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Show THK DAILY HKRAI.I), I'rovo, I tah Sunday, February 4. 19 The blues have been good to By JEFF BAENEN Associated Press Writer MINNEAPOLIS fiddles w ith his sneaker laces and chews ice cubes. Playing guitar, for Lang, is "like an addiction, almost." "My dad had been buggin me to play guitar for a little bit so I ... 1 don't know ... just kind of look a little interest in it," said Lang, who got a Fender Stratocaster for his 3th birthday. "Then when I started playing I took a big interest in it and started practicing ungodly Carved into Kid Jonny Lang's Fender guitar is one beat-u- p word: "BLUES." ; At 14, Lang doesn't have the blues not the kind, anyway. He doesn't even have a girlfriend. And he hails from North Dakota, a state musical stars include whose Lawrence Welk, Peggy Lee and Bobby Vee, not Muddy Waters. But the schoolboy-by-dabluesman-by-nigmay "be about to hit the big time: He has landed a multi-albudeal with A&M Records. "It's a weird thing. I don't think you have to have the blues to play the blues," says Lang, a blond, brown-eye- d boy who resembles Macaulay Culkin but sings with a gritty, soulful feel. "I'm just singing it for the guy who wrote it," he adds. "I'm not trying to feel his whole pain about j rj ? i if said. While Lang says leaving Fargo for the Twin Cities "wasn't like a move or anything," his father says leav ing friends and family behind in North Dakota wasn't easy. "But we had a goal in mind here and we decided to do it. That was it. We just did it," Langseth said. The rest of the band also moved from Fargo to Minneapolis. Bad Medicine became The Big Bang in 994, with Lang. Larsen. his brother Mike, 26. on drums and bassist Jeff Hayes, 24. Their compact disc, "Smokin," was released last April, featuring four songs written or by one morning until the next. His mom would find him in his darkened room, so wrapped up in practicing that he forgot to turn on the lights. "Jonny has been singing and dancing since he learned how to walk and talk." said his mother, Marcia Langseth. "He loves to entertain." it." er 0 Jonny Lang plays to a packed house at Gabe's By The Park in St. Paul, Minn., in October 1995. The Fargo, N.C. native who now lives in Rosevilie, Minn., heads a band of musicians at least 10 years older as they pack bars across the Upper Midwest. Kid on his forearms as he bears dow on his sunburst 976 Fender Tele-caste- 1 n r. you can be so cruel to me." Lang moans into the microphone. He grow ls, rasps, grimaces, his hair falling in his face: "No. no. no, no. baby." Cheers erupt from the crowd, packed in too close to dance. The "Bay-be- e. band tears through Sam & Dave's "Ain't That A Lot of Love" and Buddy Guy's "Please Don't Drive Me Away," as well as original songs. Offstage. Lang is and unassuming, hardly the swaggering star. He w ears a flannel shirt like any teen-age- r. During an interview in his manager's office, he soft-spok- 1 He imitated the riffs of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. That led him Eric to other blues masters Clapton, the three Kings (Freddie, Albert and B.B.) and Lang's biggest influence. Albert Collins, the Master of the Telecaster. "I just started listening to the other guys. I said. "Wait a second. Stevie stole that lick from this guy.' you know. You just hear a little of every guitar player in every other guitar player. That's the way it is. I think." Lang's dad was a fan of a Fargo band called Bad Medicine. The band needed a singer, even a one. Jonny joined and learned guitar from Bad Medicine guitarist Ted Larsen. He needed only eight lessons. "He was trying to play Stone Temple Pilots," said Larsen. 