I asked Marty about how radio is really starting to take notice to Bobaflex with the release of “Bad Man” and he said that “It’s
an amazing thing and the help over the years with internet radio and smacking the walls down. We recently hit #35 on the
charts and that was the highest we have ever been and doors that wouldn’t open before are starting to squeak open a little
bit. It’s going really well and I am happy at this time and it’s been a long time coming”.
As we spoke about the new record, my next question was in relation between “Hell In My Heart” and “Charlatan’s Web” and
what was it like going into the studio to prepare and the finished product. Marty first explained how it was different because
“Hell In My Heart” did have success and there was a “we will do what we want” approach with that record. The band wanted
to continue with that approach with “Charlatan’s Web”. As Marty states, “We weren’t worried about trends, we all worked on
a song together and didn’t care which way it went or what kind of feel it had. We didn’t say it has to be brutal or it has to be
like this or that. It was a really fun record and everyone in the band got to sew their creative oats”. Marty also said that it
was a quick record and his favorite record so far.
Our discussion turned to some of the songs on “Charlatan’s Web” and the first being “Bad Man”. I said to Marty in my opinion, that “Bad Man” had all the ingredients of what “for lack of a better term” radio single should be. I also asked about the
humor of lyrics in their songs including tracks like “I’m Glad You’re Dead”. In fact, when asked the question, Marty states
that his father asked if the song was about him. Marty’s brother ----- who is the vocalist of the band came up with the lyrics
to the song. “He was real “ate up” about this guy who kidnapped this teenage girl and the cops eventually shot and killed
him” says Marty “and the response on CNN from the girl about how she felt and she said “I’m glad he’s dead”. It’s dark but it
has some humor”. Marty goes on to say that his favorite part of the song is when it breaks down into a 50’s feel in the middle and we are having a party during the funeral.
We then discussed the opening track “Love Letter” where immediately Marty said “That’s a real voice mail”. When I asked
about the back story, he goes on to say that a good booking agent is hard to find over the years in this business. This voice
mail is from a booking agent that was fired from the band because he didn’t do his job. The agent went on to send several
voice mails expressing his displeasure of the band and they decided to put on the record. Marty also says that “These people are out there where they take your money but they don’t do their job. If this was any person with a regular job, if they
don’t do their job, they are going to get fired.”
As we shifted to touring, I mentioned to Marty how in other interviews I have done with bands that they mention touring with
Bobaflex and what nice things these artists had to say about the band. Marty says “That’s really nice to hear. We we’re
really fortunate to cut our teeth on the road with Sevendust, Mudvayne and Megadeth to kind of show us the ropes and take
us under their wing”. Marty also states that “When you’re on the road with other bands, you become family regardless if you
don’t like that band or not. By the end of the tour you love every single thing that comes out of the singer’s mouth. You love
every single guitar lick that comes out of the amp. It’s a rough cut-throat business and when you meet nice bands that help
you out, you remember that and you want to return the favor”.
Bobaflex plans to hit every “nook and cranny” on this tour as they plan to start out west and hooking up with band (and
friends) Soil, Royal Bliss and Wayland. The plan is to be out on the road until February/March timeframe. Marty’s goal to
get out on the road and hopefully have “Charlatan’s Web” become the greatest record in the nation. Marty states “We are
going to keep our head down and keep doing what we do and we have a great team”.
Photo by John Payne
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