JOB FOR A COWBOY Guitarist Can't Explain Band's Internet Buzz

FMQB recently conducted an interview with JOB FOR A COWBOY guitarist Bobby Thompson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

FMQB: How do you feel about your album debuting at #54 and selling more than 12,000 copies in one week?

Bobby: We could not be happier. It was totally unexpected. We had no idea it was going to do that well. We were all hoping that it would sell maybe 5,000 copies, and then we got the results back and it just blew my mind. I couldn't believe it.

FMQB: There was so much buzz about the band before the album even came out. How did that start to snowball?

Bobby: Since the beginning of the Internet stuff, it's never been pushed by the band to try to create a buzz or create hype. It just came on its own, and I can't really explain it — it's just a right place, right time thing. It seemed like it just spread like a disease and took over! It was never a conscious effort where we decided to hype this up. It just happened. It was really unexpected. I've only been in the band since 2006, so I saw it develop from an outside point of view. I was always into the music, and it's amazing to me that the band is doing so well because the music is so heavy and so extreme. It's crazy that all these kids are catching onto it. It's awesome, but it's different from the norm.

FMQB: Does all this early buzz and praise from the press put a lot of pressure on you?

Bobby: There's definitely the pressure aspect of it. This has been a dream of ours forever — we've always wanted to play music professionally. Now it's happening, and all this stuff is going on, and it's happening so fast, we all feel like, "Now we really have to perform. This is our career now. We have to step it up and deliver." So there is pressure, but I try to be positive about it and keep the mindset that I do this because I love to do this, and I'm not going to let it bum me out if there is a lot of pressure. It pushes us to be better, so it's a good thing.

FMQB: Tell me about recording "Genesis". What were your goals when writing and recording the songs?

Bobby: Our main goal was to write an album that we would enjoy playing every night and an album of songs that we really like. From very early on we were told that there were a lot of expectations on us, so we needed to write an album that we wanted to write and not tailor it to what we think people want to hear. We really focused on that because we are going to be playing these songs every night. That was pretty much our main goal. Secondly, we were trying to stay a step ahead of everyone. We are not the most technical band by any means, and we're not a bunch of shredders, but what we do, we do really well. We know what we're good at so we focused on that and tried to take it to the next level.

FMQB: Is the writing a collaborative effort?

Bobby: Yes. Usually either [guitarist] Ravi Bhadriraju and I will get together and write, or we would write on our own and bring it to each other and exchange ideas. Once we have a basis of a song, we take it to the other guys, and they throw their ideas back and forth and we build on it. That way it builds and grows collectively, and that makes it a stronger song.

FMQB: Are you looking forward to Sounds of the Underground?

Bobby: Totally, it's a great package this year and I'm really looking forward to it. It will be a wide-ranging audience, and that's always a good thing. Doing a lot of death metal tours, you don't get the different exposure as much. So there are bands like EVERY TIME I DIE that will bring out the rock and roll fanbase and that's great. Sounds is a great tour and they have a great staff, and it's going to be really fun.

FMQB: Now that the album is off to a good start, what goals do you want to attain as a band in the next year?

Bobby: We just really want to keep growing as a band and getting used to playing live, because we're still learning a lot. Every show we learn something new. Touring with bands like UNEARTH that are so amazing live gives us a chance to see what works for them and apply it to what we do. So we want to continue improving live and start writing again. I am constantly trying to write and always working on new material, so hopefully for the next album we can go in with a ton of songs and then pick what we want. Plus we'll be tighter as a band by then. That's pretty much my goals for the next year… and to keep selling records hopefully!

Read the entire interview at FMQB.