24. "I said, 'Knock it off right now. I'm " going to teach you the blues.' Larsen said Lang, whose family once farmed in eastern North Dakota, has "not had a cushy life." His parents are divorced, and he lives with his father in WATS RIGHT...F0R The beginning of a Suite Romance YOUR INSURANCE PRICING. Met & Cail370-35A- V 0 PARK mic-o- ux-sa-- 7 1 49 Nightly (PG) jdults $4 ChOdren - DAILY S Son M.T STEREO OLD MEN GRUMPIER M STEREO Sat - DAILY 5 20 MM 12 - IK STEREO f DAILY 4 Sui. W'S IN STEREO 20 IS S MM. W'Sat A DAILY MM. Sun. 12:30 3 00 WHITE SQUALL 7:10 10 00 - IN o passes "0 OBCOtAVT I $2 CLOSED SUNDAyJ IS ft:o - IN STERFO WSat 1 Sun .Mat. 1:30 4:15 MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS DAILY 7 00 10 00 - Hi STEREO WSM. 4 Sun. MM. 12.45 4:00 J 1 ( FROM be purchased at the Fine Arts Tick- et Office. The program will begin with numbers by the Women's Chorus including This Old Man. Go Down Moses and an Irv ing Berlin medley. The Symphonic Band will then take the stage w ith selections from Les Miserahlcs and a Jerome Robbins Broadw ay medley. Syncopation will perform renditions of AVi Aore. New York. New York and Snowfall. The program will conclude with the Symphonic Band's version of Stars ami Stripes Forever and a combined finale of Broadway marches. "The three groups will provide a v ariety of light and entertaining pieces that everyone can enjoy." said Don Peterson. Symphonic Band director. 378-432- 2. irONLYfe) cosTsf -- ACCEPTED J P.M. 7-9:- 30 y TVS A GREAT : LACE FOR A PARTY! rv1 NO DISCOUNT TOCT5 ACCEPTED M0& NO DSOOUNT TOCTS ACCEPTED JUMANJI DAILY 7:00 9:30 - IN STEREO W'Sat 1 Sun. Mail. 1:40 4:20 no passes "0 OBOOUNT ACCEPTED 1DETS no passes iiiiiii aSCOUNT TDEIS ACCEPTED n stereo SAdHINA DAILY 7:00 9:45 iimm 1 ",,-i- WSat. & Sun Mat. 1:30 4:15 2na West Prove i 7b N A subscription to While others are giving toasters and irons, you can give the happy couple something they'll really use and enjoy. Tlte Daily Herald has ble what newlyweds coupons to save them money, classified ads to help them find everything from furniture to a job, plus the latest news to keep them informed. need-valua- to order the gift subscription today! Call 375-51- 03 I - I Daily 7:15 CUM IIATIMCCC 9:50 I.OA A.4 c i e.... VM,J No PassesNo Discount Tickets Accepted Daily in Dolby Stereo at 7:10 9:50 Sat. & Sun. Matinee 1:15 4:00 Ct?TT TYT TO AND THRILLING!" Uhar Mu.td.M MRKKT 1 1)0 IMNCE IN AMERICA! "Iwothiimrsitp!" sbkil Christian Mary Stuart Masterson Slater .vl.hi.Ri -- Restoration Dolby Stereo Sat. : . MEL EEfi0& WW Daily -- I VACAT "SCREAMERS" m Daily 7:30 9:45 Sat & Sun 2:00 4:45 r & 7:00 9:30 Sun 1:45 4:30 . eaxirimuwrasouTrTiow nc auomtESEivED. 12 ! Daily in Dolby Stereo at 7:20 9:20 Sat. & Sun. Matinee 1 :00 3:00 5:00 -- - , -- AT w "asses . 1:15 4:10 THE JUROR DAILY 7 TWOS STtHlO MM. ny orchestras, choral groups, chamber ensembles, voice, movies and television. Schickele has received four consecutive Grammy awards for his Teiarc discs "P.D.Q. Bach: 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults." "Oedipus Tex and Oth- er Choral Calamities." "WTWP--- , Classical Talkily Talk Radio" and "Music for an Aw ful Lot of Winds and Percussion." Released last fall was the com- poser's fifth P.D.Q. Bach album. "Two Pianos are Better Than One." featuring the first recording of "Concerto for Two Pianos ver- -' sus Orchestra." 7 45 2 45 NO PASSES NO DISCOUNT AOCHTED It I W It II FATHER OF THE BRIDE 2 M STEREO - DAJLY 5:00 7:30 1&00 2 30 WSM i Sun. Mat. WStt. 4 Sun Meanwhile. Lang is attending school and playing two or three gigs a week. He seems calm about the future. If things don't work out. ' he said, "it's not going to be the end of the world. I'll just keep play-inn.