George Lynch (musician)
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George Lynch (b. September 28, 1954) is a Hard rock guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken.
| George Lynch | |
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 George Lynch at Dallas Guitar Show 2004
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| Background information | |
| Born | September 28, 1954 Spokane, Washington,U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal, blues-rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1979 - present |
| Associated acts | Dokken, Lynch Mob |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| ESP George Lynch Signature Model | |
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Lynch was born in Spokane, Washington and raised in the small town of Auburn, California. Lynch is known for his legato technique and common use of the scale he calls the 'Gothic Octave'. 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."
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.
In spite of the band's popularity, the group parted ways in March of 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 complexity, subject matter, song structure, guitar complexity and tuning, and a notably different approach to vocal harmony than Dokken's soaring harmonies. 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.
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. After releasing a few albums on an independent label, the band was signed to a mainstream company. Dokken released two albums and a video during this period but Lynch still found time appear at guitar clinics for ESP guitars and attend the annual NAMM Show. By 1997, tensions had again flared between Don and Lynch that the band agreed to "take a break" from one another and do their own side projects then return to the studio together. The following year, after Lynch released an EP, Dokken returned to the studio, but Lynch was not present. After failed communications, Lynch left Dokken, giving him the freedom to continue to pursue other projects. Lynch was replaced by Reb Beach and Dokken continued.
Influenced by the modern 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 few years. Then in late 2002 George Lynch decided to reform Lynch Mob with original bassist Anthony Esposito and singer 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 or Led Zeppelin. A new all-instrumental album is currently in progress.
He released "Let the Truth Be Known" under the band name Souls Of We on May 13, 2008. It features London Legrand (vocals), Johnny Chow (bass), and Yael (drums).[2]
George currently lives near Los Angeles, and aside from embracing body building, created an instructional guitar website named the Dojo.
[edit] 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 form 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.
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 soon but his name will not be on the package, their name is Super V's.
[edit] Discography
Dokken
- Breaking the Chains (1983)
- Tooth and Nail (1984)
- Under Lock and Key (1985)
- Back for the Attack (1987)
- Beast from the East (1988)
- The Best of Dokken (1994) - Japanese release
- One Live Night (1995) - Japanese release, re-released worldwide months later
- Dysfunctional (1995)
- Shadowlife (1997)
- The Definitive Rock Collection (2006)
- From Conception: Live 1981 (2007) - Although not part of the band, this is from a concert in 1981
Lynch Mob
- Wicked Sensation (1990)
- Lynch Mob (1992)
- Syzygy (1998)
- Smoke This (1999)
- Evil: Live (2003)
- REvolution (2003)
- REvolution LIVE! (2005)
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)
Lynch/Pilson
- Wicked Underground (2003)
- Maximum Security (1987)
Xciter
- Xciter (2006)
- Gemini (2006)
Souls Of We
- Let the Truth Be Known (2008)
