Gratitude
Gratitude is the new band from Jonah Matranga (onelinedrawing, Far) and Mark Weinberg (Crumb). Their forthcoming self-titled debut album is set for release in March 2005 on Atlantic Records. Watch for Gratitude on tour with Jimmy Eat World in November.
2004-10-29 20:34:21 CST by propheci
Onelinedrawing Makes Video
A video for Smile has been made. No word on whether it will hit TV or not. Onelinedrawing and New End Original will hit Europe soon. Dates are TBA. Current tour dates are posted in the usual place.
2002-07-31 14:39:55 CST by propheci
The Revolution Smile Ready to Start on New Album
The Revolution Smile, featuring ex-Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and signed to Fred Durst's Flawless Records, will start work on their new album soon with producer Dave Sardy and mixer Andy Wallace.
2002-06-13 13:44:00 CST by propheci (source: totalrock)
Onelinedrawing Album Update
Straight from Jonah: "Visitor is done done done. I'm really happy with it. It's in mass production hands now, so here's to anything close to a mass wanting it. It's out May14, and up for preorder on jadetree.com right about now. They're giving away stuff (like some goofy stickers I made for the occasion) with it when you pre-order. I'll get it up on onelinedrawing.com soon too."The tour dates have been updated as well.
2002-03-21 14:51:36 CST by propheci
The Revolution Smile Sign with Flawless
The Revolution Smile, featuring ex-Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, have signed with Fred Durst's Flawless label.
2002-03-09 00:38:30 CST by propheci (source: totalrock)
Onelinedrawing Set Release Date
"Visitor" will be released May 15th.
2002-02-02 18:33:45 CST by -corupdt- (source: pimprockpalace)
New Onelinedrawing Album
Here's the update from Jonah:"Presuming I finish this thing in time, it'll be coming out on Jade Tree on May15, which adds to excitement and pressure both. Oh, it will be called Visitor. I've been talking about that title for years now, and it's now called that for so many different reasons than it was initially. Strange. Anyway, right now I'm working on the songs and the art and pretty much way too much of everything, and here's to that : )"
2002-01-22 10:15:47 CST by propheci
New Revolution Smile
A new release from The Revolution Smile, a band featuring former Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, will be released in January. The EP entitled We Are In This Alone, will be released through Buddyhead Records.
2001-10-06 00:32:34 CST by bartman (source: blabbermouth)
The Revolution Smile to Release EP
The Revolution Smile, featuring ex-Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, will be releasing a new EP, entitled "We Are In This Alone", through Buddyhead Records in January.
2001-10-06 00:02:21 CST by propheci (source: blabbermouth)
Sock Reunion
Grady and Jeff of Will Haven, former Far/current Revolution Smile guitarist Shaun Lopez and Bright Anvil's Adam Federico will be doing a reunion show with their old band Sock at Capital Garage in Sacramento on October 20th.
2001-09-07 17:43:45 CST by bartman (source: blabbermouth)
Onelinedrawing, New End Original Release Plans
The New End Original debut album Thriller will be out on Jade Tree on October 2nd. A Onelinedrawing full-length is also in the works. Both Onelinedrawing and New End Original will be in Europe for most of August touring. If you didn't know already, both New End Original and Onelinedrawing are projects of ex-Far frontman Jonah Matranga.
2001-07-29 12:39:03 CST by propheci
Ex-Far Members Join Red Tape
Johnny is filling in on bass for a punk band called Red Tape. Red Tape will play shows in support of Will Haven.7/13 Koo's Cafe, Santa Ana
7/15 Troubador, LA
7/16 Pound, SF
7/20 Capitol Garage, SacramentoShaun is going to roadie for them.
2001-07-14 18:41:21 CST by propheci
Rival Schools Team Up With Onelinedrawing
Rival Schools, featuring Walter Schreifles of Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Quicksand; Sam Siegler of Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, CIV; Cache Tolman of CIV, Iceburn; and Ian Love of Burn, Die 116, will do a split with Onelinedrawing, which is just ex-Far vocalist Jonah Matranga. The split will be out on Some Records during mid-July.Rival Schools' debut album, United By Fate, is due out 7/31 on Island Def Jam. I've heard it a couple of times through, and it is certainly dissappointing if you are expecting something along the same lines as Gorilla Biscuits or Quicksand. Expect my full review on it soon.
2001-07-08 12:49:01 CST by propheci
Newest Jonah Happenings
Jonah has a new update on his Onelinedrawing site. Read it all at www.onelinedrawing.com/hi.asp.
2001-07-06 18:13:17 CST by propheci
Jonah Matranga New Project
Jonah Matranga (Far, Onelinedrawing) newest project, New End Original, recently finished recording their debut album, to be released in the Fall through Jade Tree Records. New End Original, besides Jonah, also features Norman Arenas, Scott Winegard (both of which were former members of Texas Is The Reason) and Charlie Walker (former Split Lip member), is planning to put out a single prior the release of their debut, that will be available at shows and through mailorder. The single will feature one song from their record, plus two b-sides, one of them being a cover of Sugarcubes' "Coldsweat". In other news, the band's official website at www.newendoriginal.com, is already online.
