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 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(April 2023) |
Jonny Polonsky | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | July 10, 1973 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, bass, drums, keyboards |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Website | jonnypolonsky |
Jonny Polonsky (born July 10, 1973) is an American songwriter, rock guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
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.
Marc Ribot introduced New York composer John Zorn 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 Marc Ribot on guitar, Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing) on bass, and Sim Cain (Rollins Band) on drums. Of that performance, singer Jeff Buckley (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 or something and someone like him." [1]
A year later 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 signed Polonsky as a solo artist to his label American Recordings. [2]
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 [3] to MTV. [4]
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. [5] They also performed on the Second Stage for the 1996 Lollapalooza summer tour. [6]
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 [7] and Pete Yorn, [8] among others.
In 2004 Polonsky released The Power of Sound, and he and his band supported Audioslave on their five-week North American club tour in the spring of 2005. [9]
In 2006, Polonsky formed the short-lived band Big Nose with Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. [10] Big Nose collaborated on two songs with Tool and A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan. Keenan ended up using the two songs, "Sour Grapes" and "Momma Sed", for his music/art project Puscifer. [11] Polonsky wrote, recorded and toured with Puscifer [12] from 2007 to 2010.
Since that time, he has also recorded and/or performed with Johnny Cash., [13] Neil Diamond, [13] and Dixie Chicks [13]
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 Rick Rubin'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'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 Rick Rubin's studio, Shangri La Studios, in Malibu CA. It features guest performances by vocalist Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age), and drummer Kevin Haskins of Bauhaus (band), Love and Rockets (band), and Tones on Tail.
Kingdom of Sleep, Polonsky's sixth full length studio album was released on March 6, 2020. Cedric Bixler-Zavala, singer of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In 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. [14]
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 of The Go-Gos on vocals, and Hong Wang of the Kung Fu Panda soundtracks on erhu.
In 2021, Polonsky joined the band 7D7D, with Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine on bass and lead vocals, and Mathias Wakrat on drums. The trio began releasing music in late 2022. [15]
Audioslave was an American rock 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 members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk (drums). Critics first described Audioslave as a combination of Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine, but by the band's second album, Out of Exile, it was noted that they had established a separate identity. Their unique sound was created by blending 1970s hard rock and 1990s alternative rock, with musical influences that included 1960s funk, soul and R&B. As with Rage Against the Machine, the band prided themselves on the fact that all sounds on their albums were produced using only guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, with emphasis on Cornell's wide vocal range and Morello's unconventional guitar solos.
Audioslave is the debut studio album by American rock supergroup Audioslave, released on November 18, 2002, through Epic Records and Interscope Records. In the United States, it has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album spawned the singles "Cochise", "Like a Stone", "Show Me How to Live", "I Am the Highway", and "What You Are"; "Like a Stone" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards.
Thomas Baptist Morello 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 member of the supergroup Prophets of Rage. Morello was also a touring musician with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Under the moniker the Nightwatchman, Morello released his solo work. Together with Boots Riley, he formed Street Sweeper Social Club. Morello co-founded Axis of Justice, which airs a monthly program on Pacifica Radio station KPFK in Los Angeles.
Timothy Commerford 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 has also been the lead singer and bassist of the bands Future User and Wakrat.
Bradley Joseph Wilk is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019).
Peter Joseph Yorn 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 known for playing the bulk of the instruments on his records. Spin magazine, in a career retrospective article dated March 26, 2021, recognized Yorn as one of his generation's best songwriters. Yorn’s 11th full length album, The Hard Way, was released on August 23, 2024.
Axis of Justice is a non-profit organization co-founded by Serj Tankian and Tom Morello. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots progressivism to fight for social justice together.
Failure is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was active from 1990 to 1997 and again from 2014 to the present. They have released six full-length albums and five EPs.
Matthew Chamberlain is an American session drummer, record producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, David Bowie, Tori Amos, The Wallflowers, Elton John, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, Brandi Carlile, Garbage, Macy Gray, and Soundgarden.
