Lynam
March 23 at the Brighton Bar
LONG BRANCH, New Jersey (March 23, 2007) - Rock 'n' roll has become too serious, since the late '80s and early '90s. Nowadays, the style of music that was once created on the basis of having a good time sometimes can seem more about spreading a pretentious message.
However, Lynam's recent show at the Brighton Bar transcended all of the record company bullshit, along with the redundancy from band-to-band and album-to-album, prevalent in much of the music released today. Instead, the band showed that even after a successful tour with Hinder, its fans are its number one priority. Lynam also displayed its ability to stay true to its roots and play the music it believes in.
The Brighton Bar show displayed a band which is making its mark on the mainstream, without succumbing to corporate pressures. Even more impressive is the fact that the trio simultaneously could play the role of performer and audience member. Lead singer/guitarist Jacob Lynam spent the majority of the show at the lip of the stage interacting with both the audience and bassist Mark Lynam. Drummer David Lynam connected with the crowd from behind the kit.
The Alabama band playfully interacted with its fans both before and after the show. It displayed its down-and-dirty-styled rock on a backline that was borrowed from many of the night's earlier performers. Its passion was evident and its chops could not be overlooked.
The band, whose members jokingly claim on its Myspace page to be the lovechild of Steve Nicks and Ronnie James Dio, has evolved since the release of its debut album "White Trash Superstar" in 2002. The Birmingham, Alabama trio put out its third effort "Life in Reverse" in 2004 and has gained popularity in New Jersey, thanks to solid airplay on 95.9 WRAT.
Despite a couple of minor sound snafus, most likely the result of borrowed equipment, the Brighton Bar still proved to be one of the Jersey Shore's best clubs to see a rock show. It still remains as one of the few places where music is the number one priority and consistently delivers top notch sound quality.
[ Website: www.lynamsucks.com ]
Josh Davidson has written music feature articles for Jersey Style and served as the Jersey Shore rock columnist for Steppin' Out Magazine. Other music writing credits include Aquarian Weekly, Jersey Beat, Backstreets and njcoast.com. He has written free-lance for the Asbury Park Press' Community Sports section and has written featured articles for its news section, as well as covering campus news and sports weekly for the Signal, the College of New Jersey's (formerly Trenton State College) student newspaper. He has worked as a staff writer for The Independent, and his work for Greater Media Newspapers has also been published in the News Transcript. He is a former beat reporter for the Ocean County Observer who presently is a news writer for Symbolic Systems Inc. supporting the US Army's Knowledge Center. His music writing covers a vast range of topics, from the current cover band craze, highs and lows of the original scene, to the early days of the Jersey Shore rock scene in Asbury Park. He is also a musician, having written hundreds of songs as a singer/songwriter, and playing them out as a solo/acoustic artist. He has also played with cover bands, including It Doesn't Matter, and several original bands, including as the guitarist for the solo project of singer/songwriter Dave Eric. He continues to work on solo material and is presently the guitar player for Jersey Breeze.