Job for a Cowboy

Steve has a conversation with front man Jonny Davy and guitarist Bobby Thompson

Part 1 – Interview with JONNY

CONFRONT:I’m SteveK for Confront Magazine and I’m with

JONNY: JONNY, the singer for Job for a Cowboy.

CONFRONT:I’m working on an article on the past, present and future of Heavy Metal, and so the first question I’d like to ask is this: a few years ago the Metal scene was hugely unpopular, the industry insiders were calling it a dead trend-which is where we got that Pantera album from-it was just gone from the mainstream completely, it went underground and now it’s just starting to come back; basically we have this huge resurgence, and I’d like to know what you think is responsible for this change? Why is Metal coming back? What brought it back from the dead for a mainstream audience?

JONNY: Honestly I think that one of the biggest things was the Internet. The tape-trading saga is ended and the Internet is the new thing. Anyone can find any band at your fingertips, free download and everything. So, I think that’s probably one of the main factors. Probably also this giant surge, this Lamb of God, hardcore metal bands just showed up and just blew everything up again.

CONFRONT:I’ll skip ahead to another question, because you mentioned the New Media’s responsibility for it, you guys have both a MySpace page and an official website, so for your own success as a band, how important has the New Media been? What has it done for you, personally?

JONNY: What would you mean by the New Media?

CONFRONT:The Internet, MySpace, file sharing…

JONNY: Yeah! We wouldn’t be, obviously, as popular as we are now without it. Before we could even tour, we just put some songs up on the Internet, on the Pure Volume, on the MySpace and all that, and it just…blew up on its own. It was really awkward, because we were all sitting at home still in high school, like, “What’s going on?” So, it was really weird and it’s obviously this giant thing that’s worked for us and hundreds of other bands in the Metal genre.

CONFRONT: Cool; excellent. Why do you feel that Metal, as opposed to any other genre out there has been looked upon with so much disdain? You have other musical genres that are putting out stuff that is seriously offensive, that’s really anti-intellectual, misogynist…why is Metal so picked upon? Why is Metal so disregarded?

JONNY: I don’t know, I guess that just because Metal is so far out of the mainstream it’s hard for a general person to get into it. Just, they’re not familiar with it at all, so I think when they hear something like that it’s just kind of looked down on, by a lot of people. That’s why the Metal Genre-especially the extreme side of the Metal Genres-probably the most looked down upon genre of music in the world.

CONFRONT: Do you feel as an artist that because Metal is so counterculture, so underground that it gives you more or less artistic liberty in terms of what you’re trying to do?

JONNY: I think being an underground band it definitely gives you more [artistic freedom]; I mean, all the mainstream bands have guidelines of what the people want to listen to, and they stick with that. Being on more of the underground side, we can do just whatever we want, whatever we feel like; it’s cool!

CONFRONT: You touched on the different genres of Metal music; stuff like Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Extreme Metal, Groove Metal, Deathcore…and a lot of cases there’s overt hostility between fans of the different groups. For me, Metal is Metal; why do you think there’s so much hostility between the different subcultures?

JONNY: I don’t know; that’s one thing I don’t really understand. Metal is Metal and I don’t know; there’s just some elitists out there, and I don’t know. It’s a good question, but I honestly can’t give you a really good answer for it. I guess people want to be fickle and want to be hostile to the other things that are out there.

CONFRONT: When you were in high school and you were just starting out the band, what drew you to Metal? What made you decide to go Metal instead of a different genre?

JONNY: Metal has always just been a lifestyle for me. My mom was a Metal head when I was growing up; I grew up on Pantera, Megadeth; one of my first concerts was Megadeth. And here I am now…

CONFRONT:Playing on tour with Megadeth?

JONNY: Yeah; it’s just weird; it’s screwing with my head. I guess when I came to high school and the typical teenage thing of rebelling against your parents and I found like Grind, Death Metal and all that…

CONFRONT:How do you rebel against your parents when your mom’s a Metal head? What do you do? Pick up-well I don’t want to say Classical music because there’s so many elements of Classical music in Metal-but what do you do?

JONNY: I guess you just try and find the more extreme, harder music out there, the harder genre.

CONFRONT: What bands do you feel have been the biggest influence on you? What acts have inspired your music?

JONNY: This is a really hard question, because it’s the “name dropping” question.

CONFRONT: Well, it’s not really about name-dropping; it’s more a question of wanting to know what you listen to and what your inspiration is, even if it’s not Metal.

JONNY: For me, again, Pantera and Megadeth and that sort of thing growing up, and growing older I’m kind of more involved with the more modern, like N.I.L., Decapitated has always been a huge influence on me; and Cynic; those are probably the bands that have most affected me and what I am today.

CONFRONT: And what do you feel that your band is bringing, or what do you hope to contribute to the Metal scene?

JONNY: That’s a good question. I don’t know; I think that personally, for me, touring with some of my favorite bands…I just want to impress my peers, just improving myself more and more; I think I’ve improved over the last couple of years.

CONFRONT: You seem very overwhelmed by it all. You have this air of disbelief; not to quote the Matrix, but you have the look of someone who expects to wake up from all of this and find it was just a dream.

JONNY: I can look back to a year ago and I never thought I’d be touring with Megadeth. This whole band, what it’s accomplished, it’s really gone over my head; it’s unbelievable. I mean, I’m happy that it’s happened, but you know? And like you said, with goals? Just trying to improve myself and trying to impress my peers, I guess.

