BOBAFLEX Talk About Their Latest 8th Studio Album, ‘Eloquent Dreams’ and Much More!

Left to right: Jymmy Tolland. Tommy Johnson, Shaun McCoy, Marty McCoy, Dave Tipple. Photo courtesy of Cool World Photography.

Originating in Mason, West Virginia, Bobaflex released their 8th studio album “Eloquent Demons” on Friday, August 25th, 2017. This is their first release with Thermal Entertainment (label). The first radio single was a cover of Pink Floyd’s Hey You, check out the video here: https://youtu.be/rm5eWLXW6l4. second single Long Time Coming impacted radio on August 1st. video recently debuted: https://youtu.be/yoUFJ4U90Bw. Eloquent Demons is the follow up to 2015’s Anything That Moves.

The band was originally signed by Eclipse Records to release their first full length album Primitive Epic. the band went on to TvT Records where they released two albums in Apologize for Nothing (2005) and Tales From Dirt Town (2007).

The band decided to go the independent route and started their own label, BFX Records in 2010 in order to control their own destiny. They released an EP in 2010 called Chemical Valley. With the exception of a re-recorded version of 2007’s Home, all the songs on the EP would become part of their full release in 2011 Hell In My Heart which featured 16 songs and their top selling single to date Bury Me With My Guns On and their very popular cover of Sound Of Silence (Simon-Garfunkel). Hell In My Heart was followed in 2013 with Charlatan’s Web which included the single I’m Glad You’re Dead their most successful song at radio in their history.

Bobaflex’s tireless ethos has also carried into their live shows and touring schedule. Having played all lower 48 states over the last 7 years, they have played 100+ shows every year including a record setting 154 in 2016. This constant schedule has crafted the band into one of the tightest and real live Rock n’ Roll bands in the country.

Bobaflex are:

Marty McCoy – guitar / vocals
Shaun McCoy – guitar / vocals
Dave Tipple – guitar / vocals
Tommy Johnson – drums
Jymmy Tolland – bass

WEBSITES:
http://www.theofficialbobaflex.com/
https://www.instagram.com/therealbobaflex/
https://twitter.com/bobaflex
https://www.facebook.com/Bobaflex/
https://www.youtube.com/user/theofficialbobaflex/featured

Learn more about Bobaflex in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! Where does this interview find the band today? Is there music playing in the background? What music do you all like to listen to when you are relaxing or answering interview questions?

We are on our way to Danville, Illinois!!! There is some music playing on the bus, the Alice Cooper song for Friday the 13th, “He’s the man, the man behind the mask..”

A good chorus, the production not so much. As far as tunes when we’re grilling on a day off? Everything from Wu-tang to Guns N Roses, Mastodon, old Aerosmith, the Stones, Baroness, Bowie, and Tommy and I watch YouTube for old He-man toy commercials and laugh our asses off at the absurdity of the character’s names. Ram-man?  If you’re  not a porn star, that would be a tough name to announce publicly!

How does 2017 so far compare to last year? Did you all approach this year differently then you did 2016?

Yes!  Last year we played 154 shows, second only to Halestorm. It was fun but this year we played smarter and tightened up the schedule to get more bang for our buck. Plus we partnered up with Thermal records to get some muscle behind promotions for Eloquent Demons!!!!

Can you recall the moment you all realized that you could really make music together and be this band? Why do you think your name truly represents this group and the music that you create?

Yep, that’s easy. For the core and original members, myself, my brother and our drummer Tommy, we knew it in my parents attic growing up. We had all three played in different bands in high school. When college and various other ventures didn’t pan out, we regrouped in our twenties and have been a team ever since. With record deals, investors, independent releases, failed marriages, having kids, tragedy and drug addiction, one thing remained solid through it all. Our commitment to the music and each other. As far as the name? I’m an overbearing geek of comics/sci-if/fantasy- and just forced the band to have Star Wars reference in the name. No deep meaning there.

I always like to ask artists how their hometown has been an influence on the kind of music they make and really what kind of a band they are today. So how do you think your hometown of Mason, West Virginia has affected you?

I think Mason influenced me because it was small and rural, one red light literally! So, I loved comics, sci-fi and fantasy of any kind. I wasn’t big on being a country boy, so I escaped through books and basically my imagination. I wanted to see the world and get the hell out of there. Once rock roll hit around the sixth grade, my dreaming went to being a in a band. I can’t be Luke Skywalker, but Nikki Sixx is real, and I CAN BE A ROCK STAR!!! As a kid, the slow mo, iconic moments in the Home Sweet Home video floored me. A huge dramatic stage, explosions, the band looked like androgynous aliens, they were conquering arenas with thousands of girls clawing their way to the stage just to touch them. As a boy I was like, “Holy shit! How do I be that guy?” Plus, when I got a guitar, song writing was the first thing that came naturally. Sweep picking? Let some other guy do that, I wanted to tell a story with music. I escaped my hometown with that as well. In my songs as a teen, I wasn’t a a virgin with zits who couldn’t get laid. I was a cold  assassin who answered to no one. I was a werewolf who feared himself or an astronaut who fused with an ancient being to become a conqueror of the cosmos!!! The wide open playing field of songwriting allowed my mind to escape the dullness of being from nowhere. I love my hometown, in a sense it protected me, but it fueled the hell out of my imagination because it was so mundane and boring.

Last month you released your 8th studio album called “Eloquent Demons.” Is it hard to believe that you have put out that much music? Do you think that what drives you to make music has changed at all through the years?