2001-07-05 12:42:01 CST by Hef-D (source: pimprockpalace)
New Tour Dates
Onelinedrawing has lined up tour dates throughout the month of May. Check them out in the tour dates section.
2001-05-07 18:40:47 CST by propheci
More on Jonahs' New Band, New End Originals
Here's what Jonah had to say about the whole thing:"First off, I'm in a new band. It's called -new end original-. The story of how it all happened over the last few years is still stunning to me, and much too convoluted for this e, but basically I'm in a band with 3 musicians that I love and that are all really nice and we've talked about it for a long time and it's actually happening and I'm really really happy about it. It's Norm and Scott, who were in a great band called Texas Is The Reason, and Charlie, from another great band called Split Lip. We're playing our first show today (SundayMarch4) in San Francisco (Bottom Of The Hill, all-ages matinee, starts at 3-ish, we play at 5-ish).
Beyond that, I sent some demos to Tim&Darren at Jade Tree a bit ago, and they really like the songs, and they're really nice and smart and ethical, and so we're going to put out records with them. We're sussing out recording/touring plans right now, and obviously you'll hear as soon as we figure stuff out. And of course, new end will have its own website and all that eventually, but for now you can check up at the onelinedrawing site."
Also, Onelinedrawing has released a new EP called Always New JanJun00. It's basically the 6 songs released Jan-June of 2000 thru its "Always New" MP3 subscription service. You can order the EP from their site now.
2001-03-06 11:25:50 CST by propheci
Jonah Forms Brand New Group
Jonah Matranga (Far/Onelinedrawing), Norm Arenas, Scott Winegard (both from Texas Is The Reason), and Charlie Walker (Split Lip) have formed a brand new band called New End Original. They will play their first live show on March 04th in San Francisco, CA at the Bottom Of The Hill. This will have no effect on Onelinedrawing.
2001-02-25 11:54:36 CST by propheci (source: pimprockpalace)
New EP Expected
Onelinedrawing is going to release a new EP in the next month-ish of 6 songs. They're from the Always New collection which you can get on MP3 by signing up at the official site. The new EP includes the Jan-June 2000 songs.
2001-02-01 16:16:14 CST by propheci
Ex-Far Member Joins Will Haven for Show
Chris Robyn, former drummer of Far, will be making a guest appearance on drums for Will Haven at the Lucky Strike Benefit Show on January 12 at The Colonial Theatre in Sacramento, CA.Will Haven, who lost their original drummer Wayne thought they had a replacement in Dave Hulse, but he left soon after joining the band. Jeff Irwin will play drums on the new album.
2001-01-05 21:24:06 CST by propheci (source: 9fingers.com)
Onelinedrawing News
Onelinedrawing will be re-releasing their latest effort, "Vol.2-Sketchy EP" through CI Records on February 27th.
2001-01-03 17:20:16 CST by Josh (source: pimprockpalace)
New Dates
Some December dates have been posted for Onelinedrawing. Check them out in the tour dates section.
2000-12-04 23:17:44 CST by propheci
I'm Talking About Business
In a deal through Tower Records, Wickedland has opened its own store! The inventory's kinda weak since I just started, but in the future, I will be able to get more stuff. For now, you can order the new Rage, Tattoo the Earth, NIN, and more. Check it out here.Also, starting tonight sometime, Wickedland will hold a raffle for a chance to buy a PlayStation 2. So if you've been scouring the net for it and having no luck, now is the chance for you to get one. Stay tuned.
2000-12-03 12:59:17 CST by propheci
Onelinedrawing Dates
Onelinedrawing have lined up the dates for their upcoming new U.S. tour, see them here.
2000-10-12 20:04:04 CST by bartman (source: Jonah Matranga)
Onelinedrawing On Split
The upcoming Sense Field/Onelinedrawing split has now been set for an October 3rd release through IC/Revelation. The album will feature the following 5 tracks:
Onelinedrawing - "Wings"
Onelinedrawing - "Cora's Theme"
Sense Field - "One Small Step"
Sense Field - "Anniversary"
Sense Field - "Beautiful Beautiful"
2000-09-29 23:38:09 CST by bartman (source: pimprockpalace)
Deftones Tackle Sade, "Return Of The Rock" CD
It's no surprise that the Deftones will soon be sharing liner-note space with Godsmack, Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, Nickelback, and others on the sequel to this year's "The Return Of The Rock" compilation from MTV and Roadrunner Records.But it may be more surprising that the Deftones have recently crossed their brooding brand of hard rock with the sound of smooth soul songstress Sade.
The CD-single release of the group's "Change (In The House Of Flies)" is currently available in the U.S. only as an import, but those who come across it will find the band working through a cover of Sade's "No Ordinary Love." After scoring in the late '80s with hits like "Smooth Operator" and "The Sweetest Taboo," Sade released the song on her 1992 album "Love Deluxe," and the Deftones revisited the track during sessions for their "White Pony" album.
