Bobaflex

History

Formed in the 1990s, the band has released six full-length albums and one six-track EP, and is featured on the Gigantour DVD/CD. The band released the six-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, West Virginia. 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.

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 three 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.

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.

Primitive Epic 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.

Bobaflex began selling Chemical Valley EP at a concert at the V-Club in Hutington, West Virginia 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 four 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 Store exclusive from Tales from Dirt Town), and nine 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.

Charlatan's Web' was released on September 10, 2013, and the first single, "Bad Man" was released to the iTunes Store. Long-time bassist Jerod Mankin announced his departure from the band on July 26, 2014, releasing a statement on the band's Facebook page stating that their upcoming west coast tour would be his final with the group.

The band toured and played regionally on the success of "Charlatan's Web", and released videos for, "Bad Man", "Never Coming Back", "I'm Glad You're Dead", and "Losing My Mind", the latter of which was the band's first animated music video. "Never Coming Back" was the band's first video with former Roxy Mae bassist, Jymmy Tolland, who joined after Mankin's departure in late-2014.

In 2015, the band entered the studio and is preparing to release a new full-length album, Anything That Moves.

In early 2016, the ensemble plans to travel the southern, southeastern and Midwestern United States along with Bridge to Grace, The Veer Union and Artifas.

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.

Members

Former members