Return of the Lynch Mob

In the 12 months since we last spoke to him, Stephen Lynch has released the 3 Balloons album, which is full of his characteristically sharp and sardonic composition. Has he been pleased with how the album has been received?

“I took a chance with this one,’ he replies. “I knew there would be some negative reaction to it, because it’s not a live album. You don’t hear people laughing, and on a modern comedy album, people want to hear audiences a lot of the time. I figured why not just give these tunes their due as just songs, rather than focusing on the comedic aspect so much. I made a record I wanted to make, which is interesting musically, and I bought some friends in who play other instruments that I’d never normally use on my songs; there are cellos, violins, slide guitars, drums and bass.
“I thought I’d experiment and try some different things, and once the naysayers got past the fact that this is not me sitting down with a guitar in a front of a live audience, they warmed up to it.”
One of the most intriguing songs on the album is ‘The Ballad Of Scarface’, a tear-jerking number about the titular gangster movie. Why did Stephen choose to pen a tune about that particular film?
“It was a drunken conversation with a friend, years ago,” he replies, perhaps inevitably. “We talked about doing a Broadway musical based on Scarface, and just to let her know that it was still on my mind, I thought I’d write a quick little mini-ballad about the story of the movie. I finished it, and I kind of liked it, and so I thought I’d put it on the record. It did cross my mind that perhaps people won’t know what to do with it, because it’s just kind of a strange synopsis of the film, but it turned out to be one of my favourite songs on the record. Musically, it’s really nice, and I’ve got the guy singing harmony on it.
“It’s funny to me in that it takes a pretty stupid, bad movie, with this weird underground, cult status, and gives it this real gravitas.”
Another highlight is ‘Waiting’, a song about the none-too-pleasant experience of taking an AIDS test.
“I catch flak for it because it’s kind of a taboo subject,” says Stephen of the track. “If you’ve ever got an AIDS test, you sit there thinking about all the shit you’ve done in your life, and what you possibly could have done to prevent such feelings of angst in the twenty minutes that you’re waiting. It’s like your life flashes before you eyes. Whether people want to admit it or not, it’s kind of a universal song. Sure, not everyone blows trannies in the backs of their cars, but it’s a personal experience, and you take from it what you want!”
Earlier this year, Stephen also launched the live wing of Comedy Central (the American channel responsible for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report), with a series of live dates in the US. How did the tour go for him?
“It went great, we had sell-out crowds almost everywhere we went,” enthuses Stephen. “Having their name attached to it gave it a great push, and it was good exposure for me. I had the record coming out, so there was something to promote and new songs to play. They haven’t called me back since the tour ended, but I think it was okay. Who knows? (laughs)”
Did you get up to any hellraising on the tour?
“Those days are long gone my friend,” chuckles Stephen. “It sucks too, because Ireland would have been a great place to continue that tradition. When I was a younger man, unmarried and unattached, I used to play a shit-load of colleges. I’d play for these kids who were only five or six years younger than me, and inevitably, afterwards we’d go to hang out at a party somewhere. We’d have a good time, but now I’m older, I’m just like, ‘Fuck these kids! I just want to go hang out at my hotel. (laughs)”
Did you ever get any negative reactions to your shows?
“All the time,” admits Stephen. “When I started out 10 years ago, it was before South Park hit really big, and there was nothing on TV that risqué. I was singing about fucking dead people, or having gerbils in my ass – whatever I was going through in my twenties (laughs). Some people were shocked. I would get in arguments with people after shows, which I could never really figure out. Particularly on college campuses, you expect them to be all about free thought and different opinions and so on, but people were very politically correct.
“I remember I had a song called ‘Killed A Kitten’, which proved pretty controversial. I thought it was a pretty ridiculous, throwaway kind of song, but some people were upset. There was, like, a letter writing campaign, back in the days when people still wrote letters. I mean, I had songs about paedophile priests, and that was okay…but hitting a kitten with a shovel was a whole other story!’