Stephen Lynch (musician)

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Stephen Lynch
Born July 28, 1971 (1971-07-28) (age 36)
Abington, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Medium Musician, Stand up comedy, television, Broadway
Nationality American
Years active 1996  – Present
Genres Musical Stand-up Comedy
Influences Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Mr. Show, Bill Hicks, Harry Chapin, Gordon Lightfoot
Influenced Drew Lynch, Mark Teich, Rod Cone
Spouse Erin Dwight (2003-present)
Website http://www.stephenlynch.com/
Tony Awards
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
2006 The Wedding Singer (nominee)


Stephen Andrew Lynch (born July 28, 1971 in Abington, Pennsylvania), is an American stand-up comedian, musician and Tony Award-nominated actor who is known for his unique and mocking lyrics. Lynch has released one studio album and two live albums along with a live DVD. He has appeared in two Comedy Central Presents specials and starred in the Broadway adaptation of The Wedding Singer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Lynch was born in Abington, Pennsylvania.[1] His family later moved to Saginaw, Michigan. Lynch would perform in community theatre and musical theatre while attending Arthur Hill High School and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy. He stayed in Michigan until he graduated from Western Michigan University with a B.A. in drama in 1993. It was at Western Michigan University that he found his talent as a comedic song-writer. Considering himself a musician first and a comedian second[2][3][4], Lynch cites singer/songwriters Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell as his childhood inspirations, rather than comics.[2] The mockumentary This is Spinal Tap was his greatest inspiration, and led him to decide his career path[5]. The first song that he wrote was a country song titled Beefy Burrito[6].

[edit] Early career

After spending his first year out of college with friends in California[7], Lynch moved to New York City in 1996 with the intention of becoming an actor.[8] Upon his arrival, a friend at the West Bank Cafe on 42nd Street suggested Lynch play some of the comic songs he had written while attending university for an audience[9]. He soon found great success in comedy clubs and other venues around the city (notably Catch a Rising Star[2] and Caroline's[10]), and became a regular on radio shows such as Opie and Anthony[2][5]. Lynch spent his early years in New York City doing what he called "totally mindless work" as a temp worker. He quit such temporary jobs permanently, signed with What Are Records? in the year 2000 and the William Morris Agency in 2001[7]. Over the next few years, he toured colleges, universities and nightclubs around the country, avoiding as much as possible the comedy club crowd, which he has stated is not to his taste. He periodically satisfied his love of the stage by returning to Michigan and doing summer stock.[11][12] [13]

[edit] 2000 to present

As a result of the duality of his act, Lynch turned heads in the music industry as well as on the comedy circuit. He attracted extra attention usually not available to comics by playing venues more often suited to music than to comedy (eventually graduating to locations such as the House of Blues, The Town Hall[4] and the esteemed Kennedy Center)[10]. He gained great national exposure with his Comedy Central Presents special in 2000, one of the highest rated in the network's history. He has made appearances on Comedy Central's Premium Blend, The World Comedy Tour and The World Stands Up. He has also made four appearances on Last Call with Carson Daly, and has performed at the prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Canada.[5]

Lynch has opened for comedians Jay Mohr, Jeff Foxworthy, Steven Wright, Bobcat Goldthwait and Lewis Black. In the summer of 2004, he went on a tour co-headlining with Mitch Hedberg. The tour was such a success that they added an extra leg and ran into 2005. This was the last tour of Hedberg's before his death.

He has also appeared in five short films, including The Love Seat in 1999 and The Confetti Brothers in 2001[11][14][15]. Both films were written and directed by Kirker Butler. The Confetti Brothers, a satire, screened to packed houses at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. It continues to play the film festival circuit.[16]

In April 2006, Lynch starred in the title role of Robbie Hart in the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer, which ran on Broadway from April 27, 2006 through December 31, 2006 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.[9]. This musical production was based on the 1998 New Line Cinema film The Wedding Singer starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. The musical, Lynch's Broadway debut[15][9], co-starred two-time Tony Award nominee Laura Benanti in the role of Julia Sullivan, originated by Barrymore in the film. The April 2006 opening followed a successful preview run in Seattle at The 5th Avenue Theatre which ran from January 31-February 19. His performance has earned him nominations for Drama League and Drama Desk awards,[12] as well as a nomination for the coveted Tony Award.[17]

In 2007, Lynch returned to the road again, touring with comedians such as Bob Saget, Frank Caliendo, Louis C.K., Carlos Mencia and others on the Opie and Anthony Traveling Virus Comedy Tour 2007.