"It was the last song we recorded when we were in the studio," frontman Chino Moreno told MTV Radio of the eerily spot-on cover. "I just wanted to save it for a soundtrack or something, because it came out really good. It's really close to the actual, original song. We didn't want to try and make it all heavy metal or anything like that. It's really, really ambient, and I added a bunch of different guitar lines that aren't even in the song itself. It's real moody sounding and dark."
In taking Sade's song into darker territory, the Deftones enlisted the aid of Far singer Jonah Sonz Matranga for backup.
"He actually sang on the acoustic version of 'Be Quiet And Drive' with me, and we covered a Jawbox song together for one of their EPs, and I think our voices really compliment each other," Moreno explained. "It was a really good idea to have him come down, and it came out really well."
In a project that will make a bit more sense to straight-on headbangers, the Deftones are also kicking in a track for "The Return Of The Rock, Volume 2" compilation, which is due to hit stores on November 7. A specific track listing has yet to be firmed up, but the Deftones will be joining Godsmack, Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, Orgy, Disturbed, Nickelback, Spineshank, and others on the album.
2000-09-18 23:15:47 CST by propheci (source: mtv)
Recent Happenings
Here's a quote from Jonah on the recent happenings of Onelinedrawing.
On the band thing, I'm still really looking for a permanent guitarist. No need for Eddie Van Halen, just a nice mix of Keith Richards, Edge, and any other solid, tasteful players that come to mind. Anyone with a serious interest, post on the board, okay?There's some fun stuff coming out soon. A split with Sensefield that I may have mentioned before is finally turning real, that will be out in the next couple. Also a split with Rival Schools, with them as my backing band(!!), will be out this Fall. The first Always New EP-ROM will be out soon, with all of the pages, photos, journals, and of course the songs, from the first six months. Folks that have subscribed will get it supercheap if they want to, others can just have fun catching up without those pesky downloads : ). And of course, there are the two Sketchys and T-shirts and funny stickers and the bargain bin and everything else at the yard sale on the Things page. No better way than to spend the amazing surplus of wealth this great country has amassed in the past year : )
2000-08-17 15:54:44 CST by propheci (source: Jonah)
New Tour Dates
Wow. Long time no see. Finally received some new dates from Jonah. See them in the tour dates section.
2000-08-17 15:49:56 CST by propheci
Win Snapcase Signed CDs and More
InStrife.com is giving away signed Snapcase CDs, Snapcase posters, stickers, and t-shirts. There will be 7 winners total, one for each day of next week. Click here for more details.
2000-07-28 20:08:52 CST by propheci
Onelinedrawing to Appear on Deftones Single
Included on the Deftones Change single will be the Deftones/Onelinedrawing cover of Sade's "No Ordinary Love".
2000-06-26 20:50:42 CST by bartman
The Revolution Smile
The Revolution Smile, a group which features former Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, will be hitting the studio this month to start work on their upcoming debut EP which they hope to release in late July/early August. The group intends to record about 10 songs for the EP and intends to tour throughout California in support of it.
2000-06-17 10:56:23 CST by propheci
Get Ready for Hardcore!
InStrife.com is ready to launch! The set date is next Monday, June 19th; one day before perhaps the most important date this year with the new Deftones, Sunny, etc.
InStrife will focus exclusively on hardcore. Wicked Land will no longer serve hardcore news (other than Zao stuff). There will be a lot of running contests in celebration of InStrife (including lotsa t-shirt giveaways) in the coming weeks, so be sure to check it out!
Also, I'm taking applications for album reviewers and commentaries (to write articles) for InStrife. Email me if you're interested.
2000-06-16 20:29:09 CST by propheci
Onelinedrawing Summer Update
Onelinedrawing is back from U.K. They even played a show with Legends of Rodeo. For now, Jonah is going to rest for a bit. There are, however, plans to release some sort of compilation video from the tours, but that seems to be a bit more in the future. There are only a few dates lined up. Check them out.
2000-06-15 17:26:37 CST by propheci
Wicked Giveaway Series
Since I'm running out of tough questions to ask for the Wicked Contests, I've decided just to give away the stuff for free!
For the next 5 days (5/20 - 5/24), I will pick a winner everyday from the Wicked Land Discussion List. So, there will be 5 winners total. Winners are randomly picked from the list members. To make yourself eligible, subscribe to the discussion list by click here.
Prizes will include demo tapes, demo cds, posters, stickers, post cards, mp3 cds, and more.
2000-05-20 13:18:18 CST by propheci
Official Newsletter from Jonah
12:46am, 04/27/00, LAThis sure looks like a lot. Feels like it too. At the end of May, I will have played around 60 shows in this four-month block. And it will surely have put me well over 100 shows in dozens of states and a bunch of countries, all in the last year-plus that I got these strange ideas. Things are still going amazingly well, still surprising me and challenging me in the best way. The 'things' page has turned into quite the boomin' yard sale, and more and more people are signing up for Always New (the thing with unreleased MP3's every month, along with writing and pictures and movies and whatever else I find and make. You should sign up; all bias aside, it's a neat thing that I haven't seen before).
