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All Music Guide:
The West Virginia hard rock band Bobaflex went through a typical series of changes in lineup, musical styles, and affiliations in the five years it took them from formation to their first national album release. The band was formed by brothers Shawn "Beaver" McCoy and Minister Marvin McCoy, direct descendents of the McCoy family from the famous Hatfield-and-McCoy feud of the 19th century. Shawn, on lead guitar, and Marvin, on bass guitar, were joined by drummer Ronnie Castro and co-lead singers Lutz and Drebbit, and the quintet made their debut on June 5, 1998, in Huntington, WV, playing rock in a rap-core style. They built up a following in the tri-state area of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, and self-released their debut album, Bobaflex, in August 1999. By 2000, they had attracted the attention of Atlantic Records, but nothing came of that. Then, at a gig, they encountered Shifty Shellshock, lead singer of Crazy Town, who helped them get a production deal and got them into discussions with Columbia Records for a record contract. In 2001, Michael Steele joined on guitar. The Columbia deal fell through when the band split over musical differences, with Lutz and Drebbit departing, while Shawn, Marvin, Castro, and Steele, retaining the band name, opted for a more mainstream rock sound. Marvin switched to guitar, and Shawn and Marvin took over vocal duties, adding bass player Jerod Mankin. This quintet made the five-song EP, Primitive Epic, which the band released in May 2002. That recording attracted the interest of independent metal label Eclipse, which signed Bobaflex in March 2003. Meanwhile, Castro left the band and was replaced by drummer Thomas Johnson. Bobaflex recorded new songs and remixed existing ones to expand Primitive Epic into their Eclipse debut, and the new full-length version of the recording was released in August 2003.
Wikipedia:
Bobaflex (bō-bŭ-flĕx) is an American rock band from Point Pleasant, West Virginia. They were part of Gigantour in 2005 and Rock on the Range in 2008.
History
Formed in the 1990s, they have released four full-length albums and one 6-track EP, and are 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 are 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, they 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 themselves 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 them a spot on the renowned Locobazooka tour in 2002 Filter, Sevendust, and Mushroomhead just to name a few.
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 their 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 their concerts but in April 2010 they 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 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.
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 they would be releasing Hell in My Heart through BFX Records/Megaforce.
