Jonah Matranga - 4 bands strong

Jonah Matranga has had plenty of bandmates, including R2D2. Jonah's droid didn't just assist him with tactical missions focusing on bringing the Imperial forces to their knees...no no no...that was just a small part of this little robot's daily chores. R2's other chore was filling the role as the Ultimate Drum Machine for a super power known as 'onelinedrawing'. That 6-inch tall robot could really kick out the jams.

Jonah has been part of a number of great projects --> 'Far' - where I discovered him, 'onelinedrawing', 'New End Original', and now 'Gratitude'. Far came out with an album called 'Tin Cans With Strings To You' in 1996...one of the best debut efforts I've ever heard. I was immediately hooked. They were compared to bands like Deftones, Tool, and Helmet...but weren't around for too long, with their second album out in 1998 --> "Water and Solutions". This second album was re-released w/ a DVD last year, available from Interpunk --> I'm sweaty with excitement.

onelinedrawing was a solo project with R2D2, leaning heavily on the acoustic side, where Jonah put out a bunch of albums, split-releasing with Sense Field, Rival Schools, Juliana Theory, and a couple of comps.

New End Original put out a debut in 2001, and another album last year. The band consisted of Jonah, Norman Arenas and Scott Winegard from Texas is the Reason, and Charlie Walker from Chamberlain. Only stuff I've heard is from their debut, "Thriller", which I plan on picking up soon.

Gratitude is relatively new, their debut came out earlier this month. I've heard a single on WBWC, and so far, so good. Nothing like the days of Far and onelinedrawing, though, so drop the attitude! This same attitude was thrown out there by fans listening to New End Original and expecting the same thing. It's called change people, that's why the warning signs of change are blatantly apparent --> new band name, and new band members.

The top reason for this post though, is to bring out Jonah's new website --> www.jonahmatranga.com. I love the design of the site and the different areas....please check it out. The primo idea, is Jonah's Store section, in an area called 'Unique Recordings'. Let me esplain. No wait, there is too much, lemme sum up....he'll perform and record any songs that he's been a part of, or covered in the past. This is on an individual basis --> you can write in, suggest your ideas for this personalized recording, suggest a price (be prepared to spend $30-$60 a song - well worth it in my opinion), and also ask for any special art work (created by Jonah) and/or autographing. I would be absolutely broke if more of my favorite bands and artists did this --> it's such a great idea. Big ups to you, Commander Matranga.