Both boards continue to be the coolest places I've ever been to, let alone been a part of, on this crazy internet thing. I'm gearing up to find this next batch of songs a proper home, but this year has proved beyond any shadows of doubts (what does that meanNULL) that this informal, intimate way of making music and sharing it is incredibly fun, and I have no intention of changing the basic intent of what I'm doing anytime soon. There will be a little site revamp soon, mostly cosmetic, but it will always be changing, of course.
These may be the last bunch of shows in the jonah/r2 acoustic saga, I'm really itchin' for other people to play with. We'll see, I'm consistently wrong, and happy about that. As always, take care, keep in touch, keep creating. - Love, Jonah
2000-04-29 09:45:16 CST by propheci
Jonah and Chino Collaborate
Former Far vocalist Jonah Matranga who is currently fronting his new band Onelinedrawing has confirmed that he and Deftones frontman Chino Moreno have recorded a cover of a Sade song which will possibly end up as a b-side somewhere in the near future. Just exactly which song was recorded as of yet is unknown although rumors suggest its either "Smooth Operator" or "No Ordinary Love".
2000-04-25 18:03:37 CST by propheci
Shaun Lopez's New Band
Just to prove Jonah isn't the only one busy after the breakup, Shaun Lopez (formerly of Far) is also busy with his own band. The name is The Revolution Smile. Their still un-launched site is at www.therevolutionsmile.com.
2000-04-12 18:35:40 CST by propheci
New Tour Dates
Just got new dates from Jonah. Immediate shows include one in Sacto on the 3rd and one in SanFran on the 4th. Check all of them out.
2000-02-29 15:59:23 CST by propheci
New Tour Dates
Just received some brand new tour dates from Jonah's SE tour. Check them out.
2000-02-23 09:15:32 CST by propheci
New Southwest Tour Dates
Just received new Onelinedrawing tour dates. Check them out.
2000-02-14 23:10:29 CST by propheci
Wicked Contest IV
Been a while, but it's back: Wicked Contest IV is upon us. It will be unleashed Thursday (2/10) at 7:00pm CST. Prizes will be MP3 cds, music cds, posters, and stickers. Be sure to check it out.
2000-02-07 19:28:03 CST by propheci
Split Follow-Up
Oops..forgot to include this. The song Onelinedrawing has on the split record is called Tricky.
2000-01-27 22:12:35 CST by propheci
Juliana Theory/Onelinedrawing/Grey AM Split
The split EP is out. It has 2 songs from Juliana, 2 from Grey AM, and 1 from Jonah.To get your own copy of this disc, send a check or money order for $9 to:
Joshua Kosker
RR 2 Box 52AA
Ligonier, PA 15658See more info at www.thejulianatheory.com.
2000-01-27 21:47:47 CST by propheci
Jonah Updates on Onelinedrawing
Here is the clip of Jonah's newsletter.Hi - Holed up at home lately, working on new songs. Such a breathless year last year; I piled up the old calendars and found that I had played something like 70 shows in around 15 States, (80% living rooms : ), and Sketchy EP#1 has sold around 2,000 copies and gotten lots of College Radio airplay (just put out #2 too!), and the site has had 30,000 visits in the last several months, and it all feels by happy accident. Well, intention too, just going. So, a lot to be thankful for. Um, thanks : ) I haven't written too many of these, and a few people have wondered if I'm still doing them. I definitely am, I just like the voluntary aspect of the site, that you just go when you feel like it. But here's this anyway, just to keep in touch : )I also have the newest touring news and dates in the tour dates section.Lots of new stuff with the site, I'll talk about that first, then shows and stuff:
things.
*Paper or Plastic? - Now you can use a credit card on the site. There's still regular mail-order, and shows of course, but this makes it a lot easier to get stuff if you want it. And, through astonishing technological innovation, me&Micah (the new friend helping with that stuff) have kept the sliding scale intact. Yep, you decide how much you want to pay for stuff, even with a credit card.
*T-shirts - Finally.
*Other stuff: Sketchy Ep #1, Sketchy Ep #2, and a thing called Always New. This last one has a lot of people curious, me included. Here's the description from the site:
*Always New - Also known in tongue-in-cheek-speak as 'Jonah-Of-The-Month'. A thing where I put up a web page every month with an unreleased song (maybe more), thoughts on the song, prose, random photos, just a little slice of what's been going on. I'm doing it subscription style, for around a dollar a month, in yearly subscriptions. I'm really excited about this, it's something that would only really be possible with this wacky new technology. Although I think it's going horribly wrong, this thing of ads and affiliate programs and consumer data gathering, I'm trying to do fun, interesting things with it, and this is one.
The first one goes up in week or so, and they'll go up at the end of every month, you can jump on anytime. So check it out, come visit. If not, I may visit you soon...
*STUFF COMING SOON: A bargain bin of various inexpensive (but not cheap) things. *A 3-way split with Juliana Theory and The Grey AM on onedaysavior records. --www.onedaysavior.com-- *A split with Sensefield on C.I. Records --info@corruptedimage.com--
I haven't been playing as much these last couple months, as I'm trying to make new things to sing, and it's made the shows even more fun for me, and scary too. Fear on stage can be a good thing. Anyway, these next months will bring more and more shows. Here's a few coming up soon (directions to all of them are on the site) -
2000-01-20 16:00:00 CST by propheci
Tour Dates
Sorry I haven't been better at this, but here are the newest Onelinedrawing tour dates.
