ONI LOGAN On Why He No Longer Tours With LYNCH MOB: GEORGE 'Would Rather Favor Paying Some Fellas A Fee Instead Of Sharing The Loot'

In a recent interview with "The Chuck Shute Podcast", former LYNCH MOB singer Oni Logan was asked about the possibility of working with George Lynch again, either under the LYNCH MOB name or as a separate project, Referencing the fact that LYNCH MOB is at the tail end of "The Final Ride", a farewell tour celebrating the band's 35-year legacy, Oni said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "'The Final Ride', I don't know much about it. All I know is that George seems to be happy. And we have texted in the past about maybe doing another album together — not under the LYNCH MOB moniker, but under just LYNCH & LOGAN, because that is the essence and the core of the LYNCH MOB sound. So at some point I think we'll get to it before we turn to dust. It would be a celebration of what we had done in the past and something new that we could leave the fans with, if it should be a last venture together. I would look forward to it. We'll see if it happens."

When host Chuck Shute suggested that Logan's new project with Lynch "would be more of a joint effort" between the two musicians rather than Oni just being signed on as a hired gun., the singer clarified: "Well, I never was signed on in the first place as a hired gun. [George and I] were always 50-50 in partnership as far as the money and also on a creative level. So that has always remained right from the beginning. That's why you'll see me not go out on tour [with LYNCH MOB] because that is the deal that we started with and that's the deal that we normally do when I'm with him. I understand that he has a need to go out and make it favorable for him, so that's why we're probably not working together right now. Well, that is the reason why we're not working together because he'd rather favor paying some fellas a fee instead of sharing the loot."

Asked why a possible new collaboration with Lynch wouldn't be made available under the LYNCH MOB moniker and would instead be called LYNCH & LOGAN, Oni explained: "Because I think that's the true essence and the core of LYNCH MOB, and ultimately the brand LYNCH MOB is owned by George Lynch, which doesn't favor me at all. After doing so many miles and years promoting his brand and name, it leads me to… I mean, I worked all those years and spent all those miles building his brand, so it doesn't do me any favors. But it is what it is — it's his name and I accept it and that's the way that it goes. But it doesn't favor me when I say… I wanted to go out and do dates, talking to an agent, under Oni Logan. [The agent would say] 'Oh, Oni, it would be great if you could just use the LYNCH MOB name, because you have history and the promoters know this brand name and they know that this brand name will bring in a clientele.'"

During the same chat, Oni talked about another project that he is working on which will see him collaborating with "well-known" musicians outside the hard rock and heavy metal genre.

"I'd like to put something together. I'm at the moment seeking different musicians, interesting musicians that will do something that's a little bit outside of the box," he said. "They're great musicians. So something out of the box, meaning experimenting with rhythms, having the guitarist being able to really stretch, having a bass player that can really play fluidly. So it's gonna be not your usual thing that you probably hear me doing or expect me to do. It'll be something that is going to be adventurous. I think at this point in time in my life, I have to allow myself to have that. If I don't, there's not gonna be any growth. I become bored rather quickly if I stay in the main route of what everybody expects me to do. And I hope that people will come along for the ride and accept that we all have to grow.

"I found giant leaps in the past two years self-wise individually here [in my heart], and I know that it's here [in my head] too, as well, that my longing and my thirst for creative adventure has never been so high in its pinnacle, what I wanna do than now in my life right now."

Elaborating on how his new project will be different from what he has done before, Oni said: "This new departure, this new idea of recording will be with some really good musicians that are a little bit out of the box. And when I say this, I say this as a positive, working around rhythms, polyrhythms and so forth, and being able to stretch vocally into areas that I haven't done before.

"We're all growing, and as music lovers, our ears become more expansive and we tend to draw in from different areas of different cultures, different music that's just so widely out there. I'm a big fan of listening to all types of music. I'm no longer 20, I'm no longer 30, I'm no longer 40."

Asked when this new project will be coming out, Oni said: "I don't have a release date. I'm just talking to a few musicians right now. And they're all rather well known and they know my history in rock. Sometimes they go, 'Oh, he's a metaller,' but it's not true because I can sing the blues, I can cut up the rug with soul music — I'm pretty versatile as far as my voice works. So there's been an acceptance from their side, which is nice to know that they're willing to work with me. So I won't name the musicians right now because I'd like for it to become into fruition before I announce anything."

Logan first hooked up with LYNCH MOB in 1990, but exited the group after the release of its first album, only to rejoin the outfit in the late 2000s. His most recent departure from LYNCH MOB took place in January 2018. At the time, he said in a statement that he was "looking forward to writing with other artists and bands."

Logan is featured on five of LYNCH MOB's eight albums, including the band's debut, 1990's "Wicked Sensation", as well as 2009's "Smoke And Mirrors", 2014's "Sun Red Sun", 2015's "Rebel" and 2017's "The Brotherhood".

Joining Lynch on LYNCH MOB's "The Final Ride" farewell tour are singer Gabriel Colón, drummer Jimmy D'Anda and bassist Jaron Gulino.

LYNCH MOB was formed in 1989 after Lynch parted ways with his former band DOKKEN. Their debut release, "Wicked Sensation", was met with critical and fan acclaim and went on to be certified gold in sales by the RIAA. The band would continue on through the years with a cast of talented players joining Lynch throughout their musical journey over the course of six more studio albums.

Released in October 2023, "Babylon" was LYNCH MOB's eighth studio album overall and the first since "The Brotherhood".