Far was an American rock band from

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, formed in 1991. Although Far only experienced limited commercial success, the band had considerable influence on underground rock music. They are perhaps best known for their song "Mother Mary", from their influential record

Water & Solutions ''Water & Solutions'' is the fourth album by American rock band Far. Background The album was recorded in April 1997, nearly a full year before being released in March 1998. During the 11 month interval, the band released the promotional ''So ...

History

Original releases (1991–1998)

After a number of local releases including their first demo tape ''Sweat A River, Live No Lies'' (1991) and two independent albums ''Listening Game'' (1992) and ''Quick'' (1994) the band signed to

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

Immortal Records Immortal Records was an American independent record label/imprint label based in Los Angeles, California. The company helped launch the careers of such influential acts as Korn, Thirty Seconds To Mars, and Incubus over the years. The label had a ...

and released their first major record. ''Tin Cans With Strings To You'' was recorded in September 1995 and released by Epic/Immortal on April 3, 1996. Their manager Troy Davis considers ''Tin Cans With Strings'' to be the first-ever

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is a subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002 Access date: June 15, 2 ...

album. The song "Job's Eyes" was featured in an episode of ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'', titled " The Pack", which aired on April 7, 1997. Around this time, the band were being put on bills with heavy artists, such as

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...

and

Monster Magnet Monster Magnet is an American rock music, rock band formed in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (musician), John McBain (guitar), and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums). The band has since undergone severa ...

. Vocalist Jonah Matranga later recalled how the band would often get booed and abused by the audience at these shows. Far's next release was a four-song EP titled ''Soon'' (1997), which featured two songs ("Bury White", "Mother Mary") that would later be included on their fourth and most popular album, ''

'' (1998). ''Water & Solutions'' was recorded in April 1997 and released on March 10, 1998. It was produced by

Dave Sardy David Stuart Sardy (born 1967), more commonly known as D. Sardy, is an American composer, musician, songwriter, and multiple Grammy winning record producer. He came to prominence as the leader of 1990s noise rock band Barkmarket before turning ...

and attracted a strong cult following in the late 1990s, due mostly to the single "Mother Mary" and the band touring with longtime friends

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...

, and

Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

. The more melodic sound showcased on this album is increasingly cited as an influence on present-day

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

bands by the rock press, such as

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where the ...

, and

Funeral for a Friend Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh post-hardcore band from Bridgend, Wales, Bridgend, formed in 2001. The band's members are Kris Roberts (guitar, backing vocals), Gavin Burrough (guitar, vocals), Darran Smith (guitar), Richard Boucher (bass), an ...

Break-up and post-Far activities (1999–2007)

Since their 1999 split, the former members of Far have been involved in a number of projects, often quite experimental in nature. Frontman

Jonah Matranga Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga (born Jonah Sonz Matranga, August 11, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under his own name and onelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bands ...

continued with his solo project

Onelinedrawing Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga (born Jonah Sonz Matranga, August 11, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under his own name and onelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bands ...

and formed the now defunct band

New End Original Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga (born Jonah Sonz Matranga, August 11, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under his own name and onelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bands F ...

(an anagram of Onelinedrawing). Matranga "broke up"

in August 2004. In 2005 the singer's new band

Gratitude Gratitude, thankfulness, or gratefulness is a feeling of appreciation (or similar positive response) by a recipient of another's kindness. This kindness can be gifts, help, favors, or another form of generosity to another person. The word come ...

released their debut self-titled record on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. Gratitude, however, called it a day towards the end of 2005, playing their last US tour before splitting in December 2005. He now plays music under his own name, with new work as well as music from his previous outings. Guitarist and founder

Shaun Lopez Shaun Michael Lopez is an American music producer, composer, and musician. Life and career Lopez is a founding member and guitarist for post-hardcore band Far (band), Far. After a number of local releases, including their first demo tape, ''Swea ...

went on to form

The Revolution Smile The Revolution Smile was an American alternative metal/post-grunge band from Sacramento, California. History The band was formed in 2000 by former Far guitarist Shaun Lopez after he briefly played in an early version of Rival Schools headed by ...

. The band has released two records and toured around the US and Europe. He also has his own studio where he has produced such bands as Trigger Point,

Giant Drag Giant Drag is an American indie rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2003 by singer and guitarist Annie Hardy and drummer and keyboardist Micah Calabrese. After releasing their debut EP, '' Lemona'' in 2004, the band released their ...

