Richard Lynch, singer-songwriter, joins David Delmar to share how his dad helped him discover his sense of consciousness that he utilized to develop who he is as an artist. The keen insights he shares cast a light on the importance of staying true to who you are when developing as a performing artist. He also shares about how a song called “Love Tattoo,” a touching tribute song for our soldiers, came to be and as a result of that magic more amazing things have happened all to which go to support our soldiers. So, listen in and get advice for life and as a performer as Richard shares about his musical sense of consciousness.

Hello. This is David Delmar, your host of SuperPower Creatives, and you’re listening to our episode Musical Sense of Consciousness. I believe everyone is a creator and it’s this inherent birthright that’s the source of our superpowers. Stepping into this personal authority is scary, though. This show celebrates creatives that stay true to who they really are, making a living using their creative superpowers. The stories they share will excite and inspire listeners to do the same, making positive change in the world. It gives me great pleasure and it is indeed an honor to introduce our guest for today’s show. He is widely recognized as the quintessential type of artist that country music was found upon, who keeps the word ‘country’ and ‘country music’ relevant.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a musician as authentic as Richard Lynch, whose music fully embodies a farm-dwelling all-American blue-collar country man lifestyle. His music is 100% real country, evoking some of the great classics who influenced him like Keith Whitley, Conway Twitty and George Strait. While his musical roots are grounded in pure country, his songs also showcase elements of Western swing, honky-tonk, and outlaw country. Living the life he sings about is what gives Richard Lynch the edge as a singer-songwriter. His everyday life and paying his musical dues by performing hundreds of shows and events throughout the year all across the country, is what has him known as a one-of-a-kind country music sensation, and his audiences would absolutely agree with that. Based in Waynesville, Ohio, Richard released his first full-length album, The Last of a Dying Breed, in 2013, and was nominated as Best Male Country Artist by the Independent Country Music Association in 2014.

His last album and its title track, A Better Place, garnered critical acclaim as the Pure Country Album of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists, while his band was nominated as the Traditional Country Band of the Year at the 2015 Josie Awards. Renowned songwriter Billy Yates and the contribution from several talented musicians who have worked with artists like Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw and Reba McEntire produced A Better Place. Currently, Richard has seven nominations pending in the prestigious Josie Awards program, and notably, Richard recently recorded a duet with country star Ronnie McDowell. The single, Love Tattoo, is a moving tribute to our military veterans and is one of the glowing examples of Richard Lynch the humanitarian. The single released in January had and is still receiving rave reviews, all the while lending support where it is rightly needed. Richard, hello. Thank you so much for being here today.

Thanks so much for having me. What a pleasure.

It is our joy and it is our pleasure as well, and you’re most welcome. While your career has had so many impressive milestones and achievements, I love that at the heart of it all is the recognition that your heart is true to who you really are and everything you do. It’s the whole reason this show exists, and I just want to thank you for being that in the world, for other people to see what it is when you’re showing up and being who you are. For being that model example for people, your fans and all the likes, to be able to see that. Thank you for showing up in that way in the world, Richard. It is such a great thing to see and celebrate.

Thank you so much. My heart and soul belong to the traditional country music, and as long as I got energy and a will and a desire to perform, that’s what I’m always going to do.

I love that and just your answer there, yeah, it just has that complete feel of complete genuine and complete just sincerity, how the words you’re saying and the words you’re speaking, I can already tell that that is just a very awesome part about who you are, most definitely. Today we’re talking about our show, Musical Sense of Consciousness. Particularly how Richard’s music embodies his own personal identity as a self-aware artist, and how he feels his music performances deliver a message that’s reminiscent of that level of consciousness. So Richard, we’d like to roll out with our first question. It’s the same one but it’s probably the obvious one, but here it is. What is your creative superpower?

I just love to be able to take a feeling or an inspiration and put it to words and music.

I just love to be able to take a feeling or an inspiration and put it to words and music. If I see something or I hear somebody say a statement that gets my attention, next thing you know I’m writing that statement down or that little sentence down, and for some reason or other, I always want to put a melody line to it.

Yeah.

So keep talking, I might be writing some songs down here when you are talking.

