Life in music - Andy Lynch
You’ve had a varied and successful career, can you tell us about it and your experiences?
I started out playing acoustic guitar and piano at age nine. My first performance was at primary school playing Christmas carols that year. Two years later my parents bought me an electric guitar, and it changed my life.
I was obsessed. I discovered Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, Bob Marley, and many more. One record in particular I discovered in mum and dad’s record collection when I was 13, The Best of Cat Stevens on vinyl - I loved it, little did I know until I looked at the credits, that they were both in his band throughout the ‘70s! Suzanne Lynch was his backing singer, and Bruce Lynch the bass player. Suzanne was one half of the Chicks in the ‘60s and Bruce went on to become a record producer for many artists, including Dave Dobbyn’s Loyal album and Slice of Heaven.
Years were spent furiously practising in my bedroom. I formed bands with many friends from high school at Takapuna Grammar, and later at Rangitoto College. In 1999 I went to the Musicians Institute in Hollywood for a year to study music, which was an eye opener, followed by a stint living in Brazil where I discovered Latin Music, Bossa Nova and Jazz.
I then joined Zed who were signed to Universal Records and we hit the road after the success of Renegade Fighter and Glorafilia, hundreds of shows, Platinum Records and many miles travelled. At the age of 22, we did our first big tour through Australia and New Zealand opening for Coldplay, then Robbie Williams. We went straight on to the United States to record our second album and then relocated to Germany as a base to tour Europe.
One memorable experience was being flown to New York to audition for Sting’s new band. I had four days to learn all the songs. I got to play with the band he had at the time and sing backing vocals alongside him, which was terrifying! He was a wonderful human, and we had some good chats about Brazil. When you hear him sing without a microphone next to you warming up, it’s quite something.
How has this shaped you and what is it you most enjoy about being involved in the music industry?
I’m extremely grateful for the experiences I’ve had travelling up and down Aotearoa and around the globe the last 25 years with Zed, Atlas and The Feelers. One of the best parts is meeting people from different countries and walks of life, with music being an international language.
The highlights, there are so many. From looking out at 50,000 people smiling when you’re performing is something I can't describe, to crashing a Go Kart with Chris Martin from Coldplay, and hanging out with Slash from Guns n Roses at his house in Hollywood. Also listening to Robbie Williams vent backstage
in Melbourne about how the catering didn’t provide him with potatoes before his show! But the most rewarding thing has been the life experience and the enjoyment that comes from creating something, writing songs, and performing.
What prompted your move to the area and what impact has this had on your career?
The time was right to leave Auckland and we have family up here - Ross, Laura and Ashley Lynch from Warkworth Vets, which is more famous than me, everyone knows the Lynch’s!
Moving here has been fantastic, after living out of a suitcase half of my life, the quiet in the hills is wonderful. I’ve met many new friends and locals, and now instead of just tending to cats, it’s sheep and all sorts of critters.
Nothing has really changed except I can make more noise up here in the studio with neighbours miles away compared to in Auckland, and it takes longer to get to the airport to catch a flight to a show!
Tell us about your plans for your Warkworth based studio.
Nathan King, the lead singer from Zed, and I have been running Hum Studios for the last 12 years, producing and writing music and sound design for TV and radio commercials, films and TV shows. The original studio was based on the North Shore, the new one in Warkworth is nearly complete, and Nathan has one in Auckland. We are very active with this, you’ll hear our work all the time on the TV, from the theme song for Lotto, Fair Go, 7 Sharp, The Warriors, we’ve done all sorts.
What I’m adding to the mix is passing on my knowledge and experience by offering mentoring and tutoring out of the studio here. I hope to create a teaching hub with other tutors on piano, drums, bass and vocals for the Rodney area.
MatakanaMusic@gmail.com | www.HumStudios.co.nz