Aug 19, 2010
READ PART TWO OF LOGAN LYNN’S INTERVIEW WITH JUST OUT NEWSWEEKLY HERE!
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.
š
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 Portlandās own Logan Lynn to discuss the recent announcement of his self-proclaimed ācareer suicide,ā an indefinite hiatus from the music business. After a string of dates on the Pride circuit, tomorrow nightās show at Mississippi Studios marks the āfarewellā performance for Lynn and his band, The Gentry, for the foreseeable future.
Since Lynnās announcement July 29 on his website, heās been busy committing himself to his newest project ā getting involved at Q Center. āThe 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,ā 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 Iām where I need to be, doing what Iām supposed to be doing, etc. Iām 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. Weāve 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.
Itās a nice change of pace to go into the Q Center and have them be so excited about how well the record āreleaseā 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 didnāt make the page, including the realizations that have hit ā30-year-old Logan, not 5-year-old Logan, who needs to have everybody clap for him,ā he explained. āI would rather have people hug me when I look sad than be like, āYou better look happier, weāre all clapping for you.āā
Logan Lynn: Thatās really what it has been so hard to deal with is that⦠[reconciling] my little boy self perspective of like, āYouāre a huge success, buddy, good job, you got out of Nebraska,ā but comparing it to my 2007 perspective of [being] freshly signed [to the Beat the World label] and āWhatās gonna happen? The world is my oyster.ā Thereās 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 mightāve been buying music kinda stopped.
Just Out: It could be considered a luxury, definitely.
Lynn: It really is, and I love making songs. Iāll 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 thatās what so weird, my relationships with people and the press, whoever that I work with, itās 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 itās ācause I canāt think of anything else to sing about. Cause that recordās there. Iām just like, itās there, Iām just not gonna finish.
JO: It sounds like most of your frustration stems from the business aspect of music.
Lynn: Iāve gotten my head up my ass with the business. And itās so far up my ass that I canāt 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, itād 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, itās a lot of being gone and Iām 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 ⦠Whoeverās in my life, you put āem all on a board ā 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, letās get rid of those people, they donāt 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 Iām left with the core group of people and all these people that like me cause they think theyāre 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 thatās 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 Iām doing. Thatās always interesting. ā¦
I actually feel better just having the bullshit off, just to finally be over it, like ahhhhgggg I hate it, I hate whatās happening. Instead of being like āEverythingās so fucking great, look at the crowd.ā You canāt tell that theyāre 20 feet away from the stage. Iām just sick of cropping my life where it looks how I want it to instead ā¦. because everybody whoās 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: Itās all about being unhappy and wanting to leave. And getting, like, that āVelocityā song is, I mean, this has been in the works for a while. Iāve just not known how to do it. ⦠I have been mental forever. When I was little I was like, āIf I could just get out of Nebraska and get to San Francisco, Iāll be happy, and I get there and Iām totally unhappy. In fact, worse. I ruin my life even, come back here and Iām like, āWell maybe Iāll go for the real dream, Iāll be successful and Iāll be able to be like, āHa ha, high school kids. I told you! Iām so fucking famous, Iām on your TV.ā I mean, [the video for] āFeed me to the Wolvesā was On Demand in York, Nebraska and my Aunt Judy called my mom and thereās been these magical, cool moments but that still werenāt⦠Iām still feeling very much the same after they happened. I mean itās great, Iām appreciative, [but] they didnāt fix the problem so thatās been the case in my career too, ever since I realized this is not going how I want it to, or it is and Iām not going how it wants me to.
Iāve had these little moments like, āOh my god, well Iāll just get signed and then Iāll be happy,ā and then I get signed and obviously Iām not happy and then Iām like, āOh my god, my record will come out and then Iāll be happy, Iāll be in stores, Iāll see it in stores,ā no. I go on tour, ātourās gonna make me happy,ā no, and so Iāve just hit a point where all those little things are gone. And Iāve gotta get happy myself, Iāve gotta figure it out because I think itās not a smart move to try and be miserable forever, even if you can write songs about it. Itās not conducive to long-term success and the path Iām trying to go on.
JO: You think if you get happy youāll write songs about it?
Lynn: Oh my god, wouldnāt 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. Iām trying to listen to that voice like, āYou gotta go, go far.ā But come back with like a Holcombe Waller folk record or something⦠no beats⦠like āHa, ha, sorry Holcombe, I stole your style.ā [laughing]
I do like the idea of doing different stuff. Thatās why I did this thing with the Gentry ācause I was so bored⦠[thinking to myself] āMaybe if I change this sound Iāll be happy.ā
JO: So whatās next, aside from plans at Q Center and in the community?
Lynn: Iām 30. I donāt wanna look at the next 10 years like I am looking back at these last 10 years ā which is almost as if they didnāt happen, where Iām like, āI donāt have much to show for it that means a lot to me aside from this music thing.ā 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 Iām wanting, I do not have the free time that Iām 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, Iām not gonna be judged for my pants or whatever.
JO: [laughing] Thereās gotta be more to life than pants.
Lynn: Iāve gotten glimpses of that. I think that whatās funny is that my music isnāt really about fluffy stuff, so to be immersed in this fluffy world is just so silly. Itās like, āSorry 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.ā
Logan Lynn and the Gentry will perform ā in all likelihood sans boas or wigs ā their āfarewellā 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 Lynnās new, unfinished album, I Killed Tomorrow Yesterday.”