Forget Lang’S Age, Just Enjoy The Blues

When you hear Jonny Lang sing in anguished tones, “They say that time heals everything/I’ve felt the pain that love can bring/It don’t get no better with each passing day/Any hope I had is slowly slipping away,” it’s best not to dwell on the fact that this world-weary bluesman’s voice comes from the throat of an 18-year-old.

Yeah, it could seem oh-so-cheesy for a shiny young kid from North Dakota to be singing the blues as though he were a grizzled old man who done his time in this mean old world. Heck, how can he possibly know the pain of lost love when he’s not even old enough to drown his broken heart in a bottle of whiskey at the corner tavern?

But as Lang has said: “My age is not even an issue to me.”

I suppose it shouldn’t be for us either. So let’s just get past the fact that Lang’s face looks as though it belongs on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine and simply enjoy the kid for what he is - a talented bluesman whose music is ageless.

Born in 1981 in North Dakota, Lang (then known as Jon Langseth) grew up listening to his mom’s extensive Motown record collection. He was 12 years old when he saw his first blues band play. He got a Stratocaster for his 13th birthday and promptly started taking lessons.

You might say he was a real quick learner. When it comes to Lang, the terms “child prodigy,” “virtuoso” and “boy wonder” are bandied about like a birdie at a badminton tournament.

He quickly became a regional hit, and his indie album “Smokin’ ” (released when he was only 14 years old) sold over 25,000 copies. It also snared big label attention and in 1997 he released “Lie To Me” on A&M Records. That LP debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s New Artist chart. He appeared in the movie “Blues Brothers 2000.”

The buzz about him grew to a roar.

But Lang’s age has been a double-edged sword. Being such a big talent at such a young age has landed him plenty of attention from the press. At the same time, plenty of folks have tried to dismiss him as nothing more than a gimmick, with nothing more than Mmmbop blues.

But Lang has earned the respect of many a road-worn music legend. He’s toured with B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Blues Traveler and Aerosmith.

And his latest album, “Wander This World” (released in 1998), showed significant maturation. Here, Lang penned four of the songs, whereas he only wrote one on his previous album. The record also incorporates a tasteful and surprisingly rich blending of R&B, soul and rock.

“I wanted to explore my songwriting, branching out into my music. I’ve been playing blues since I started and I wanted to go in more of a soul, R&B direction,” he says.

This album also goes one more step toward proving to skeptics that Lang isn’t simply riding on an age gimmick, that he is deserving of the attention he’s received on musical merits.

“I’ve always told myself I’m going to be rated as a musician, not by how old I am,” he told Interview magazine. “I said, `I’m not going to be good for my age, I want to be good period.’ ”

And he is.

IN CONCERT Jonny Lang Jonny Lang will perform Tuesday at the Spokane Opera House. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17.50, available at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT.