Jonny Davy - Job For A Cowboy 'It Felt Like We Had Some Unfinished Business'

Time is a funny old thing - though it’s a myth that it flies by when you’re having fun, it sure seems to pass a hell of a lot quicker as the years start going by. For close to a decade, North American deathcore-come-progressive death metal act Job For A Cowboy sat in silence; seemingly happy to let their fantastic 2014 record Sun Eater be their last contribution to the metal world. After all, the ten-plus years prior to that LP’s release saw the group live a lifetime of experiences - from starting the band as high schoolers in Arizona and exploding internationally thanks to the-then burgeoning MySpace, before the near-endless grind of new albums/constant touring/line-up changes/stylistic growth engulfed the member’s lives.Although having stepped away from all forms of activity within the music biz by the start of 2015, Job For A Cowboy never officially separated, meaning the rumour mill was always quietly churning away with potential info on the band’s re-birth. With interests piqued as 3/5ths of the act formed the grindcore-influencd Serpent of Gnosis in 2019, it wasn’t until 2023 that news broke in the extreme metal world of the band’s first show in seven years, followed by all the long-harboured details of their fifth full length Moon Healer.With Moon Healer's imminent unleashing, Wall of Sound were fortunate enough to chat with frontman and founding member JonnyDavy. When pressed for what it feels like to be immerse back into the non-stop world of the music industry, Davy admits it's a bit of a strange sensation to get back on the bike again;

"It's weird, man. It's been a long time because even after Sun Eater. I didn't do press at all. We kind of fell off the face of the earth after we finished that record and put it out. So I don't know, it feels like I'm in my early twenties again. I suppose I'm a middle aged man now and yeah, it's a bit surreal."

Despite not actively touring or recording, the members of Job For A Cowboy never stopped composing new material, with the aforementioned Serpent of Gnosis record playing a solid part in the band reforming;

"Tony (Sannicandro), our lead guitar player, has written tons of stuff, but it's always been very periodically. So that was 2014/15 when he started writing. He just threw it in what we call 'the riff bin'. But being very disorganised after that record [Sun Eater], I think making another one felt very daunting and slightly scary, just because we know how much work and how much headache it would be to create one; the band is a democracy in the sense that if somebody doesn't like a section or a riff, it gets thrown in the trash. So there's a lot of that always floating around, it's always a long process.

But luckily this time around, we never had a set timeframe or schedule. It 2019 when we put out the Serpent of Gnosis record (As I Drink From The Infinite Well Of Inebriation) - that's with the guitar players of Job For A Cowboy (Sannicandro and Al Glassman) and myself, with Max (Lavelle) from the Black Dahlia Murder. After we did that, we kind of found a system and realised, hey, this record (Moon Healer) is actually feasible. So once that happened, we looked back to the monolithic riff bin and started organising things and putting things together, and here we are today."

With the band previously wide-spread across North America, the new record had it’s own extra geographical challenges thanks to the members living further and wider than before:

"Our lead guitar player, Tony, actually has been living in Ireland for a long time. He got his doctorate's medical degree, so he's been doing a lot of medical research in Ireland. So we're in different time zones and everything, so we have a band Dropbox account. We open up the Dropbox, check it out, pick away at it, analyse it. We just make notes, tell each other when we don't like something or when we love something.

We didn't play with each other in a room for prior to last September. We played a couple of shows for the first time, and it's been, I don't know, so long. I guess it's kind of how most bands do things these days; everything's online.

We used to always be the type of band that spend hours and hours in the practice space, but once 2010/2011 hit, we would very rarely even rehearse. And that's kind of been our motto; we just kind of roll the dice and see what happens. We've kind of had a punk rock attitude about it for a long time as far as rehearsing and playing together.

Though a long time between drinks, having the support of legendary label Metal Blade Records behind the group - having signed with them way back in 2006 - meant that Job For A Cowboy were able to write and record Moon Healer at their own pace.

"They understand our situation. When we were touring, we were relentless. We would constantly burn the candle at both ends. We were all more comfortable living in a van and sleeping in a hotel than we were going home. That's how often we're on the road and things have changed. Life has gotten the way fatherhood, degrees and careers - and Metal Blade understands that. So they just pretty much said; "whenever it's ready, give it to us - we just want a good record", and I'd like to think we accomplished it with this new one."

As the title suggests, the upcoming new LP shares more than just a similar name with Sun Eater, with the band motivated to explore more musical ground in the same vein;

"It's a collection of things. One, it felt a little bittersweet because we all really like what we did with Sun Eater. But when it came out, we didn't do any press, we didn't do any videos, we didn't do any touring. It just kind of came out one day. So in a sense, it felt a bit like we had some unfinished business with it, I suppose. So it felt pretty natural to kick right back off where we were, but also just conceptually, the concept of it in and of itself just felt like there was so much more meat on the bone to write about. It just felt like a natural progression, just to pick up where we left off."

With the four-fifths of the last Job For A Cowboy lineup reuniting for this new LP, the immensely talented Navene Koperweis was recruited to lay down the drums for the new record. Davy explains how Koperweis and JFAC's relationship goes back through the years;

"I've known Navene since my teenage years. The first Job For A Cowboy tour was with Cattle Decapitation, Misery Index and Animosity, and all those guys just took care of us and showed us the ropes as far as touring, the in-and-outs of it, because we were kids and didn't know what the hell we were doing. I made a really close bond with Navene back then, to the point where we made Fleshwrought album (2010's Dementia/Dyslexia). I think he's super underrated; he's an amazing musician and producer, but just with drums, I don't know, I feel like when I hear his drumming, I could always distinctly tell that it's him.

