The Bobby Lees had already told fans they might be finished when Jason Momoa called.
The Woodstock garage-punk band is the focus of the season premiere of “On the Roam,” Momoa’s HBO Max docuseries, which returned May 14. The episode follows the band through a precarious stretch: after warning fans in 2023 that the economics of touring and recording had become nearly impossible, the group got an unlikely offer of help from Momoa, the actor best known for “Aquaman” and himself a bassist.
The band began to take shape in 2017, when singer and guitarist Sam Quartin met bassist Kendall Wind and drummer Macky Bowman. Former guitarist Nick Casa, who left the band earlier this year, was also part of the group as it built a following beyond Woodstock.
Wind and Bowman met as young teens at Rock Academy. Now in their mid-20s, they spoke with The Overlook last week about the band’s turn from near-breakup to national television.
“Jason found us through Instagram, as a recommendation from a friend,” Wind said. “After we put out a statement saying that we weren’t sure we’d continue as a band, he immediately called Sam and said, ‘I wanna help. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.’”
The statement, posted in November 2023, was not a publicity move, Wind said. It was a blunt description of the financial strain facing small and midsize bands trying to tour, record, and earn a living.
“The statement was very heartfelt, and it definitely wasn’t about pointing fingers at anybody in particular, but it was saying that this whole thing might be just too hard to do long term, with regard to living wages and all of that,” Wind said. “People — including Jason — were caught totally off guard by it. We got that. From the outside, it looked like we were doing so well. We were obviously popular, selling out shows, but we weren’t making it.”
The response from other musicians was just as meaningful, she said.
“What was amazing, by the way, is not just that Jason reached out,” Wind said. “It was the support we got from other bands like us, who said, ‘Thank you for speaking up. We’re having the same issue. The music industry is really, really challenging.’”
Momoa later came to Woodstock for the band’s farewell performance at Colony Woodstock, where he moshed with the crowd, sang along, and spoke with the band afterward about what he could do to help.
The “On the Roam” episode opens with footage from that Woodstock meeting. From there, it follows Momoa and the band as they consider management and record label options, talk through the cost of making art, and try to determine whether The Bobby Lees still had a future.
The band now appears to have one.
The Bobby Lees are signed to Epitaph Records and are preparing to release “New Self” on June 12. A U.S. tour is planned for the fall.
In the meantime, Wind and Bowman have been on the road with another project, playing with noise and garage rock musician Jon Spencer. They rehearsed with Spencer at Rock Academy before leaving for a European tour.
Wind said Rock Academy, where she and Bowman first played together, remains one of the local institutions closest to the band. She also named Sushi Makio in Kingston and the Sunfrost Market juice bar in Woodstock as Hudson Valley favorites.
Bowman, true to his quiet reputation, said little. Asked what he made of the sudden attention around The Bobby Lees, he answered by invoking Cliff Richard’s “The Young Ones” — less as a quote than a mood: Live it while you can.
Abbe Aronson is a contributing writer. Send correspondence to reporting@theoverlooknews.com.