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STEPHEN's
VERSION :
Hi. My name is Stephen Lynch. This is my biography. I play
songs that I write on my guitar or my piano and people think
they are funny. I grew up in Michigan, which is shaped like
a mitten. I was born in Pennsylvania, which is shaped like
a theatre ticket from a Broadway show. That Broadway show?
"Jersey Boys." Not "The Wedding Singer"
which I starred in. I have been singing and writing music
since I was a kid. The first song I ever wrote was a country
music song about a cowboy who breaks up with his girlfriend,
then goes to a diner. There, his entrée reminds him
of his lost love. It was called "Beefy Burrito."
I thought it was hilarious, but that's probably because I
was 15 at the time. Really it was awful.
What else.. Oh, I was in a band in college with the unfortunate
name of "Steel Toast." We did lots of cover songs,
like "Comfortably Numb" and "Start Me Up"
and "Magic Carpet Ride." I joined the band for three
reasons: one, because I loved to sing; two, girls love dudes
in rock bands; and three, to show off my new gray stonewashed
Lee jeans I got from Sagebrush. This was 1989.
From college I moved to New York with dreams of becoming an
actor. Or a rock star. Or a temp worker. I managed to accomplish
the latter in about 2 days. Dreams really DO come true! While
I wasn't filing papers at the Allied Irish Bank or expense
reports at J. Crew, I continued to write songs about things
I found funny. During lunchtime or on 2 hour "smoke breaks"
I would get out my walkman and listen to music I had written
and try to come up with lyrics. It was at this time I penned
several songs that would comprise my first album, "A
Little Bit Special." Songs like "Lullaby" and
"If I Were Gay" and "Livin' La Vida Loca,"
which I sold to Ricky Martin one night after too many rails
at the Hellfire Club.
What else.. Oh, I actually started performing these songs
at little clubs and variety shows around New York, getting
generally good reactions. Place like The Westbank Café
in midtown Manhattan, Catch a Rising Star in Chelsea, and
Luna Lounge on the lower east side. Before long, I was on
popular local radio show "Opie and Anthony" who
gave me great exposure and allowed me to headline clubs in
the metropolitan New York area. Comedy Central also called
and said, "Do you want a half-hour special?" I said,
"Yes I do." Then they said, "Sweet." And
I said, "I have to go. My boss needs me to put toner
in the Xerox machine." I was still temping.
That all changed when my Comedy Central special aired and
became one of the highest rated for the channel. Almost overnight
I went from temp worker with no money to guy who opens up
for Jeff Foxworthy for $75 dollars a night. Ok, not much had
changed but things were looking up. I eventually started headlining
my own shows at colleges across the country, making a name
for myself, selling my album out of the trunk of my rented
Geo Metro, and trying to get college girls to neck with me
at Inspiration Point after my gigs.
Ok, this bio is way too long. Let's race to the end. I recorded
2 more albums ("Superhero" and "The Craig Machine")
and a performance dvd ("Live at the El Rey"). My
manager and booking agent had the genius idea to not play
horrible comedy clubs anymore and start booking rock clubs
and theatres. This has worked out nicely. I might even quit
temping! I have toured with some cool people, like Lewis Black
and Mitch Hedberg and as I mentioned before I played the title
role in the Broadway production of "The Wedding Singer,"
for which I received a Tony Nomination, a Drama League nomination
and a Drama Desk nomination, none of which I won. Assholes.
"OFFICIAL"
VERSION:
Growing up in the woods of Northern Michigan, Stephen Lynch
always had music in his life. But it wasn’t until he
saw the movie “This is Spinal Tap” that he found
his direction – to be a comedic singer songwriter.
Lynch moved to New York City in 1996 to put his music to the
test. Disarming audiences with his sweet-voice and blindsiding
them with his lyrics, Stephen found welcoming fans at the
city’s comedy clubs and downtown alternative comedy
venues. He became a regular on radio shows such as “Opie
and Anthony” and over the next couple of years began
touring the country’s nightclub and college circuit
building a loyal fan base.
In 2000, Stephen taped his own “Comedy Central Presents”
special, which was one of the highest rated episodes of the
series. Later that year he released his first CD, “A
Little Bit Special” (What Are Records), which was labeled
the “comedy-music debut of the year” by Dr. Demento.
In 2002, Stephen released his second CD, “Superhero”
(What Are Records), a collection of live recordings from five
different venues in and around New York City. In 2005, he
released his third CD, The Craig Machine (What Are Records),
recorded live at Symphony Space in New York City. Collectively,
they have sold over 250,000 copies. In 2004, Stephen released
his first live DVD, “Live at The El Rey” (Razor
& Tie). Recorded live at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles,
the DVD contains over 70 minutes of live performance featuring
16 songs and over an hour of bonus material. It was certified
Gold by the RIAA in March 2006 for sales in excess of 50,000
copies.Stephen has performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs
Comedy Festival in Montreal, has been featured on Comedy Central’s
“The World Comedy Tour” taped in Melbourne Australia,
on Comedy Central’s “The World Stand’s Up”
taped in London and has made four appearances on NBC’s
“Last Call with Carson Daly.”
On July 4, 2005, iTunes named Stephen’s “A Little
Bit Special” and “Superhero” as two of the
100 best-selling independent albums in iTunes’ history.
Stephen recently starred in the new Broadway musical, “The
Wedding Singer” for which he received a Tony Award nomination
for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, a Drama
League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance and
a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.
“The Wedding Singer” is based on the 1998 Adam
Sandler movie of the same name. Stephen played the Sandler
role of Robbie Hart
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