- " THElKMroiT - - t Sun. NO DSOOUNT 1DETS ACCEPTED 15 7 SO 10 10 12 OO 2 40 ; CALF K1ICE III3HT no SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BLACK SHEEP They'll lever Return... Utah Ave.. Payson Pimm "r Tiir-- nmrr-- o I 7 HOTEL Wedding Gift 98 W. TUESDAY NIGHT IS W'S.I 0 SERVICE ? a m u mm suss am wmm m R MOBILE It, 1996. r P TOR TBP Suite for those who propose in Mingles Restaurant, Valentines evening, February REE FAST, mm sm Special Dessert, $16.95 Enter to win Brigham Young University's vocal group Syncopation as well as the Women's Chorus and Symphonic Band will come together for an evening of pops selections on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Conceit Hall. Ticket prices are $4 for students, faculty and staff; $5 for senior citizens and alumni: and $6 for the general public. Tickets may TIME CALL members. Public perception of Lang has changed in the months since he began performing, manager James K'ein said. "They've gone from noticing that plays, him as a guitar to an actual musician, a pro- -' fessional player who is 14, as opposed to the other w ay around," Klein said. Lang's parents are with him when he performs at bars; and his mother said she's not concerned. , "He's not fooled by any of this. ' He's not in awe of people who drink or smoke. I think he'll make some good choices. He's worked ; hard, and he's not going to throw it away." she said. holds an evening of pops BYU UP TO $100 OF DEDUCTIBLE. popularly 37S-432- FROM LOGAN TO ST. GEORGE. k a FREE LIMIT A Schickele, versity's de Jong Concert Hall. Admission prices are $10 for students, faculty and staff: $11 for senior citizens and alumni; and $12 for the general public. Tickets may be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office. As a composer, musician, author and satirist. Peter Schickele is internationally recognized as one of the most versatile artists in the field of music. He has written more than 100 works for sympho INSURANCE APPROVED DETAILS. , Valentine Peter know n as P.D.Q. Bach, w ill join the Utah Symphony in "An Evening of Musical Mayhem" on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Brigham Young Uni- MOSHimt GLASS ACT WILL WAIVE Lang and three by other band Musical satirist to perform at BYU R8 o A fered." Lang's father quit farming to oversee his son's career. "This is what I do now. It's a fun thing to do w ith your kid," he hours." Lang remembers an intense month of practicing nonstop, from m On a Saturday night. Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang take the tiny stage at Bunkers, a bar in the Minneapolis warehouse district. The bar is owned by the w ife of Lang's manager and is home base for the band. ' Lang shows a stage presence far beyond his years. The skinny Kid struts the stage, veins popping out 1 1 y, him." Rosevilie, Minn., and attends a suburban middle school. His mother and his sister, Jessica, are in Minneapolis. "I knew he had the blues," Larsen said. "I knew he had suf- 1 ht Less than two years after learning his guitar licks, the ninth-gradis fronting a band with musicians at least 10 years older and packing bars across the Upper Midwest. His family is supportive. He moved from his hometown of Fargo, N.D., to the musical hub of the Paul area last Minneapolis-St- . summer to bolster his career. "I just want him to be happy," said his father, Jon Langseth Sr., who is 38. "If he didn't want to do it, we wouldn't be doing this. We're not back there prodding 14 year old ing up-and-com- KS Pane I i , |