Childhood and education Flansburgh was born
left-handed in
Lexington, Massachusetts. His mother, Polly Flansburgh, is the founder and president of
Boston By Foot. His brother,
Paxus Calta (born Earl Schuyler Flansburgh), is an anti-nuclear
activist and political organizer. John Flansburgh attended
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School where he met future band member
John Linnell. Flansburgh attended the
George Washington University, where he learned to play guitar while working as a
parking garage attendant. He then attended
Antioch College and
Pratt Institute, where he graduated with an
arts degree.
Formation of They Might Be Giants Flansburgh and close friend John Linnell united in 1981 after moving to
Brooklyn to start their music career. They began performing with Flansburgh on guitar and Linnell on other instruments backed by a
drum machine. In 1982, John Flansburgh created a telephone service called
Dial-A-Song. The band they created is
They Might Be Giants.
Marriage Flansburgh has been married to musician
Robin Goldwasser since 1996, with whom he occasionally performs. Later in 2004, as a one-off, Flansburgh produced and starred in the
Off-Broadway musical
People Are Wrong!, which was co-written with her.
Other side projects Flansburgh also ran a subscription-based
record label called the
Hello CD of the Month Club. He has also directed music videos for artists such as
Soul Coughing,
Ben Folds Five,
Frank Black and the Catholics,
Harvey Danger, and
Jonathan Coulton. He also produced Coulton's album,
Artificial Heart. In 1998, Flansburgh guest-starred as himself in the season 4 finale of the
Cartoon Network animated series
Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In 2004, Flansburgh created and hosted a series on
WNYC entitled
Now Hear This. The program spotlighted a variety of his musical interests, featuring interviews with artists such as
Stephin Merritt,
David Byrne,
Matt Stone, and
The Darkness. While no longer in production, it continues to be archived on the station's website. In 2007, Flansburgh played a short role as "Computer" in the Adult Swim comedy series
Xavier: Renegade Angel.
Car accident On June 8, 2022, while in a
rideshare on his way home from a They Might Be Giants show at the
Bowery Ballroom, Flansburgh's ride was involved in a collision with a
drunk driver. Flansburgh had several broken ribs, many of which had multiple fractures, but none of his vital organs were damaged. The tour was later resumed after John Flansburgh got better.
Solo EP In 2023, he released the solo EP
Forest/Trees, which was released under his name. == Political views ==