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George Lynch

 
Artist: George Lynch
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George Lynch

Similar Artists:

Van Halen, Winger, Whitesnake, Ratt, Poison, Yngwie Malmsteen

Influenced By:

Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads

Worked With:

Michael Wagener, Jeff Pilson, Mick Brown, Don Dokken

Formal Connection With:

Lynch Mob, Dokken, Souls of We
  • Active: '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Guitar
  • Representative Albums: "Sacred Groove," "The Lost Anthology," "Furious George"

Biography

One of the most popular guitarists to emerge from '80s-era heavy metal was Dokken's George Lynch. With an arsenal of snazzy-looking guitars and speedy solos, Lynch helped propel Dokken toward the top of the charts for a spell (before interband tension broke up the group), and later, launched a solo career. Although born in Spokane, WA, on September 28, 1954, Lynch was raised in Sacramento, CA, where he took up the guitar as a teenager. Influenced by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Leslie West, Jeff Beck, and Allan Holdsworth, Lynch played the L.A. club circuit throughout the '70s, including gigs with such forgotten acts as Sergeant Rocks, Xciter, and the Boyz. It was as a member of the latter band that Lynch met drummer Mick Brown and singer Don Dokken, which led to the formation of Dokken by the early '80s. With a sound akin to a more melodic Van Halen (and their lyrics ofttimes dealing with the subject of heartbreak), Dokken issued their debut recording, Breaking the Chains, in 1982, first through the European label Carerre before Elektra signed the group and reissued the album in the U.S. Although Ratt bassist Juan Croucier played on the album, newcomer Jeff Pilson became a permanent member soon after. Two back-to-back gold certified albums followed, 1984's Tooth and Nail and 1985's Under Lock and Key, as Dokken became one of hard rock's most promising young bands. It was also during this time that Lynch began receiving recognition for his six-string skills. With Randy Rhoads deceased and Eddie Van Halen focusing more on songwriting than shredding, guitar slingers were looking for a new hero by the mid-'80s, and Lynch fit the bill -- as he received countless accolades and appearances at the top of polls in guitar magazines. Lynch also became known for his interesting-looking instruments, especially one carved into the shape of a mangled skeleton (a long and fruitful relationship with the ESP guitar company also began around this time). But with major breakthrough success beckoning, Dokken seemed to come apart at the seams. It was no secret that Lynch and Dokken never saw eye to eye, and their shaky relationship only worsened during the tour in support of 1987's platinum hit, Back for the Attack (an album which included the Lynch guitar showcase "Mr. Scary"). Even a slot on 1988's much-hyped Monsters of Rock U.S. tour (which also included Van Halen, the Scorpions, Metallica, etc.) couldn't save the sinking Dokken ship, as the group announced their split shortly after the tour's completion. After an obligatory live album, Beast From the East, was issued, Lynch opted to form a new outfit, the Lynch Mob, instead of what many fans hoped for -- a guitar-shredding solo album. Joining Lynch in the new outfit was singer Oni Logan, bassist Anthony Esposito, and former Dokken drummer Jones, who issued their debut album, Wicked Sensation, in 1990. While the album performed respectfully on the charts, the group's sound was almost a carbon copy of Dokken's and failed to break the group commercially. Throughout the early '90s, Lynch issued another release under the Lynch Mob name (1992's self-titled sophomore effort) and as a solo artist (1993's Sacred Groove), the latter of which Lynch originally planned on inviting such singers as Phil Anselmo and Chris Cornell to guest on, but wound up settling on Matthew and Gunnar Nelson (!), among others. With both Lynch and Dokken's separate careers not what they once were, the singer and the guitarist settled their differences at the behest of their record company, as the Lynch-Dokken-Brown-Pilson lineup of Dokken reunited in 1994. An "unplugged" album/home video followed a year later, One Live Night, but old habits were hard to break, as Dokken and Lynch butted heads once again trying to settle on a musical direction on such subsequent lackluster studio albums as 1995's Dysfunctional and 1997's Shadowlife. Both albums failed to return Dokken back to the top of the charts, as Lynch left the group once more shortly thereafter. The late '90s/early 21st century saw Lynch alternate between issuing albums with the Lynch Mob (with varying members) and as a solo artist -- resulting in such further titles as 1999's Smoke This, 2001's Will Play for Food, 2002's holiday recording The Lynch That Stole Riffness, and 2003's Wicked Underground, the latter of which saw Lynch reunite with ex-Dokken bassist Pilson. In addition to releasing albums and touring, Lynch has been known to perform at guitar clinics and instrument expos (especially NAMM), has developed his own signature guitar series with ESP, and, as evidenced on an episode of VH1's Where Are They Now? program, has become an avid body builder. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
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George Lynch (born September 28, 1954) is a Hard rock guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken.

