Date Signed: October 15, 2020
Label: Kill Rock Stars
Type of Music: Queer indie punk
Legal: Kill Rock Stars LLC
Publicity: Sarah Avrin of Charm School Media - [email protected]
Web: loganlynnmusic.com
A&R: Slim Moon
Why on earth would Logan Lynn, a newcomer to Boise in 2022 who developed a strong buzz in artist-friendly Portland — home to the Decemberists, Chromatics and loads more bands — relocate to Idaho, where Built to Spill is the only group to have achieved at least some national recognition? The answer may surprise you, because it wasn’t just for a paycheck.
Lynn, a self-described “Queer indie punk,” noted the cost of living is cheaper in Boise and that competition for booking studio time slots there isn't as fierce as in a city like Portland oversaturated with aspiring artists.
“I wanted to get away from the loudness and the wildness,” said Lynn, a 40-something artist who already has 10 studio records to his name. “I overcorrected, but… the music scene here is really hungry, and there’s a strong youth culture too.”
Lynn added that his affection for Treefort Music Fest, Idaho’s hippest annual music festival, also caught his fancy. As it so happens, KRS has a ubiquitous presence at the five-day event every year.
Ultimately, it was a tweet from 2020 that altered the course of Lynn’s career and got him connected with the legendary label. Upon releasing the music video for his song “Rich and Beautiful” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, several prominent bands and artists shared the track to their followers. One of those tweets was from Tegan and Sara, which Kill Rock Stars saw, and retweeted alongside the phrase GAY JOY COUNTS AS RESISTANCE. This led to Logan connecting with the label over Zoom and the rest is history!
Of all the factors that went into Lynn’s decision-making when looking for a new label, finding one with a long track record of supporting gay artists was of the utmost importance.
After the multifaceted Lynn directed and released a 2018 movie called Nothing’s Ever Wrong, he became a target of homophobic harassment. Even though it was only a short film, star Jay Mohr appearing nude in Nothing’s Ever Wrong, and the homophobic abuse which ensued, spurred him to fight even harder for gay rights.
Lynn doesn’t know of any label that champions gay artists more than KRS. His latest release SOFTCORE is due out June 7. 2024 on the label, a follow up to 2022’s New Money, his debut for Kill Rock Stars.
“The people who founded [KRS] are queer, but to become an explicitly gay label… and to have a team that believes in me and actually tries to help is radical. Joining Kill Rock Stars absolutely changed my life.”
