THE BOBBY LEES DROP THEIR NEW ALBUM SKIN SUIT MAY 8TH VIA ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS

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The Bobby Lees

Interview Conducted on Feb. 18, 2020

by Dan Locke

The Bobby Lees are a bone-shaking Garage Rock band out of Woodstock NY.

Band Members
Sam Quartin – Vocals/Guitar
Kendall Wind – Bass
Macky Bowman – Drums
Nick Casa – Guitar

Your band is from Woodstock NY. Did you have the chance to check out any of the events of Woodstock the past year?

Sam Quartin: No, we were supposed to play the big festival they were putting on last year, but then it got canceled so we made touring plans and were out of town that month. Sam QuartinNo, we were supposed to play the big festival they were putting on last year, but then it got canceled so we made touring plans and were out of town that month.

What was music like for you growing up?

My parents always had records on – Little Richard, James Brown, The Rolling Stones, Elvis, Patsy Cline… Then I started going to shows and fell in love with live music. Going to shows definitely helped me a lot, they made me hopeful/excited to be alive.

How did your band form?

We got together in 2018, just met through people in town.

Sam, how did you get your first guitar and do you still have it?

The first guitar I got is the guitar I still have and play now. I only have that one, I think It’s a Fender Strat, but I got it in the Chelsea Hotel in NYC at Dan’s Guitars, a little shop next to/under the hotel.

Since you are in a band with a strong female presence, I’d like to ask you about some other female-fronted bands. Can you to tell me something about them?

L7
The Runaways
X
Arch Enemy
Doro
Nightwish
Siouxsie Sioux
The Slits
The Distillers
The Donnas
Go Betty Go
Patti Smith
I don’t see or hear any difference between a female or male presence when I listen to music. The gender is pretty irrelevant for me. All I hear is the energy someone’s giving, but I like a couple of those bands. I love Patti Smith and I’m a huge fan of her books. I like Beth Ditto from the Gossip and Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. My real favorites are Wanda Jackson, Howlin Wolf, Screamin Jay Hawkins, Patsy Cline, The Hives, The White Stripes, The Gories. My favorite new bands right now are The Stools from Detroit, Rat Motel and Radattack from Columbus and Naked Giants from Seattle.

What is your touring gear like today?

Pretty simple, we had our trailer stolen with all our shit in it last summer, but Fender heard about it and sent us three amps and cables/pedals. I got a beautiful Fender blues deluxe from them so I tour with that now. Everyone else uses what they sent us. Our drummer Macky usually uses whatever is provided, since he lost his whole kit, but we did a GoFundMe and people were really nice and donated, so he’s been slowly putting together a new kit.

Let talk about your new CD which comes out on May 8th. Tell me about it. Tell me about the production of it?

We made it at Dreamland – an analog studio in Woodstock. We had played with Jon Spencer the year before and he offered to work with us/help us with a new record. So, we took a day and played him all our stuff and then went in and recorded/mixed everything in a few days. Ariel Shafir was the engineer on it. It’s exciting cause this one feels like our first real record, it wasn’t just me writing. Us writing together felt way better, it was everyone contributing pretty equally.

Why did you do a zero-budget video to support your CD? The animation on it must have cost you something?

Our drummer Macky is a crazy talented painter/illustrator. He made all the animations so we didn’t have to spend any money on it which was great. At the stage we’re at now, most of the money we make goes into touring and keeping us on the road as often as I can get us booked.

Are you planning to do any touring this year?

Yes! We’re currently on a northeast tour, next month in March doing some Midwest dates and then SXSW in Austin. (Update: Cancelled because of the Coronavirus)
April we’re doing more Midwest/east coast dates. In May & June, we’ll be in Canada and then a month-long US tour throughout the Midwest and first time on the west coast. June/July we’re going to Europe – Belgium for the Muddy Roots Festival and UK and France.

How do you see yourselves in 5 years?