Good War Story: With a limited amount of pro-time under his belt, Lynch thinks back a decade to his decidedly least rock-star-like moment, set against the familiar backdrop of a high school battle-of-the-bands stage. Lynch sheepishly remembers performing an oh-so-cliché Led Zeppelin cover with a DIY band comprised of "a drummer who couldn't really keep time, a guitarist who couldn't really play the riffs, a bass player who literally learned to play just because we started a band...and me -- the singer they asked to join cause they heard him singing in the bathroom," he says.
"At the pinnacle point of 'Hey Hey What Can I Do,' I couldn't remember the words for the life of me," Lynch recalls. "And the band just kept circling, waiting for me to come around. So in a moment of angst, I just yelled 'FUUUCK' -- as loud as I could, straight into the mike -- with my parents in the front row."
Music Scene Pet Peeve: Lynch -- whose very presence projects good, old-fashioned optimism -- has a hard time coming up with any major complaints about the local scene, but finally resigns that the lack of positive thinking in some of his peers can be something of a letdown. Specifically, he mentions the "bummer attitude" that moving out of Houston is a requirement for success.
Lynch disagrees with that bandwagon theory, proudly proclaiming: "I love the scene that's growing here right now, and I hope it expands and stays home for a long while."
Four Desert Island Discs:
- The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
- The Beatles,The White Album
- Paul Simon,Graceland
- The Police, Synchronicity
Best Concert You Ever Saw: Struggling to choose a favorite because he admits that he's "really liked every concert" he's ever seen, Lynch settles on Phoenix at the Verizon Theater for the No. 1 spot -- adding, in a second breath that: "Billy Joel and Elton John, face-to-face, was rad."
First Song You Fell In Love With: Lynch traces his lyrical creative-roots back to Simon and Garfunkel's "America" -- a tune he fondly remembers rewinding (back when that still happened) and replaying on his childhood Walkman (remember these?), over and over again.
"That was the first time that I really thought that I'd like to tell stories through song," he concludes.
Tom Lynch performs Sat., Dec. 7 at Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge, 3714 Main.
See the rest of the Rocks Off 200, and the Rocks Off 100's 2013 alumni, on the next page.
