Jono El Grande

Norwegian composer, band leader, guitarist, artist and dancing conductor.

Jono El Grande was born Jon Andreas Håtun at Bærum Hospital, July 29th 1973, with the umbilical cord twisted around his neck.

At ten, four years before he touched his first instrument, he invented his first band: The Handkerchiefs. The Handkerchiefs was only a band of his mind, there were no alive musicians, no performances, no sound – just a concept.

This concept was incarnated through Jonos drawings, imaginary interwievs and articles about the bands merits, drawn and written with colored pencils in his self-titled paper Sick Magazine. He even made a cardboard dummy of their debut album, a long play record completely with cover and lyric sheets.

Jono El Grandes first real band was formed with three school buddies five years later – a teen-age art rock combo called Mannes Fatales, performing surrealistic poetry on a bed of stricktly arranged electric noises. Jono El Grande was the lead vocalist and lyricist. Mannes Fatales did three concerts before it was disbanded in 1990.

During 1990 – 1992, Jono El Grande formed several concept bands for one-night performances and recordings and/or rehearsings only: The Terror Duo, Black Satan, The Pez Dispensers, Acetaded Beat and As Drosera.