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Feature Story on Logan Lynn’s Life and Career in York News Times This Week

logan-lynn-2016

I went back to my hometown of York, Nebraska a couple of weeks ago while we were on the road promoting the release of my new record #ADIEU and the local paper interviewed me for a story that’s out today.

They interviewed one of my two favorite high school teachers and the man who taught me how to sing, too. It’s lovely.

Thanks, York News-Times!

The story ran on the front page in York as well as in the Grand Island Independent.  Click HERE to read it on the York News Times website or just keep reading below for the full transcript.

From York News Times: (11/17/2016)

“Struggles Lead Logan Lynn From York To FAME”

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YORK – Logan Lynn readily admits he struggled as a kid in York.

But now, at age 37, Lynn has shaken off his demons and is enjoying fame and satisfaction as a musician and television personality. Lynn, one of York’s eight all-time most notable residents as listed by Wikipedia, now lives in Portland, Ore., as a musician, writer, producer, television personality, mental health advocate and LGBT activist.

For the first time since 1994, Lynn returned to York late last month to join his parents, Dennis, a minister, mother Debra and other family who were here for alumni weekend at York College.

He still has relatives in this area, including aunts and uncles Pat and Dave Simpson and David and Judy Lynn

Lynn said he moved with his family to York from Texas at age 2 and remained here the next 10 years. The Lynns relocated to Michigan for a short time, then returned to York for the early portion of his high school years. He graduated high school in Kansas.

As a child in York he was enrolled in dance classes by his parents, appeared in a York College production of “Pippin” and won a city talent contest.

logan-lynn-at-the-york-news-times-october-2016-for-an-interview“Clark Roush,” still chair of the vocal music department at the college, “taught me how to sing,” Lynn said.

Roush confirmed the memory, saying, “I was Logan’s first voice teacher. From the very beginning I sensed Logan had the soul of an artist, and it was a delight to help him with the fundamentals of singing. It’s nice that he claims me. I am certainly proud of Logan and his art.”

From those beginnings Lynn has gone on to release eight studio albums since 1998, the last of which, “ADIEU,” released September 23 of this year. To Lynn’s satisfaction the record was met with general acclaim.

“Jay Mohr,” who played Sugar Bob on the movie Jerry Maguire, “gave it an A-Plus,” he said.

Lynn is also the former host of Logo TV’s weekly video music countdown show “NewNowNextMusic.”

He will appear on “Last Meal,” a six-part series by the producers of TBS’s “Search Party.” The release date for the show, a horror/comedy “with music folded into it” has yet to be determined.

Lynn, in recent years, has immersed in charitable activism and advocacy including serving as chief impact officer for Trillium Family Services, Oregon’s largest provider of mental and behavioral health care for children and families. He is said to be the brainchild behind the “Keep Oregon Well” campaign to fight stigma surrounding mental health through music and the arts.

Every dollar from his most recent single became part of $9.5 million that was raised by himself and others to support victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.

His keen interest in substance abuse and mental health stem from personal experience that dates all the way back to those early years in York.

neb-6“I was a little bit troubled,” he said during an interview while he was in town for the alumni activities. “If adults (in York) hadn’t helped me I would have more trouble finding my way.”

One of those adults, Margaret Brink, “Is a teacher I remember fondly.”

The memories extend in both directions.

“I remember that as a younger kid, he wanted a kid band and he was a rock star in the making,” said Brink. “When he returned to York High School (the second time the family moved to York) he was still aspiring to use his creative side. Logan was unique and interesting. I am pleased he is using his talents to entertain and to help others. He brings a smile to my heart.”

Another York teacher, Don Keelan-White, “believed in me,” Lynn said. “He created space for me which was cool.”

Lynn has a high opinion, too, of Woody Ziegler, a Willard Elementary teacher who helped him get back on track after he ran away from home.

When he left York in his teens, Lynn acknowledged he “wasn’t in a good place.

“I started to drink and smoke at (age)10” and “was addicted to cocaine for 16 years. When I was 13 or 14 I was already going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings” in York.

“I lived while I was here,” he admitted with a wry smile.

Now, in 2016, he is nine years clean, sober and capable of seeing “how beautiful this city is” on what, for him, was a journey “of reclaiming my own memory of my space” in York.

He benefited by “the idea of a safe, small town” however he nonetheless proved “you can find trouble anywhere you go.”

One positive of his youth was, “I got to grow up somewhere I could leave on my own and ride my bike. I recall Dad and I riding bikes all the way to the freeway” when he was but 5 years old.

neb-7Much later his artistic career kicked into overdrive “when the Dandy Warhols (based in Portland) signed and mentored me.”

Lynn and his band will soon embark on a national concert tour with stops in Omaha, Kansas City, Chicago, Austin (Texas), Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Boston.

After all that, then what?

“Then overseas” he answered.

Lynn’s music, a detailed biography and appearance dates may be found online at www.loganlynnmusic.com.

SIX THINGS you didn’t know about Logan Lynn until today:

1. Comes from a long line of musicianship – Logan Lynn’s grandmother taught Johnny Cash how to sing and play piano when Cash was a child.

2. Was discovered and mentored by old Portland artists The Dandy Warhols, Elliott Smith, Dahlia and Dan Reed as a teenager in the late 90s, which led to The Dandy Warhols signing Lynn to their label a decade later. Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor has referred to Logan Lynn as his “protégé.”

3. Partnered with fashion mogul Oscar de la Renta and created the music for his final spring/summer men’s line, just before the designer’s death.  Lynn is responsible for all of the sounds which accompanied his final collection.

4. Last year, Logan Lynn did the music for Covergirl Cosmetics’ commercial campaign, which premiered during the MTV Video Music Awards

5. This fall he stars in a new black comedy/horror show directed by Jonathan Firstman (The Disgustins, EastSiders, Search Party) called “Last Meal.”

6. Former 16-year addiction to cocaine, alcohol and crack cocaine left him homeless and in the hospital many times. He used his musical platform (and EMI signing advance) to pull himself out of homelessness and pay for rehab and aftercare, and has been clean for the eight years since. Lynn is now a leader in the world of mental health and addictions recovery.

Logan Lynn stopped by a former home in the 600 block of East 10th where he and his family resided during his growing up years in York. Lynn, 37, went from this address to a successful and high-profile career in music and television.

Logan Lynn stopped by a former home in the 600 block of East 10th where he and his family resided during his growing up years in York. Lynn, 37, went from this address to a successful and high-profile career in music and television.

Category: Amazing, Arts & Culture, Celebrities, Health & Wellness, Interviews, Keep Oregon Well, LGBT, life, Logan Lynn, Logo TV, Mental Health, Music, New Releases, News, Oregon, Photos, Portland, Premiere, Press, Queer, Release Info, Reviews, Shit That Makes Me Die Dead, Tour, Unbelievable Stuff, Uncategorized

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