Lynam

You might figure that a young band that is already one of Garage Bands' Top 20 artists of all time, shares a label with platinum-selling artists and has had one of its songs used in a motion picture would be just a little bit conceited. You would figure a band like Lynam would use the URL Lynamrules.com or maybe Wearesellingalotofalbums.com to draw fans' attention.

Nope.

If you go the bands' Web site, Lynamsucks.com, you will learn that the band has accomplished all of the aforementioned feats and has also been placed on each station that Clear Channel owns.

"We have had success at radio thanks to listeners calling in and program directors digging the song," said Jacob Lynam, the band's guitarist/vocalist. "We had no idea how it would react, but we couldn't be happier. Clear Channel has helped us a lot on the stations they have added us to."

The band has been signed to New York's DRT Entertainment for more than a year. Some of C&V's readers might have noticed the label's name on the CD covers of Lit, Edwin McCain and G.W.A.R, each of which also record for DRT. Lynam was signed by Dereck Shulman, an A&R rep who also inked deals with Bon Jovi, Pantera and Nickelback.

The Birmingham, Alabama band was formed in March of 2001. Prior to its first major-label release, "Slave to the Machine" in March of 2006, Lynam had released three albums on its own. Released between 2002 to 2004, the albums "White Trash Superstar," "Bling! Bling!" and "Life In Reverse" sold several thousand copies on their own. Each were produced by Jason Elgin (Collective Soul, Creed). "Bling! Bling!" was produced by Elgin and mixed by Patrick Thrasher and Jimbo Barton (Godsmack, Metallica, Motley Crue).

Many of the challenges bands face today with trying to reach mainstream success is just getting heard, Lynam said.

"There are so many bands out there trying to get played on radio and trying to get dates on tour, but there are very few slots," he said.

Signing with a small label like DRT can help a band maintain attention.

"DRT is a smaller label, so we knew we would be a high priority and that has helped us a lot," Lynam said. "It's easy for a band to get lost on a big label. DRT has gotten our music in the hands of radio people that have really made a difference in our career."

The band's take-no-prisoners, hard rock style recalls some of the higher points of the '80s, while Lynam's guitar solos can bring the listener back to the early '90s when axe slingers like George Lynch (Dokken), Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big/Racer X) and Warren DeMaritini (Ratt) were given the chance to shine. Listeners can also hear a little Stevie Ray Vaughan or even Albert Lee in Lynams' playing.

"I love a good hook and I love fast pickin'," he said.

"We are big fans of arena rock, bluegrass, country and just about anything else you can imagine," Lynam said. "My personal favorites are Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Ricky Skaggs. I have the same influences now that I've always had. I love good songs."

The band tends to play year round, but its songs seem geared towards a wild Saturday night. In a day and age where four-note, eight-second guitar solos are dominant, Lynam's members have managed to bring their chops to the forefront.

Live success has not eluded the band. Lynam completed a tour with Hinder and Theory Of A Dead Man in July.

"We went all over Texas and had an amazing time," Lynam said. "Newer crowds are better than ever when it comes to rock music. Rock n' roll will always be around. Due to our CD coming out nationally, we have gotten opportunities to open for a lot of big bands."

The Internet, more specifically Garage Band, has been helpful for the band. Garage Band (www.garageband.com) has provided exposure to bands since 1999 by allowing the everyday listener to review music and pick which bands will appear on the forefront of the site. Garage Band indicates that dozens of artists have been signed after climbing its charts, including the double-platinum band Drowning Pool and 10 Years, a band that has topped the Billboard charts.

"Garage Band has been amazing," Lynam said. "We put our song up on their site and people really seemed to like it. They got us featured on every Clear Channel web site in the country, as well as turned a lot of new fans on to our music. Thanks to the Internet, it's a lot easier for a band to build a fan base without ever leaving the house."

Lynam, who said he writes the band's music based on life experience, said that any style of music can provide a good outlet for the release of emotion.

"To each their own as far as music is concerned," he said. "Hard rock is definitely a good outlet for me, but for other people it might be rap or country. Music is a personal thing."

Lynam said that he doesn't believe rock has evolved over the years.

"You have bands like Wolfmother and Jet that sound like '70s rock and then you have bands like the Killers that sound like Duran Duran. It's all been done before," he said. "The only thing new is that there are a lot of bands that are out today that all sound the same with their whinny voices. It's hard to tell one band from another. Rock has and always will be about drums, guitars, bass, vocals and sometimes keyboards. The bands that paved the way for us are all of the bands before us. We borrow from a little bit of everything."

[ Website: www.lynamsucks.com ]