I adore Jonah Matranga and all that does he does. Have meet him in person and is such a lovely guy. He has a new album in the works and you can help with it here. He doing a kickstarter for it. You can find out more about it here. This is what he has to say about it.

First off, thanks for caring enough to check this out. Please spread the word in all the ways you can to anyone who might be into it. Like everyone else, I’m doing all I can to stay healthy, creative & sustainable in these strange & stressful times. Making music is the only real job I’ve ever had. It’s also my favorite way to take care of myself, and offer love & support to the world. Like I wrote in the video, music helps me through, and I want whatever I make to help as many people as possible. I think that’s what art is for.

It’s been a minute since I’ve made an album. After releasing Me And You Are Two in 2014(?!?), I wrote a book about fatherhood & music, made a rad EP with J & Zach Jawbox, celebrated the 20th anniversary of Water & Solutions, updated my website (feat. a sweet online community), found a way to make all the different merch designs from over the years easily available, played a gazillion more shows… and then, just as I was getting ready to finally make a new album and do some touring around it, crazy-ass 2020 came along and turned everything upside-down. I try to just do the best I can no matter what’s going on, so I’ve used the unexpected downtime to really think on what feels important and fun for me right now.

Over the years, I’ve realized that while I’ll always love making stuff at home on my own, there’s something about collaboration that lights me up in totally different ways. Right now, in this time of social distancing and the loneliness that can come with it, I’m wanting more than ever to make something truly collaborative. It’s gonna take more time & money to do it this way, and I know it’ll be worth it for all involved, including you. Speaking of which, beyond the basic album-related rewards, I focused on more personal ways of interacting with you, from making you personal recordings to helping you make yr own. If my ideas spark ideas for you that aren’t included in this project, let’s figure it out.

So yea, as for this album: I want to finally, properly combine what I love about my solo/home stuff with what I love about my band/studio stuff. Jeremy Tappero is the perfect partner for that. We’ve made records and toured together in onelinedrawing, New End, and Gratitude. In the years since then, while I’ve been doing my thing, he’s become a pretty amazing multi-instrumentalist, studio engineer, and producer. When we were talking the other day, he said his favorite instrument is the studio itself, and it reminded me: over the years, I’ve figured out that my favorite instrument to ‘play’ isn’t my voice or the guitar, but the song/idea itself. It’s gonna be fun to join forces. We’re going to make something I could never make on my own. We’re also going to be bringing in other people to play & sing on stuff & be part of it. I’m not gonna drop any names just now, but if our dreams come true, some real neat surprises await. Speaking of surprises, if/when we hit our goal, we have lots of fun bonus rounds in mind.

Please be a part of this project. Please spread the word. Please help us keep going through these no-touring times, and enjoy a lot of music & ideas along the way. 

Thanks always & forever, for real.

xo Jonah