“Be Yourself. Imitation is suicide.”
This is one of the creeds that 27 year old singer, songwriter, and guitarist Patrick Lew has lived by in his life, and his music. Born in San Francisco CA, Lew is a second generation Asian-American of Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese descent, now based out of Antioch, CA. Whether by fate or coincidence, the eclecticism of Lew’s heritage is mirrored by the path his music has taken. Sometimes it’s credited to his Patrick Lew Band, and other times to his musical moniker, Heavy Sigma, but the music is always a raw and loose mix of garage punk, grunge, and no nonsense rock and roll. Lew has been spending well over a decade practicing his craft, perfecting his sound, building an internet fan base, and putting himself into a position to take the music community by storm.
The Patrick Lew Band’s story doesn’t start off too atypically, it’s the age-old tale of a young thirteen year-old boy that picks up the guitar and finds out that rock & roll makes life a whole lot cooler than what it was. Flash forward through the years of friends, start-up bands, school, life in general, and eventually Lew found himself playing with his group, Band of Asians before having to invest his energies fulltime into college. Once he enrolled in California State University, going for his B.A. in Philosophy and Music, Lew found himself too busy to keep performing live. His musical talent still flourished in his writing and self-recording, especially partway through college in 2009. It was around this point that he began investing time into the Patrick Lew Band.
While primarily a rhythm guitar player, Lew’s been able to self-record much of his own music with a larger band sound by picking up the bass and programming some drum and percussion tracks to accompany him. Through the magic of the internet and home recording equipment, Lew’s also been able to collaborate with a lot of different musicians over the last ten years, each of them contributing to the library of songs in Heavy Sigma’s arsenal. The legion of talented performers has included drummers David Arceo and Tommy Loi, guitarists Eddie Blackburn and Jeremy Alfonso, and keyboardist Zack Huang. Currently Lew is supported by keyboardist Greg Lynch, bassist David Hunter, and drummer and loving wife, Faith Marie Lew.
Amongst the reasons why so many musicians have been willing to lend their skills to the Patrick Lew Band and its various forms are the uniqueness and the sheer quality of the music Lew creates. With influences that span four decades worth of music, Lew has developed a sonic blend, inspired by some of the best guitarists and songwriters in the history of popular music. Musicians like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and songwriters like John Lennon, Joe Stummer of The Clash, Eddie Vedder, Noel Gallagher; they all have impacted Lew and elements of their work show up in his.
Most of Heavy Sigma’s material is instrumental, and self-described as well as described by others as “garage punk and grunge meets 70’s classic rock.” When Lew does sing, his voice has been compared to Kurt Cobain’s and Liam Gallagher’s, a compliment held in high esteem by Lew, considering his love for those musicians. Regardless of vocal comparisons, Lew defines himself as an “unconventional yet interesting punk rock musician.” He fully acknowledges that some of his east coast contemporaries may be making music that’s more “radio-friendly,” but stylistically, Lew would, “If presented with the choice, I’d rather be an artist than an entertainer.” Ever since leaving Band of Asians, this is the direction his music has gone in, and the results have been very impressive.
Heavy Sigma has steadily been gaining popularity due to the entrepreneurial efforts of Patrick and Faith Marie Lee. Popular independent music website, ReverbNation.com currently ranks the band as the #1 group on the Punk genre charts from the Contra Costa County section of the Bay Area. Similar distinctions have been earned from the continued success of Lew’s music on other musical websites such as SoundCloud and SoundClick. Full versions of several of Lew’s songs can be found on these sites, and the reviews coming in have been stellar:
“I swear when it comes time to hear a tune by Patrick in our Critics Corner contest…I have an odd tingly feeling like you get when you realize the unexpected is happening.” Larry Ludwick – Sounclick.com Critics Corner
“Patrick is a great believer in free music, free thought, and his music reflects that; so it’s best not to expect too much in the way of conventional structure or any of the rigors of ‘normal’ music standards.” Steve Gilmore’s Rebel Riffs (Indie Music Reviews)
“Patrick has good form, direction, energy, and an ability to beautifully convey organize chaos. Great stuff!” Howard Billington’s Indie Music Podcast
“Patrick stands firm in his relationship with his style and nothing anyone can say will sway him. For this, I applaud him.” Gabriel – Soundclick.com Critics Corner
In Patrick’s own words, “I want to be successful in my music career by playing gigs across America and overseas, while making great and interesting rock & roll music in the studio. Then I can help give back to the local music scene that I found my muse in.” That success may have originally been coming in fits and spurts, but the last few years have seen a consistent string of album releases. 2009 brought about the releases of Curb Your Wild Life and Let it Rise and Against. These were followed up by 2011’s Murder Bay, and the 2012 Heavy Sigma release, Oddities: Studio Demos. And if you want to hear the progression of Lew’s music, you can also find the albums he released with Band of Asians, Band of Asians, Live!, Revenge, and The I Product. All of Lew’s catalog can be purchased through iTunes.
