Richmond - Instantly the J.O.B. has a recognizable feel to it.  The name alone speaks to anyone who has something that they must do.  It’s part of their charm but at the same time sends a clear message that they are not here because they want to be, but because they must.  For these folks, not expressing themselves through music would be ludicrous, and it shows in the passion and dedication that’s infused into every note of their songs.

Jim O’Ferrell, being the sole lyric writer, derived a lot of his inspiration from his time in the United States Armed Forces.  Most of that time was spent as an infantryman, so one could say that his voice carries the weight of all the soldiers fighting for us.  From a group that is, for the most part, under-appreciated and under-represented in everyday life this can be a refreshing take, and for those who take them for granted it can be a rude awakening.  These experiences certainly add a distinct tone and weight to his songs.

The music itself can be pretty varied, but one thing will remain constant for the most part.  There will always be an acoustic guitar played by Jim O’Ferrell, usually accompanied by his gritty yet soothing voice.  His voice is grimy like Tom Waits, yet at the same time he can actually sing, and that harmony is what creates the soothing parts of it.  Steve Payne’s drums keep the band in time, his discerning ears delivering exactly what is needed into each song and then some.  Justin Poroszok assists him by faithfully keeping the band anchored with a strong rhythm section, his bass providing the foundation to let the final member, Jason Crawford, perform his furious leads using fuzzy distortion and a veritable mountain of effects which he commands with authority, rather than letting them control him.

Every song has a story to tell, and the art of music is taken very seriously.  While the band does get to show off a bit, such as in the lead sections of “Wandered”, for the most part they keep themselves very controlled.  This creates an atmosphere that lets the listener digest the music well, and when the lead sections hit it is much more powerful than if they simply shredded the entire song.  This doesn’t mean they sound the same every song.  They each have their own mood, and the musicians are experienced enough to keep a wide variety of options open.  Then you factor in the ridiculous effect set ups as well as the varied life experience that comes from being a member of our Armed Forces and you have quite a palette to choose from. 

33: How has the time you spent in the armed forces affected your songwriting?
Jim O’Ferrell: My army time contributed enormously to my songwriting.  There were notable passing events, and there were milestone life changing events.  I wrote the songs for our first album while I was in Iraq.  Words and music from a soldier's perspective, what we are thinking about, what motivates and affects us.  It's called Back to the World because "the world" is what we called home.  Different people hear different things in the songs depending upon how closely their own experiences are told in the lyrics.  The war matured me as a songwriter.  Before Iraq, I wrote songs that sounded like I thought they were supposed to sound.  Now, I write what I hear in my head, something with substance, texture, and sincerity.  The words and music are stories.

33: I know your last album is a concept album.  What can fans expect from your new material in contrast to that?
JO: Our second album 231 was an incredible experience for me artistically and musically.  I learned to refine ideas and organize phrasing and structure more smoothly and consistently.  I guess that album really helped me to find my style as a songwriter.  Our new music builds on that.  As I've grown, so has the band.  The J.O.B. has evolved as an entity, with a distinctive sound and style.  We're more straight-line rock with our new music, heavier guitar leads and less emphasis on the gentle guitar rhythms.  There's more grit and sweat, but also more precision and effects integration.
Jason Crawford: I feel our process continues to evolve as a whole.  Our new material will be quite a departure from our previous concept album approach.  Starting with this spring’s release of our new song “Nowhere”, we will be releasing four downloadable singles this year.  We will also be releasing an EP of all four tracks, including some unheard live versions of our early works.  JMD Records/Universal Music Group will also be distributing our album BassDrumsGuitarVocals this year, which consists of twelve tracks from our first two albums.

33: Congratulations on being signed by JMD records!  How will this added support help the J.O.B out in the long run?
JO: Well, thanks!  I was stunned when the rep from JMD contacted me.  It isn't a storybook event like a guy showing up at the door with a briefcase full of money.  What this means is that JMD/INGrooves/Universal has noticed us among the sea of countless music artists, and they are going to try us out and see how our music does in the mainstream market.  It's as if the J.O.B. were a baseball player who caught the attention of a pro scout.  We're going to play a few games on the Triple-A team, and if we get a few base hits, maybe we'll get a chance to bat for the major league team.  I've about reached the peak of what I can do for us with marketing and promotion.  I just don't have the resources or finances to push beyond what I'm already doing.  This deal with JMD/INGrooves/Universal pulls us up through that barrier, and we now will have their marketing machine projecting our music.  This puts us in the same promo basket as Pearl Jam, Black Eyed Peas, and other artists represented by the major label.  This opens the door for commercial radio play, tours and festivals, movie soundtracks, and other projects that were out of our reach before this.  This is a huge opportunity for us.  If our music can find that mainstream audience, the next step is a record deal.

