PATRICK LEW BAND releases their latest EP "LOST IN THE META" on Bandcamp.
"A six-song EP returning to PLB's initial 90's and 2000s rock influences, with lyrical and musical themes commenting on the current state of the world as of 2025. After nearly half a decade of genre-bending sprawling sounds and experimenting with styles such as J-Pop, K-Pop, progressive rock, soft rock, electronic music, pop-metal, and among many others.
This is the first release from Patrick Lew Band to not feature long-time virtual band member Madeline Lew involved..."
TRACKS:
1. My Cold Heart
2. Fractured Lines
3. Strength Not to Lose
4. Life Is...
5. Drain You (Nirvana Cover)
6, Wanting You From A Distance [feat. Manda Kay]
BAND HISTORY:
Patrick Lew was born in San Francisco in 1985 to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother of mixed descent.
In 2001, Patrick Lew Hayashi formed a band under the banner Patrick Lew Band in his hometown of San Francisco, CA when he was just 15 years old. Most of Hayashi's early years in the indie music circuit was playing in a garage band. In 2005, Hayashi was attending City College of San Francisco and was briefly signed to an indie label based in La Jolla, CA. After he was dropped from his developmental contract with the label, Hayashi decided to book studio time with the help of his friends.
Patrick attended Wallenberg High School in San Francisco, graduating in 2004 after being held back one grade while in elementary school. He also attended Soko Gakuen Japanese School, and graduated and got certified around the same time he graduated from high school. He later attended CSU East Bay, graduating with a B.A in Philosophy and Music Composition in 2011. He began playing guitar at the age of 13 through his older cousin Andy, whom was living with his family at the time in San Francisco.
Patrick also began using YouTube as a platform dedicated to his life as an artist/musician and in general on February 2, 2007. After several years, his YouTube channel reached a respectable amount of recognition on the Internet. As of today, there are 400+ uploaded videos on his YouTube channel.
The Patrick Lew Band is largely influenced by the iconic Seattle grunge band Nirvana.
Other key influences in the band and their music ranges from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Yutaka Ozaki, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Oasis, Miyavi, Guns N Roses, X Japan, Danny Chan, B'z, Beyond (HK Band), Hatsune Miku, BTS, Jim Johnston, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Nine Inch Nails, The White Stripes, Green Day, Blink 182, The Fall, The Sex Pistols, and many more.
Most of the time, Hayashi was on the Internet putting his bands music out there. On November 15, 2006, which was also Patrick Lew's 21st birthday, the Patrick Lew Band released their debut album JUMP, RATTLE, AND ROLL on CDBaby. Patrick Lew Band would begin to sporadically play small shows in the San Francisco area by 2007 with a frequently changing line-up. Their first single AZN GIRLS was posted online during late 2007, leading to a critical backlash among the band on social-media over unbeknownst reasons. Around this same period, the bands chiptune rearranged cover of the Nirvana song Drain You was published on Nirvanaclub.com.
During 2009, Patrick Lew Band began making their strides in the regional music scene and on the Internet. Their song Everyone Loves Ashley brought them to notoriety and initial indie-level fame. Between 2009 to 2012, the band would write and record up to as many as 60 songs per year in their home studio. To have something to fall back on, Hayashi taught himself the fundamentals of the indie music business and being his own entrepreneur.
During this period, Patrick Lew Band had aborted plans to tour locally. However, the group would perform live in the Antioch area occasionally during some of 2011. Some of these performances can be found and since leaked on Patrick Lew Band's (PLB) official YouTube channel.
Between 2009 to 2012, the Patrick Lew Band self-released their music online: Let It Rise And Against (2009), Murder Bay (2011) and the EP Angry Yellow (2012).
On February 4, 2012, Patrick Lew Band performed at Dolores Park in San Francisco. After taking a few years away from the indies because of a failed relationship with his ex Faith and very well documented personal problems, Hayashi made his return to music with the Patrick Lew Band by the beginning of 2015. Embarking on his most profitable and memorable run in the indie music circuit.
2015 began with Hayashi being appointed the Ambassador for Antennas Direct. And conducting a televised interview with the 24 HOUR K-POP music TV channel in the San Francisco Bay Area. Around this same period, Patrick introduced a crossdressing M2F alter-ego by the name of Madeline Lew into the band. Created from digital special effects, CGI and Photoshop. In a music marketing storyline, Madelines role in the band is described as, "the long lost younger sister of Patrick Lew Hayashi saving the band from failure and bringing his band and his music back to prominence."