The X-Ecutioners The X-Ecutioners, originally known as X-Men, are a group of American hip hop DJs/ turntablists from New York City, New York. The group formed in 1989 and currently consists of three DJs, including Total Eclipse, DJ Boogie Blind, and DJ Precis ...

, the

fifth record (

Saturday Night Wrist ''Saturday Night Wrist'' is the fifth studio album by the American alternative metal band Deftones, released on October 31, 2006, by Maverick Records. Despite early contributions that were later scrapped, it marked the departure of Terry Date, ...

) released by

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Warner Music Group and run by recording artist Madonna, as well as Frederick DeMann and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev. It included a record label ( Maverick Records), a film producti ...

and most recently

Will Haven Will Haven is an American metal band from Sacramento, California. Formed in 1995, the group released albums through several labels and toured with acts such as Deftones and Soulfly before going on hiatus in 2002. They regrouped in 2005 and ha ...

´s fourth record ''

The Hierophant The Hierophant (V), alternatively depicted as The Pope or The High Priest (as a counterpart to "The High Priestess") is the fifth card of the Major Arcana in occult Tarot decks used in divination. It was identified as the Pope in early decks ...

''. Bassist John Gutenberger is currently playing in a band with his wife, Caitlin calle
Two Sheds
Drummer Chris Robyn has since played several shows with

in 2000 when their drummer Wayne Morse left. He currently plays in the post-hardcore supergroup Black Map.

Reformation (2009–present)

In 2008, the band confirmed they will be reforming for a handful of US dates, and also a small UK tour. Along with the confirmed UK tour, a cover of the track "

Pony A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

" by

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

has been posted on the Hot Little Pony

myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

. In October 2008, the band launched the official website a
thebandfar.com
On October 21, Live 105 (

KITS KITS (105.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Live 105") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock radio format known as "Live 105". The studios ...

) (San Francisco) and KWOD 106.5 (

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

) added Pony into regular rotation. On November 4, 91x (San Diego) added Pony. On December 4

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...

(Los Angeles) added Pony. On March 2, Vagrant announced that they have signed FAR, and that the band are putting the finishing touches on their fifth studio album, which will be out in 2010. On October 17, 2009, Far posted studio video part three, which concluded reading "At Night we Live" out in 2010 on Vagrant Records. The name is also the title of a song they wrote for Deftones bass player Chi Cheng, after his car accident in November 2008. On February 10, 2010, Far announced '' At Night We Live'' will be released May 18, 2010, on Vagrant Records. On March 16, Jonah Matranga announced that the album will be pushed back one week to May 25 due to artwork finalizing. On June 27, 2011, Jonah Matranga went on theFIVE10 Radio and said that it was not likely Far would be getting back together. He cited several problems but mainly that there was just "too much drama."

Members

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

– lead guitar *John Gutenberger – bass *Chris Robyn – drums, percussion

Discography

Studio albums

*''Listening Game'' (1992) *''Quick'' (1994) *''Tin Cans with Strings to You'' (1996) *''

'' (1998) *'' At Night We Live'' (2010)

Extended plays

*''Soon'' (1997)

Singles

*"Pony" (2008) No. 40 US Modern Rock

Promos

* The System (with E-Bomb snippets) (1998) * Mother Mary * Love, American Style * What I've Wanted to Say * In the Aisle, Yelling (released on CD and cassette) * Pony (one-track advance promo 4:23 on Vagrant) (2009)

7"s

* Far Does Madonna (w/Sea Pigs) * Boring Life * Far / Incubus split w/ Water and Solutions * Far / Incubus / Korn / Urge Split (Far song – In the Aisle Yelling) (1997 promo immortal) * Far / Incubus Split (Far – mother Mary Incubus – Certain Shade of Green) (1998) * Pony w/ Pony acoustic (2009)

Demos

*''Sweat a River, Live No Lies'' (1991)

References

External links

Official website
(archived) *
Far biosFar interview on Rockmidgets.comFar interview with Submerge Magazine, Dec. 2008Noisecreep talks to Shaun Lopez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Far American alternative metal musical groups Alternative rock groups from California Epic Records artists Vagrant Records artists Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 Musical groups from Sacramento, California Musical groups disestablished in 2010 1991 establishments in California