Bobaflex

Bobaflex (bō-bŭ-flĕx) is an American metal band from Point Pleasant, West Virginia. They were part of Gigantour in 2005 and Rock on the Range in 2008 and 2012.

History

Formed in the 1990s, the band has released four full-length albums and one 6-track EP, and is featured on the Gigantour DVD/CD. The band recently put out the 6 song EP, Chemical Valley which was released on 7 March 2010, and a 15 track full length album Hell in my Heart which was released on February 4, 2011. The unique thing about the band is the two frontmen, brothers Shaun and Marty McCoy, who trade guitar and lead vocals, depending on the song.

Bobaflex was established in 1998 by the McCoys. The idea for Bobaflex happened in 1997 when Shaun, Lutz and Drebbit met at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. The brothers were no strangers to the press, having ancestral ties to the most infamous family feud in American history, between the Hatfields and the McCoys which almost caused a war between the states of West Virginia and Kentucky in the 1880s.

Shaun said in an interview that the band's name was inspired by the bounty hunter Boba Fett from Star Wars.

Continuously co-headlining Ohio’s largest independent rock festival Woodshock three years in a row, the band performed for crowds of over 5,000. ”It was crazy. The fans were buying everything we had, even the shirts off our backs,” stated Shaun McCoy.

After playing out of state for months at a time, the band returned to West Virginia to find itself booked on 106.3-FM’s X-Fest, West Virginia's largest Rock festival, sponsored by Huntington’s largest commercial rock radio station, WAMX).

Performing to an audience of 12,000 and sharing the stage with Nickelback, Disturbed and many others, Bobaflex played there 3 years in a row, thus landing a spot on the renowned Locobazooka tour in 2002 playing with Filter, Sevendust, and Mushroomhead just to name a few.

With its first label gone bankrupt shortly after signing them, Bobaflex spent the next few years engaged in legal battles, cost, turmoil and expenses. Some of the band members called their E 350 Ford van home for a short time. They lost all rights to their songs and even the band name, but eventually got them all back.^[1]

In 2002, Bobaflex's cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man" was a worldwide success.

The band continued to hit the road throughout 2002, independently booking tour dates through more than 13 states. “we had no idea they knew about us. It’s been a very rewarding experience to meet and get to know them”, says Jerod Mankin.

Primitive Epic. Sales of the sci-fi reality thriller began to take off. The band sold all 1,000 copies of the initial pressing in its first four weeks strictly through live performances, word of mouth, and mail order, which quickly caught the attention of New Jersey’s Eclipse Records (Mushroomhead, Disarray). "We had no clue it would sell that fast, they literally sold faster than we could produce them." says Steve Foster.

On January 14, 2010 Mike Steele posted a blog on his personal Myspace saying that he left Bobaflex. "Look for a new project from me in a year or so. Forever rock at heart" Mike said at the end of the post. The band has since continued on with Chris Grogan on guitar. Mike Steele's final contribution to Bobaflex was for their album Hell in My Heart.

Bobaflex began selling its new ‘Chemical Valley‘ EP at a concert at the V-Club in Hutington, WV on February 19, 2010. The six track EP was only available at concerts but in April 2010 the band started selling the EP on Amazon.com. The EP features tracks from their upcoming full length record which is due later in the year. On May 28, Bobaflex was on Blazor and Mo in the Morning. Shaun has said that people should buy the EP because the songs might not be on the full album due to label issues.

The band released the full length album Hell in my Heart on February 4, 2011, at the V-Club in Huntington, West Virginia. The Album contains 4 remastered tracks from the Chemical Valley EP, as well as an updated version of the song "Slave", a live recording of the song "Pretty Razors" (previously available only as an iTunes exclusive from Tales from Dirt Town), and 9 previously unreleased tracks. It also features a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" which has been well received by audiences and has received airplay on Satellite Radio, as well as many radio stations across the country.^[2]

Bobaflex have announced that their new album Charlatan's Web will be released on 10 September 2013, and the first single Bad Man has been released on iTunes.^[3]

Record Labels

On March 10, 2001, Bobaflex signed with Eclipse and went back into the studio to record.

On July 28, Eclipse officially released the band to TVT Records. For more information, check out TVT's website.

In 2009 TVT filed for bankruptcy. Bobaflex got all rights to their songs back and are searching for a new record label.

In 2011, Bobaflex announced that it would be releasing Hell in My Heart through BFX Records/Megaforce.

Personnel

Members

• Shaun McCoy (Vocals, Guitar)
• Marty McCoy (vocals, Guitar)
• Dave Tipple(Guitar, back up Vocals)
• Jerod Mankin (Bass, back up Vocals)
• Tommy Johnson (Drums)

Former Members

• John Hoskins (Guitar, back up vocals)
• Chris Grogan (Guitar, back up Vocals)
• Lutz (Aaron Lutz) (vocals)
• Mike Steele (guitar, back up vocals)
• Drebbit (Chris Drummond) (vocals)
• Ronnie Casto (drums)

Discography

Albums

Singles

External links

• Bobaflex official website
• Bobaflex on Facebook
• Bobaflex on MySpace

See also

References