Jonny Polonsky (born July 10, 1973) is an American rock guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.

Career

Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in suburban Wilmette, Illinois, Polonsky began writing, recording and self-releasing homemade cassettes as a teenager, under the name The Amazing Jonny Polonsky. Titles included Aw, Blow it Out Yer Ass!, Premium White American, and I Like Porn. Polonsky handed these tapes out to friends, and to musicians he admired. Using the 411 public phone records, Polonsky was able to reach and befriend musical heroes of his such as guitarists

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wait ...

(

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nomi ...

Zander Schloss Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961) is an American musician, actor and composer. He is known as bass player for the Circle Jerks, the Weirdos, his many collaborations with Joe Strummer musically and in film and for his contributions to indepe ...

(

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Circle ...

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...

(

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on bass ...

), and

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

singer Frank Black/

Black Francis Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...

introduced legendary New York composer

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ...

to these early tapes, and Zorn invited Polonsky to play his New Jewish Music festival in 1992 at

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

Gallery. Polonsky's band featured

on guitar,

Sebastian Steinberg Sebastian Steinberg (born February 20, 1959) is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing. Biography Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992 to 2000. In 2001, Steinberg ...

(

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing was an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. Soul Coughing developed ...

) on bass, and

Sim Cain Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and " Liar", which both ...

(

Rollins Band Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and " Liar", which both ...

) on drums. Of that performance, singer

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

(who was in attendance) was later quoted as saying, "He came to CBGB's Gallery and ripped it up...He killed 'em...The charm of it is that he's brought it into his own thing. It's a nice miniature. He does it with soul; you can tell the difference between someone who just slips into

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

or something and someone like him." A year later

introduced Polonsky to Frank Black, who became an immediate fan. In 1994, original

manager Ken Goes began representing Polonsky, and Frank Black produced a demo for him. On the strength of this demo recording, iconic record producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popul ...

signed Polonsky as a solo artist to his label American Recordings. The Frank Black-produced demos were eventually scrapped, and Polonsky decided to rerecord the songs in his childhood home in Wilmette, using digital home recording equipment. He produced, recorded and performed everything himself on his debut record for American. ''Hi My Name is Jonny'' was mixed by super-producer/mixer Brendan O'Brien (

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fura ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

, Bruce Springsteen,

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerf ...

) and was released by American Recordings on January 16, 1996. It received a great critical reception from international news outlets, from

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

to MTV. Immediately after the record's release, Polonsky and his live band toured as the main support act for Frank Black for twelve weeks in North America. They also performed on the Second Stage for the 1996

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

summer tour. Polonsky then disappeared from recording and touring as a solo artist. He reemerged as a touring musician in the late 1990s and into the new millennium with

Local H Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and found ...

and

Pete Yorn Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, ''Musicforthemorningafter'', was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is k ...

, among others. In 2004 Polonsky released ''The Power of Sound'', and he and his band supported

Audioslave Audioslave was an American Rock music, rock supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Glendale, California, in 2001. The four-piece band consisted of Soundgarden's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell with Rage Against the Machine membe ...

on their five-week North American club tour in the spring of 2005. In 2006, Polonsky formed the short-lived band Big Nose with

Brad Wilk Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019). ...

and

Tim Commerford Tim Commerford (born February 26, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist for rock band Rage Against the Machine, and supergroups Audioslave and Prophets of Rage. Since 2013 and 2015, he has also been the ...

and

. Big Nose collaborated on two songs with

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates bac ...

and

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s ...

frontman

Maynard James Keenan Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pu ...

. Keenan ended up using the two songs, "Sour Grapes" and "Momma Sed", for his music/art project

Puscifer Puscifer () is an American rock group formed in Los Angeles by Maynard James Keenan, known as the lead singer of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. Initially, Keenan was the only permanent member, and as such he considered the project to be hi ...

. Polonsky wrote, recorded and toured with

from 2007 to 2010. Since that time, he has also recorded and/or performed with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

, and

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and ...

In 2012, Polonsky released his third full length, ''Intergalactic Messenger of Divine Light and Love'' as an internet only digital release. It was recorded in

's recording studio, Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, and mixed by

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

mix engineer Jim Scott. In 2015, ''The Other Side of Midnight'' was released. It was performed, produced and recorded by Polonsky, and mixed by Dean Hurley at

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

's Asymmetrical Studios. Polonsky's fifth full length record, ''Fresh Flesh'' was released in January 2018. It was recorded with his live band in two days at

's studio, Shangri La Studios, in Malibu CA. It features guest performances by vocalist

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the St ...

(

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the time ...

and

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

), and drummer

Kevin Haskins Kevin Michael Dompe (born 19 July 1960), born and best-known as Kevin Michael Haskins, is an English drummer, best known from the British rock group Bauhaus. He was also a member of Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets. Early career As a child, ...

Bauhaus (band) Bauhaus are an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. Known for their dark image and gloomy sound, Bauhaus are best known as one of the pioneers of gothic rock, although they mixed many genres, including dub, glam rock, psychedelia, ...