CONFRONT: A lot of kids-especially with Heavy Metal-a lot of kids turn to music because they feel like they’re outcasts, because they don’t belong. They basically turn to the music for solace and for comfort and for a sense of union. How do you feel about the importance that your music can potentially have in someone’s life?

JONNY: It’s a crazy question because I never really think of it that way, but it’s true. I was a giant nerd when I was a kid and when I was growing up and Metal was definitely an outlet for me, and like, my whole band was the same way. So if I can affect anyone’s life in any way, improve it, well, that’s awesome.

CONFRONT: With everything that Metal has gone through, from the classic acts, like Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden, and God help us the 80s with the Hair Bands like Poison and Cinderella, and then Pantera and Megadeth and now the new era of Metal music, where do you think Metal is headed? What do you think the new horizons are going to be?

JONNY: I honestly don’t know; who’d have thought that bands like Pantera or now the new wave of music; it can be anything. I’m just excited to see what’s going to come out next.

CONFRONT: And what would you as a music listener recommend to people? Whether or not it’s Metal, what do you think people should be listening to?

JONNY: Damn! Huh…um…

CONFRONT: I’m sorry; I’m asking the heavy shit today, aren’t I?

JONNY: What should people be listening to; just to take a listen to you mean?

CONFRONT: Yeah, well basically what are you listening to that you want to share with other people?

JONNY: Well, albums like Cynic’s ‘Focus’ has always been one of my favorite albums it still blows my mind when I listen to it today. Almost every N.I.L record just because it’s so different to a lot of what’s out there. Damn! That’s a really good question!

CONFRONT: With the touring, especially since ‘Genesis’ came out you guys have been touring basically nonstop; and now you’re with Gigantour and you’re basically playing a different show almost every night of the week in a different city. What do you guys do to unwind, to just relax?

JONNY: I think the touring lifestyle right now just feels like home right now, because we’ve toured so much. When we go home it’s like, “What are we supposed to do now?”

CONFRONT: When you have time on your hands and you don’t know how to deal with it?

JONNY: Exactly. But on tour it’s kind of the same old thing every day; we just hang out, play our instruments, that’s pretty much just how it goes.

CONFRONT: Well that was basically my last question, so I want to thank you for your time!

JONNY: Cool!
Part 2 – interview with Bobby

CONFRONT: Do you feel that metal as a medium has allowed you more freedom to explore themes than another genre of music would have?

BOBBY: Yes actually that is a huge reason why I am so into metal. There are almost no boundaries. You’re basically only limited by your personal abilities.

CONFRONT: A few years ago, here in North America, the Metal scene had become fairly unpopular; it seemed that for a while, everyone in the business end of music were talking about it as being a dead trend in music. Metal disappeared from mainstream popular consciousness for a while. But lately, there’s really been a resurgence of its popularity in general, and it’s starting to enjoy much more mass appeal; what do you attribute to this change in public opinion on Metal?

BOBBY: I think the current affairs in the world have largely influenced the resurgence of Metal and other heavy genres of music. A growing number of people have become more frustrated with current situations and are searching for an outlet to vent them.

CONFRONT: Why do you feel that Metal, as opposed to other music genres, is looked upon with so much disdain? Why do you feel other genres of music, some of which are overtly misogynist, exploitative and condone criminal behavior are socially acceptable, whereas Metal so often isn’t?

BOBBY: People that turn to music that is so bland and shallow aren’t looking for something that is going to make them think outside of what is so commonly accepted by the mass majority. The constant release of movies, television shows, and a flood of music that are so blatantly exploitative and violent have become normal over the years because that’s what sells. That’s what people want to hear and see because it requires almost no thought or intellect. I think Metal is looked upon as not as socially acceptable because there’s much more to it than the songs about money, women and cars that you hear on the radio all of the time. There is generally much more depth to metal then the generic shit that’s so embraced by the mainstream audiences.

CONFRONT: There are so many genres and subgenres of Metal music; Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Extreme Metal, Sludge-Core, Groove Metal, Deathcore…and in some cases, a lot of hostility between fans of the different groups. Why is it so important for people to create these labels, and then judge bands based on the label instead of the content of their music?

BOBBY: It’s very common for people to judge many things by labels and not actual content. It’s human nature.

CONFRONT: What acts influenced your music?

BOBBY: There’s so many but I guess here are the main ones: Decapitated, Hate Eternal, Necrophagist, Meshuggah, Morbid Angel

CONFRONT: What is your favorite era of Metal?

BOBBY: I pretty much like something from every era so I can’t really answer that

CONFRONT: What drew you towards Metal, as opposed to another genre?

BOBBY: I didn’t really get into Metal until I started playing guitar. I loved the guitar work and the ferocity of the genre. It was so pissed off and being a young kid I was really attracted to the attitude of it.

CONFRONT: What do you feel you bring to or contribute most to the genre?

BOBBY: Well basically the most important thing to me is playing and writing music that I love and am proud of. If it contributes to the genre or maybe inspires someone to get into Metal then I would be extremely happy.

CONFRONT: What acts out there, Metal or not, do you enjoy and think other people should be listening to?

BOBBY: I really like the band Muse. They are amazing musicians and song writers. I also really like The Mars Volta, Jimi Hendrix and pretty much anything else that’s really creative and original. There’s way too many to name.

http://www.myspace.com/jobforacowboy

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