When Jonny Ranger first discovered Logan, Utah’s music scene he was immediately blown away by the concentration talent concealed within such a small mountain town. Drawing from influences in blues, jazz, classic rock and hardcore, their sound lingers somewhere in between Pearl Jam’s heavy grunginess and Glen Campbell’s soft country rock.
“There are some insane musicians in Logan, and I feel like they all kind of hide under the nooks and crannies [and] then they come out in waves and you just hear some of the best music you’ve ever heard,” the 30 year old said during a recent visit to KHOL.
Much like Utah’s dramatic and diverse geography, Jonny Ranger’s sound instills a sense of rugged beauty, mimicking the balance between river-carved canyons and towering stone monoliths. He walked into the KHOL studios with the same blend: hair past his collar bone and turquoise bolo tie.
Rounding out Ranger’s mighty vocals and acoustic guitar are Dan Fields on drums, Ron Guesche on bass, and Emily Ezola on keyboards. All have been active in the Logan music scene in various musical projects (including one of my personal favorites, Guava Tree).
This summer sees the band embarking on its first official tour, in Moab and Ogden, Utah, Alpine, Wyoming and Island Park, Idaho. Jonny Ranger made their debut in Jackson on July 24 at a new venue, The Bunker Pub & Eatery.
Aside from a handful of videos floating around on YouTube, the band doesn’t have much available digitally. That will change soon, Ranger said.
“Our [first] album got lost and then returned back to us and we’ve been chalking it up to letting it get seasoned throughout the world and then back to us,” he said. The band recorded seven songs, Ranger and his dad tracked five. Ranger aims to finish by mid-August.
The band members have leaned into the lifestyle of the open road by listening to a lot of hard rock in their 24-foot RV, including the 80s hair metal stylings of Dio and the modern technical riffs of Rickshaw Billy’s Burger Patrol. Ranger finds listening to and playing hardcore music to be a great way to prepare for acoustic playing and vice-versa.
“My brother showed me this type of music when I was a kid, but it didn’t really start setting in until later in life. The intricacies of playing metal guitar really helped my way around the acoustic guitar. I can finesse an acoustic guitar better [now],” Ranger said.
Ranger recalls one of the biggest lessons he’s learned as a musician came from his friends in Star Valley, Wyoming. It’s one rooted in trusting the artistic process and not dismissing your own self worth. Staying out of your own way can be one of the largest hurdles for artists who can feel like they’re shouting into the void, Ranger said.
“Get the keys, and drive your own bus, and keep going down the road, and keep creating,” he said.
Listen above for KHOL’s full conversation and live performance with Jonny Ranger.
Support for this arts and cultural coverage comes from the Wyoming Arts Council.