Love and Rockets (band) Love and Rockets were an English rock band formed in 1985 by former Bauhaus members Daniel Ash (vocals, guitar and saxophone), David J (bass guitar and vocals) and Kevin Haskins (drums and synthesisers) after that group split in 1983. Ash and ...

, and

Tones on Tail Tones on Tail was a British post-punk band formed in 1982, originally as a musical side project of Daniel Ash of the gothic rock group Bauhaus. Their music was described by one critic as "doom-and-dance-pop." History While still a member of B ...

. ''Kingdom of Sleep,'' Polonsky's sixth full length studio album was released on March 6, 2020, to an overwhelming critical reception.

Cedric Bixler-Zavala Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta and the only constant member of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, for which h ...

, singer of

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership form ...

and

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drum ...

contributed vocals to the record. Polonsky's second full length release of 2020, and seventh overall studio album, ''Power and Greed and Money and Sex and Death'' was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the spring and summer of 2020. It features guest appearances by

Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band The Go-Go's. She has also had a successful solo career. The Go-Go's ...

The Go-Gos The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda ...

on vocals, and Hong Wang of the

Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American media franchise that originally started in 2008 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily voic ...

soundtracks on

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-s ...

Discography

Solo

*''Power and Greed and Money and Sex and Death'' (2020) Ghostworks Recordings *''Kingdom of Sleep'' (2020) Ghostworks Recordings *''UNRELEASHED: Demos and Rarities 1996–2018'' (2018) Jett Plastic Recordings *''Fresh Flesh'' (2018) Sound Science Industries *''The Other Side of Midnight'' (2015) Sound Science Industries *''Vision'' (EP) (2014) self-released *''Intergalactic Messenger of Divine Light and Love'' (2012) self-released *''The Power of Sound'' (2004) Loveless Records *''Touched by Genius: The Ultimate TAJP Collection'' (2003) self-released *''There Is Something Wrong With You'' (EP) (2001) eggBERT Records *''Hi My Name is Jonny'' (1996) American Recordings

Appearances as instrumentalist

– ''

Conditions of My Parole ''Conditions of My Parole'' is the second studio album by Puscifer. The album was produced by Maynard James Keenan, Mat Mitchell and Josh Eustis. Contributing musicians for the album include the aforementioned Keenan, Mitchell, and Eustis as well ...

'' (2011) Puscifer Entertainment *

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morel ...

– '' World Wide Rebel Songs'' (2011)

New West Records New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real musi ...

– '' American VI: Ain't No Grave'' (2010) American Recordings *

– '' Back and Fourth'' (2009) Columbia Records *

– ''

Home Before Dark ''Home Before Dark'' is the twenty-seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. Released on May 5, 2008, it was the artist's second album for American Recordings. ''Home Before Dark'' received generally positive reviews fr ...

'' (2008) American Recordings *

Mason Jennings Mason Jennings is an American folk-pop singer-songwriter. Biography Born in Hawaii, Jennings moved with his family to Pittsburgh at an early age. Jennings learned to play guitar at the age of 13, when he began writing songs. Jennings later dro ...

– ''

In the Ever ''In the Ever'' is the sixth album by Mason Jennings. It was released in 2008 by Brushfire Records. The UK version of the album contains a twelfth track, titled "Sassafrass." Production The album was recorded in a cabin to the west of Minneapolis ...

'' (2008)

Brushfire Records Brushfire Records is a record label owned by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. Formerly known as '' The Moonshine Conspiracy Records'', the label was founded to release soundtracks for Woodshed Films, a company owned by Johnson, Emmett Malloy, and ...

– '' V is for Viagra: The Remixes'' (2008) Puscifer Entertainment * Dan Wilson – '' Free Life'' (2007) American Recordings *

Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in 1995's '' Circle of Friends''. She went on to star in a wide range of films including the cult classic ''Grosse ...

– '' Seastories'' (2008) Zoë Records *

– '' V is for Vagina'' (2007) Puscifer Entertainment *

– '' American V: A Hundred Highways'' (2006) American Recordings *

– ''

Taking the Long Way ''Taking the Long Way'' is the seventh studio album by American country music group Dixie Chicks. Released on May 23, 2006, through Columbia Nashville, it was also the group's last album released under the “Dixie Chicks” name. The album debut ...

'' (2006) Columbia Records *

– '' 12 Songs'' (2005) Columbia Records *Various Artists – '' Axis of Justice Concert Series, Vol. 1'' (2004) Columbia Records *

– '' Everything I've Got in My Pocket'' (2004) Zoë Records *

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world musi ...

– ''

Sutras ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an a ...

'' (1996) American Recordings

Filmography

*Hi My Name Is Jonny Polonsky (2020) – Documentary (

Woestijnvis Woestijnvis (literally: ''Desert Fish'') is an independent Flemish television production company based in Vilvoorde. History The name of the company refers to a famous mistake of a quiz-candidate in the Flemish version of Wheel of Fortune: the r ...

) *'' Sleeping Dogs Lie (2005 film)''

References

External links

Official Jonny Polonsky siteOfficial Facebook pageOfficial Bandcamp page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polonsky, Jonny American rock musicians Musicians from Chicago Living people 1973 births