Photo courtesy of Sofie Vasquez

Fans of pro-wrestling know that behind every great persona or gimmick, there’s a human behind it all bringing those characters to life in front of them. Jobber is kind of like that, but for indie rock and wrestling nerds who enjoy their storylines being a mirror of their own lives, too. Helmed by Kate Meizner, who has spent her musical career playing in live bands for Snail Mail, Potty Mouth, and more recently, Maneka, she steps out to the front to lead a faction of grunge and ‘90s alternative riff rockers that go toe-to-toe with the daily grind inside the ring on the Brooklyn band’s great debut EP, Hell In A Cell.

+rcmndedlisten caught up with Kate via e-mail to talk about the crossover challenges between life as an independent musician and that of a grappler, entrance themes as inspo for their songwriting process, and putting all other bands on notice as to what their booking arc may look like leading up to shows moving forward.

+rl: The intersect between music culture and professional wrestling has been a long existing relationship. While there’s no shortage of artists who’ve lent their talents to entrance songs, written music in concept about it or its stars, and even gotten into the ring, Hell In A Cell goes one step further in drawing a direct connection between the lifestyle of being a professional wrestler and that of the independent musician, the gig economy as well as anyone with a job to survive. How has your first-hand experience with the latter influenced your approach to writing about both wrestling and the creative grind in a way that mutually acknowledges each’s shared battles?

Kate Meizner: I graduated college during the recession, and in my early 20s, I found myself bouncing around between temp gigs to make ends meet, typically office support roles or odd jobs. Convenience apps like TaskRabbit were somewhat new at the time, and I did all of that stuff. Most of the gigs paid minimum wage or less, didn’t offer sick time or health insurance, and hours were inconsistent and subject to the whims of the ghouls in charge of my timesheet. Balancing these jobs with my multiple bands was a recipe for burnout. There was barely time for playing music because I was often picking up gig work to supplement income from other gig work. Gonna wager a guess that a lot of my peers in the arts can tell you the same story.

So..wrestling. Similar to musicians, wrestlers are artists and gig workers who have to navigate exploitative working environments with paltry labor protections. They’re constantly traveling and are expected to pay out of pocket for their travel expenses. Contracted wrestlers don’t get health insurance. Because wrestling falls at the intersection of sports and performing arts, it’s enough of a gray area that wrestlers don’t have the advantage of membership in athletic unions or performing arts unions like SAG-AFTRA. I recognized a lot of parallels between egregious labor practices in wrestling, gig-centered contract work (music, convenience economy apps), and even my own recent contractor jobs working in big tech, so songs like “Hell in a Cell” and “No Holds Barred” are meant to emphasize that link. I was searching for common ground across jobs that on the surface might seem incredibly different. The bullshit that comes along with gig work takes many shapes, but it’s important to recognize bullshit for what it is.

+rl: Jobber itself is something of a Survivor Series team of a certain scene within Brooklyn’s underground rock and experimental music circle. Entering the studio, it was initially you up front leading the group alongside Mike Falcone, former guitarist of Speedy Ortiz and current frontman in Hellrazor, whom you are also a part of (and recently released an excellent new album.) You’ve since added guitarist and keyboardist Michael Julius of Flash Trading and bassist Maggie Toth of Leafing to the fold. Mike’s Hellrazor project uses his love of horror film as a jumping point in the songwriting much like Jobber does with wrestling. Does everyone in the band share in your passion for the squared circle?

KM: Wrestling fandom is not required to be in Jobber, as everyone in the band shares an affinity for big riffs and camp. But luckily it just so happens that Mike, Michael and I are huge wrestling fans. I actually met Michael Julius on Twitter and became IRL friends after inviting him to a Wrestlemania party I hosted at my apartment back in 2016. In a way, wrestling brought Jobber together. Wrestling brings the people together.

+rl: One could easily argue that producer Justin Pizzoferrato is also like a ringside manager in recording form to the project, taking all your past experiences in playing live with bands as varied as Snail Mail, Potty Mouth, Maneka and the Glow, and applying them to a sound that honors grungy alternative, slacker indie, new wave and pop. It’s not the hardcore or emo rap of Code Orange, Incendiary, God’s Hate or Wicca Phase Springs Eternal that currently exists in the modern wrestling-music parallel. Did you have a certain idea as to what kind of sound you wanted to speak through to attract a different conversation about what Hell In A Cell takes on?

KM: When I got into wrestling as an adult (after a long hiatus), I was completely enamored by the spectacle of the ring entrance. A wrestler’s entrance sequence is so important for establishing the gimmick and communicating what a wrestler is all about! As I got deeper and deeper into wrestling fandom, I began unearthing some incredible entrance themes from WCW circa 1995. I wanted Jobber to capture that moment in time when walking out to pyrotechnics and loud grunge-y alt rock was the norm. Starting a band that paid homage to the wrestling entrance music of years past also gave us some leverage to do more genre exploration than I have in other bands. Entrance themes have to be distinct and capture the essence of all sorts of uncanny characters, so we’ve got a lot of ground left to cover.

+rl: Wrestling legend Mick Foley – also known as Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love – provides a spoken word introduction to the EP on its intro track, aptly entitled “Mankind”. How did that come about?

KM: Okay I’m not gonna give WWE another reason to serve me a cease and desist.

+rl: Independent wrestling photographer Sofie Vasquez, who is an active part in the local New York independent wrestling circuit, also created both your album art photo and press photos to further apply an authentic aesthetic to your work. You didn’t leave any corners uncovered. Looking forward, what’s on your bucket list as to where Jobber goes next in its art of indie rock ‘n wrestling ambitions?

KM: Our goal is to keep exploring the wrestling theme and incorporate as many professional wrestling tropes as we possibly can into the band’s cinematic universe. I have a running list of ideas ranging from completely doable music video concepts to absolutely deranged pie in the sky ideas like booking a festival that recreates the 1999 MTV WCW Beach Brawl, but with current bands. In the near future, we want to collaborate on booking shows with local wrestling promotions, inject wrestling storylines into the band’s cinematic universe, and stir up drama with other bands to give people something to look forward to at the next gig. I’d eventually love to write entrance themes for real wrestlers, and maybe even play the song live while a wrestler is making their ring debut. Right now we’re finishing up our first album, which is entirely wrestling themed and dives into more specific moments in wrestling history. We’re so excited for everything to see the light of day.

EP Release Shows:

Jobber’s Hell In A Cell is available now on Exploding In Sound Records.