George Lynch

George Lynch performing at The Roxy, West Hollywood, CA on Oct. 11, 2009
Background information
Born September 28, 1954 (1954-09-28) (age 55)
Spokane, Washington,U.S.
Genres Hard rock, heavy metal, instrumental rock
Occupations Musician, Songwriter
Instruments Guitar, Vocals
Years active 1979–present
Associated acts Dokken, Lynch Mob
Lynch Souls of We
Website Official website
Notable instruments
ESP George Lynch signature series

Contents

Pre Dokken

Lynch was born in Spokane, Washington and raised in the small town of Auburn, California. Guitarist Mark Kendall claims George started two hand tapping before Eddie Van Halen did.[1] Twice Lynch auditioned for the position of Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist, once in 1979 – losing to Randy Rhoads – and another time in 1982 to replace Brad Gillis. According to Lynch, he was hired for three days before Ozzy changed his mind and decided to go with Jake E. Lee. Lee, however claims that Lynch "got the gig, but only went on the road for two weeks to watch the show, and never actually played with Ozzy." Lynch looks back on the situation positively though, he has said "I won the consolation prize, Randy got to tour with Ozzy...and I got to teach at his mom's school."

Dokken

Lynch came to fame in the 1980s through his work as the lead guitarist in the band Dokken (of which he had been a member since 1980). Dokken had a string of successful platinum albums such as "Under Lock And Key" and "Back For The Attack", that prominently featured Lynch's inventive lead guitar work and cemented his reputation as a bonafide guitar hero. The instrumental track "Mr. Scary" on Back For The Attack contributed to his popularity among guitar players. The band earned a grammy nomination for the "best rock instrumental" in 1989.

Lynch Mob and Post-Dokken

In spite of the band's popularity, the group parted ways in March 1989 due to internal tensions with lead vocalist Don Dokken. Lynch formed his own hard rock band Lynch Mob which differed from Dokken in lyrical and guitar complexity, subject matter, song structure, and tuning. Lynch then took time off and his wife had a baby girl named Mariah Lynch. After spending a few years with his family he got back to work. In 1993, Lynch released his first solo album, Sacred Groove.

Reunion with Dokken

By 1994, after Don Dokken, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown reunited, they decided to try and bring Lynch back into the fold as well for a true reunion of Dokken. Lynch agreed to put all differences aside to give it a go once more. The reunited version of Dokken was signed to the Columbia/Sony label and after extensive writing, released Dysfunctional. Unfortunately the album did not do as well as expected and the band was dropped from the label. Dokken then signed on with CMC International and released an unplugged show the band performed in late 1994 titled One Live Night. By 1996 the band entered the studio and hired producer Kelly Gray. Gray along with Lynch, Pilson and Brown wanted to take Dokken in a new direction to the dismay of vocalist and founder Don Dokken and released Shadowlife which was a complete switch from melodic rock to a more alternative sound. Lynch still found time to appear at guitar clinics for ESP guitars and attend the annual NAMM Show. By 1997, tensions had again flared between Don and Lynch which led to Lynch quitting Dokken.

Reuniting Lynch Mob and after

This prompted Lynch to call his former Lynch Mob members Oni Logan, Anthony Esposito and Mick Brown for a reunion of Lynch Mob. The group entered the studio and demo-ed 3 songs (later released as an EP titled SYZYGY). However Logan decided to leave the band to pursue other projects before a full album could be completed. Mick Brown decided to stay with Dokken.