33: Tell us a bit about each of your respective music backgrounds.
JO: I grew up strumming an acoustic guitar.  I have no early memories without a guitar in my hands.  Creedence Clearwater Revival, Gordon Lightfoot, Grand Funk Roadroad, and a few others were driving my desire to play as a kid.  I played my first actual gig in a redneck bar in Stafford county when I was 15.  Sawdust covered floors, stale cigarette smoke layered in the air, old Hank Willians records on the jukebox.  I strolled in with long hair, a leather jacket, and a six-string guitar.  I started playing Johnny Cash covers, and the first pitcher of beer showed up.  I enlisted in the Army after high school and took my guitar with me.  Everywhere the Army sent me, I found taverns and bars to perform.  I even played a set at the outdoor pavilion at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during my first deployment to Iraq.  That was a rush.  I have been composing and performing as a singer/songwriter as long as I can remember.  This project, the J.O.B., started gradually after I left the military in 2008.  First it was just me, then Jason added lead guitar licks to a few compositions, then we found a drummer to add that layer, then our first bassist sort of found us.  It all grew naturally.  The J.O.B. is the only real band I have ever been a part of, it's the only band I'll ever belong to.
Justin Poroszok: My first instrument was the saxophone, which I studied through junior high and high school.  I was lucky enough that our school system had a pretty robust music department, so at any given time I was playing in the marching band, the jazz band and the concert band.  Somewhere in high school I bought an electric guitar but switched to bass after about a year after seeing the Dennis DiBlasio quartet.  They had a cat on bass…Ron Velosky, and he just blew me away…this was on electric bass.  It was years before I developed a real appreciation and love for upright.  Ron was local and I was able to take lessons from him.  I ended up playing all through college and have been in one band or another pretty consistently for the past decade or so.
JC: In a way, I come from a diverse musical background.  I'm influenced by everything from Merzbow to Iannis Xenakis to Brian Eno.  I've composed several works in the past under the moniker Aiwaz JSN.  These works ranged from film scores to intense noise atmospheres to punk rock to death metal to free jazz, to hip-hop and everything in between.  The whole idea behind Aiwaz Jsn was to erase the genre lines in music through synthesis.  This synthesis was both conceptual and procedural, as I employed both digital and analog instruments from modular synths to old tape machines to guitars…basically anything I could get my hands on.  I'm a self-taught musician, so a lot of my music knowledge and theories have been formulated through experimentation.  As a result, I tend to approach guitar playing and composition in a somewhat untraditional way.  For me, the guitar and music in general becomes more than a series of available notes...It’s more of an atmosphere.  Music isn't something you just listen to…it happens to you…it affects you.

33: You’ve had a lot of success with the media.  What advice would you give other artists out there looking to expand their networking?
JO: Success is the result of perseverance and commitment.  Think whatever you want about Tool, Eminem, or Lady Gaga.  They all have one thing in common - they worked their butts off to be where they are.  No one gets to that level accidentally.  Sure there is a degree of luck, but luck doesn't come to your sofa and hand you plates of money during commercial breaks.  You have to work hard to make your own luck.  If I've learned anything, I've learned that.  I work constantly for the band...from the time I wake until the time I hit the pillow at night.  Rehearsal, performing, recording...these are the parts you can see.  That's fine for a cover band playing shows in and around town, but that's only about 20 percent of what I do.  It's the invisible part that makes the difference between being another band playing the city bars and getting a shot at the big game.  Expanding success includes producing, packaging and mailing media kits, researching and contacting persons of influence in radio and other media, getting past the gatekeepers, coordinating venues and band events, procuring equipment and resources, marketing, art design, press releases, promotion through print and digital media, effective use of social networking sites...and of course writing and composition.  The list never stops.  Music can be an activity, or it can be a lifestyle.  To have a chance at making the big league you have to live it, breathe it, become it.  There is no such thing as overnight success.  When an artist seems to suddenly be successful, there is nothing sudden about it.  It's the culmination of relentless commitment and a lot of work.  But it's fun work.  I wouldn't trade this lifestyle for anything.
JC: It all works hand in hand.  If you want to "make a living" as a musician, you need to exhaust whatever resources you have, and the available social networks are a great place to start.

