Jon Langford

HIDDEN ERROR: Usage of "home_town" is not recognizedHIDDEN ERROR: Usage of "other_names" is not recognized

Jonathan "Jon" Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a prolificWelsh musician and artist based in Chicago. He is one of the founders of punk band The Mekons, postpunk group The Three Johns and alt country ensembles The Waco Brothers and Pine Valley Cosmonauts. He has worked actively to campaign against the death penalty in Illinois.

Early life

Langford was born in Newport, Wales, the youngest son of Kit Langford and Denis Langford, an accountant for Lloyd's Brewery. Langford's older brother is science-fiction author and critic David Langford, who lives in Reading, England.

When he was young, Langford would visit his grandparents in Croesyceiliog, whose family friend ran two pubs, the Cambrian Arms and The Six In Hand. He attended Gaer Infants School and Gaer Junior School, then Brynglas Primary School, the Newport High School middle school, before Queen's Hill. In 1972-1973, after playing rugby and football, at the age of 15 Langford decided he liked playing music better. He played a lot of David Bowie and was listening to a lot of Man.

Langford

Langford may refer to:

Places

Canada

England

United States

Other uses

Skull Orchard

Skull Orchard is the debut solo album by Jon Langford, recorded in August 1997 and released on January 20, 1998 by Sugar Free Records, a Chicago-based label. Skull Orchard, described on its release in 1998 as Langford's most Welsh release ever, had two homonymically-linked themes: Wales and whales which came together in the "Youghal" track, about the filming of the 1956 movie Moby Dick in coastal Wales. In 2011 the album was re-recorded and re-issued by Langford backed by the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus, based in Toronto.

Background

By the time of its release, The Skull Orchards, initially a songwriting project, had evolved into a full blown band with Langford on guitar and vocals, Chicago guitarist Mark Durante (ex-Revolting Cocks, KMFDM), drummer Steve Goulding (ex-Gang Of Four, Graham Parker & the Rumour) and bass player Alan Doughty (ex-Jesus Jones). Among other musicians who took part in recording the album were Mekons' Sally Timms (backing vocals) and Rico Bell (accordion), Drag City Records artist Edith Frost, Bottle Rockets bassist Tom Ray and the Texas Rubies' Jane Baxter Miller.

Lost Souls

Lost Souls may refer to:

Film, TV and radio

Fiction

Other

The Waco Brothers

The Waco Brothers are an alternative country band in Chicago, Illinois, formed by Jon Langford of the Mekons. The group grew out of Langford's wish to play more country-influenced music as the Mekons concentrated more on a punk sound. They were originally put together simply for local Chicago shows, but the success of their Bloodshot Records albums allowed them to tour the US occasionally. Many of the members also participate in Langford's Pine Valley Cosmonauts project.

Although the band has recorded seven studio albums since 1995, their cult popularity is primarily a response to their live performances. Their album, Waco Express: Live & Kickin' at Schuba's Tavern is a concert recording which Ken Tucker, the pop music critic for NPR's Fresh Air and Editor-at-Large at Entertainment Weekly, described as "country as it should be written and played, with a long memory for roadhouse honky-tonks rather than TV-ready music videos." Author and music critic Sarah Vowell told the Chicagoist, "I’ve never been able to find a live band in New York as consistently thrilling and funny and fun as the Waco Brothers."