George himself then decided he wanted to take Lynch Mob in a totally new direction influenced by contemporary bands. The Lynch Mob's radical new look and interesting new musical approach attracted a younger audience. In 1999 they released the album "Smoke This". After touring in support of "Smoke This" Lynch decided to put Lynch Mob on hold for a couple years, but not until he toured with Lynch Mob's original singer Oni Logan, L.A. Guns' bassist Chuck Garric, and Bulletboys' drummer Jimmy D'Anda in late 2001. Then in late 2002, George Lynch decided to reform Lynch Mob with original bassist Anthony Esposito and the singer from their 2nd album Robert Mason. Lynch Mob then recorded an album of re-recorded classic Lynch songs from Dokken and Lynch Mob albums, updated to a more contemporary (post-2000) approach and sound.

He also formed a project with former Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson called 'Lynch/Pilson'- Wicked Underground. In 2003 Lynch formed 'The George Lynch Group' in which he has continued to record and regularly tour. The George Lynch Group performed a marathon, 26 shows in 30 days, including a much talked about feature on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The line-up is: George Lynch - Guitars, Andrew Freeman - Vocals, Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath/Dio) - Drums, Marten Andersson (Lizzy Borden/Starwood/Legacy) - Bass. The 2005's "Furious George" album is a cover album, including classic rock tunes from ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin.

On May 13, 2008, "Let the Truth Be Known" was released under the band name Souls Of We . It features London Legrand (vocals), Johnny Chow (bass), and Yael (drums).[2] Despite this new band and new album, in the early fall of 2008 Lynch embarked on a tour with a reformed Lynch Mob featuring original singer Oni Logan, bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy Aldridge. A new Lynch Mob album, called "Smoke And Mirrors," was released in October 2009 with Logan handling lead vocals.

George currently lives near Los Angeles, and aside from embracing body building, created an instructional guitar website named the Dojo.

Equipment

Lynch has been an endorser of ESP guitars since 1986. His famed Skull and Bones guitar affectionately named "Mom" is one of the most famous in modern rock, and was designed and hand-crafted by a friend (the neck was given by ESP). "Mom" is actually a J Frog guitar but since George was endorsing ESP guitars, an ESP decal was applied to the headstock. Several George Lynch signature guitars have been produced by ESP Japan since then:

- The Kamikaze model, based on his first ESP guitar
- The Tiger model, a replica of a home made Strat George released in 1980
- The Skull & Snakes, a design that was later used as the Lynch Mob "Wicked Sensation" album artwork
- The Flame Boy is based on an ESP Forest design
- The New Super V includes distressed hardware and features and a new "Super V" pickup
- Featured in the "Breaking the Chains" music video, he had custom made chain like strings on his tiger guitar.

- The Serpent, an ESP model released and used in the 1990s. An LTD signature series model was released in 2008.

These guitars are still available from ESP Japan. The Flame Boy and Super V also exist in less expensive LTD versions.

Seymour Duncan created for George Lynch the Screaming Demon guitar pickup (SH-12 and TB-12), featured on all the ESP Lynch signature guitar series. This pickup is one of their best sellers. They also recently designed the new Super V pickup to be featured in the Super V model. This pickup can be ordered from the Seymour Duncan custom shop.

His immoderate use of Marshall, Soldano, Bogner & Diezel amps and effects units to achieve his famous tone is well known in rock guitar circles. His rig changes on every tour. Lynch currently endorses Randall amplification and participated in the design of a new George Lynch Box for their modular amp system.

While on tour in 2005 he has used the Randall Dragon (non master volume) tube head for the majority of his sound. The design is very similar to the older Marshall Plexi heads that he used early on in Dokken.

A Morley A/B box called the Tripler is also available. It includes a Boost.

A limited edition Robert Keeley GL Time Machine boost was made available in 2004.

Lynch is endorsing the hand-crafted Yamaha L-Series Acoustic Guitars and is on an Asian 'Unplugged' except for a Marshall stack, Clinic tour May/June 2006.

