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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Far
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 2 February 2010
Starting out in 1991, CMU favourites Far are an indie-rock band from Sacramento, California. After releasing two albums on their own label, Our Own Records, the band signed to Sony/Epic/Immortal and released the album ‘Tin Cans With Strings To You’ in 1996, which was followed by their most popular album to date, ‘Water & Solutions’, in 1998. After disbanding in 1999, the members went on to work on a number of other projects before reuniting in 2008. The band release a cover of Ginuwine’s R&B hit ‘Pony’ this week via Bright Antenna Records. We caught up with frontman Jonah Matranga to ask the Same Six Questions.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
Just messing around in the basement with grade school buddies. I never had this vision of doing it for my career, just starting loving it and never stopped.
Q2 What inspired your latest single?
Really that same feeling. Just having an idea that puts a smile on my face, and then wakes me up at night, making that idea real. Far was getting some shows together under a fake band name (Hot Little Pony), so we recorded that cover as the song for our fake band’s MySpace jukebox. I still don’t really think of it as a Far song. I love it, but the rest of the record [forthcoming album ‘At Night We Live’, on which the cover will appear] is the real shit. We all just laughed at the thought of us covering this dirty R&B song, so we did it. And there you go.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating an original track?
It is literally never the same. Sometimes a melody sits in my head forever, sometimes a riff keeps echoing through, sometimes a conversation lights me up. It’s more like finding a strange new animal and following it around, learning about it. When I’ve learned about it, the song is done.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Anyone that takes chances. Anyone not afraid to fall on their face reaching for something great. Zeppelin, Prince, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Lennon, PE, Miles, Bowie, Bjork, Metallica, President Obama, Steve Jobs… So many people doing so many great things. I could go on.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Be willing to be surprised. Leave preconceptions out of it. Just listen and be open to whatever you feel.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest single, and for the future?
Somebody smarter than me said: “Ambition is the last refuge of the failure”. I agree. I’m just up for whatever’s next. I love this record, and that’s all I need to know as an artist.
MORE>> www.thebandfar.com
