Far were an "
emocore" band hailing from Sacramento, California. I have yet to hear the term emocore applied to any other band or artist. They released three albums between
1994 and
1998.
Far consisted of:
Jonah Matranga -
Vocals
Shaun Lopez -
Guitar
Malcom Keefe -
Bass (
1991-
1993)
John Gutenberger - Bass (
1993-
1999)
Chris Robyn -
Drums
Far was formed in 1991 when
guitarist Shaun Lopez's
hardcore band
Inner Strength broke up. Shaun then teamed up with his highschool friend Chris Robyn (
drums) and not long after, they found Malcom Keefe (
bass) and
Jonah Matranga (
vocals). Thus was Far born.
In
1994, Far, who were already growing popular in the
Sacramento area, recorded their first
LP,
Quick, which sold 5,000 copies. Following the release of
Quick, Far put out
In The Aisle, Yelling, a four song tape.
Far signed with
Immortal Records in 1996 and released
Tin Cans With Strings To You, further increasing their
fanbase. In
1998, they released
Water & Solutions, which marked a drastic change in the band
stylistically, making use of melodies which
conjure emotions rather than screams of
catharsis. Although
Water & Solutions differed from the ablums prior to it almost to the point of unrecognizability, I still consider this record to be the
quintessential Far CD, as it also sets the stage for some of
Jonah Matranga's post-Far work, such as
Onelinedrawing and the sadly short-lived
New End Original.
Other tidbits which may be of interest:
Former Far frontman Jonah Matranga is (last I talked to him) fairly close friends with
Deftones frontman
Chino Moreno, having collaborated on a number of
B-Sides and
rares such as
Sade's "No Ordinary Love",
Jawbox's "Savory", and an
acoustic cover of the
Deftones own "Be Quiet And Drive".