Lynch has also designed a new high-nickel content string through the Dean Markley company to be on the market with his name on the packaging. [3] In 2008 Zoom released the G2g George Lynch Pedal

Lynch is now signed with Washburn Guitars who have created his own signature model.

Guitar style

George Lynch is often praised for his extremely unorthodox style of guitar playing.

Lynch plays rhythm using a lot of open string chords and hitting all six strings to fill out the sound. Full barre chords are extremely rare, although he does use a lot of root-5 power chords. Tritones are also a preferred part of his playing; he can often be heard sliding the 5th down to a b5, and also happens to slide the root down 1 fret as well. The most interesting thing about the way George plays rhythm is to listen to what is going on with his picking hand. He employs a lot of accents, chirps, bends, etc., to spice things up. When playing clean passages, he relies on arpeggios and usually tries to stick to open string chords, often employing some unusual fingerings.[4]

George Lynch is also known to use a variety of unusual scales. George often mixes major and minor scales in the same solo, often changing back and forth as his ear dictates. He loves to emphasize the major 3rd, and tritone (b5) when soloing, which lends an Arabic sound to his leads without being purely Phrygian mode. He tends to alternate long sustained notes with bursts of speed similar to Allan Holdsworth, applying one of several finger vibrato styles (see below), or occasionally using the whammy bar. He uses a lot of string bends as well as the whammy bar to slide into pitches, ala Jeff Beck.

George has a good balance of legato and alternate picking in his lead work. The very sustained lead tone he uses lends itself to hammer-ons and pull-offs, which he often takes advantage of in slower passages. He often relies on speedy alternate picking during very fast runs.

Among George's stylistic trademarks are several techniques picked from classical string players. For example, there's the "jackoff vibrato" — instead of applying vibrato to a note the way most blues based lead guitarists do, Lynch uses a technique similar to what a classical violinist might do, moving his fretting hand from side to side parallel to the neck, rather than perpendicular to it. George also will place his left hand under the neck with his thumb barring across the top of the neck, and then use his other 4 fingers to hit harmonics. This is an acoustic bass technique.[5]

Influences

George has cited Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Michael Schenker, along with Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen as being part of his musical influences.

Discography

Dokken

Lynch Mob

  • Wicked Sensation (1990)
  • Lynch Mob (1992)
  • Syzygy (1998)
  • Smoke This (1999)
  • Evil: Live (2003)
  • REvolution (2003)
  • REvolution LIVE! (2005)
  • Smoke and Mirrors (2009)

Solo

  • Sacred Groove (1993)
  • Will Play for Food (2000)
  • Stone House (2001)
  • The Lynch That Stole Riffness! (2002)
  • Furious George (2004)
  • The Lost Anthology (2005)
  • Scorpion Tales (2007)

Lynch/Pilson

  • Wicked Underground (2003)

Tony MacAlpine

  • Maximum Security (1987)

Xciter

Lana Lane

  • Gemini (2006)

Souls Of We

  • Let the Truth Be Known (2008)

References

  1. ^ MelodicRock.com Interviews: Great White's Mark Kendall
  2. ^ http://soulsofwe.com/bio.pdf
  3. ^ http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dean-Markley-8823-Super-V-Light-Electric-Guitar-Strings?sku=101741#new
  4. ^ http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com
  5. ^ http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/bios/Lynch.shtml

External links

v • d • e
Dokken
Don Dokken · Jon Levin · Barry Sparks · Mick Brown
George Lynch · Reb Beach · John Norum · Alex De Rosso · Jeff Pilson · Juan Croucier · Greg Leon · Peter Baltes · Gary Holland · Greg Pecka · Tom Croucier
Studio albums
EPs & Compilations
Live & DVDs
Singles
"Breaking the Chains" · "Into the Fire" · "Alone Again" · "Just Got Lucky" · "The Hunter" · "In My Dreams" · "It's Not Love" · "Dream Warriors" · "Burning Like a Flame" · "Heaven Sent" · "Prisoner" · "Walk Away" · "Too High to Fly" · "Standing on the Outside"
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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