biography
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Summarized Biography
When Jonny Lang was just 12 years old, he went
to a Bad Medicine Blues Band concert in his hometown; Fargo, North Dakota.
By the end of the show, Jonny knew that playing the guitar and preforming
infront of people was what he wanted to do. He started taking lessons from
their guitar player, and joined the band a few months later. When Jonny was
13 years old, he got his first guitar for his birthday. By 14, his parents
realized their sons talent and they moved to Minneapolis to take advantage
of the thriving blues scene. "When you have a kid like Jonny" his mother,
Marcia says, "you know it's rare. I saw little good in holding him back
from an experience like this." Moving to a new town to help their son's
talent may seem generous, but you must also remeber that Jonny's parents
have been divorced since he was 4! But they had remained very good friends
and wouldn't mind living together if it was going to help their son's
musical abilities. within no time, Jonny found a place on stage. He
started sitting in with Dr. Mambo's Combo. Says he "I'd get up there every
Monday and get my butt kicked." Confident with his skills, Jonny became the
front man for Bad Medicine. The group even re-named it'self Kid Jonny and
the Big Bang in 1994. The name may sound goofy, but the band was going far.
Executives from A&M Records began coming to Jonny's shows. At 15 Jonny was
worrying about landing a major record deal, while most other 15 year olds
are worrying aobut anything else. Jonny is often compared to pop groups
like Hanson, when in reality he has more in common with someone like Fiona
Apple. The Minneapolis gigs landed him a contract with A&M records in 1996,
and Lie to Me came out in 1997 receiving rave reviews from everyone
but himself. "Did you ever listen to your voice on an answering machine?"
he asks. "Isn't it weird to hear yourself?" Well it must be too weird for
hime, because every time he hears a song by him on the radio, he turns it
off. But he can deal with seeing himself on MTV. "It's cool because you
see your video in context with other people's...It's cool to see how I fit
in."
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