John Flansburgh

John Flansburgh
Flansburgh performing with They Might Be Giants in October 2010
Background information
Birth name	John Conant Flansburgh
Also known as	Flans Flansy Rolf Conant
Born	(1960-05-06) May 6, 1960 (age 56)
Origin	Lincoln, Massachusetts, US
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, trumpet, harmonica
Years active	1982–present
Associated acts	They Might Be Giants Mono Puff John Linnell
Notable instruments
Gibson ES-335 Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Chessmaster (custom Mojo guitar) Fender Jazzmaster Longhorn "The Stick"

John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. He is left-handed.

Commonly referred to by the nicknames Flans or Flansy, he is married to musician Robin Goldwasser, with whom he occasionally performs.

Flansburgh was born in Lincoln, Massachusetts. His father, Earl Flansburgh, was a well-known Boston architect. His mother, Polly Flansburgh, is the founder and president of Boston By Foot. Her father, Brigadier General Ralph Hospital, was an artillery commander in the U.S. Army in the Italian Campaign during World War II. His brother, Paxus Calta (born Earl Schuyler Flansburgh), is an anti-nuclear activist and political organizer.

Flansburgh attended the George Washington University, where he learned to play guitar while working as a parking garage attendant, then Antioch College and Pratt Institute, where he graduated with an arts degree.

Flansburgh co-founded They Might Be Giants, with longtime friend John Linnell, in 1982 while a student at Pratt Institute. The two share singing and songwriting duties, with Flansburgh on guitar, in addition to performing a variety of instruments when the need arises. In the 2002 documentary Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns, he was described as holding a leadership role in the group, managing most details of their live act and handling much of the promotion effort.

As a songwriter, Flansburgh enjoys a mix of styles; many of his songs have an absurdist and satirical bent, but he often breaks for more earnest and romantic themes as well. He penned and performed vocals on the group's first Grammy Award-winning effort, "Boss of Me", which charted in Europe and served as theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle.