16-year-old guitarist taking unusual route to the top

Friday, March 28, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

In addition to being one of the latest models in a long line of guitar wizards, Jonny Lang also has the distinction of being one of the youngest.

So what, you say. Guitar prodigies are as common as cockroaches. What separates Lang from the pack is his application of technique.

Instead of following the rock route to stardom, as many are wont to do, Lang is taking the road less traveled. He is playing and singing the blues, and in both cases sounding a lot older than his 16 years.

The Minnesota-bred teenager is touring the country in support of his debut CD, "Lie to Me," and gearing up for a European tour in May and a domestic tour with B.B. King in June.

"It's going to be awesome," says the soft-spoken Lang, talking on a cell phone from his van, which was hurtling through Texas on the way to a recent gig in Austin.

Lang was 13 and living in North Dakota when he heard his first blues concert, which featured the Bad Medicine Blues Band. He was inspired by the group's lead guitarist, Ted Larsen, and was soon taking lessons from Larsen himself.

Asked why he started playing the blues instead of rock, Lang replies, "Because the guy (Larsen) I took lessons from told me, 'You're gonna learn how to play this or I'm not gonna teach you.'"

He took the warning to heart, and was playing and singing the blues within months. He now shares the bandstand with Larsen, who alternates with Lang on lead and rhythm guitar.

"I just kinda immersed myself in it," he says modestly of his rapid ascension.

Asked how long he would practice, he was succinct: "All day."

Regarding his status as a wunderkind, Lang would rather avoid the subject entirely.

"I want people to really make a judgment on me as a musician, without anything else clouding the issue. Like my age."

Lang will make his Las Vegas debut on Thursday at the Hard Rock Cafe. Show time is 9 p.m. Admission is free.