Corn Mo is the stage name of Jon Cunningham, an American,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based musician. Corn Mo sings, plays the accordion,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, and sometimes performs as a

one man band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

. His music style is a mixture of circus music,

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

, and humorous

novelty songs A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

. He is currently recording his third solo album, and albums with his band .357 Lover. Many of his songs and stylings are heavily influenced by

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

(to whom he bears a slight physical resemblance) and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Recording as Corn Mo

He started his music career in

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

. Corn Mo released his first full-length album, ''I Hope You Win!'', in 2000. His 2002 follow-up '' The Magic Is You!'', features his most popular song, "Busey Boy", about being mistaken for

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Gary Busey Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...

. He is featured on the Ben Folds album Supersunnyspeedgraphic singing backing vocals on "Get Your Hands Off My Woman." He recently appeared in the

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players were an American indie-rock/art pop family band. It consisted of main vocalist Jason Trachtenburg, his wife Tina, and their only child, Rachel. Overview The band's members consisted of father, Jason T ...

' DVD release of '' On and Off Broadway''. He performed a duet with Jason Trachtenburg on his accordion to a new rendition of the Trachtenburgs' song "Beautiful Dandelion". Back in the Denton days Corn Mo teamed up with friend Mauve Oed for a cassette. It included a cover of Mötley Crüe's "

Home Sweet Home Home Sweet Home may refer to: Film * Home, Sweet Home (1914 film), ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne * Home Sweet Home (1917 film), ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film * Home Sweet ...

" which garnered play on local indie radio show The Adventure Club. In October 2012, it was announced that he had joined "Tragedy", the all metal tribute band to the Bee Gees.

Albums with .357 Lover

.357 Lover, first formed when Corn Mo lived in Denton, backs Corn Mo when he is not playing as a solo performer. Their current lineup is Dave Wallin on bass, and Ron Salvo on drums. .357 Lover recorded their first EP, titled ''Your Favorite Hamburger is a Cheeseburger'', in 2007. A full-length debut, ''Diorama of the Golden Lion'', was released in September 2009.

Live

For several years before moving to New York, Corn Mo performed at many small venues in north Texas ( Denton and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex), developing a small but loyal following. In 2003, Corn Mo played the

Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...

. He plays accordion on

Mary Prankster Mary Prankster is the moniker for an American singer-songwriter. She is primarily associated with Baltimore (but now residing in New England), and played a blend of alternative/indie music with frank lyrics. The name is a reference to Ken Kesey's ...

's live album ''Lemonade: Live'' which was recorded at the 9:30 Club in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

on May 10, 2003. On May 20, 2003 Corn Mo appeared on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' where he performed "Busey Boy" with Kimmel's live band. In 2003 and 2004, he toured with

The Polyphonic Spree The Polyphonic Spree is an American choral rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by singer/songwriter Tim DeLaughter. The band's pop and rock songs are augmented by a large vocal choir, and instruments such as flute, trumpet, fre ...

as a member of their band. He has toured numerous times with

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

and Ben Folds. Corn Mo is featured on the 2004

live album ''

Almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

'', playing the song "Particle Mo" (a live version of "

Particle Man "Particle Man" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released and published in 1990. The song is the seventh track on the band's third album, ''Flood''. It has become one of the band's most popular songs, despite never having b ...

") with the band. In June 2006, he performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. In April 2007, .357 Lover performed as the backing group for

Andrew W.K. Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier (born May 9, 1979), known professionally as Andrew W.K., is an American conceptual performance artist, rock singer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor. Raised in Michigan, Wilkes-Krier began his m ...

in Denton, Texas. Corn Mo toured again with Folds on his November Surprise Tour 2006. On June 15, 2007, They Might Be Giants announced via a bulletin that Corn Mo would be the opening act for "many of the shows" on their "We Got a Fever for the Flavor of a Whatnot 2007 United States Tour." In 2012, Corn Mo was the opening act for Nick Offerman's college tour, and played backup on a few songs during Offerman's show. He was also the opening act for

Wheatus Wheatus are an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single " Teenage Dirtbag", which appeared in the films '' Loser'' and ''Bully'', as well as the HBO miniseries '' Generation ...

from 12 May - 10 June on their UK tour in 2012.

Filmography

In 2014 Corn Mo, credited as Jonathan Cunningham, played a bartender in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

series '' Orange Is the New Black'' in the episode entitled Low Esteem City. In 2021, Corn Mo appeared in a series of internet and television commercials for NJM Insurance playing the Agency Musician.

References

External links

CornMo.com - Corn Mo's Official SiteCorn Mo's Official MySpace PageLive performance of "Busey Boy" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!Corn Mo is Kung Fu Teenage Bigfoot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corn Mo American male singers American accordionists Outsider musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Singers from Texas Musicians from Brooklyn The Polyphonic Spree members Music of Denton, Texas 21st-century accordionists 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American male musicians