LAWIL - Jonny Corndawg

I had no idea who this hick was until about a year ago, when Deer Tick was on the road and he was the opening act. DT was coming to town, and on the bill was a guy named Jonny Corndawg. Now, I don't know much about Deer Tick, so I don't know why I assumed Jonny Corndawg was one of the band members' alter ego, but I did. I also assumed that the opener would rock, and probably be the highlight of the show. I was all set to check them out and write about it for this here website.

That didn't happen. I missed the show, and temporarily forgot about Jonny Corndawg, which was easy to do because I had no concept of who he was at all. It wasn't until the summer, when I was lazily sipping lemonade and eating a corn dog, of all things, in East Troy, Wisconsin that I remembered Jonny Corndawg and the show that never came to be. I googled, and came across his website I'm not entirely sure how that domain name wasn't taken already, but good for him. He had a song up there called Shaved (Like a Razor) that caught my eye, so I listened. I listened, and I listened good. From then on I was hooked. We'll get to that, first I'd like to show you his song Ain't it Your Birthday, performed live while driving the Deer Tick tour van.

The story of Jonny Corndawg is as American as it gets. He says he packed up and left his small town in Virginia at the age of seventeen on a motorcycle, guitar strapped to the back, and never looked back. I'm not sure how old the dude is now, but let's say he's 30. So for thirteen years Jonny Corndawg has been touring the country on a motorcycle, playing country songs and seeing the world. Never stopping. Rarely with a place to live for more than a couple nights, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Regardless of how you feel about country music, there's something about it that's undeniably ours. Sure it's got roots in European music, but there's just a hint of that old-world influence left. Roots country is all about this country's wide open spaces, and Jonny Corndawg's music reflects that. I really admire a person who never stands still. Whether it's because I've lived in the same town all my life, I cannot say, but I've explored my fair share of the lower 48, and the feeling I had is the same feeling I get when I listen to music like Jonny's.

Another plus for his music is his lyrics. A lot of country music is about things that haven't happened in at least half a century. What makes anybody think any of these contemporary pop country dudes have ever been on a horse. Or plowed anything? Jonny Corndawg answers back with songs about laser hair removal, the ginger phenomenon, and waffle house culture. Before you take a look at this video for Shaved (Like a Razor), I want you to realize that what you're about to witness is hilarious. There's so much head scratch in this shit I can't handle it. Look at the man's sweater for Christ's sake.

Corndawg is able to adapt his sound to almost any outfit. I've heard Shaved Like a Razor performed with a guitar, very slowly, like in the previous video. I've heard it sped up 100% with a fiddle in a live session for Sirius/XM. I've heard him play it with a full country accompaniment as well. The song isn't really that complicated, but the kind of versatility he's acquired can only come from being a traveling, touring musician. And nobody has toured like Jonny Corndawg.

I'll admit, he's 90% persona for me, but I've come to love his album Down on the Bikini Line dearly in my short time with it. I recommend it to anybody with even a passing interest in country music, and pretty much everybody else. If this blows up, (it won't) it will be for all the right reasons, and it will be the first time in history that's happened. At the very least, give it a listen for all the WTF moments you'll have listening to the lyrics. Here's how his song Chevy Beretta starts. Enjoy:

Chevy Beretta, small town, loud music/
I'm startin' all the fights that get started tonight/
Tony and Jeff left their women for each other/
Now we don't talk to Tony or Jeff no more/