Jonah Matranga  has been making music for over 30 years and has become somewhat of an institution. He’s a prolific artist who has straddled the line between the underground and the mainstream cusp, as he’s  fronted the bands Far, New End Original, and Gratitude. He’s worked with indie label institiutions like Jade Tree, as well as majors such as Atlantic. His music has been noted as influencing many notable bands ranging from Deftones to Blink-182.

Simply put, there is no one quite like Jonah Matranga.

Throughout his long career, he has always written from the heart and performed in an intimate way that few others have accomplished like he has, after playing almost 4,000 shows. From basements to massive festivals, he brings a devoted fanbase, raw honesty, and an interest in making every show unique and personal. This has always been the most apparent in Matranga’s solo and collaborative project performing as onelinedrawing. Jonah’s performance as onelinedrawing has always been about connecting with fans in an intimate setting, where he often performed with only his guitar and his R2D2 sidekick. 

Tenderwild, which sees release June 24 via Iodine Records, marks the return of oneline drawing. The album marks the first time since 2004 that Matranga has carried the moniker. Tenderwild is an uplifting journey that was reportedly written and inspired during a chaotic time of healing for Matranga. Delivering both guitar-driven rock songs and heartfelt intense ballads, it is a captivating collection of some of the best songs has ever written.

The album features guest appearances from many of Matranga’s close friends, such as Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World), Jeremy Tappero (Soul Asylum), Norman Brannon (Texas Is The Reason), and John Gutenberger  (Far), and Jake Snider (Minus The Bear). 

Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of sharing Matranga’s collaboration with Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional, Further Seems Forever (“Don’t Give Up”), which hits streaming tomorrow.

Of “Don’t Give Up” Matranga says, “I love the quiet force of this song. When Chris, comes in right before the second chorus, the whole thing takes flight. This is a song of encouragement for people who are feeling tired. Songs have saved me over and over in this life, and I hope this song, and this album, saves someone.”

We also have the pleasure of presenting b-side track, “Anthony’s Song.” Matranga shares, “This was written by someone who died way too young, just as they were really becoming themselves. A friend of theirs sent me a really rough demo of it and asked me to record the idea in a more complete way. I fell in love with the story and the song, and I wanted to do all I could to get it into the world.”

Pre-order the album here.

Photo by Liliana Burke