Meet Rockin’ Rich Lynch | Singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, music journalist.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rockin’ Rich Lynch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rockin’ Rich, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born in Yonkers, New York in the mid-60’s and raised in suburban New Jersey. It was an interesting time to come of age because my earliest memories had the radio playing records from a variety of genres and eras including Motown, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Summer of Love, Classic Rock, Psychedelica in addition to the rest of the AM hits of the day. Music immediately became important to me in my foundational years. Later, when MTV made its debut when I was in high school that became a source of afternoon study. I immersed myself in hours of videos a day and became infatuated with the musicians on my television screen – many of whom (Billy Squier, Tommy Shaw, Meat Loaf, Todd Rundgren, Greg Lake, Jon Anderson, Greg Kihn, Joe Lynn Turner & many more) I would go on to interview decades later over a twenty year career in podcasting and online radio.

My parents pursued a life of entrepreneurship and they purchased a multi-purpose fine foods and furnishings store that was housed in Paramus. So, I was literally raised in a mall. How that truly impacted me is a question that would take a team of high-priced psychoanalysts to discover and I really do not have the time for that. But, what I will say is that New York City was considered the center of the financial and cultural universe for as long as I can remember – and there was some value growing up in that environment with its proximity to such a storied locale. Still, the region was notorious for its fair share of characters with a brash, tough and sometimes rude way of conducting themselves. After a half century of navigating that scenario I wanted to see if perhaps the South would maybe be softer on my psyche and senses. Happily, for me that was the case and the overall change of perspective did wonders for my outlook on life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Well, I am not afraid – and, in fact – I relish the opportunity to present life as it really happens to me in song. So, my first professionally released single was about the desire to build a safe, round, concrete disaster proof dwelling – something many in Mid-Tenn can probably relate to today. So, I penned and recorded “I Want to Live in a Dome” and my music career was off and running.

Recently in Nashville – when I came across a pickleball court at the Green Hills Mall I got to work writing “Pickleball at the Mall”. Or, when I found myself disgusted at local politics and the removal of free street parking in Nashville we quickly released “The Streets of Nashville” that led to a spotlight on a local news station (Fox 17). Every time I put out a track some new opportunity or person comes into my life in unexpected ways and that is always very exciting.

Now, none of this has ever been easy and 2024 is not necessarily the most ideal time to be hanging a shingle in this field. But, for me writing songs is the only thing that has ever felt natural so I am in it to win it. When people have suggested that I quit I will usually respond – “I’ll give you my pen when you take it from my cold, dead hands!”

Being in Nashville, the idea of existing as a songwriter is paramount – and maybe it is just by osmosis – but, I find myself constantly improving in the art of the craft. Newer songs have been written from a first person perspective that tell stories through unique character studies. To deliver an essay on perseverance I put my singer in a batter’s box for three verses as he advised the listeners to “Keep Swinging”. To tell a sad and semi-autobiographical tale of loneliness, isolation and estrangement I made my protagonist a space alien with a play on the “Take Me To Your Liter” directive.

So, there are no boundaries as I build my brand. Speaking of that, thanks to the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville I began wearing at my gigs only the clothing and logos of teams that play football from around the world. This idea and pursuit has resulted in my gaining new fans from all over the globe in regions I have never stepped foot in. Remarkably, there was even a big feature done on me in the largest newspaper on the island nation of Papua New Guinea for my support of their emerging league there. My advice would be to always think outside the box when it comes to marketing yourself in any field – because a slightly quirky approach has a better chance of standing out in the marketplace.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That’s an easy one because I have already done this on several occasions. First, I start out taking new visitors to The Parthenon at Centennial Park so that they may all learn about the reasons why Nashville is often referred to as the Athens of the South. Next, the education continues at the expansive Bicentennial Park that has hundreds of informative panels that detail Nashville and national history.

From there we will head out for some hot chicken from Princes or Hattie B’s and stop into many of the clubs on Broadway or some of the establishments that I sometimes will play out at in town. To get an overview of the musical history – we, of course – will visit several of the fine music museums in the downtown including the Musicians Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Johnny Cash Museum and the National Museum of African American Music which are some of our very favorites here.

A newer favorite is The Catio over in the Music Valley that does a great work in rescue and fostering wayward felines in the hope of helping them get adopted. They are a fantastic organization and we are hooked and can’t get enough of visiting the cats. Any new friends that join us for a week here in Tennessee will be taken there to get a broader take on all the good things that happen in this city beyond the music we are known for.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Well, it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be anywhere without the love and support from my dear wife Laura Turner Lynch. She believed in me from day one and has hung in there through all the hills and valleys that life can throw your way. From the very big moments to the minutia and mundane – she’s been there!

Laura has also been a source of inspiration like the time when she surprised me with the fact that she had quietly authored a book in her spare time. The how-to instruction manual on the Law of Attraction and maintaining a positive mental attitude called Positive Power Secrets From A To Z came out over a decade ago. It is packed with wisdom, affirmations and the blueprints for how to bring great things into your life. It has helped me immensely. To celebrate its first ten years of existence we are actually going to be giving it away for free in 2024 in PDF format to all visitors to the PositvePowerSecrets.net website.

But, to be honest, I also had a lot of naysayers and detractors in my life who all parroted a take on the “You can’t do that” and “You’ll never amount to anything” line of closed-minded thinking. So, don’t ever discount the power of negative reinforcement because it can drive you forward in an attempt to prove the world wrong. Having the last laugh has been a big motivating factor along my path to greater achievement.

Helping me on that path in Music City is my current producer Dallas Jack who is so amazing at what he does and he always makes me sound way better than I deserve to. The way we met in 2020 occurred like a page out of the book described above as it bordered on the supernatural and served as a bright moment in a particularly dark time.

Website: http://www.richlynchband.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockinrichlynch/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockin.rich.lynch

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LWPMediaWorks