix E.P. called "Dance Alone" in May of 2013 and is headlining the Accidental Bear Queer Music Summer Tour Benefit For LGBTQ Mental Health Services & Suicide Prevention alongside Big Dipper, Conquistador, Darling Gunsel, and Rica Shay in July of 2013.

Discography [edit]

[7][20]

Studio albums [edit]

EPs [edit]

Singles [edit]

Compilation Records [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Byron Beck. ""Tongue Lashing" | Willamette Week | August 29th, 2007". Wweek.com. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  2. ^ http://loganlynnmusic.com/2009/11/feature-story-interview-logan-lynn-magazines-website-today/
  3. ^ http://out.com/detail.asp?id=26246
  4. ^ a b "Logan Lynn - Google Profile". Google.com. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  5. ^ a b [1]
  6. ^ a b c d "Logan Lynn Full Interview". Blogout.justout.com. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  7. ^ a b [2][dead link]
  8. ^ a b Austin, Ashley. "Story in Just Out". Just Out. Retrieved 2009-08-31. [dead link]
  9. ^ Courtney Parkes. "Logan Lynn: "Demons And White Light Saved My Life" Interview". 
  10. ^ "Logan Lynn: "Burning Your Glory (Empire Edit)" (2007) -AS SEEN ON MTV'S LOGO NETWORK!!!". current.com. Retrieved 14 October 2012. 
  11. ^ "Logan Lynn on NewNowNext Music". Logo Online. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 
  12. ^ http://loganlynnmusic.com/2009/08/tracklist-released-volumes-1-2-upcoming-4part-remix-ep-collection-blood-water/
  13. ^ http://loganlynnmusic.com/2009/12/single-logan-lynns-cover-dandy-warhols-song-high-coming-tuesday-1192010/
  14. ^ http://justout.com/news.aspx?id=258
  15. ^ http://loganlynnmusic.com/2010/08/savingtheworldonequeeratatime/
  16. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/logan-lynn/james-franco-travis-matthews_b_3282986.html
  17. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/logan-lynn/accidental-trailblazer-an-interview-with-cult-cinema-icon-mink-stole_b_3128309.html
  18. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/logan-lynn/queer-celebrities_b_1193284.html
  19. ^ http://news.moviefone.com/logan-lynn/stop-motion-tolerance-an-interview-with-paranorman-director-chris-butler_b_2156624.html
  20. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/logan-lynn/discography/albums/893926

External links [edit]

Logan Lynn
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Authority control
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