I started writing about music online back in 2006, and I quickly disabused myself of the notion that it should ever look like Almost Famous. In fact, a healthy distance should exist between musicians and journalists for a variety of reasons. Yes, you might like that artist, but if you’re going to write about them with any sort of critical honesty, you probably shouldn’t interact with them like you’re friends. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that over the years – and it’s easier the older I get – but few acts have entered into “I want to get a drink with them and hang out” territory as quickly as Logan Lynn.
The guy just exudes honesty and authenticity.
On the heels of my review of his Distracted EP with Yellow Trash Can, I talked to Logan Lynn about making music, how he views his art, and what advice he would give to younger artists about their careers.
BGM: Hey there, Logan! I really enjoyed your new EP, and based upon your social media presence, you seem like a really rad and genuine person. Thanks for agreeing to answer some questions for me.
Awww, thank you! So glad you dig the new tunes and to hear that I’m not serving full-blown douchebag on the internet. Nice one.
BGM: Who is Logan Lynn? What fuels you as an artist? What keeps you making music, despite the relative hellscape of the contemporary music industry?
I have been asking myself this “Who is Logan Lynn?” question for decades.
I’ll be sure and let you know when I figure it out. I have always written songs out of necessity. It is the only way I know how to process this absolute horror show that life can be.
So I’m fueled by a deep sense of responsibility to myself to survive, and I’m really committed to creating something beautiful out of painful experiences. I guess what keeps me making music is this need to get the poison out. Figure we may as well dance it off.
BGM: You are a committed activist and outspoken advocate for a number of LGBTQIA+ causes. How did you get involved with those groups? How do you balance that work with your creative work as a musician?
My activism and advocacy — and this irrepressible desire to burn it all down from inside the room — is central to who I am, both as an artist and as a human person living in the world. I’ve been fighting for my right to exist since I was a young kid and don’t even really think of it as separate or something I’m balancing.
My songs are queer activism.
Me kissing my boyfriend on the lawn of the White House is LGBTQ+ advocacy. My very existence as a gay man who gets to live a long life full of love is inherently radical. I’m very connected to all of that, and it shows up in my songs, in my relationships, and in the public health campaigns I have founded and participated in.
BGM: What music did you listen to when writing your current project? What music did you listen to when you were actually in the studio?
I never listen to music when I’m writing or creating. Yes, I realize that sounds like I’m some sort of insufferable method actor — and maybe I am — but all of my songs come to me as a cappella spirituals which then get built out into pop songs from there. I never want to accidentally poison the well by accidentally listening to Katy Perry or something and having that come through while I’m trying to harness my own voice. Hard no.
BGM: How did you get hooked up with Yellow Trash Can as producers? I know the Portland music scene can be rather tight-knit, but that doesn’t mean you know everyone.
Jason from Yellow Trash Can reached out to get me on a feature, which then led to us all vibing and becoming friends. The songs on the EP, as well as another single we have coming this fall, all happened really organically from there. They were into my music and saw a pathway for us to collaborate. It was unusual for me to break out of my historically insular creative process and work with new people, but ILoveMakonnen and all those guys were friends by that point, and it felt easy and natural for me to be in the Burn Money Studios with that crew each week.
BGM: What was it like in the studio working with Yellow Trash Can? What was the creative process like in terms of sharing ideas, editing, reviewing, and shaping the final product?
We got really stoned. Drank coffee. Made goofy videos. And just played around.
I was falling in love with a man at the time, and it was a really hopeful, exciting era in my life. I moved from Oregon to Idaho the week after we wrapped the EP, so all of the film stuff happened long distance, but the songs all came together in person over the course of the summer of 2022. That relationship ended suddenly, and then I met someone else and fell in love all over again — all before the EP even came out. Been quite a year!
BGM: What touring do you have planned for this EP? Or will you wait to do that until you release your new full-length album on Kill Rock Stars? What can you tell us about that projected 2024 project?
We are going on tour in November for the Kill Rock Stars + Friends Tour, which I’m co-headlining with my labelmate Bitch. We’ll be playing all the songs from the EP and some new ones. My full length follow-up to 2021’s New Money LP for Kill Rock Stars has been delivered to the label and will be out sometime early next year. That’s really all I can say about it at the moment, but the thing is an absolute beast and is going to surprise people. It feels… unhinged.
BGM: What advice do you have for up-and-coming artists who want to make highly personal music on their own terms? You don’t seem like the person who would sugarcoat things for them, but you also give off very supportive vibes.
I guess I would just say that the only things I regret in my 25 year career in the music industry are the times where I listened to other people over myself. I’m around all these years later because of all the times I told people in suits to fuck off. It’s been a bumpy road, but I am still standing because I was down for the ride, so long as the ride was on my own terms.
In the end, Kill Rock Stars found me and understood what I was trying to do. Them making a home for me and my songs has been such a beautiful ending to this story. So stay the course. Don’t listen to anyone but yourself. The end.
BGM: When you aren’t in the studio or promoting your music, how do you spend your free time? Reading? Movies? Travel? Other hobbies? How do take care of yourself?
I spend a lot of time working with other bands on their own activism and fundraising.
I run Portugal. The Man’s charitable foundation and work with NOFX, Boygenius, Lucy Dacus, and several other bands doing similar tour activations. I try and stay useful. Keeps me happy and busy.
When I’m not working on stuff or making music, I’m generally laying down and watching The Real Housewives of wherever while playing with my senior baby dog. Life is good. I’m in love. Happy. Healthy. Celebrated. What else is there?
BGM: Thanks so much for your time today!
Thanks for having me!
Editor’s Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.