Nope, I wish we would have put out more music and been more consistent when it came to time. At this point in our career, it’s just what I do and part of my life cycle. It’s always time to write and record every year to two years. Now we don’t over think it, we don’t doubt our selves. Do we miss the mark from time to time, sure. But I’m pretty satisfied. Sometimes with songs you gotta just go and see what happens.  That’s real to me and it reflects what you’re going through in real time. If you sit around dicking off for years waiting for the next Led Zeppelin 4 to pop off into your head, how is that relevant to who you are now? My attitude and experiences are totally different than they were five years ago.

When it comes to “Eloquent Demons,” what was the process like of making this collection? What is it like being under Thermal Entertainment now?  How did it compare to being in the studio and recording your 2015 album “Anything That Moves”?

The process was different because it began as an EP. But when we were writing we had all these choruses and it just felt wrong for the fans. It kills me not to do a record, even if it’s financially risky. Five songs? It feels like a cash grab or easy way out. Plus, what if a fucking velociraptor eats me on tour? Those unfinished songs are dead too. If I love an unfinished song, it’s gotta become real. Thermal is great! It’s basically a partnership, we still pay for the record but we got muscle behind the promotion. Thermal loves the band and just backs us as who we are no questions asked. It’s going to be an exciting album cycle! Both records were similar, limited time and budget. I think Demons came together a lot quicker in the rehearsal spot and the studio. We’ve hit our stride man!

Bobaflex has performed so much in the past few years so I am curious to know what has been some of the band’s favorite touring memories?

It all lumps together, but from small crowds to huge festivals, the best is when you’re doing your thing and performing your ass off and you glance at another member and there’s brief smirk to one another. Like, “this is it, we are fucking kicking ass together and this is zen.” A perfect moment of connecting to your friends through near magic. When you’re there, the audience feels it. It’s also cool to meet your heroes. From Vinnie Paul to Dave Mustaine. I never get used to that. Giddy as a school girl every time.

Where do you think you are all happiest- on stage performing, in the studio recording new music or elsewhere? Where do you think you all learn the most about becoming better musicians?

The happiest? Those 45 minutes on stage or swimming with my daughter! I think embarrassing her in public is up there as well. Becoming a better musician? For me it’s rehearsal, or just playing 150 times a year. You can sit in a room and learn scales all day, but you can’t replace feel. You learn and get better at that by jamming with a drummer. To young bands I say make time to play your set for hours on end, push it. You’ll kick everyone’s ass live. I promise.

With the summer being just about over, what was your favorite part about it? What was something fun that this group did or tried?

The best part of the summer? Playing Rock USA and watching the first Ozzy and Zakk Wylde reunion sober! I had planned to drink it up that night but had vocal issues in the studio. So I lived clean and sucked on lemons and honey to heal my voice. It worked. After the Ozzy show I went in had a stellar week in the studio. Ozzy showed he still had it and Zakk was, well Zakk. Mind blowing leads and stage presence. I felt like I was fourteen for an hour and a half.

This fall you have a very extensive tour scheduled so I would love to know how you keep up the energy night after night? What is something that you all must have on the road with you? Any strange touring superstitions like wearing the same outfit for each show?

Left to right: Jymmy Tolland, Marty McCoy, Dave Tipple, Tommy Johnson (drums), Shaun McCoy. Photo courtesy of Payne Productions.

They drink liquor to wake up and I go to the gym everyday! Lol Doing cardio and lifting in the morning helps your wind and combats all the other poor decisions you made that week. I eat healthy mostly, but exercise gives you a natural energy on the stage you can’t find anywhere else. I rarely drink on stage, not even a Red Bull. Just water. After the show I hit the bus, eat, and usually go to bed and wake up in the next town at the gym. The younger guys carry on in the club and then drink on the bus until the vampires come home. If I drink, it’s on a day off usually. My tolerance is too damn high, so the bar isn’t the best place for me to cut loose. If you resurrected Black Beard, I’m pretty sure I could take him in a drinking contest. While the guys sleep it off I workout, and I love it. I enjoy touring more than I ever have. Luck charms? My pentagram belt buckle, I never leave for tour without it. If I’m tired or having personal issues, I rub it and Satan assures me I’m doing the right thing. It’s a stellar show every night thanks to the power of Mephistopheles! LOL

Who are some of your favorite artists? Is there anyone that you would still love to work with in the future?  What would be a dream collaboration for this band?

Favorite artists?  Guns N Roses, Motley, Queen, the Rolling Stones, god the list goes on. I would love to write with Nikki Sixx, or have Rick Rubin or Mutt Lange produce us!  Hell, Bob Rock as well. Probably Mutt the most, who doesn’t like Back in Black?

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

The message varies, but usually it’s to aggressively be who you are and if your fucked up or wrong, have the courage to admit it. Other than that we just want you to be entertained and escape the bullshit through our music or our shows. I want you to take a break and be happy, laugh and get wild and get your demons out! After that maybe you can face the bullshit with more vigor and confidence.

What advice would you give to a band just getting started? Or even to someone young that is thinking of becoming a musician one day?

Practice and rehearse until your eyes bleed, take scary risks musically, don’t be afraid to fail and don’t sign shit without a trusted attorney involved that YOU picked, not management or a label. Plus, no merch advances, hold on to cloth for your dear life! Nearly everyone in the music industry is lying or exaggerating greatly. Make people prove what they can do. Trust me, 90 percent of them are Charlatans who’ve fucked people just to stay alive in the music business.