That’d be all right with me, because I love your process. It’s like there’s no limitation on what material is available, in every part of life and any part of the day. I love that, Richard.

Thank you. It’s just something that I enjoy. I love being able to put music to an emotion, and that’s why I love country music so much, because it’s true. True traditional values and real raw emotions, that’s what inspire me.

I love that, and I mean, gosh, in a world where it seems like music is always kind of trying to find an identity still, the real heart of music is being able to convey that emotion and do it through song. I love that country music stays true, and that you particularly stay true to that, because the music’s about communicating a feeling through words, and a message. I’m curious, with your music, Richard, what is it about the process that you enjoy the most, when you are conveying your emotions? Something that you felt at the moment that had you put pen to paper? What is it about that process that you enjoy the most?

If I’m co-writing something, I really enjoy that more than just sitting down and writing a song. Don’t get me wrong, I love sitting down and writing, but I love the fact that I can take a friend or somebody that has similar interests, and we can create something between the two of us. And maybe, just maybe, it would have been better if the two of us collaborate. You know the old saying is two heads are better than one.

Yeah.

It’s true. Whenever you’re involved in music, because we can inspire off each other, and nothing better for me to be able to write a song, and then I say a word, and then the guy I’m writing with says something. It’s like, “Wow, this is absolutely a blast.” So it’s really enjoyable for me.

That’s so awesome. I know that is such a prevalent thing within the country music industry, Nashville and the works. I’m curious, is that something within the country music community, that collaboration, because of what you just shared, how fun it is and just the joy of connecting and having that synergy. Is that something that’s pretty widespread as far as that feeling, within the country music industry?

I think as far as the songwriters goes, it is.

Yeah.

There’s a lot of musicians out there that really need to learn how special collaboration with other musicians are. I’ve learned as I get older, to be able to reap the benefits of people that work together, it’s amazing what two or three or four people can accomplish if they all have a similar mindset. If you’ve got a guy, a young guy especially, that they tend to get tunnel vision and really don’t do themselves any service by doing it that way. It’s where you’re inclusive with other artists, you’re inclusive with other singers, really is when things start to happen for you.

I love that. That’s actually really good for me to hear, because yeah, the process of how you just described it, it really does give a different understanding about something where as artists, we can get tunnel vision and can let that ego mentality come in. Especially as a young artist, and to hear you put it that way, I think will be quite helpful, I know for me but particularly for those listening, to know that, “Hey, it’s not about you, it’s about the music,” and when you put three, four heads together, that music can really evolve and become something that can be something very special. I want to ask you this, Richard. Why do you do what you do with your superpower? To be able to hear something and just like automatically put melody to it. How do you do what you do with your superpowers?

Music is such a powerful entity.

I was born in a country music household and by that I mean my dad was an incredible singer, entertainer. I grew up in a household where that traditional music was always being played, and I’ve seen at a young age how dad’s music influenced so many people, myself included. I realized that music is such a powerful entity, and music has more than just a temporary sound that’s pleasurable to the ears, but music can last for generations and affect generations. I’ll give you a classic example.

People like Hank Williams Sr., to Johnny Cash, to Conway Twitty. Those folks have been around since the 50s and 60s, and their music is still being played and listened to today. That just goes to show you that great country music is timeless, and if you play your cards just right, you might be able to learn something from those artists that’s done so much for the industry.

Wow, and just the way it should be too. That’s truly remarkable. We need to take a quick break, and I want to explore some more with you, Richard, and help out our listeners to be able to expand their own awareness about songwriting and other stuff that we’ll get into that we’d love you sharing about. Before we do jump into the break, let’s tell people where they can find out more about you.

The best way to find out about me and my music is to go to richardlynchband.com, and you can see all the different places we’re playing, all the merchandise we’re doing, all the radio shows and interviews. It’s just something that’s probably our best way to find me. Richardlynchband.com.

Love it. Outstanding, outstanding, Richard. We’ve been talking with Richard once today about our show, Musical Sense of Consciousness. We’re going to take a quick break, and when we come back, we’re going to stay with Richard along this trail that we’re making, and let you out there take with you some valuable knowledge to add to your own songwriting, or through your own awareness in life.

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Music Credit: Words and Music written and performed by David Delmar. Engineered and produced by John Keenan.