Also, here's what Jonah said about future dates: Thinkin' SW in February, SE in March, Midwest/NW in April (when the snow clears), East Coast in May, UK/Europe in May/June.
Another thing, Sketchy EP #1 has been re-released on digipack.
12.25.99Onelinedrawing/Juliana Theory Split
A Onelinedrawing/Juliana Theory split EP will come out next month.
11.19.99Updates and New Tour Dates
Sketchy EP #2 is due out on Jan. 1, 2000. 'Savory Samba' will be on there, as well as 'Crush On Everyone' and other stuff.Also, Jonah has started a subscriptions system where you send in a monthly fee of $1 to get access to unreleased songs, photos, etc. Here is what Jonah said:
Speaking of new things. Also known in tongue-in-cheek-speak as 'Jonah-Of-The-Month'. A thing where I put up a web page every month with an unreleased song, thoughts on the song, prose random photos, just a little slice. I'm doing it subscription style, for around a dollar a month, in yearly subscriptions. I'm really excited about this, it's something that would only really be possible with this wacky new technology. Although I think it's going horribly wrong, this thing of ads and affiliate programs and consumer data gathering, I'm trying to do fun, interesting things with it, and this is one. So, in the sliding-scale tradition, send $10-$15 to the OLD Records address, with a note saying 'Always New'. Make sure to include your e-mail address. Also, send an e to AlwaysNew@onelinedrawing.com when you've sent your order, so I can add you to the list ASAP. The first page goes up in January, when no one's computer's will be working : )Also, Jonah is selling his Mini-disc 4 Track on Ebay.Also received some new tour dates. Check them out.
11.11.99Jonah Updates on Dates
Here's what Jonah said in the update:Hi - Just grabbed a chunk off of the Sing page, please check it for updates. I'll be down SoCalish for the next week or so, then it looks like a run to the Southeast for 5 days, presuming we can put it together. Thinkin AZ and Southwest in early/mid-November. Ideas? Meanwhile, Sketchy#1 is out in snazzy digipack now. You can still get it here and at shows, but now at stores too, through Crank! They also sell it mailorder. Boy, am I tired. But striving. Warm October hellos. Come say hi on the board, or somethin, it's growing and still truly fun and interestingYou can also see the new tourdates he included. 10.13.99
- Love. JonahUK Tour Busted and Updated Tourdates
The rumored UK tour is busted. Also, updated to the newest tourdates.
9.14.99Onelinedrawing UK Tours
In Sept-Oct, Onelinedrawing may well be headed for the UK on a completely listener-booked tour.
9.9.99Onelinedrawing Update
Got a quite long update from Jonah's mailing list today. Also got new tourdates up.
8.17.99Sketchy E.P. #1
Just got my Onelinedrawing EP in the mail yesterday. It has 6 songs and is about 20 minutes long. Every single song on there is really good and polished. 14-41 is probably my favorite. You can see the tracklisting on the discography page.
8.6.99East Coast Tourings
Here's what Jonah had to say about Onelinedrawing's East Coast swing:Hi - Okay, here's the latest on the East Coast fun mess. There will probably be another one of these things midway through. Feel free to post on the board with specific questions about directions or anything. I'm pretty frazzled right now, but it will be a fun trip, I know it. I just always get like this before trips. Thanks endlessly to everyone who has given ideas, whether they worked out or not. See you soon - JonahCheck out the tour dates if you wanna see them in action.
7/17/99Onelinedrawing EP and Tourdates
Yep, yep! You can order the new Onelinedrawing EP (Sketchy EP #1) now at www.onelinedrawing.com. It's a 6-song EP and costs $5-$10.
Also, Onelinedrawing is touring semi-heavily in the month of July. Check out the tourdates here.
7/17/99I'm Back
Yup, yup. I'm back from vacationing in China, I guess ahead of schedule. I know I've missed a great deal of news and shit; if you wanna help, email news to me so I can update quickly. There should be a flood of news coming around this weekend.
7/8/99Gone Vacationing
I'm gonna be gone until July 10; so no updates for Wicked Land until then. Meanwhile, you can read up at Rocktropolis, check tourdates at PollStar, and buy stuff at CDnow.
6/8/99Far's Jonah Matranga Takes Stab At Solo Career
Jonah Matranga, of the inactive Sacrament! o band Far, made his L.A. solo debut on Tuesday (May 11) under the name Jonah's onelinedrawing, at the first of what will be regular appearances by the singer at Luna Park in West Hollywood, Calif.Accompanying himself on electric guitar throughout the 10-song performance, Matranga played a low-key set of new original songs, forgoing the heavier "beautiful noise" of Far for a mellow and introspective sound and style more similar to Elliott Smith.
