Biography
The Woodstock, New York quartet the Bobby Lees channels a high-velocity strain of garage punk whose rapid pulse, youthful irreverence, and buoyant mischief define their attack. Their 2018 debut Beauty Pageant announced a taut yet combustible ensemble, an energy that intensified on the quicker, rowdier Skin Suit, issued in 2020 and produced by Jon Spencer. Bellevue, their 2022 album, traded some raw edges for greater sonic clarity without sacrificing force.
Guitarist, lead vocalist, songwriter, and actress Sam Quartin launched the group in 2017 after relocating from New York City to Woodstock. At age 23 she sought fellow musicians still in their teens who matched her drive, and a contact directed her to the Rock Academy, a local school instructing players between eight and eighteen years old. There she recruited guitarist Nick Casa, bassist Kendall Wind, and drummer Macky Bowman, all no older than seventeen, and the four-piece adopted the name the Bobby Lees. Quartin arrived with a stockpile of material, and the band self-released Beauty Pageant that same year. The record circulated within the garage-punk scene, leading to support slots alongside the Black Lips, Shannon & the Clams, Future Islands, and the Chats.
In 2019 the Bobby Lees issued the digital and cassette single “Guttermilk.” After opening a Boss Hog show for Jon Spencer, the band impressed the former Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Pussy Galore frontman sufficiently that he agreed to produce their next album. Collaboration among all four members replaced Quartin’s solo songwriting on the debut, and the first record’s vintage-rock leanings yielded to a leaner, more frenetic approach. Alive Naturalsound Records signed the band, releasing Skin Suit in July 2020. Extensive touring solidified their standing as a potent live unit. Later that year they self-issued Beauty Pageant: Redux, a studio-live revisit of most tracks from their first album.
The group traveled to Nashville in 2021 to record at Vance Powell’s Sputnik Sound Studio. A broader stylistic range—greater emphasis on blues, jazz, and classic-rock elements—marked the sessions, which yielded the four-song EP Hollywood Junkyard in mid-2022. That release previewed Bellevue, their October 2022 full-length debut for Ipecac Records, the label founded by Mike Patton of Faith No More. The album takes its title from the storied psychiatric facility where Sam Quartin was once a patient.
Guitarist, lead vocalist, songwriter, and actress Sam Quartin launched the group in 2017 after relocating from New York City to Woodstock. At age 23 she sought fellow musicians still in their teens who matched her drive, and a contact directed her to the Rock Academy, a local school instructing players between eight and eighteen years old. There she recruited guitarist Nick Casa, bassist Kendall Wind, and drummer Macky Bowman, all no older than seventeen, and the four-piece adopted the name the Bobby Lees. Quartin arrived with a stockpile of material, and the band self-released Beauty Pageant that same year. The record circulated within the garage-punk scene, leading to support slots alongside the Black Lips, Shannon & the Clams, Future Islands, and the Chats.
In 2019 the Bobby Lees issued the digital and cassette single “Guttermilk.” After opening a Boss Hog show for Jon Spencer, the band impressed the former Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Pussy Galore frontman sufficiently that he agreed to produce their next album. Collaboration among all four members replaced Quartin’s solo songwriting on the debut, and the first record’s vintage-rock leanings yielded to a leaner, more frenetic approach. Alive Naturalsound Records signed the band, releasing Skin Suit in July 2020. Extensive touring solidified their standing as a potent live unit. Later that year they self-issued Beauty Pageant: Redux, a studio-live revisit of most tracks from their first album.
The group traveled to Nashville in 2021 to record at Vance Powell’s Sputnik Sound Studio. A broader stylistic range—greater emphasis on blues, jazz, and classic-rock elements—marked the sessions, which yielded the four-song EP Hollywood Junkyard in mid-2022. That release previewed Bellevue, their October 2022 full-length debut for Ipecac Records, the label founded by Mike Patton of Faith No More. The album takes its title from the storied psychiatric facility where Sam Quartin was once a patient.
Albums
Singles
