The Long Island music scene never ceases to amaze me. This past summer, I was with a friend at an Oogee Wawa show. While at the show, a guy I had never met approached us. He saw my friend wearing The After Hours Review shirt, recognized the name, and came over to introduce himself. That guy was Collin Daniels, vocalist and guitarist of BombaFiya. He went on to tell me about his band from California, how he follows the blog and supports the scene, and is originally from Long Island! My first thought was, “holy shit a band from California recognizes me” (not sure if you know how exciting that was for me Collin, but I was pumped!). Later on, Collin jumped on stage to spit a few bars along side Oogee and absolutely crushed it! I knew right there that Collin and BombaFiya had to be featured on the blog.
BombaFiya doesn’t hold themselves down to one specific genre. Although they have heavy reggae rock roots, they consider themselves “a fusion of sound, inspired by all genres of music. Rock, Reggae, and Blues with a splash of Latin flair”. The band consists of Collin Daniels (vocals/guitar), Benicia Grace (keys/vocals), Issac Garza (bass) and Eddie Koep (drums).
Whenever I interview a band, the interview always goes exceptionally longer than I had ever expected. What was intended to be a quick interview about BombaFiya’s new single, “Dream Alive”, turned into a two hour hang out session via FaceTime about Collin’s experiences, the band’s origins, and of course the new single. Collin Daniels is originally from East Quogue, Long Island. In 2012, at the age of 22, Collin left home to pursue his dreams in Santa Barbara, California. According to him, “I went to Cali, grew my hair out, and the rest is history!” Shortly after taking this huge step in life, he moved himself into a trailer park and the journey began! Collin was polishing trailers by day, and immersing himself in the music scene at night. He would frequent local concerts, open mics, basically any music event he could find. It was during these open mic nights that Collin was able to show off his musical talents and met the band’s original keyboardist, Keith. Both guys brought their own writing to the table, combined their efforts, and BombaFiya was born!
There were a bunch of questions I wanted to ask Collin, but one that I had to ask was, “why the name BombaFiya?” Collin stated, “you know, having a good time and packing a bowl. Honestly, it started off as a joke. Whenever we would hang out, smoke, whatever, we’d say ‘bomba’ or ‘bombafiya’. We all loved it. Eventually we realized it represents the band perfectly. It’s a collaboration of good feelings and good thoughts.” I love stories like this. I hate when you ask a band the inspiration behind their name and they can barely tell you anything. It’s typically “oh we just came up with it one day, blah blah blah.” I love that BombaFiya truly means something special to the band.
As the interview progressed, I asked Collin how he handles daily responsibilities, including being a father, along with music and professional responsibilities. He shared, “I’m lucky that I found something I want to do; something that I love. I’ve worked my ass off every day. The important thing is, I didn’t let music destroy my life. I go to the beach with my daughter and spend time with my family. Work is a part of my life and I wouldn’t be able to do music without it. Whatever your dream is, as long as you stay true to it, you’ll be able to do anything.” This is so inspiring. For anyone that is continuing to make excuses for why they can’t do something, look at Collin as an example!
Collin and I went on to discuss BombaFiya’s new single, “Dream Alive”. “The song is about the grind. Putting in the work no matter what. This song is about following the dream of music and not giving up. You’ll have bumps in the road but that’s ok! As long as you stay true. I started writing this song when I was 23 with only a few dollars in my pocket. Now we’re releasing it as I’m turning 29. I still don’t have money, I’m still broke, but I’m having a blast!” This is what the dream is all about. Most people will read that quote and think “holy shit, he wrote a song for 6+ years, that’s insane!” Maybe it is, but Collin and BombaFiya kept their dream alive!
“Dream Alive” is an amazing single. I genuinely enjoy all of BombaFiya’s music, but this is definitely my favorite song. The instrumentals are 100% effective at keeping the listener engaged. I love how the verses of the song are comprised of a simple guitar and drum flow that you would hear on most reggae rock tracks. The song picks up and gets a bit heavier during the chorus with a deeper guitar riff, and then right back to down to those classic reggae rock roots. BombaFiya knows how to throw it down! Instrumentals aside, the lyricism that Collin displays is enough to hook a listener. “Strung out, sitting on my couch staring at the wall. Seems I needed a little break from it all. Look at me, 23, a young man trying to be, a rock star, celebrity, make my money playing tunes. What for? Well there’s so much more than waking up every day trying to afford. These bills paid, not a penny saved, and I still got a smile on. Like there’s a sign hanging on my door, asking me what are you waiting for? I have a dream, I can see it in my mind. Not wasting anytime, gotta keep my dream alive.” These are lyrics that almost anyone can relate to. We’ve all had a time where we’ve wanted to give up (or did give up) on a dream of ours. I love this as a little reminder to never give up. It took Collin, and BombaFiya, 6+ years to put out this song. It just goes to show you, NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM!
BombaFiya isn’t showing any sign of slowing down! As 2020, progresses, they plan on releasing a single or two in preparations for a full length album. Make sure you listen to all of their music and get used to BombaFiya because they are not going anywhere! Follow the band on all their social media and check out the new single, “Dream Alive”, on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!