Songs like "Aeroplanes," which is available as an MP3 file at www.onelinedrawing.com, "Breathless Heather," and "Better Than This" (which featured an impromptu mid-song scream from Matranga's four- year- old daughter) related themes of dreaming and overcoming adversity, similar to his lyrics in Far, but without the band's expansive, guitar-heavy approach.
"Loud Mom," which was played as a Mother's Day tribute, is an old, unreleased Far song that Matranga offered as a unique a cappella/ spoken word hybrid. !
"I thought it was really fun," he tells allstar, on the phone the day after the performance. "People were super- attentive and cool. It felt really, really good."
With Far disbanded -- at least temporarily -- the time was finally right earlier this year for Matranga to launch his solo project -- not that he hasn't had such a move in the back of his mind for some time.
"The solo thing is something I've wanted to do forever," he says. "Initially, I wanted Far to be everything, I wanted it to be my outlet, creatively. But it became clear really quickly that it just wasn't going to be. Far would take care of a lot of what I wanted to do, but it wouldn't take care of some of the other things, the more pop stuff, the more happy stuff, some of the really soft stuff."
Matranga says Far is currently taking a "break(up)," meaning the group, which never lived up to the high commercial expectations that many had for them, may or may not get back together.
"Even if nothing had ever happened with the band, it would be an emotional thing to leave that bunch of people. We had such the almost-career, right on the cusp. We had even been offered [by Epic Records] to do a third album."
Far recorded two albums through Immortal/Epic (1998's Water & Solutions and 1996's Tin Cans with Strings to You), which each have sold about 10,000 copies, as well as an eight-song CD in 1994 called Quick through their label Our Own Records.
Matranga plans to play every other Tuesday at Luna Park beginning in June, and he also has been playing occasional shows in the Sacramento area with some of his musician friends. He also tells allstar that he recently contributed vocals to Chris Vrenna's forthcoming Tweaker project.
5/15/99Onelinedrawing MP3z
That's right! 2 Onelinedrawing MP3s are available for your listening pleasure: 14-41 and Pollyanna. Download them while they're up.
5/1/99Tour Dates
Just got a few tour dates in for Onelinedrawing. Check them out and enjoy.
4/23/99Onelinedrawing MP3
Jonah has posted a MP3 of his new project, Onelinedrawing, on UBL. It is called Aeroplanes. Jonah also reveals that a new album will probably be released later this year.
4/22/99Jonah Speaks
Here's an email Jonah recently sent out to people on his mailing list. Summary: his new project is called jonah's onelinedrawing. Check out the website at www.onelinedrawing.com. He's still very much in music just not with FAR. Read the whole thing here.
4/3/99Shaun's Chat Session
SerjSystem has emailed me a chat session log he had with Shaun. Mad props out to him for the awesome stuff. A summary: Shaun is working on side projects and he is not quitting music.
3/31/99Wicked Land Mailing List
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3/13/99More Details on Breakup
Here are some insights into the breakup by Justin:in new york while far was finishing up there last tour, jonah and shaun decided to have john and chris drive the van home and they would take a plane home, this pissed of john so he decided to leave, the other main reason is that far had only sold about 11 thousand copies of water and solutions and every company including immortal is cutting a band if they didnt sell atleast 250 thousand copies, so instead of bieng dropped they just quit.3/12/99Broken for Real? - source: Kerrang!
Here is what Kerrang! had to say about Far. Thanx to Neil Thomas for the tip.Far, the US emo-core merchants, have split up.3/10/99"We're a little burnt on the Far thing right now," confirms guitarist Shaun Lopez. "We all feel like doing other musical things. It was starting to feel like a real job, and that's something we were never interested in. We may get together sometime in the future, but nothing at all is certain.
Each member of the Sacramento-based quartet - who released two critically aclaimed albums - has embarked on seperate musical projects. Singer Jonah Sonz Matranga and bassist John Gutenberger are working on solo material, while Lopez has a drum 'n' bass project called Mantis. Drummer Chris Robyn is playing with local artist Marc Curry.
"We'll never forget playing in England," concludes Lopez. "That's something we'll treasure forever."
Recent Happenings and Future Predications on Wicked Land
A lot has been going on both in the foreground and at the background here at Wicked Land headquarters the past few weeks. For one thing, several new affiliates have joined Wicked Land; here's all the affiliates we have now: Pulkas, Staind, Pro-Pain, Vision of Disorder, Juice, Will Haven, Kilgore, and Deviate.
If you want your site on here, fill out the application.Also, if you haven't noticed, Wicked Land has added a few new features: Album Reviews, The Polls, and Advertising.
In addition, you voters have spoken out and said you want Soulfly as the next band on Wicked Land. I'll begin working on that this weekend and hopefully will have it done in a month or two. If you have any info or pictures on Soufly, please send them to propheci@wickedland.com.
3/5/99Additions to Wicked Land
With the new affiliations program, Wicked Land has acquired 4 new bands to its lineup:2/12/99
- Pulkas - Metal/Hardcore
- Staind
- Pro-Pain - New album 2.16.99
- Vision of Disorder - One of my favorite bands
The Smother Cup
Hey! Vote for this site at Smother E-Zine as the best informative and music related website. Click here to fill out the form to vote. Plus, if you vote, you're entered in the contest to win some cool stuff. Thanks!
