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Bio
The music career trajectory of the band Lyndon Jones started with an elementary school rock band that carried on through high school. In those early days they traveled around the immediate area and beyond playing shows, performing on live and taped television broadcasts and continued on after high school with the acquisition of a multi track recorder that spurred the creation of their music in the beginning of the indie/ new wave movement of the late 70’s.
The band evolved into a group called Lights who created their first 3 song self titled EP from recordings in 1978 -1979. This EP included the songs “We’ll Go Driving” and “Because I Saw You” that would later be included in the repertoire of subsequent groups.
Following the creative run of Light’s, Lyndon was asked to join the group Madison Place (later to be named the more new wave aligned “Strangerz”). As one of the group’s songwriters Lyndon brought “We’ll Go Driving” and “Because I saw You” along with other songs. Soon after, producer Michael “Mick” Stewart (former guitarist for the British rock band Sweet) and his business partner AJ Cervantes (Casablanca Records alum and Butterfly Records founder) signed the band and wisked The Strangerz off to Broken Prairie studios in Champaign Illinois on a week that Adrian Belew had originally booked to begin work on his first solo album. As it turned out Belew and his group showed up at the end of the week to start setting up in the main studio room while the Strangerz were mixing down the first four songs selected for their upcoming album in the studio control room. The major label production and arrangement of the Lights songs transformed the songs into a more mainstream new wave sound instead of the haunting low fi underground sounding original versions. The next moves saw The Strangerz sign with an agency out of Nashville and begin touring. Near the time they were getting ready to make the jump to a Minneapolis agency that was to have them opening for arena acts, the band, frustrated with the perceived slow pace of their fledgling music career split into separate bands. The group “Lyndon Jones” being one of the spinoffs in 1982.
Lyndon teamed up with bass player David “Blackjack” Trivisonno who was the brother of one of his band mates from high school. They immediately formed the group and had already begun playing some of the Lights/ Strangerz songs along with some new tunes. The band’s member line up and sound evolved into a departure from the new wave alt style and transformed to an amalgamation of 80’s alt synth pop, rhythm and blues and psychedelia reminiscent of what was going on in Minneapolis at the time. Those songs written in 83’ were not to have their final versions recorded until 1987 and released in 88’ on the self titled first Lyndon Jones album. By this time the band had solidified into a line up with Lyndon and David that included keyboardist Carey Newman and drummer Stewart Surgener. The response was positive to the heavily produced pop album but shortly thereafter being re-immersed into the indie scene from where they had originated the band brought back some of the earlier alt tunes with a new slew of tunes as well to make the second album Dream State in 1988. The title song being a nod to the late 80’s early 90’s retro fascination with 60’s psychedelia.
Always looking to creatively branch out and explore a new direction, the group took a foray into southern alt music on their third album “Break.. In The Silence” adding a collective name for the bandmates this time under the moniker “The Modern Elements”. A blurb in the Louisville Courier Journal alluded that this album had a sound that exhibited shades of 60’s group The Velvet Underground. The aftermath of this album release saw a substantial increase in their live performance dates.
The band expanded on the neo-psychedelic path with the fourth album “Cosmic” featuring songs reminiscent of The Doors but with a mid 80’s alt flavor. The album also included a couple of southern alt tunes that were written too late to be included on Break… In The Silence. This album saw David Frederich take on the drumming role on all songs and a lyricist role on certain songs. Joe Kenney became an additional guitarist.
Interest in the group had spread across the US with the band playing in different venues in major cities. Interest continued in Europe as their releases made their way around the international indie music distribution chain.
Finally the band evolved (as it seemed the rest of the indie world did at that time) into a heavier more edgy alt sound similar to The Pixies on the last Lyndon Jones studio album “Rampage” recorded in 1992. This album saw them come full circle to their roots of heavier rock with Surgener returning to the drumming role on this album.
Rampage was followed up with Requiem an album of selected songs that were recorded live in 89’ and 90’ from multiple performances during the band’s rotation at the preeminent rock club CBGB in New York City.
Rampage was to be the final recordings for the group as the group dispersed and Lyndon retired from a multitasking role of overall production, lead vocals and guitar to just focusing on playing guitar in a couple of hometown faves that included the 90’s iteration of the group called The Vigodas and then with Rabby Feeber up until late 2000. Blackjack continued playing as well joining the group Soupbone, a band that featured a contemporary blues style. After the end of the group, Lyndon himself continued engineering and producing albums as he had been doing since the late 70’s. Among others, one of his original clients in the 70’s was actor Jim Varney. Lyndon continued engineering and producing through the 90’s with other groups that included Blackjack’s band Soupbone.
2025 sees selected songs from the old physical media: videos, CD’s and Vinyl LP’s compiled to create a seventh album, a Lyndon Jones anthology newly remastered by Dennis Jones and released online including audio and video taken from hours of recordings and live performances which lately seems to be generating renewed interest worldwide for the music they created over the 10 year span that the band existed.
Links to information about the bands associated with the group Lyndon Jones that are mentioned in this bio can be found on the Lyndon Jones Discogs page:
