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Interview with Lynch Mob vocalist Oni Logan

I believe that one of the most influential guitarist and musicians to emerge from the 80’s Hair Metal scene was George Lynch. After many spending many years in the band Dokken, George went on to form Lynch Mob, a band that moved away from the pop rock sound to a more classic metal/classic rock and roll sound.

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I believe that one of the most influential guitarist and musicians to emerge from the 80’s Hair Metal scene was George Lynch. After many spending many years in the band Dokken, George went on to form Lynch Mob, a band that moved away from the pop rock sound to a more classic metal/classic rock and roll sound. After almost seventeen years apart George Lynch and vocalist Oni Logan have reunited and the result of this reunion is the reformation of the Lynch Mob. The bands new CD, Smoke And Mirrors, is in stores and they are preparing to spend the majority of 2010 on the road in support of it. Oni Logan spoke with me by phone from Studio City, California about the bands reunion, their new CD and their upcoming world tour.

Where are you guys at right now?
Oni: Right now I am in Studio City, California.

Your brand new CD titled Smoke And Mirrors is in stores. Now that it is complete, how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Oni: I am totally satisfied with the outcome. How do I feel about the music? I am over the moon about the music. This is a great sounding Rock and Roll record.

What was the writing process like for this CD? Did you guys all write together? How long did it take?
Oni: Half of it was written in rehearsals jamming around on ideas and doing it old school style. Half of it was written in the studio, at least in my end because while we were in the studio I was writing my own parts and rewriting lyrics and basically singing about four of the songs from the album for the first time. So I was cutting vocals all the way to the last minute.

How long did it take?
Oni: About a month.

Only a month? That seems quick.
Oni: We are pros… [laughing] Everyone knows the crisis that the music industry is in and we don’t have the luxury of taking five months or a year to write an album. We are pretty confident it sounds good, we are professionals and basically we decided to do it the old way, the Old School style by just kicking out the jams and putting them down on tape and the results are Smoke And Mirrors.

When you started to write this album, were you concerned at all about commercial success?
Oni: Hell no. At this time in my life I am not out to appease any one but the fans and myself. I think for us it is all about a moving ourselves first and foremost. If you can move yourself, you can move mountains and other people as well. We are not kidding ourselves it is about the music and what it does for us and hopefully that will translate well.

Did you ever imagine you guys would be back together and releasing albums almost seventeen years later?
Oni: I never thought it would happen honestly. I am glad that it did happen and now that it has it is like going back in time and visiting an old friend and kind of just picking up where we left off. This is such a natural thing for me and George our chemistry is great, he does the music and I do the lyrics and what you have is Smoke And Mirrors.

What can fans expect when they pick up a copy of Smoke And Mirrors?
Oni: That you will be rocked in a good way. We are just trying to carry on the torch of the classic music we love from decades past you know bands like Deep Purple, Bad Company and Led Zeppelin.

I read on your website you guys have some dates set up already for Japan and South America. What does the rest of your touring schedule look like for 2010?
Oni: We are planning on a lot of roadwork. We plan on getting the Lynch Mob brand out to everywhere we can. It looks like we will be touring extensively in 2010 and we will be making it over to Europe for the second time. We are planning on getting out there in 2010 so hopefully you can get to a show near you.

All of that passion that you play with must be tough on you physically. How do you prepare for the physical demands of a tour?
Oni: Well we try to do some different things as opposed to years ago when we were younger. We are pretty levelheaded guys and I think we have a way of dealing with touring for sure. I try to stay fit as much as I can. Obviously when you are out on the road you do not get to eat quite as well and you are pretty much sleep deprived at times. It is all a matter of trying to find ways to keep yourself happy and sane. It is a pretty crazy Rock and Roll world out there you know, fans come out to have a good time, which is great, but there are a lot of things that come along with that as well. We try to keep level headed and press on because it is all about the music and nothing else.

How is the current economic slump affecting your band?
Oni: Well it is affecting everybody. I am not going to lie to you; it is tough out there for everybody. All we do is just keep on pressing on and hope that the economy will get better in this world and that people will be able to come out to a show instead of having to choose between staying in and renting a movie or going out and seeing a rock show. Yes the economy has affected the touring industry but what I am seeing so far is a great result, the Anaheim show is almost sold out, so people are coming out but it is just a little harder for them these days.

What is the toughest lesson you ever learned in the studio and on the stage?
Oni: The toughest lesson I have learned is that as a musician in your younger years you can get by with dabbling a little bit with different substances such as alcohol and other stuff. I learned the hard way; it took years for me to get that monkey off of my back. For anybody that is out there reading this, especially the young aspiring musicians, stay away from the crap and focus on the music; that is what it is all about.

In a hundred years from now what will the music history books say about your band?
Oni: That we were a good rocking band and we could chew it up with the best of them. Hopefully we will go down in the history books and be noted as being good musicians and classic Rock and Rollers.

Any closing words?
Oni: To all the fans out there; we are looking forward to coming out to your town and rocking your balls off. Come see the Lynch Mob and thank you for your support.  [ END ]

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