2/9/99Need Help!
I'm looking for hi-res scans of the covers for Listening Game. Anybody have it? Email me at propheci@wickedland.com. Thanx!
2/8/99Far is not broken!
Here's what Shaun had to say about Far's recent situation...Jonah is going to record a solo record, I [Shaun] have been doing a lot of remixes for various bands as well as writing my own songs that I will be demoing soon too... Johnny has left the group as you know and I think he is going to start another band that he will be playing guitar and singing in... I think Chris might be playing with him..Also, in his words, the band is merely taking a vacation from it.
1/31/99Far is not broken!
Here is an email from Shaun, explaining the situation...
Just thought I would say that we (Jonah, Chris and I) would rather that you not say that far has broken up... When Johnny quit the band, it came kind of sudden to us, but we respected his decision and decided that it was time to take a break and that was all we were treating it as.... Now I know that the rumors are flying out the window and I know you guys know how that is, but we would prefer "break up" to stay out of people's vocab because it's not in ours... We planned at the end of this record cycle to take a long break before recording the next record anyways, so we could work on our sound (we want to go in an even wider direction) Jonah, also wanted to do a solo record..... So, as of now that is what we are doing, now we are not trying to say that there will definitely be another far record, but we are not saying that there won't be either... It would be silly to say either of those because we all know what band relationships can be like at times and we as far have definitely learned that you should never depend on anything in this crazy world of rock and roll. I think we all treat far as a very special thing and I think we all hope that we can do it again after a nice lengthy break.1/19/99
I hope I don't sound like I'm bitching you out, because I'm not, I'm just getting tired of answering people's emails about "well, I heard this and then you told me this" and stuff like that.....John Gutenberger Quits
The bassist, John Gutenberger, has left the band. Shaun says that instead of rushing out to get a new bassist, the band will instead take a short break from touring and making new music. This is not the end of the band.
12/30/98Half Million
Half a million visitors! If you have any suggestions on how to make this site better, I'd love to hear it! Email me at propheci@wickedland.com.
12/27/98Done Touring
I guess Far is done touring for a while. I, of course, did not get to see them at all >:-(
Here is the email off the Far mailing list: Far heads into hibernation. Don't feel like reading? Here are the main points:Read the whole email for more details.
- Done touring for now
- Going back to Sacto for the spring
- Look for a new Message Board type thing
- New record: Growing Up In Sacramento on Vagrant Records
- Sacto local benefit CD: Do They Know It's Christmas?
11/30/98Quick Realaudios
Finally made realaudios out of the Quick EP I got last month. Goto the sound page to check them out, and if you want to order the Quick EP for yourself, goto the offical Far website for ordering info.
11/27/98Pixies Cover
More word on Far's Pixies cover: they cover "Monkey Gone to Heaven", and it's on the Pixies album called "Doolittle". Both Weezer and Superchunk are supposed to have songs on the tribute album. Mad props to Justin for the news.
11/17/98Jonah's Nov3 Wish
Click here for an email from Jonah. He talks about voting and stuff, non-music related.
10/28/98Tour Dates, Again!
Just got more dates from Jonah. Most of them will still be with Crumb.
10/24/98Tour Dates
More dates. No definite on who's opening for whom. Call venue for info.
10/20/98More Tour Dates
Just got more dates from Far. They will tour the West, then through the South, Southeast, East, and back across the middle. The whole tour will last about 2 months.
10/03/98RealAudio Sounds
Yes!! Finally figured out how to do streaming realaudio. Now, I have the whole Water&Solutions on RealAudio plus the exclusive E-Bomb Snippets. I'll try and make more RealAudio of the other albums. Check them out at the Sound page.
10/02/98Far Tours!
Far is going to tour the west coast in October with Crumb and Stavesacre. Check out the tour dates and see if they're coming near to you. Also, here's what Jonah had to say about the tour.Hi - I babbled all too much last time, so I'll just git down ta basics: We're doing a bunch of shows around the West in the beginning of October. We'd love to have you there, and we'd also love your help in getting other people there. The Immortal/Epic/Sony family is gonna chip in too, of course, but this seems like a cool way to spread the word and have fun too. So, if you see a place on here that's near you, and you'd like to get into the show for free, we've got a proposition for you: Make a bunch of neat handbills&posters, get them out to clubs and coffeehouses and hung up in the club we're playing, and we'll put you on the list. It's that easy : ) If anyone's into this, just e and we'll work it out. Now for the dates. A couple more to be filled in, but isn't that always the case? : ) See you soon! - Jonah/Far9/18/98Jonah Speaks
Here is a copy of an email I got from Far's mailing list. It's from Jonah.Hi - Checking in with lots of neat news this month. I figured this would be a quiet time at home, but it's been crazy! It's overwhelming, but invigorating. Just played an incredible show in San Francisco, the first truly triumphant show there in our seven years of trying. Just a REALLY good mood in there. Admittedly, we hadn't played in a while, so I was just psyched to be sweating and rocking, I probably wouldn't have cared if there wasn't a great, big crowd dancing and singing. But there was! We were incredibly sloppy, but that added to the great mood of thing, or at least it seemed that way through the haze of my euphoria. At one point I said, 'I never want to hear a recording of this show, but I'll remember it forever'. And that pretty much sums it up. We tried a new arrangement of 'Girl' that I really like. Folks who were there, what'd you think of it? Post on your favorite message board.9/11/98
We head down to LA in a couple weeks for a show at the Roxy and a bit of recording. We're gonna be on this amazing Pixies tribute comp., other bands on there include Weezer, Superdrag, Samiam, Jimmy Eat World, Eve6, Getup Kids, Braid... We're doing 'Monkey Gone To Heaven', which is pretty much THE Pixies song, and I'm more than a little scared. Covering songs is always hard; trying to keep the beauty of the original without depending on it, tough balance. We have neat ideas, though, it feels like there's life there, so it'll be something worthwhile.