Out of Exile is the second studio album by American rock supergroup Audioslave, released on May 23, 2005, internationally, and a day later in the United States, through Epic Records and Interscope Records. It is the band's only album to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album spawned the singles "Be Yourself", "Your Time Has Come", "Doesn't Remind Me", and "Out of Exile"; "Doesn't Remind Me" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 48th Grammy Awards.
Ken Andrews is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Andrews was born in Seattle, Washington, and attended film school in Los Angeles before his band Failure received a record deal from Slash Records.
Live in Cuba is the first live DVD from the American rock supergroup Audioslave. Performed in front of an audience of 70,000 people, Live in Cuba is considered an historic event as it marks one of the few times that American musicians were permitted to play in Cuba. Despite the bureaucratic obstacles resulting from the ongoing United States embargo against Cuba, Audioslave received permission to perform in Havana and altered their tour schedule to play a free concert on May 6, 2005. With special approval by U.S. President George W. Bush and Cuban President Fidel Castro, the concert was organized through joint authorization of the United States Department of Treasury and the Cuban Institute of Music. At the time, guitarist Tom Morello declared that Audioslave was the first American rock and roll band to play a concert in Cuba. However, other American musical artists played in Cuba prior to 2005. At the Havana Jam in March 1979, Billy Joel, Stephen Stills, Weather Report, and several other American pop and jazz artists performed at Havana's Karl Marx Theatre. The Fabulous Titans, an American reggae/ska band, performed in Cuba in 1981.
Revelations is the third and final studio album by American rock supergroup Audioslave, released on September 4, 2006 internationally and a day later in the United States through Epic Records and Interscope Records. Chris Cornell quit the band in February 2007 and the remaining members disbanded Audioslave rather than looking for a new vocalist since they were busy with a reunion of Rage Against the Machine.
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 his "creative subconscious". Later, frequent collaborators Mat Mitchell and Carina Round became permanent members.
"Doesn't Remind Me" is a song by the American rock supergroup Audioslave, released in July 2005 as the third single from their second studio album Out of Exile. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 48th Grammy Awards.
"Like a Stone" is a song by the American rock supergroup Audioslave, released as the second single from their eponymous debut studio album Audioslave on January 20, 2003. The song topped both the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts, and reached number 31 on the Hot 100 chart, making it their biggest US hit. "Like a Stone" has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP). It is also certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It became the fifth best performing alternative song on the Alternative Songs chart of the decade and the eighth best performing rock song on the Mainstream Rock chart of the decade.
"V" Is for Vagina is the debut studio album by Maynard James Keenan's side project Puscifer, released on October 30, 2007. The album features a significantly different, electronic sound and arrangements than Keenan's other bands: the progressive Tool and alternative A Perfect Circle. Keenan himself compared the sound of "V" Is for Vagina to "driving around in your car listening to those old Motown hits, James Brown, and cool R&B stuff". "V" is for Vagina has sold 112,000 copies.
Emarosa is an American rock band formed in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2006. The band currently consists of lead guitarist and founding member ER White and lead vocalist Bradley Walden, who joined the band in 2013. The group has undergone several line-up changes throughout its career, with lead guitarist ER White being the sole remaining founding member. Originally oriented towards post-hardcore and alternative rock, Emarosa has gravitated towards a more pop rock sound in recent years.
"C" Is for is an EP by the Maynard James Keenan side project Puscifer, which was released on November 10, 2009. It contains four previously unreleased songs as well as two tracks from "V" Is for Vagina recorded live on Puscifer's 2009 tour. "C" Is for has sold 10,000 copies.
Future User are an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2013, consisting of bass guitarist Tim Commerford, multi-instrumentalist Jordan Tarlow and drummer Jon Knox. They describe their music as "Progtronic", combining electronic music with progressive rock. They have released one album, SteroidsOrHeroin, in 2015.
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