Whiz kid Jonny Polonsky has been relatively quiet for the past eight years, releasing only one six-song EP since his 1996 debut, Hi My Name Is Jonny. On September 21st, Polonsky released his long awaited follow-up, The Power Of Sound, to superlative reviews. Expectations are high for the 31 year old, but if the early evaluations of his new record are any indication, Jonny Polonsky will finally make his mark.

As a young man, Polonsky was obsessed with music, listening to everything from The Beatles and The Monkees to Duran Duran and Def Leppard. As a teen he became even more inquisitive, sampling everything from Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic blues to grunge gods Nirvana and even early punk via Iggy and the Stooges. However, the Pixies would end up playing an important role in the young musician's life. "I remember the first time I heard their music, it sounded so totally bizarre and off-kilter and just sounded like you weren't supposed to like it--and at the same time totally compelling and addictive. It seemed so weird and repellant, but you wanted to hear more, plus their songs were so short it was easy to play them over and over. Black Francis in particular was fascinating. His voice could be so pretty and sound almost like a girl's voice, yet he could scream his balls off and sound like he was being murdered. I was just sucked into their little universe," said Polonsky. All of these influences would manifest into Polonsky's own unique style of power pop.

Polonsky began playing guitar at the age of nine, and by the time he was twelve, he was composing songs. Soon he was playing in bands, "My first band was called Pudding and we played a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top. My band after that was called Painfully Huge, and we played Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, the pre-ballad material. I played guitar and sang in both bands," said Polonsky. A multi instrumentalist, Polonsky plays piano, drums and anything with strings, so it's not surprising he struck out on his own. In 1994, Polonsky began sending tapes out to musicians he admired. One of these recordings made its way to Frank Black of the Pixies who he had met briefly before. "I had contacted and became friends with Reeves Gabrels, because I was a fan of his guitar playing on the Tin Machine records, and he introduced me to Frank Black. Frank Black is an incredible person. He's just a super smart, interesting, nice guy. It was literally a dream come true to have him in my corner. I've been a humongous fan of his music for years and years, and to have him produce my demo was an unforgettable experience," said Jonny.

Black, so impressed by Polonsky's talent, signed on to produce the demo. With the polished recording in hand, Frank Black presented it to his manager who quickly became Polonsky's manager. Next stop was Rick Ruben who immediately signed him to American Records. "He's another unique individual who I hold in high esteem. I like him a lot and admire him a great deal. He's always got tons of great ideas and follows his instincts rather than second guessing what he thinks other people might want out of him", said Polonsky. With a record contract, Polonsky moved from Boston back to Chicago to begin working on his debut, Hi My Name Is Jonny. Even though the album was recorded at his mother's house in a home studio with Ruben's seasoned production skills and flawless mixing by Brendan O'Brien, the trio created a well received debut. The 22 year old set out on a group of tours, "For the Hi, My Name is Jonny record, my band and I supported Frank Black for three months, went to Europe for a bit, and toured with Lollapalooza," said Jonny.

Just as the party was starting, American lost distribution rights, "I left the label before their distribution deal was up. It wasn't a great time to be inside my brains, but I think it's difficult for anyone to be in their early twenties. It's just as bad as being a teenager, but now you have to pay taxes", explained Polonsky. However, Polonsky is a musician first and foremost. This setback wouldn't change this. "I played keyboards with April March, an American singer who sang in French. The music was cool, very 60's French pop. They call it ye ye music. I also played guitar with Local H, a band from Chicago. They rock like crazy. My band was the Angry Inch in the Chicago live production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Hedwig's a cool chick. She rocks like crazy", said Polonsky. "I never stopped writing or recording music; it just took awhile for any label to want to release my tunes. Recording is expensive when you do it with other people in recording studios. I used to record myself at home, but I got sick of it. It's more fun for me to have other people involved now," he said. In 2001, Polonsky released an EP, There Is Something Wrong With You, on Eggbert records. "I just didn't feel like putting out a full length record, because I knew whatever was going to be released wouldn't get a very good push. It was a tiny, one man label with not a lot of bread. That's the only reason. I didn't want to waste a bunch of songs on a record that wouldn't be heard, but I wanted to put out SOMETHING just to at least get back in the ring," explained Polonsky.

In late 2003, Polonsky was touring with Carla Werner; the opening act for The Thorns. Pete Droge and Polonsky became fast friends. Polonsky was seeking a label when Droge told him about Loveless Records. After submitting a demo to the Seattle based label, Loveless quickly signed Polonsky. His new cd, The Power of Sound, is already receiving terrific reviews as his maturity as an artist is being recognized. "I'm more confident in what I'm doing, and therefore the record making experience is a lot more fun and easy going. I like the direction my songs are taking. I was just really excited about this batch of tunes and wanted to make sure it actually came out," said Polonsky. Unlike his debut, on which he played every instrument, Polonsky put a firecracker of a band together. "On almost all the tracks it's Solomon Snyder on bass and Joe Dapier on drums. Those guys were my band when we went on tour to support Hi, My Name is Jonny. We've been friends since we were kids. Josh Freese played on a couple songs. We've been friends for a few years, and he played on my EP from 2001, There is Something Wrong with You. Tim Dow played drums on a couple of songs. He played drums in Shiner, a great band from Kansas City, and also in Year Of The Rabbit with Solomon," explained Polonsky

While it took him eight years to ink another record deal, past experiences have enhanced his talent as both a songwriter as well as a musician. With a new label in Loveless, an outstanding record, and sold out venues, Polonsky is well on his way.

For more information on Jonny Polonsky, visit www.lovelessrecords.com

-Tony Engelhart

Photo by Paul Elledge

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