Madeline's character in the Patrick Lew Band was created during a difficult time in Patrick's personal and professional life. Originally slated for debut back in 2009 but was pushed back until Halloween 2015 because of technological limitations to create a "Gender Swapped" version of himself visually, and taboo related to the LGBTQ community. This was Patrick's last ditch effort to restore his public image, after several bad breakups with his exe and other difficult events during 2015.
Madeline Lew's introduction into the Patrick Lew Band as a virtual band member and mascot brought Patrick Lew's profitability back to prominence in the music scene and helped Patrick Lew Band achieve publicity and moderate indie-level success that he did not accomplish prior to 2015. The success and exposure that the Patrick Lew Band received during this period included a couple music blogs writing about the Patrick Lew Band online and being mentioned on-air on Bay Area rock FM radio station 107.7 THE BONE.
The band was mostly recording in their home studio in San Francisco. By 2016, the band launched their own label and multimedia start-up Lewnatic HQ.
The band was often working on new music in their home recording studio between 2015 and early 2017. The Patrick Lew Band would release their album OAKLAND on Valentines Day 2017. He and his alter-ego Madeline Lew would perform at Brick & Mortar Music Hall on October 8, 2017.
By the end of 2017, the Patrick Lew Band no longer was a full-time responsibility as Hayashi began working a stable full-time job. The primary cause of the PLB's second departure was caused by his mother's passing. But also, due to exhaustion and personal problems resurfacing.
He also began only sporadically making studio recording appearances with the band as he branched his talents to other outlets and playing music with local bands outside of Patrick Lew Band.On June 7, 2019. Patrick Lew Hayashi received the 40 Under 40 award at his alma mater CSU East Bay. He would become the first major Japanese-American male to receive the high honor. In Summer 2019, Patrick and Madeline Lew toured Japan for the first time.
Outside of PLB. Patrick Lew also made a brief uncredited cameo appearance on the acclaimed Amazon TV series Man in the High Castle on Season 4 and Episode 1. He also is a moderately known and prolific social-media influencer and persona, most notably on YouTube and Instagram.
The band returned to full-time status in 2020. And they reached potentially prolific status with their music and brand in the indies and on social-media with what they do. Recent years proved to be very prosperous and helped the Patrick Lew Band reach new heights. Since then, the band's music has reached thousands of listeners in an estimated 51 different countries worldwide on Apple Music/iTunes. Subsequent reviews and press regarding PLB have been positive.
From 2020 onward since returning to pursuing their passion for making music, the Patrick Lew Band (PLB) decided to transition their project into an exclusively Internet Only type of band.
Since 2020, PLB has been featured in numerous blogs and digital music magazines online. While Lew maintains his citizenship and residence in San Francisco, the band also began gravitating their musical focus to "break into" the music scene worldwide.
2020 and 2021 also saw the band continue and sustain their momentum as a Internet- based rock band. Conducting a few Livestream concerts on social-media, and gaining new legions and generation of followers. The band also released several albums during these two years respectively on iTunes and Spotify, including their first live album IN YOUR HOUSE! Rumors began to swirl in mid-2021 regarding the Patrick Lew Band's future online. However, the PLB released more new music going into the year 2022 online.
During most of 2022, Patrick re-launched a spin-off of the Patrick Lew Band known as LEWNATIC. As COVID-19 pandemic began to quietly wind down in San Francisco, he began touring and live-streaming under the LEWNATIC name. Lewnatic would perform at San Francisco's historic DNA Lounge on February 20, 2022. Shortly after, he began working on demos and released the mixtape Strictly Prohibited worldwide on iTunes, Spotifty, and everywhere else through his distribtutor CDBABY by April that year.
As Patrick Lew retains his citizenship and residence in the Bay Area, he also planned to introduce his music to JAPAN on the world wide web. By March 2022, he worked with TOP MUSIC JAPAN to get PLB's music out there. Currently, their prolific 2020 album Rolling Thunder was consigned to EGGS, a subsidiary of Tower Records in Japan. He also wanted to expand his music and attention globally, and remains persistent while doing so.
Patrick Lew Band would remain occasionally active during early-to-mid 2022. Madeline and Patrick would often spend much time together during this period doing fun things, alongside making music.
Much of Patrick's musical activity during 2022 was placed primarily on LEWNATIC. As PLB remained exclusively a virtual rock band in the Metaverse, for many kinds of reasons.