33: You fall under a genre that has a lot of amazing bands.  How does the J.O.B. make itself unique under the Americana genre while still paying homage to the rich history behind it?
JO: There are two aspects to our music that will always link us to the Americana style.  One is the acoustic guitar, and the other is our song composition.  Our music is rock music, but it is centered around acoustic guitar rhythms.  All our songs are stories, some are more conceptual than others, but each is a stand-alone work of prose that is told with strings, percussion, and vocals.  No matter how many other layers or elements we may use instrumentally, there is always a folk song buried in there somewhere.
JP: I think the way you do that is to stay true to who you are musically.  Americana is pretty big umbrella to be under, and I think what you find at the root of that genre is a basic integrity, a willingness to just say, “Hey, this is who we are, this is where we’re from, this is what we do.”
JC: For me, being defined as an "Americana" band is almost literal and doesn't really define our sound.  Though our story and content are very American, we don't really follow any tradition of Americana music.  In general, I feel that all American music reflects some sort of essential character of "Americana."  We are unique in the sense that you're not going to experience a traditional Americana atmosphere when you listen to our music.  Our form of Americana has a different twist.  It's served on the rocks with no salt and no lime.

33: What is the direction you guys are trying to take the J.O.B. in?  What are you seeking out of this?
JO: I want the J.O.B. to reach its full potential.  That may sound like a sound bite, but it's genuine.  The band has energy that increases every day, excitement that is contagious, momentum that I can feel.  I want people to hear our stories.  I want them to find something in our message just for them, a personal aspect that connects them to our music.  What am I seeking?  I want to inspire.  I want to do something unequivocal.  I want to see what's over the next hill.
JP: Piles upon piles of money.  Enough that I can take a bath in it.  Barring that, and speaking for myself, I want to be able to make a living playing our music and sharing it with others.  Like a million other guys in a million other bands, I’ve got the corporate day job right now.  You do what you need to do maintain the luxuries of living indoors and eating regularly, but at the end of the day you’re trading hours for dollars, and that’s no way to live your life.  There are a couple of things I’m good at – things I like doing – and I’m just hoping I can cobble a living together out of them.
JC: I don't want to limit our direction by saying it's going to be this or that.  For me, the J.O.B. is becoming its own entity, and the sky's the limit.

33: What has your biggest challenge as a band been so far?
JO: We are an original band.  Sure, we all have played "Free Bird" and "Brown-Eyed Girl" hundreds of times, but that's not what the J.O.B. does.  Our biggest challenge is finding our stage, positioning ourselves so that our audience finds us.
JP: Externally, it’s always a dicey proposition to go to a club and say, “We want to play here, and we only do original music.”  99 percent of clubs that have music don’t do it because they’re looking to support the arts.  They do it to bring in patrons, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but you need to be willing to accept the reality that being an all-original band might close a few doors.  I’ve done the cover band thing and frankly sleep much better now knowing I’ll never have to play “Brown-Eyed Girl” or “Girl From Ipanema” again.

Internally, you have to consider that you’re talking about four guys who have only been together as a band for a few months.  This all came together in the fall of last year, and to some extent we’re still feeling each other out.  Steve and I had a pretty good rapport right off the bat, which is the most crucial thing for me.  If it’s not happening on a fundamental level with the rhythm section, then you might as well call the whole thing off.  The foundation has to be there.  But there are a million little things that you don’t even realize are issues until you’ve gradually worked them all out by virtue of hours upon hours of rehearsal.  We’re still getting to know each other.

