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Jonah Matranga | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Jonah Sonz Matranga (1969-08-11)August 11, 1969 (age 56) |
| Origin | Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1991–present |
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| Website | jonahmatranga |
Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga (bornJonah Sonz Matranga, August 11, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under his own name andonelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bandsFar andNew End Original (an anagram of "onelinedrawing") andGratitude. He now continues to work and tour under onelinedrawing'.[1]
Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga grew up inBrookline, Massachusetts. He left in 1987 to attendPitzer College inClaremont, California, where he majored in English and began making music by himself. After graduation, he moved to Sacramento to formFar in 1991.
They made four albums, including the classicWater and Solutions, before disbanding in December 1998. During this time, Jonah married in April 1994, and his daughter was born that August. He divorced two years later. In 1999, he moved to the Bay Area. He currently lives in Portland, making music and raising his daughter.
After the demise ofFar, Jonah began to perform with a tape recorder and touring under the nameonelinedrawing, which had been the name of a cassette he had released onKevin Seconds's Pop Rockit Records. He released two EPs in 1999 (Sketchy EPs #1 and #2) of bedroom demos. He put out two further EPs in 2001 – "Always New JanJun00" and "Always New JulDec00".
In 2000, he formed and fronted New End Original, a band that primarily performed full-band versions of onelinedrawing songs. With the lineup completed byTexas Is The Reason alumni Scott Winegard (bass) and Norman Arenas (guitar), and drummer Charlie Walker (ex-Chamberlain), they released one albumThriller and a single for Lukewarm.
Much of his solo material has also been self-released, though often subsequently distributed through labels such as Crank! and Corrupted Image. However, his two full-length onelinedrawing albums,Visitor (2002) -a mixed bag of acoustic-based home recordings spanning a few years- andThe Volunteers (2004) were released byJade Tree Records.
The Volunteers possessed a more polished sound – courtesy of mixer Dave Sardy, who had previously worked with Matranga on Far'sWater and Solutions.
Matranga retired the onelinedrawing moniker in 2004 and now intends to put all future solo releases under his name. In December 2004, Jonah began offering custom-made recordings of songs by himself or others through his website, in order to offer a one-of-a-kind musical artpiece. Information about this and his many other ideas can be found on Matranga's website,[2] where he can also be contacted personally.
In 2005, Matranga put outSketchy EP #3, as well as a DVD,There's a Lot in Here, both of which are available on a sliding scale ("pay what you can") from ([1]) Matranga's personally-maintained online store. The DVDThere's a Lot in Here was re-released with a bonus CD on February 21, 2006, throughEqual Vision Records.
Matranga's song "Crush on Everyone" was featured in the score to the 2008John Humber filmDakota Skye and "Got My List" was sung by the movie's protagonists.
Jonah has contributed backup vocals toWar All the Time (byThursday) on the track "Steps Ascending", and to theDeftones's acoustic remix version of "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" and a cover ofSade's song "No Ordinary Love", both of which the Deftones released as b-sides (also, several Deftones members contributed to Far's cover of theJawbox song "Savory").
He has also contributed to previousMatt Nathanson releases, a song called "Swamp" fortweaker (a.k.a.Chris Vrenna, former member ofNine Inch Nails), which ended up a b-side for the albumThe Attraction to All Things Uncertain, and to twoFort Minor songs for the albumThe Rising Tied: "Red to Black" withKenna; and the single "Where'd You Go" withHolly Brook, where he also appears in the video. "Where'd You Go" managed to reach the #4 spot at theBillboard Hot 100.
Matranga's name does not appear on the title card before and after the video, though he is credited on the album. He attributed his video anonymity (jokingly) to his name being too long and "music biz yuck". He often expresses his negative opinion of the music industry's business ethics.
In 2005 he co-wrote "Calling" forTaproot, the first single from their albumBlue-Sky Research. He also appeared onFood & Liquor, the debut album forLupe Fiasco, on the track entitled "The Instrumental", which appeared on theMadden 07 soundtrack. Jonah sings a hook ("And he never lied, 'cause he never said anything at all") directly taken from the lyrics from "Nestle", a song from the Far albumWater & Solutions. The track was produced byMike Shinoda ofLinkin Park andFort Minor.
Jonah has also lent his vocals on Atlanta-based band [minus]'s (later changed to [minus driver]) song "Hesitant and Polite" which appeared on their albumStructure of Simplicity.
Jonah returned to the onelinedrawing name in 2012 forAudio Antihero label's "Some.Alternate.Universe" compilation for theFSID charity. He contributed "Friendship Tango".
Jonah sung backing vocals for Zebulon-Raleigh, North Carolina–based songwriterNick Driver's independent releasePoets' Corner Volume One track titled "Universal Love" in late 2012.
In August 2021, UK stoner/post-rock bandSons of Alpha Centauri released their latest albumPush featuring Jonah as guest vocalist on all nine tracks. This was a notable departure from the band's formerly instrumental sound.[3]
The Three Sketchys (1999-2005) is an anthology containing the contents of three albums:
along with a bonus track: a new mix of "The Big Parade" fromSketchy EP #2. The recordings span 1999–2005 and are described by the artist as a collection of "homemade" tracks spanning several years. It was released in 2006 by OLD Records, a self-managed label by Jonah Matranga.
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