The Bobby Lees, a Woodstock punk band, are back with a fresh album, ‘New Self.’ The new release was funded by Jason Momoa who stepped up to help the band when they decided to put their career on hiatus indefinitely. Macky Bowman and Kendall Wind expressed their excitement to bring The Bobby Lees back to their fans.
“I’ve just been thinking about it more and more as the shows get closer,” said Kendall Wind, bass player for the band. “I think we just really want to have fun with everybody.”
It has been three years since The Bobby Lees told their fans they would be taking a break with no end date in sight. The band announced on Instagram that after years of touring the world, playing for adoring fans, and garnering praise from rock legends like Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins, their financial runway was running out. The money they received from streaming royalties and nonstop touring was not enough to sustain their project. Little did they know, Jason Momoa was a secret admirer of their work, and felt called to do whatever he could to see them make music again. Momoa flew out to Woodstock to see the band play.
I remember that night in 2023 when I went out to see my friends Kendall Wind and Macky Bowman play what was poised to be their final show in our hometown venue, The Colony. At the time, Bowman was only 21 years old, Wind was 23 years old. Despite being so young, they had been creating image and the sound of The Bobby Lees since for six years. They played it cool, but they didn’t quite know what came next in their careers.
“Me and Sam [Quartin], the singer, we would just be on the phone crying together about it,” Wind said. “It was the biggest thing in my life for a long time up to that point. So, it felt like I was saying goodbye to something that was everything almost.”
The band didn’t believe that Momoa was actually going to show up to their final show in Woodstock, but he and the film crew of his show, “On The Roam,” did not disappoint. Jason Momoa funded their newest release and brought them to huge record labels all over Los Angeles trying to find the best fit. Ultimately, the band signed with Epitaph Records.
“Aside from how outlandish it was on its face, it was coming off of years of working with various music industry people… saying much more believable things,” Macky Bowman said. “It was kind of insane that he was the only person who said something like that and then delivered on everything.”
‘New Self’ dives into genres and themes that are entirely new for the group. Their final single, “Red Hot,” breaks down into a punk fueled latin groove, calling on listeners to dance. Wind said that on this new project, the band allowed themselves to have fun with their writing, and try things they have never done before.
“In the past, maybe we would judge ourselves with writing too much,” she said. “I think the goal was really: have fun.”
Despite this epic return for the band, they feel that the issues that forced them to take a break in the past are still alive and well today. Looking into the future, they are uncertain what will happen next for them. Wind believes they will probably make another album. Bowman has a more stoic outlook.
“Success is something that you accept in and not chase,” Bowman said. “That’s a Skrillex quote.”