During the tour, Lynch played some new material, including:

  • A mostly ad-libbed song titled "Little Gay Robot"
  • "Turned Gay"
  • "Peanuts", which is based on the Charles Shultz comic strip.
  • Several fictional diary entries detailing the impending misfortune of famous people throughout history
  • "I Am Not A Jukebox" telling people how "he's not a fucking jukebox[1]".
  • Waiting, a song about waiting for the results of an AIDS test
  • Medieval Bush

It is rumored that Lynch will produce another album consisting of some new songs as well as those he sung on the Traveling Virus Comedy Tour 2007. Lynch starred in his second Comedy Central Presents special in January, 2008.

Lynch is currently on a European tour where he will be having concerts in UK, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Finland, Ireland, Scotland, England and Germany. The tour will last from the 21th of March until the 20th of April.

[edit] Family and friends

Family and friends prove to be an important influence on Lynch's work and career. He married Erin Dwight on a private beach on Lake Michigan[12] in September 2003, and she is generally the first person to hear his original ideas for songs. He trusts so deeply in her taste that if she does not laugh at the initial concept, he will scrap the idea completely.[3] Dwight recorded a short film while her husband was away touring, called Lynch and Teich in Brooklyn, to show that she missed him. This was included in the extras on his 2004 concert DVD, Live at the El Rey. She also co-created the cover concept for his latest album, The Craig Machine, with her mother, Kalamazoo photographer Fran Dwight.

Lynch has a younger brother, Drew Lynch, who is dating Tiffany Porter (who also writes comedic songs), and they occasionally tour together. Their parents are a former priest and a former nun[18][7]. Both parents became teachers.[9] Lynch has stated that religion was not forced upon him growing up, and, although he was raised Roman Catholic, he no longer attends church. His upbringing included liberalism as well as religion, which is reflected through his father's past as part of a singing duo that attended many peace rallies and antiwar protests during the Vietnam War[7]. Like his sons, Lynch's father is a stage actor as well as a singer, and musical talent and interest runs in their family. Lynch's earliest work in the theater was performing with his father in local community theater productions in Saginaw as a child. The first live musical he got to see was Man of La Mancha, a community theater production in which his father played the role of the Padre.[9][12]

As Lynch's repertoire of material includes some duets and also a few songs for three voices, close university pals and fellow comedians Mark Teich (of The Second City) and Rod Cone (of The Rod Cone Situation) are also very frequent guests on his tours, and he rarely tours alone. He has also done shows with former Wedding Singer castmate David Josefsberg.[19]

As of May 2007 Stephen Lynch resides in Brooklyn, New York with his wife.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Demo

Album Information
Half A Man
  • Released: -
  • Label: -
  • Chart Positions: -
  • RIAA Certification: -
  • Singles:
  • Notes: A demo of Lynch's early material.

[edit] Studio albums

Album Information
A Little Bit Special

[edit] Live albums

Album Information
Superhero
The Craig Machine

[edit] Broadway

Album Information
The Wedding Singer

[edit] Compilation

Album Information
Cleanest Hits

[edit] Videography

[edit] Live Show

Album Information
Live at the El Rey

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lynch-Mob.net
  2. ^ a b c d What Are Records? 100% Wind Powered!
  3. ^ a b Recoil: Interview with Stephen Lynch
  4. ^ a b UGO.com Music - Stephen Lynch Interview
  5. ^ a b c Stephen Lynch: Press
  6. ^ http://www.myspace.com/stephenlynch
  7. ^ a b c d Monsters and Critics: Stephen Lynch: From comic songster to 'Wedding Singer'
  8. ^ New York Daily News - Entertainment: 'Wedding' Zinger
  9. ^ a b c d e ZacharyPincus-Roth.com: One to Watch: Stephen Lynch
  10. ^ a b Stephen Lynch: Tour History
  11. ^ a b William Morris Agency: Stephen Lynch
  12. ^ a b c d Playbill Celebrity Buzz: THE LEADING MEN: The Ring and I
  13. ^ Broadway World.com: Video: Wedding Seattle
  14. ^ IMDb: Stephen Lynch (II)
  15. ^ a b Stephen Lynch, Star File: Broadway.com Buzz
  16. ^ courier-journal.com: Louisville Scene: Hollywood's Kentucky connection adds a link
  17. ^ The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards: NOMINEES & AWARDS: 2006 Nominations
  18. ^ Guyton, Andrew. "Stephen Lynch satisfies with Craig Machine", The Technique, 2005-11-18. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. 
  19. ^ Lynch-mob.net

[edit] External links