On July 19, 2022, Patrick signed a 1-year Artist Development Contract with New York based label Bentley Records. And released his first EP RAPID FIRE under the LEWNATIC banner as a signed artist a month later. By this point, Patrick began focusing more of his attention to LEWNATIC as a musician and social-media influencer. Madeline took a step back from Patrick Lew Band by August 2022, in kayfabe, she relocated back to Asia. In reality, Patrick wanted to semi-retire her character in the project, feeling that it served its pupose. Madeline would make sporadic appearances with Patrick Lew Band on their social-media and in general during this period, contributing her vocals to 90's alt-rock and J-POP cover songs released between 2022 and 2024. Such as the track Time Baby 2 from the 90's shoegaze band MEDICINE, which was originally featured on the late Brandon Lee film The Crow.
PLB took a short break during 2023 to detox from social-media adversity, mental health struggles, and Patrick's musical and creative endeavors with Lewnatic.
On September 5, 2022, the Patrick Lew Band released their 12th album Adrenaline worldwide on all the platforms. They would also release an 11-minute Blues inspired song She's All That a month later on October 17th. Madeline's final contribution to Patrick Lew Band, a cover of the White Lion song Radar Love, was released in May 2024. On November 1, 2024, Madeline Lew (and her virtual avatar) officially retired from the Patrick Lew Band.
Meanwhile, LEWNATIC began posting new online content and releasing new music as a signed artist under Bentley Records, their most recent release, the critically acclaimed EP "THE LOST SOULS" was released worldwide on March 15, 2023. During 2022 and 2023, Lewnatic performed a few live-stream shows directly on his YouTube channel.
On Memorial Day 2023, Patrick Lew (under LEWNATIC) made a live televised appearance at San Franciscco's Edge Studios for a podcast, also being interviewed by host Luke Sauer. It was his first live public appearance performing in over a year. Later on December 12, 2023, Lewnatic taped an impromptu jam session at a friend's reherarsal space in Berkeley, California, which is also uploaded on his YouTube channel.
By 2024, Lewnatic took a break from live-stream and onstage performances, but done a short CD and QR code promotional tour across Los Angeles in mid-May 2024 for his band.
With Hayashi’s introspective lyrics, and fiery yet manic guitar skills are always showcased in his compositions. With themes of alienation, resilience, and self-empowering identity. Lewnatic’s compositions are very much a blend of pop-metal, 90’s grunge, and classic rock. Lewnatic’s music is based on a simple basic setup: a Fender Telecaster, 50 watt Marshall amp, and a laptop showcasing a wide array of digitally edited arrangements consisting of beats and instrumentals on the AUX cables.
When not making music and doing digital marketing for it globally, and when not making and uploading new YouTube videos, Patrick Lew Hayashi spends his free time reading, playing video games, watching television, going out with his small circle of friends, immersing himself in the Asian-American and Japanese community, going out to live music and wrestling events.
Patrick Lew Band returned in 2024 in a subdued manner. Focusing their music entirely as a virtual Internet-based solo project. Utilizing modern technology such as AI and modern DAW's, they returned to making music and putting themselves out there. They released their 14th album Rebel Radio by the end of 2024. As 2025 dawned, under the PLB banner, he released the EP Pariah Vol. 3 on all the streaming platforms. The EP was Patrick's alter-ego and virtual band member Madeline Lew's swansong from the Patrick Lew Band and the last track "Good to Be Alive" was written as a tribute to Madeline and all her work in the project.
PLB soon rebranded as a 90's rock and early 2000s emo/post-hardcore inspired type of music project following Madeline's retirement from Patrick Lew Band, with some hints of 80's pop-metal. Patrick's singing voice is now auto-corrected via AI technology, and the music is created through many sources: AI, modern DAW's, music sequencing phone apps, Patrick's guitar playing, and licensed sampling of beats. On May 4, 2025, Patrick Lew Band releases their next EP Lost in the Meta, which themeatically discusses the current state of the world as of 2025 lyrically, impending doom, social-media toxicity, and finding stability and common ground in personal relationships and in life.
Lewnatic also plans to throw an empty venue livestream concert soon at Music City San Francisco for a later date, and Patrick has discussed plans to busk in the street corners of his hometown as Lewnatic with his gear as well.
Since an early age, Hayashi had an obsession of becoming a prolific East Asian musician and making cool music. He sings, raps, plays lead guitar, bass, and uses AI-generated rock instrumentals that are digitally edited, and mixes the majority of his ideas. He has toured all across Northern California with various local punk bands, and his music has reached 60 countries globally online in six continents through social- media.
While the future is uncertain for the Patrick Lew Band (PLB). Patrick wants to continue doing music actively as a virtual rock band with both PLB and Lewnatic. There's more coming your way, and PLB won't be going anywhere any time soon! The future is looking more hopeful and brighter, as well as being unwritten at this point. Expect more things to follow in the amazing world and rock and roll from the No. 1 Sino-Japanese virtual punk rock band from San Francisco!
