The lynch party

When Liam Lynch’s single ‘United States Of Whatever’ reached the Top Ten, the spotlight fell on a reluctant rock star whose curriculum vitae nevertheless reads like a who’s who of music history.

In the old days rock stars had names like Johnny Rotten, Johnny Thunders or even Johnny Fingers, they sounded like rock stars. Liam Lynch on the other hand does not sound like a rock star. There is a good reason for this. “I really have no interest in being a rock star, I’m not the kind of person that gets off on the sounds of applause like that,” he insists. “I’m more like a mad scientist that wants to be alone and work in his laboratory. I have friends that are rock stars and it’s exhausting, ruthless and uncomfortable.”

When Liam Lynch mentions, in passing, that he has friends that are rock stars he is not joking. He was educated at the exclusive Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the unique institute founded by Sir Paul McCartney where his tutors included McCartney, Brian Eno and George Martin.

But Lynch is more than just a guy who can drop heavy names. He makes MTV’s Sifl and Olly show, now in its third season, he rates among the world’s top software consultant developers, he made videos for Tenacious D and the Foo Fighters and has written songs with the Foos, Sum 41, Marilyn Manson and Jack Black. He even works with the Jim Henson company.

Lynch sees no irony in McCartney’s prodigy making punk rock records;

“Well, the first thing Paul McCartney said to me was, “No one can tell you how to write a song” And if that isn’t punk rock, I don’t know what is. Eno too said that there are targets set up by the industry – everyone is trying to hit the same target and most of the arrows miss because they are all aimed at the bullseye and knock each other away. Too much competition for the same thing. He said that he’s always been more interested in creating his own targets and nailing them dead centre every time. Targets that no one else sees or are aware of. I think that’s rather punk rock and brilliant – and just true.

Certainly, the surprise hit single was not based on any modern formula being less than 100 seconds long. ‘It was just an improv,” Lynch explains. “I wasn’t recording a ‘single’ or a song that I thought anyone would ever hear. I just made the song up and recorded it at 3 am in my living room. It wasn’t for radio or an album or a label, it was just for me in my car on the way to the grocery store. I think it’s funny that it’s so short. I Future projects for Liam Lynch include his first full-length movie with Tenacious D, actually signing a record contract (something he hasn’t got around to yet) and playing his playstation and Xbox, the latter “just to be a slobbering idiot, its like my father would need to go fishing, video games are like that for me”.

Liam Lynch comes from a long line of Irish Lynchs, a number of whom died young from drink or railroad work. For his part, Liam seems determined to fit as much into his life as he can – and then some.