Oh, but that Roxy show! Saturday the 19th del Septiembre, starts around 8. There was some mixup that made people think it was on Friday, but it's on Saturday. Clarify the confused.
This guy Jarmon starts it off, just someone I met after our last LA show, has a spooky, open acoustic thing going on, and who's really nice too. He'll play a few songs to welcome you, cos I know you'll all be there early to see all this!
His set will go perfectly into Orisha's. They're some friends from up here in oven-land Sacto; they look as beautiful as they sound, a triorchestra, they're definitely a band you want to meet and get to know. After them comes a classic Far show change-up with Insurgence. Rockcore? Something loud and pure, the last time I saw them was years ago at a Strife show that Far was on.
I haven't heard Teen Heroes yet, just heard good things ABOUT them from people I trust, but the word on the street says they'll be weighting the pop side of things, which should round out the evening nicely. Oh, and then there's us, we're pretty much a mish-mash of all the qualities I was just talking about. We're gonna be reaching sonically and visually, it'll be interesting to see where we land.
Speaking of reaching and rumours and truth, WE ARE NOT TOURING WITH INCUBUS AND SYSTEM OF A DOWN. I have gotten tons of e's regarding this, it was posted prematurely on a web site or two that we were doing that tour, and we're not. Please spread the word.
Instead, and please spread he word about this too, we're going out on a headlining tour in October, which is something we've always wanted to do. Through all our supporting tours, I've thought it would be neat to see how many people would show up to just see us and whoever we bring, so we're giving it a try. The sets will be longer, looser, just more purely Far, for better or for worse : ) The bands with us will be Crumb and Stavesacre, and trust us when we say the night of music will be as diverse as, well, a Far show. The first couple weeks of October will be Western states. If we continue from there, we'll be visiting the rest of the Country, or as much of it as we can. There are still thoughts of Europe and the rest of the world, but that takes a bit more figuring : )
We'll have specific dates really soon, within days for the Western stuff. All this comes at an interesting juncture for us. We recently sold our 10,000th (say that out loud, it's funny) copy of Water&Solutions (at least in the US, we're probably at about 15,000 worldwide). We're not real wrapped up in units shifted or anything, but it's a nice time to reflect and be happy for what we've got. Of course we could have sold a zillion more, but what's nice is that, of the dozen thousand record collections we're in (pretty exciting in and of itself, that we're in homes and cars), I think we play a pretty important part in those collections. People really seem to care about this record, this band, people seem to have gotten quite a bit from us doing music. No elevated sense of self-importance here, just cool to realize. I've talked about this before, that's okay. Anyway, yet another big long-winded thanks from us to you. We're looking forward to these next months. See you in them.~Jonah/FarWicked Land Exclusive!
Wanna know the meanings behind the songs of Water & Solutions? Check out the RealAudio clip of The E-Bomb Snippets. It's a 14 minute clip of Jonah playing songs and explaining the meaings behind them. This is off the "The System" promo CD I got. The RealAudio clip is 1.77MB and is pretty good quality (16KPS/Mono).
9/5/98Far Cancels?!? Part Deux
Here's what Shaun Lopez had to say about the tour dates:hey-yeah we were never on those dates... We are trying to get a headlining tour going in October/Nov.. We'll keep you postedI guess that answers everything, doesn't it?
9/5/98Far Cancels?!?
I've been hearing that Far is not touring with Incubus and System of A Down as reported before. Rumors have it that they will headline their own tour later this year. Is this true? I need answers, dammit!!
9/4/98Tour Dates
Right now, Far is touring with Incubus and System of A Down, both great, great bands. They are hitting a lot of place and later, Incubus and Far will travel for a while hitting more towns near you. Check out the tour dates.
8/28/98Welcome!
This marks the beginning of a brand new Wicked Land section...Far!! Far is a band that blends the best of Radiohead and the Deftones. The end result is a highly emo/hardcore kind of band. I stumbled onto them a while ago with their first LP, Tin Cans With Strings To You. Their newest LP, Waters and Solutions, just blew me away.
A lot of the site is still under construction, so don't fret. If you wanna help, email me at propheci@wickedland.com
8/28/98
