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

Career

Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in suburban

Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...

, Polonsky began writing, recording and self-releasing homemade cassettes as a teenager, under the name The Amazing Jonny Polonsky.

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 music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...

introduced 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". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

to these early tapes, and Zorn invited Polonsky to play his New Jewish Music festival in 1992 at CBGB's Gallery. Polonsky's band featured

on guitar,

Sebastian Steinberg Sebastian Steinberg (born February 20, 1959) is an American double bass, 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 200 ...

(

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing is 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. They developed a devout fa ...

) on bass, and Sim Cain (

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 (band), Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "L ...

) on drums. Of that performance, singer

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

(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. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

or something and someone like him." A year later

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. A member of The Cure since 2012, Gabrels is also known for his work with David Bowie and Tin Machine from 1988 to 1999. He also fronts the band Reeves Gabrels ...

introduced Polonsky to Frank Black, who became an immediate fan. In 1994, original Pixies 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 a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

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 Brendan O'Brien and was released by American Recordings on January 16, 1996. It received a positive critical reception from international news outlets, from

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

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 () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

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 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 ...

, 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 memb ...

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 Bradley Joseph Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–2024), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (201 ...

and

Tim Commerford Timothy 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, respectively, he ha ...

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and

. Big Nose collaborated on two songs with

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

and

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frontman

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. 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 h ...

. 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 singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

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, and

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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 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 (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

'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 and songwriter. 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 Stone Age ...

( Screaming Trees and

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

), and drummer Kevin Haskins of

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

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, and

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

. ''Kingdom of Sleep,'' Polonsky's sixth full length studio album was released on March 6, 2020. Cedric Bixler-Zavala, singer of

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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 (drums ...

contributed vocals to the record. A subsequent European tour, completed just before the pandemic lockdown, was filmed for a documentary. "Hi My Name is Jonny Polonsky," directed by Otto-Jan Ham and Sjoerd Tanghe, was released later that year and went on to win Best Documentary at the Flemish Ensor Awards, the Belgian equivalent of the Academy Awards. 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 Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the new wave music, new wave band The Go-Go's. She voices Dusk, the drummer and ba ...

of The Go-Gos on vocals, and Hong Wang of the

Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American martial arts comedy media franchise that started in 2008 with the release of the animated film '' Kung Fu Panda'' produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily v ...

soundtracks on

erhu The (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, that is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-stringed fiddle''. It is used as a solo instrument as ...

. In 2021, Polonsky joined the band 7D7D, with

on bass and lead vocals, and Mathias Wakrat on drums. The trio began releasing music in late 2022.

Discography

Solo

*''Supernatural Radio'' (2024) Loosegroove Records *''Rise of the Rebel Angels'' (2023) Loosegroove Records *''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'' (2011) Puscifer Entertainment *

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

– '' World Wide Rebel Songs'' (2011) New West Records *

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

– '' Back and Fourth'' (2009)

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

– '' Home Before Dark'' (2008) American Recordings * Mason Jennings – '' In the Ever'' (2008) Brushfire Records *

– '' 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 a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film ''Circle of Friends (1995 film), Circle of Friends''. She went on to star i ...

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

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

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

– '' Taking the Long Way'' (2006)

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

– '' 12 Songs'' (2005)

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

*Various Artists – '' Axis of Justice Concert Series, Vol. 1'' (2004)

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

– '' 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 emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

– '' Sutras'' (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, Belgium. History The name of the company refers to a famous mistake of a quiz-candidate in the Flemish version of Wheel of Fort ...

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

References

External links

Official Jonny Polonsky siteOfficial Facebook pageOfficial Bandcamp page

Hi My Name is Jonny Polonsky documentary
vimeo.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polonsky, Jonny American rock musicians Musicians from Chicago Living people 1973 births