His father, Earl Flansburgh, was a retired architect and former principal of his own firm. 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 United States. Army in the Italian Campaign during World World War World War II
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.
He is half of the longstanding Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. He is left-handed. 1982–present: They Might Be Giants
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 Maine", which charted in Europe and served as theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle.
In 1998, Flansburgh guest-starred himself in the season 4 finale of the Cartoon Network animated series Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Flansburgh has pursued a number of solo projects during his time with They Might Be Giants.
His band Mono Puff recorded two full-length albums in the late 1990s and toured occasionally.
He also ran a subscription-based record label called the Hello Recording Club. Flansburgh has also directed music videos for such artists 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 2004, Flansburgh created and hosted a series on Way of New York City 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, John played a short role as "The Computer" in the Adult Swim comedy series Xavier: Renegade Angel. Flansburgh frequently plays a red Gibson Exact Sciences-335, sometimes referred to as "Big Red".
He also commonly plays a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, and a Gibson Les Paul.
He is known for his unique, custom-made Mojo guitar, which he designed himself, taking inspiration from the geometric shapes of old guitar cases.
