The frontmen for Bobaflex are the real McCoys of rock as well as descendants of the notorious family who feuded with the Hatfield clan in the late 1800s.
Marty McCoy is a gentleman rocker who, despite the irreverent and wild lifestyle of rock musicians, still responds with a "yes ma'am, no ma'am" when interviewed.
McCoy and his brother Shaun formed the metal band Bobaflex in the late 1990s. The rest of the band includes Chris Grogan, Jerod Mankin and Tommy Johnson. Their concert is set Jan. 12 at Ray's Golden Lion, in the Uptown Shopping Center in Richland.
McCoy might exhibit all the politeness of a West Virginia upbringing, but he's still a rocker at heart who talks as fast as his music plays.
"We're a totally high-energy show the likes of which you've never seen. Grown men have been known to cry after one of our shows," McCoy joked in a phone interview with the Herald. "Seriously, though, when we're touring the energy rocks so high no band wants to go on after us."
Besides all his boyish charm and contagious enthusiasm, McCoy's serious side comes out in the songs he writes.
Like the 2010 song Bury Me With My Guns On, which is on the Hell in my Heart album. McCoy wrote about a friend who returned from the Iraq war to discover his wife had left him for another man while he was dodging bullets in the Middle East.
"He was pretty down when he got home and found that out, and he told me he wanted to be buried with his guns so when he reached the other side he could show (God) what it feels like to die," McCoy said. "Now, I'm not a religious man, but that shook me to the core."
McCoy says his family's infamous feud is simply a part of history and nothing more. The dispute was sparked by the Hatfields, who murdered a McCoy because he joined the Union Army during the Civil War. That led to retaliatory attacks by the McCoys. Then the Hatfields struck again, which triggered defense tactics by the McCoys that went on back and forth for years.
There hasn't been any violence in the family for more than a century, and McCoy maintains a sense of humor about it all.
"In grade school we studied West Virginia history, and naturally my family's feud is part of that history, and I can tell you I never got a wrong answer when it came to those (test) questions," he quipped.
Through it all, it has always been about the music, McCoy said. Even the difficult time the band experienced when their record company, TVT Records, filed bankruptcy in 2009. All their music was put on hold as banks stepped in and seized the record company's assets, he added.
"Those were tough times for us," McCoy said. "The only thing we could sell were our t-shirts. But we came out of it a little stronger, a little wiser, and starting touring again."
Bobaflex has released five albums and shared the stage with some big-name bands during the past couple of years such as Nickelback and Disturbed.
"We've been really lucky to tour with these big time bands, and I was intimidated by them at first," McCoy said. "But you find out these guys are as real as you are. I can honestly say I've never met an ass---- rocker on the road. I believe that if you're nice to people, they'll be nice back."
The Ray's show gets started at 9 p.m. Opening for Bobaflex will be Royal Bliss. A few local talents also will perform -- All Gussied Up, Citizen Hi Fi and Staticbox. Admission is $8 at the door. The event is open to all ages.
*Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com
