920 E ROOSEVELT RD WEST CHICAGO , IL 60185 thewcsocialclub @ gmail . com
Hello , My Name is Sam
AN EATERY , BAR , PREMIER LIVE MUSIC VENUE , AND EVENT SPACE
6
SAT , FEB 04
A TRIBUTE TO
POP PUNK & EMO
LOUDERNOW
SAT , FEB 11
TOKEN
FRI , FEB 17
SAVAGE SOCIETY
TAKEOVER
FEAT BLANKFACE DECIMATE SVGMAZE
THU , FEB 23
THE ALMAS
SAT , FEB 25
NIRVANA TRIBUTE
SMELLS LIKE NIRVANA
SUBLIME TRIBUTE
SANTERIA
TUE , FEB 28
EARTH GROANS
www . thewcsocialclub . com ★ facebook . com / TheWCSocialClub / illinoisentertainer . com february 2023
WED , FEB 08
WITHIN DESTRUCTION FOX LAKE CARCOSA BLIGHT
WED , FEB 15
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS
SAT , FEB 18
METALLICA TRIBUTE
BLACKENED IRON MAIDEN TRIBUTE
MAIDEN CHICAGO JUDAS PRIEST TRIBUTE
JUDAS RISING
MEGADETH TRIBUTE
LAST RITES SEPULTURA TRIBUTE
PALE GREY SKY
FRI , FEB 24
GIDEON FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS ORTHODOX GUERILLA WARFARE ORINOCO
SUN , FEB 26
PSYCLON NINE
SAT , MAR 04
CASKEY
S
The Bobby Lees ( Sam Quartin bottom , left )
am Quartin knows she might resemble a misanthrope . But the powerhouse Bobby Lees front-woman simply despises modern technology and all of its cold , clinical trappings . Don ’ t ask her about any currently popular memes , viral videos , or TikTok influencers – she ’ s never online to see them , she swears , and she ’ s proud to note that she has absolutely zero presence on any social media platform . “ And three years ago , I got rid of my smartphone , and I just have a flip phone now ,” she says . “ And this one author I like , Murakami ? I ’ ve read almost all of his books , fifteen of them because there ’ s time – you just have time because you ’ re not staring at a screen . And I was never into that Facebook / Instagram stuff . When it first came out , I had it for a minute , and then I just saw what it was doing to my brain , so I got off it pretty quickly .” Can an artist still have a successful career in the entertainment business ? Quartin seems to be doing alright . Candy Land , the new horror film she stars in , directed by her husband John Swab , just hit theaters and streaming services , and the reviews are all positive . Ditto for Bellevue , the latest garage-punk barnstormer from The Bobby Lees , its fourth , that hit shelves last October – it follows up on all the promise of the quartet ’ s Jon Spencer-produced breakthrough from 2020 , Skin Suit ; Quartin is a feral , fanged force of nature on a dozen Bellevue originals , plus a cover of The Waterboys ’ “ Be My Enemy ,” and she just keeps growing more charismatic and fascinating .
Would all of Quartin ’ s accomplishments resonate more in fickle pop culture if they were touted on Twitter ? She ’ s not sure , she sighs . “ But thank God Kendall ( Wind ), our bass player runs the online band page , so I don ’ t have to do it . I mean , I feel like it is kind of like a newspaper now in the sense that people aren ’ t reading publications , unfortunately . So we ’ ll pick something we want to put on there , like a tour announcement or something for the record . But other than that ? In the day-to-day , I don ’ t engage – she handles all that stuff , which is great .” She thinks she ’ s found a communication system that actually works . She can ’ t text from her retro flip phone , and she ’ d rather just chat with her friends the old-fashioned dial- ‘ em-up way , she says . And she refuses to sacrifice any of her valuable new free time to maintain a busy online existence – she tried the tech once in its early days , but compulsively staring at that tiny screen simply drove her to distraction . And fame and fortune can still happen , the rocker adds – you just have to adjust how you define them . As we declared in our pandemic cover on The Bobby Lees , Quartin is a star just waiting to take her place in the firmament . But she ’ s now understandingly cool with it not being the overnight supernova fans were expecting . She explains more of her philosophy below . And a 20-date national “ Bellevue ” tour kicks off in Chicago at the end of March . IE : You and John live in Tulsa now . But was there a big L . A . premiere for Candy Land ?
SAM QUARTIN : We did a more private screening before it came out for people that worked on it or were into it , and that was in Santa Monica . Then it finally came out two weeks ago , and it played at a few theaters in Texas and L . A . and we did it at the Circle Cinema , which is a really cool non-profit art house theater in Tulsa , Oklahoma , and I love that place . And it was great – they did a two-week run when it was supposed to be just a one-week run . But they said the shows were packed , so they extended it another week . And now it ’ s on-demand wherever people rent iTunes and all that . And do you know Marc Maron ? The comedian and podcaster ? He just saw it last night , and John showed me a picture last night where he posted about it . And it ’ s funny – I ’ m not interested in doing that stuff ; however , when people who are known to do it , it actually can help your project . So basically posted about it and said , “ Go check out Candy Land , which was really nice .
Continued on page 8