GEORGE LYNCH: 'I Attribute The Longevity Of My Career To Tenacious Work Ethic'

In a recent interview with Seb Di Gatto of he Metal Gods Meltdown, legendary guitarist George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB) was asked for the secret to his career longevity. The 71-year-old musician responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I will attribute the longevity of my career to tenacious work ethic. And I don't say that self-complimentarily; it's just the way I was raised. My father, just that's what we were taught. And I'm proud of that, and I'll never be able to outlive that or unlearn that. And so I feel very fortunate that I have this wonderful job that I love so much that I can make music and actually support my family and provide my family with security and all the things that we need doing what I love, which is such a rare gift, to be able to have that. So I try to treat that with respect in the sense that I'm never gonna take it for granted, and I never have. And so to show respect, I give it the most attention and energy I can to make sure that I do it well."

George continued: "Iin addition to that, what I would say is that, when I have like a thing where I'll do like a meet-and-greet with kids and they'll ask me questions and stuff, and sometimes you get asked for advice, and I said, number one thing if you're a musician is diversify. I know it's a kind of a boring, wonky answer, but for me, it's proved true because when the inevitable valleys come after the peaks, the diversification helps even things out. So it's just like investing. So I build guitars. I have a guitar company, Mr. Scary Guitars. I have two shops. I have people work for me. I play lots of music in this studio and other places for other people. I write songs for other people. I do solos. I play guitar on different record companies' albums for other artists. I do a lot of outside work like that and just dabble in everything, like equipment, for instance. So I'm very heavily involved in the companies that I endorse in designing and developing and marketing gear, whether it's ESP or an amp company, or a pedal company, or a string company, or you name it. It's a source of income, but it's also a creative act, endeavor, much like music. And I'm a tone freak, as far as guitar sounds. I'm always learning, and all my friends, that's all we talk about is gear, every day. And it's so fun. It makes my job so fun because it's like a hobby that I'm passionate about. I'd do it for no money. And I try to share that with my fans, and a lot of my fans are guitar fans that are interested in my tone questing, I like to call it. And so I share that with them."

Starting in music in 1977, Lynch has long since been considered one of the most-notable guitar players of all time. His work with DOKKEN and LYNCH MOB has garnered him a legion of devoted fans around the globe. His creativity and musicianship has been showcased on over 50 albums since 1982, and 2022 marked his 45th anniversary as a professional musician. Lynch continues to redefine guitar playing and songwriting while showing no signs of slowing down.

In recent years, Lynch has recorded albums with a number of different projects, including LYNCH MOB, KXM, SWEET & LYNCH, THE END MACHINE and DIRTY SHIRLEY. One of his most recent releases was "Heavy Hitters", a collaboration with his former DOKKEN bandmate Jeff Pilson on a collection of studio recordings that turn pop music classics into metal anthems.

In 2020, Lynch told Guitar World magazine that staying "diversified" was key to making a living in rock music today. "Do everything," he said. "Be an engineer, be a composer, play every instrument you can, get endorsements, learn how to make a web site, be social-media savvy and keep your eye on everything."