Far

A couple of weeks back, we covered the return of underrated 90s alt-metal / ‘emocore’ band Far, under cover of pseudonym Hot Little Pony. We had fired some emails into the band’s general direction, trying to get an interview. When we didn’t hear back, we gave up, winged it, sneaking a camera into their sold-out Troubadour show and rocking it guerilla style, ’cause that’s how we roll.

But after the show, those emails managed to find their way to their marks, and we got ourselves an interview with frontman Jonah Matranga and guitarist Shaun Lopez. While it was being set up, I found myself cruising the message boards, as a fan, on the lookout for recordings, video, photos, whatever. In my travels, I stumbled upon a vast wealth of hilarious shit-talking being done amongst the internet’s ruling class… I couldn’t help but laugh and wonder how the band would respond if “professional” interviewers were anything like the real fans. I gathered up the best of these completely ignorant, baseless accusations, I emailed them to Jonah and Shaun, and I prayed. I prayed that they wouldn’t think I was a complete fucking asshole for doing so. Full Article »

You know what’s cooler than discovering a great new band? Discovering that the great new band is actually one of your favorite old bands in disguise, reunited after a ten year hiatus. Last week, a band called Hot Little Pony landed on my radar, with an awesome(ly ridiculous) cover of Pony by Ginuwine. Hailing from “Michael, Jordan,” they had announced a “world tour,” beginning October 15th in Pomona, and ending October 16th at The Troubadour in Los Angeles.

You might recognize the voice leading the track, as it belongs to Jonah Matranga, also known as Onelinedrawing, a frequent co-conspirator and close friend of The Deftones’ Chino Moreno. You’ve probably heard his voice on The Deftones’ No Ordinary Love cover, or the acoustic version of Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away). Or maybe you’ve heard him on the Thursday song War All The Time, or Tweaker’s Swamp. He’s also contributed vocals to a couple Fort Minor tracks, and Lupe Fiasco’s song The Instrumental, from the Madden ‘07 soundtrack.

He’s been around, but not like he was in the good ol’ days… the days of the band called Far. Full Article »