There's always the copycat bands where they always kind of follow someone else's style, but Navene in particular, I feel like he's always found his own style, so he was a no brainer just to hit him up and say; "here are demos, please record your drums to them - do whatever the hell you want". And I think he nailed it.

He went to Florida with Jason Suecof and recorded the drums, and those were set in stone. We actually went back and changed some of the riffs to accent and kind of reflect more on what he was doing with his drums. So it was an interesting process that we've never done before, but actually like doing that quite a bit."

While working with Koperweis was a new experience with the group, producer Jason Suecof has been long involved in the JFAC camp - having worked on everything since 2009's Ruination. With his familiar guiding hand - and immense talent - it helped bring the band members craft their best album possible, as well as keeping the mood and energy levels firmly in the positive.

"That feeling when you first started playing maybe with another friend at your parents house in your garage, it kind of brings you back to that feeling when you're in the studio with Jason. He's an amazing musician himself with the stuff he's done with his own projects and all the other things as well. We've been with producers that as musicians they couldn't keep up with what the guitar players, what the drummer was doing - but he totally gets it. He's an amazing vocalist, an amazing guitar player, he has a keen ear with drums - he's just all around an amazing musician. And when we go in the studio with him we look at him almost as like a 6th band member - we want all of his input, feedback. That's generally why we keep going back to him.

I mean, one, he's amazing to hang out with and it's just I've met very few people that are as impressive of a musician as he is. The initial plan was to record everything at his place - which everything was except the guitars actually. Just because of the COVID restrictions and Tony being in Ireland, he ended up having to track everything from home, which was the first time we did that. It was a constant bouncing back and forth with him and Jason just to get it where it needed to be where we're all happy. (But) it all worked out excellent."

Though the stop/start writing process for Moon Healer was time-consuming, it helped the band analysis their performances and writing, whilst Davy slowly started compiling lyrical ideas;

"It's been a really long time technically, but it's been a stop and go. I think sometimes we'd have something new, and then there'd be six to ten months just silenced. But like I said, after the Serpent of Gnosis album, we kind of looked back at everything we had, pulled stuff out and put more stuff in, and just finally put a leash on the beast of this record to build it and get it where it needed to be. While the record is being written, I think of concepts and themes. This record was about a very close individual who kind of abused a lot of hallucinogenic drugs. He became his own guinea pig because he would brew his own drugs and consume them. So the concept and themes are already there. So I just did a bunch of research of the conspiracies and religious ideas and political ideas he was into."

A multifaceted vocalist, Davy's low growls and feral shrieks are instantly identifiable, though the frontman admits he didn't have to work hard to keep his blistering voice in shape;

"No, I didn't really do anything to keep up. I spent probably at least a few years where I never yelled into a microphone, which I never really put much thought into. I think with me it's more or less kind of riding a bike. I look back as of what I've done in the past. I just try to focus on what I think I'm good at and put more of a microscope on that and try to weed out anything in particular that I wasn't maybe as fond of. So I think that's just kind of how it works for me. You're not going to forget how to do that - I did it so many nights for so many years, it's just kind of second nature to a degree."

Despite Moon Healer not even dropping yet, the new record has undoubtedly spurred on the band members, with Job For A Cowboy already tentatively looking into the future for their next moves;

"It's going to be taking it as it comes to a bit. We have a lot of ideas and plans in the works, but nothing set in stone yet because we're so busy with our own individual schedule. So we got to make all the stars aligned for all of us.

But even that, we're already talking, discussing doing another record so it's not another ten year hiatus and wait.

So I think as of right now, I have nothing to speak on that - but just keep an eye out because something should be coming out shortly. The riff bin is strong right now; there's a lot of stuff in there. And now we're in the phase of analysing this record and seeing, okay, what could have been better? What can we do better? What can we do that's different from the trends that are happening now? That's another thing we always try to do, is just try to avoid what other bands are doing to a degree."

Though the band played a warm-up show, Job For A Cowboy's grand re-unveiling was at the massive Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia, with Davy honest about his and his bandmate's feelings prior to hitting the stage;"I think we were all generally terrified at practice. It's been so long, but it's one of those things; as soon as you hit the stage, as soon as the first note hits, I think you jump into your avatar or the pro wrestler version of yourself and it's just like walking into a time machine. And I just got blasted back from ten years ago, so it just felt like nothing ever changed really."

‍Interview by Andrew Kapper. Twitter: @andrew_kapper

Job For A Cowboy's Moon Healer is out Feb 23rd via Metal Blade Records.

‍Pre-order here and read our review here

Job For A Cowboy - Moon Healer tracklisting

1. Beyond the Chemical Doorway2. Etched in Oblivion3. Grinding Wheels of Ophanim4. The Sun Gave Me Ashes so I Sought Out the Moon5. Into the Crystalline Crypts6. A Sorrow-Filled Moon7. The Agony Seeping Storm8. The Forever Rot