Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Lead Bobblehead and solo artist john Ashfield sings and plays like a man in love. And not just any love—he's grooving to the sweet joy of the perfect pop song from 1970. But don't confuse catchy with kitschy; his lyrics will blindside you with naked honesty. Ashfield's second solo CD is darker, but in his world it's always a sunshiny day. - The Advocate
I first heard The Bobbleheads via their video footage of one of their members directing an Elementary School class in covering The Polyphonic Spree, which was not merely impressive, indeed it was astounding. That affinity for feel-good pop that fully explains their album title. Everything is light and fluffy with catchiness rooted deep in their veins. But the pop pulse shouldn’t scare you away, indeed this is the type of pop that unfortunately isn’t heard enough. True they may remind a tad of the soundtrack from The Tao of Steve especially on “The Possibility Song” but hey I loved that movie and the soundtrack so that’s a complement. Regardless this is an uplifting album in a world riddled with self-doubting musicians.
- J-Sin - Smother.net
I've been listening to the new CD by The Bobbleheads, called Automatic Fun. Definitely a "feel good" disc; lots of uptempo, fun tunes that…don't easily conjure reference points. Simply good, melodic, enjoyable pop music.
- David Bash
Discography
Ep - Lunchbox
CD - Automatic Fun
Streaming Media can be found on the website, www.thebobbleheads.com
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Playing 1970's top-40 radio inspired rock, The Bobbleheads (John Ashfield, guitar, vocals; Phil Bulan, drums; Eugene Koh, bass) have created a niche of niceness in which they rule. They play a standard guitar-drums-bass combo, but their unique style makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly what records are in their record collection. Most of their upbeat, bouncy sound comes from a combination of John’s 12 string Rickenbacker and his demeanor as an elementary school music teacher. In a well publicized school concert under his direction, 60 of John’s 4th and 5th Grade music students played “Light and Day” by the Polyphonic Spree. While their melodic pop will make you want to dance, don’t confuse catchy with kitschy, their bottom line is held down by Phil’s rock solid drumming and Eugene’s walking bass lines. Phil is an avid car collector (with a high of seven adorning his mother’s driveway) and even has an automobile service center in his home garage, which doubles as their practice studio. Eugene’s bass playing is heavy metal induced, being a fan of 80’s metal (Judas Priest, Motley Crue, etc.) and newer had rock such as the Foo Fighters and Stone Temple Pilots. However keeping with the dichotomy that is The Bobbleheads, he has also scored music video games.
Although they currently live in San Francisco, CA, John, Phil, and Eugene’s origins are geographically-different-but-the-same-wherever-you-go suburbia with malls, chain stores and endless parking. Their lyrics reflect the fact that they are happy music geeks, pushing to make the perfect 3-minute song, not being burdened by mundane problems and having fun along the way. According to The Bobbleheads, the world isn’t such a bad place after all.
Links
