Bobaflex

An interview with guitarist/vocalist Shaun McCoy
by Aaron Manogue
April 2011

 Bobaflex

Bobaflex

We’re all swamped within the information age and bombarded with less than adequate bands that spew out music just to keep their record label at bay. However, very seldom do we have the pleasure of hearing a band stay true to their fans and themselves without ever selling out. In a nutshell, the aforementioned describes one of the most genuine hard rock bands out there today. The guys in Bobaflex have been in the business for years now, and through struggles inside and outside the industry, they’ve managed to stay relevant and remember how to play their trademark, soothe your soul one minute, kick your ass the next, rock and roll. Maximum Ink sat down with Bobaflex guitarist and vocalist Shaun McCoy to talk about what they’ve been up to and what they have in store this summer for our ears’ pleasure.

Maximum Ink: What’s Bobaflex been up to for the past year or two?
Shaun McCoy: Well, a little ways back our record label went bankrupt, so we ultimately had to fight a legal battle with regard to the t-shirts and touring. Once we got through that, we started to record a new album called, Hell in My Heart. We paid for the album, for every recording, and for the producer ourselves. Right now we’re working on a late spring, early summer release.

MI: Tell me how the tour is going right now. Are you guys are out promoting the upcoming album release?
SM: Yeah dude, it’s going great. Fans have been waiting a long time, so we wanted to make sure we had about 15 tracks on this album. We wanted to get back out there and see all the people we love.

MI: Can you tell us a little about the new album?
SM: Four of the tracks were already done, and we just re-mastered them. There are ten brand new songs and a live track, which makes fifteen total songs. A lot of it has to do with what the band has been through in the past few years, the legal battles, and the battle to stay a band and make this record. I’m excited man. It definitely has the most hooks compared to other albums, and it’s deep and rich. Instead of making the typical ten track album, we decided that we wanted something longer to take it all in so a year later people are still listening to their favorite track. We miss the days with longer tracks that really pay the fans back. There’s a lot of hard rock stuff and some more laid back stuff. We really jammed out from beginning to end.

MI: Since you’ve been in the business for ten plus years, what to you has changed about the process of recording and promoting a new record?
SM: We now have the same contacts as record labels do. Mark my words, in the next four or five years, you’re going to see the music industry change so rapidly, so quickly. Everything is going to flip and the bottom’s going to come out from under it. The guy who is ahead of the curve and knows how to survive and still play music will stay alive. My prediction is that people are going to start going to clubs again, and they’re going to start packing clubs instead of arenas and coliseums. You’re going to go a club on a Wednesday night, whether you work the next day or not, and you’re going to get a real rock show, with a real band, and great performance. I think that’s going to start coming back.

MI: What’s your favorite part of the whole process? What do you like about touring, recording, and other aspects of the music industry?
SM: I love touring. The 45 minutes on stage is great. We just like going city to city and meeting fans. One of the best parts is having an idea, everybody working on it, and then that end product when you finally have the finished mixed songs. For me, it’s that payoff of driving it through to something solid, and you can be happy about it.

MI: Are there any new tours coming out that you’re getting ready for other than the one you’re on now?
SM: Yeah man, we’re going to finish this one out in March. Then we’ll basically be going coast to coast probably four times a year, and expect us to come to every city, nook, and cranny in America. We’re going to be everywhere, man.

Check out Bobaflex at The Annex Sunday, March 13th.  Also, be on the lookout for their new album Hell in My Heart due out late spring or early summer.

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