33: What can you tell us about your instruments?
JO: I have a lot of guitars.  My primary instrument is a very rare 1983 Takamine EA-360 acoustic/electric Flying A.  Only 800 were ever produced in 1983-84.  In 1987, it belonged to a close friend who needed a light truck for his job.  He asked what I would take in trade for a 1977 Ford Ranchero that I owned, and I told him I would trade for the Takamine.  He agreed.  It plays like magic - smooth and gentle when I need it, belligerent and fearsome when I want it.  It's been my default guitar ever since.  My friend died of Lou Gehrig's disease a few years ago.  I'll never part with this instrument.                        
JP: My first real bass was a Fender Jazz Bass, and I played that for about ten years until I discovered the internet, and since then I’ve gone through an embarrassing number of instruments trying to find "the one."  My current bass is a Low End Jazz 5 built by Brian Barrett of thelowend.net, and it is the be-all, end-all of jazz bass-style instruments.  It’s light, resonant - even across all five strings - and incredibly versatile.  I’m a bit of an effects junkie, but I can DI this bass straight into a console and have perfect tone all day long.  I also have a fretless five-string built by Chris Stambaugh of Stambaugh Musical Designs…a really beautiful bass with a great, woody tone, and that’s starting to find its way into some of the quieter stuff where you can really abuse that singing fretless vibrato to advantage.

My head and cabinets are all by Euphonic Audio.  I don’t like my amp to color my sound…I prefer to do that myself, and the EA gear is both really transparent and really flexible.  They’re also a small U.S. company and the customer service is great. 

Now, when it comes to effects, JC still beats me by a country mile…but I’ve been slowly building up my own arsenal.  Currently on the board are an EBS Octabass, Xotic BB Bass Preamp, EHX Enigma QBalls, Visual Sound H20, MXR Phase 100 and a BBE OptoStomp to keep it all under control.  I’m really picky about effects on bass, because I want to keep a big round sound regardless of what I’m running it through.
JC: Well I'm a bit of an audiophile when it comes to my guitar's sound…it's an extension of my voice.  For guitars, I use a Michael Kelly Patriot Custom with a Seymour Duncan SH-2n Jazz Model in the neck position and a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Model in the bridge position.  Both pickups have push pull coil-taps.  I also use a Charvel So-Cal with a DiMarzio Evolution in the neck position and a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge.  I've also switched out the tremolo for an original German-made Floyd Rose.

For amplification, I use an Orange AD30 modded and custom voiced by Music Technology, which makes it switchable from 30 watts to about 55 watts.  I've also switched out all of the preamp tubes for Genalex Gold Lions 12AX7s with four JJs in the power section.  I've also replaced the rectifier tube with a solid-state one.  For speakers, I use stock Orange cabinets which have 12" Celestion V30s.

For guitar effects, I use a VOX 847A Wah, an Electro Harmonix Micro Polyphonic Octave Generator, a VOX Satchurator Distortion, a Hartman Germanium Transistor Fuzz, an Ibanez Handwired TS808HW, a Univox Super-Fuzz, a Moog Moogerfooger Ring Modulator, a Boss BF-2 Flanger, a Boss CE-2 Chorus, a Boss RT-20 Rotating Speaker Simulator, a Boss DD-20 Giga-Delay, a Hardwire RV-7 Stereo Reverb and a Roland RE-150 Space Echo.

33: Any last words for your family and friends?
JO: Thanks for being there, for not telling me to act my age, for not telling me that you think I'm being foolish, for being supportive.  I sincerely wish that all my friends and family are finding as much satisfaction in their lives as I have found in mine.  Life is good.
JP: Just a big thank you for all the support over the years.  Being an artist of any kind is a double-edged sword…you have to express it, or it cuts at you from the inside and that can make me a bit of a handful to deal with at times.  So thanks.
JC: I'd like to thank everyone for their support, and the journey continues.  I especially want to thank my parents and my friends who bought me my first guitar!

If you wish to support original rock straight out of Virginia, then head on over to the J.O.B.’s website and show them some love. 

TheJOBand.com

Alternatively, if Justin’s set up has piqued your curiosity, quench that thirst by checking it out yourself!

TheLowEnd.net
StambaughDesigns.com
EAAmps.com

Lastly, if Jason’s Aiwaz JSN project got the more eclectic readers out there wondering, check them out here...

MySpace.com/ArtOfDestroyingAUniverse

By Correspondent: Ryan Mason

Ryan Mason was born in Hampton in 1989.  He grew up listening to the generic bands on the radio before discovering classic rock and expanding his horizons.  Now you'll find him listening to just about anything, from Pink Floyd to the Sound of Animals Fighting.  Naturally this lead to him playing music himself, and he is the proud owner of a Gibson SG and a 5-string bass guitar.  Unfortunately, he sucks at them both, but hey, there is always Magazine33!  Some other bands he likes are Stiff Little Fingers, the Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, Incubus, Hendrix, Lamb of God, the Doors and Gorillaz.

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