Job For A Cowboy

author PP date 01/08/07

Job For A Cowboy wrote a brutal death metal record and sold 13,000 copies on its first week in the US alone. That's an impressive achievement for any band, but for a death metal act that's nearly miraculous, as usually bands in the genre struggle to beat the one thousand copies sold mark. Whether it's clever marketing on websites like Myspace or that their music is just incredible, I'll leave up to you as the reader of this site to decide. But the shock-value of that 13k should be enough for any website to get in touch with what is currently considered as one of the hottest new acts around, so when the opportunity came around to send an emailer out to the band, who have recently been destroying live on European turfs, I didn't hesitate for a moment. Guitarist and one of the only original members of the band Ravi Bhadriraju sat down in the interview'ees virtual chair and typed up some answers to my questions regarding why is it exactly them who are so popular for the moment instead of some of the existing acts. Not surprisingly, Ravi's answers revolved around them bringing something new to the genre, but if you read in between the lines you can sense the kind of passionate driving-force that takes small bands into stupendous heights. This is a band that believes in what they are doing. I present to you: Ravi Bhadriraju, the guitarist of Job For A Cowboy:

RF.net: Hi and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! First off, how are things in Job For A Cowboy?
Ravi: Things with Job for a Cowboy are great. We are currently on the Sounds Of The Underground Tour at the moment. We've been touring since the beginning of the year and will continue to do so as well. Our record "Genesis" came out in May and we couldn't be happier with the way things have been going.

RF.net: I have to first of all congratulate you for the success of your debut album "Genesis". 13,000 albums shifted on the first week is something I never thought I would see from an act as brutal as you guys. What's your comment on the success of the album?
Ravi: Honestly, I was expecting one thousand to four thousand sold the first week. I feel really lucky to be apart of something as great as this. Having 13,000 copies sold our first week is a big accomplishment as well as astonishing for us. Hearing how many copies we did blew my mind and I did not expect anything like that. It is awesome that a death metal band gets the exposure we've been getting to a more mainstream audience. To be apart of a growing scene such as the death metal scene, I feel honored to be helping the movement. As a kid, death metal bands did not recieve the same exposure as they do now. I loved bands such as Dying Fetus, and Deicide. Those bands did not recieve the exposure that they are getting now. Hahaha I ranted off topic there. Anyways, I am so stoked about that number but at the same time I am just excited to be playing music.

RF.net: So what do you think makes a difference between you guys and the rest of the death metal bands? Why do you guys sell so much when others struggle to sell more than a thousand copies overall?
Ravi: What makes us different is that we're a younger band that appeals to a younger demographic. We have the youngest fan base in metal and you know what, that's awesome! It is so sweet that younger kids are getting involved with metal at a young age. Another point that makes us different is that we bring a newer sound to death metal. No disrespect to any other bands but we have a different sound than most of them. All in all, this scene is growing and no matter who sounds like what and if somebody gets bigger than somebody else, we're all here doing it for the same reasons. Whether or not another band gets bigger than we do, I honestly don't care because that same band is helping the scene grow and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it.

RF.net: The artwork for "Genesis" is quite... unconventional so to say. Can you explain the artwork a bit more in detail, what it represents etc?
Ravi: The artwork on Genesis shows the end of the world. That ram looking fool is the "antichrist". The concept behind the album is about this biochip known as the "verichip". It is implanted into the skin and will be able to hold your credit card numbers, your social, and all of your information. Christians are led to believe that this is the mark of the beast and the elimination of paper money will soon happen. We were intrigued by this concept so we ran with it.

RF.net: What were your inspirations and influences for "Genesis"?
Ravi: My inspirations when writing "Genesis" were Mastodon, Katatonia, Kill the Last Hour and La Bu Day. I know Mastodon and Katatonia are not death metal bands but their music is absolutely mind blowing. Katatonia has some of the most creative and tasteful guitar riffs in their songs. They groove harder than any other band I know. Mastodon is a band that has balls and a great song writing technique.

RF.net: In the middle of the album you have a more ambient track called "Upheaval" and towards the end you have an even more silent track called "Blasphemy". What purpose do these two serve on the album?
Ravi: Those tracks give the record more flavor and life. We wanted "Genesis" to flow well and kind of feel like a story. We spent days working on those tracks because we didn't want them to come off cheesy or anything like that. Most bands have "bullshit" tracks meaning that they just throw some crap together and say yay! We didn't want to give that vibe, if we did do that then we are not writing music for the right reasons. In addition, we also wrote a doom song on the album called "divine falsehood". That track slows the record down and adds more mood to everything. I hope people can see that with "Genesis", that we purposely tried to paint a story and make a powerful record.

RF.net: Before "Genesis" you released "Doom EP", where you had some piq-squeal style vocals. These are dropped from "Genesis" - what lead into this change?
Ravi: Maturity, led to the change of our vocal patterns. I can't speak for Jonny but I know that we didn't want to do the same generic thing that everybody was doing. Vocally, he's an amazing vocalist and I am happy to have him alongside me. As a band, we knew that we could not do the pig vocals. "Genesis" is a mature Job For A Cowboy and I agree 110% with what we did. There's no doubt in my mind that dropping the pig squeals was a great idea. If we kept doing the constant crap then we are limiting ourselves as a band. Let's say we kept the pig vocals, what good are we doing for the music of death metal?

RF.net: You are known as one of those bands that tours relentlessly. Given that you are quite a new band, we haven't heard many stories yet. What does a 24-hour period look like when Job For A Cowboy is on tour?
Ravi: A DAY IN JOB FOR A COWBOY! This has got to be the best question I've ever been asked. First off I wake up and get off the bus. I will most likely fart or go to the bathroom inside the venue. After that I'll clean up and get on my laptop and hammer out five more interviews! hahaha jk but I will get on my laptop and make phone calls for about an hour. After that we'll probably rip a beer bong or two. The time is probably 2 in the afternoon. I'll go and find my pungent stenched and drenched stage clothes from the previous night and sniff them just to see how bad they're getting. I'll probably find some grubbage after that and then finally 5pm comes around. I warm up with my guitar and go and check on my guitar tech to make sure we're good to go. I'll usually give him the "stage eyes" if he messes up. Hahaha, he hates when I do that. SHOWTIME ROLLS AROUND. I get on stage do my thang get off and hit the showers. After the show I'll grab a beer and probably call my girlfriend to make sure she's doing okay and give a call to my parents. As you can see we don't get too crazy but I can't reaveal anything too much...yet.

RF.net: Do you have any crazy/interesting stories to share from any recent tours?
Ravi: We've done some stupid things on tour. Some of the stuff I can't share but one night we got crazy in a hotel. We started pouring beer on the walls and riding around with carts. Nothing too much but I can't really say...hahaha

RF.net: What have you guys been listening to as of late?
Ravi: I've been listening to La Bu Day lately, more and more and more Katatonia, and Scary Symetry. I have also started writing new material for our follow up record, which probably won't be out for a LONG time.

RF.net: What does the future look like for Job For A Cowboy? Are you planning to visit Denmark anytime soon?
Ravi: The future looks like more touring! We're actually going out to Europe in December. I can't say who we're going with but let's just say it is going to be a killer package.

RF.net: Thanks for the interview. Any last comments?
Ravi: LA BU DAY!

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