John S. Konesky (born November 19, 1980) is an American guitarist and record producer, best known for his role as the lead electric guitar player for

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenacio ...

. Konesky was born and raised in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, where he performed in a band with friend

John Spiker Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenaci ...

. Through a mutual friend, he and Spiker met

guitarist

Kyle Gass Kyle Richard Gass (born July 14, 1960) is an American musician, comedian and actor best known for co-founding—and being a member of—Tenacious D, a Grammy-winning comedy band. He also co-founded the bands Trainwreck and the Kyle Gass Band, ...

, who was recruiting musicians for his Trainwreck project. In 2003, Konesky relocated to Los Angeles to become the electric guitarist for Trainwreck. In 2005, Konesky and Spiker performed on the second Tenacious D album ''

The Pick of Destiny ''The Pick of Destiny'' is the second studio album by American comedy rock band Tenacious D, the soundtrack for their feature film of the same name. The album was released on November 14, 2006, through Epic Records, and debuted at number 8 ...

'' and would then perform live on ''The Pick of Destiny Tour'', making them (alongside drummer

Brooks Wackerman Brooks Wackerman (born February 15, 1977) is an American musician. He is the current drummer of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, which he joined in 2015. His first album with Avenged Sevenfold was ''The Stage'' (2016). He is most known as t ...

) additional live members of Tenacious D. In 2010, Trainwreck split up, which lead him and Gass to form

Kyle Gass Band Kyle Gass Band (KGB) is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2011. Fronted by Tenacious D lead guitarist Kyle Gass and vocalist and guitarist Mike Bray. The backing band consists of electric guitarist John Konesky (also of ...

. In 2012, Konesky formed country band Wynchester alongside Kyle Gass Band lead vocalist, Mike Bray, whom released their debut record in 2018. In 2009, Konesky and Gass worked together on the YouTube channel ''Guitarings''. Konesky was a member of Tenacious D when the band won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 2015 for their cover of Dio's "

The Last in Line ''The Last In Line'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on July 2, 1984. It is the first Dio album to feature former Rough Cutt keyboardist Claude Schnell. It became the band's highest-charting album in both ...

Early life

Konesky was born in

on November 19, 1980. He graduated from

Hilliard Davidson High School Hilliard Davidson High School is a public high school in the Hilliard City School District in Hilliard, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It is the first of three high schools in the district, the other two being Hilliard Darby High School and Hil ...

in 1999. He has played guitar for almost 30 years, starting at the age of 9.

Discography

* Trainwreck — ''Trainwreck Live'' (2004) *Tenacious D — ''

'' (2006) *John Konesky — ''Kones'' (2008) *Trainwreck —''The Wreckoning'' (2009) *Tenacious D — ''

Rize of the Fenix ''Rize of the Fenix'' is the third studio album by American rock band Tenacious D. Produced by John Kimbrough, it was released in North America on May 15, 2012 by Columbia Records. In addition to the band's core members Jack Black and Kyle Gass, ...

'' (2012) *

— ''Kyle Gass Band'' (2013) *

Big Talk Big Talk is an American rock band, formed by The Killers' drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr, and longtime friend Taylor Milne in 2011. As of 2015, John Spiker, John Konesky and Brooks Wackerman are also members of the band. The band have released an ep ...

— ''

Straight In No Kissin' ''Straight In No Kissin is the second studio album by the American rock band Big Talk. The album was released worldwide on July 24, 2015. Track listing All tracks written by John Konesky, Taylor Milne, John Spiker, Ronnie Vannucci Jr and Brooks ...

'' (2015) *Tenacious D ''—

Tenacious D Live ''Tenacious D Live'' is the first live album by American rock band Tenacious D. Produced by John Spiker, it was released as a worldwide vinyl on November 27, 2015 by Columbia Records and was released on digital platforms on January 15, 2016. The r ...

'' (2015) *Kyle Gass Band — ''Thundering Herd'' (2016) *

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

—'' Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998'' (2017) — Guitar on ''"In the Mouth of Madness"'' *Wynchester — ''Wynchester'' (2018) *Tenacious D — ''

Post-Apocalypto ''Post-Apocalypto'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Tenacious D. Produced by bassist John Spiker, it was released in North America on November 2, 2018, by Columbia Records. In addition to core members Jack Black and Kyle Gass, the ...

'' (2018)

References

External links

* *
An interview with John Spiker and John Konesky (under the pseudonyms of Boy Johnny and John Bartholomew Shredman respectively)
(archived copy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Konesky, John Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists Tenacious D members 1980 births Big Talk members Trainwreck with Kyle Gass members Kyle Gass Band members