The phrase, “guitar hero” has been tossed around lately with an almost casual disregard, but Patrick Lew embodies many of the qualities one needs to have to truly be a guitar hero. Through the years he’s worked his way up from being a young Taiwanese boy with a passion for music, to a one-man, garage, punk, grunge, hard rock band. By always remaining true to himself, true to his music, and true to his artistic vision, Patrick Lew has created in the Patrick Lew Band and Heavy Sigma, a dynamic sound, unparalleled in the burgeoning music industry.
Websites:
ReverbNation - http://www.reverbnation.com/patricklewsband
ReverbNation – http://www.reverbnation.com/heavysigmaband
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/heavysigma
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/patricklewsband
SoundClick – http://www.soundclick.com/patricklewband
Written by Heath Andrews (www.reviewyou.com)
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Patrick Lew Bio
Born: November 15, 1985
Ethnicity: Chinese, Taiwanese
Birthplace: San Francisco, California (billed from Taipei, Taiwan)
Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Hobbies: Writing music, watching TV and movies, console gaming, sightseeing, education, spending time with his girlfriend Faith and friends.
Patrick started playing guitar and attempting to write his own songs at 13 years of age and grew up in San Francisco, California. His musical influences are Pearl Jam, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, The White Stripes, Tesla, AFI, The Faces, and Green Day. Living in the SF Bay Area, Patrick attended CSU East Bay as a Philosophy major, graduating in 2011 while continuing his passion for making music locally. As it turns out, music wasn't Patrick's first serious passion as a child. He was into skateboarding and playing basketball until putting that all aside for playing guitar and writing his own music. His first rock concert was the Australian grunge band Silverchair while he was in middle school. It was watching that live musical performance that partially influenced Patrick to become a rock musician. He would go to Guitar Center, and buy him that "Hot Wheels" Epiphone Les Paul that would become his trademark instrument.
Patrick played in a nu metal band with friends from high school and college called the Band of Asians around the San Francisco bar scene, before deciding the problems he had with being in a band made him realize his music was better suited for a solo project. He started the solo hard rock group aptly called the Patrick Lew Band as a teenager, recording a countless number of musical ideas at home and uploading them online, alongside a revolving door of sidemen collaborating with him in the studio. In 2009, after nearly a whole decade of flops and attempts to get recognition and respect, the Patrick Lew Band began attracting a cult following on the Internet and in the SF Bay Area. Mostly comfortable as a home recording musician as opposed to playing guitar and singing onstage, Patrick feels most delighted whenever he writes a song on his guitar and records them on his laptop running Acoustica Mixcraft. Putting the finishing touches on every rocking new record he attempts before posting them online.
In 2011, Patrick accomplished a few small things with the Patrick Lew Band. His name was mentioned in an electronic music magazine and the underground media. He played bass in a side project with his college friend Greg Lynch called the P&G and made YouTube videos through Patrick's digital camera of their live musical performances as buskers in Antioch, California. His album "Let It Rise And Against" brought Patrick the critical moderate success he needed as an independent musician. Aside from his talent in music, Patrick has acted in a few school plays and is an avid video blogger and amateur comedian on YouTube.
Patrick is passionate about creating music and playing his guitar. Without focusing or dwelling on fame and fortune, Patrick is a determined hard working young man who makes his success in his music on his own terms. He loves and cares about the few fans who come out on his Facebook page and support him, and takes extra time to make qualitative rock and roll music while taking care of adult responsibilities. His own bedroom is his rock star playground, with musical equipment and the latest electronics. Patrick currently resides in the Excelsior District in San Francisco. Some of his interests outside of music include watching TV and movies, traveling, going to sporting events, reading, and spending time with his long-time girlfriend Faith Marie and his friends.
Ethnicity: Chinese, Taiwanese
Birthplace: San Francisco, California (billed from Taipei, Taiwan)
Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Hobbies: Writing music, watching TV and movies, console gaming, sightseeing, education, spending time with his girlfriend Faith and friends.
Patrick started playing guitar and attempting to write his own songs at 13 years of age and grew up in San Francisco, California. His musical influences are Pearl Jam, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, The White Stripes, Tesla, AFI, The Faces, and Green Day. Living in the SF Bay Area, Patrick attended CSU East Bay as a Philosophy major, graduating in 2011 while continuing his passion for making music locally. As it turns out, music wasn't Patrick's first serious passion as a child. He was into skateboarding and playing basketball until putting that all aside for playing guitar and writing his own music. His first rock concert was the Australian grunge band Silverchair while he was in middle school. It was watching that live musical performance that partially influenced Patrick to become a rock musician. He would go to Guitar Center, and buy him that "Hot Wheels" Epiphone Les Paul that would become his trademark instrument.
Patrick played in a nu metal band with friends from high school and college called the Band of Asians around the San Francisco bar scene, before deciding the problems he had with being in a band made him realize his music was better suited for a solo project. He started the solo hard rock group aptly called the Patrick Lew Band as a teenager, recording a countless number of musical ideas at home and uploading them online, alongside a revolving door of sidemen collaborating with him in the studio. In 2009, after nearly a whole decade of flops and attempts to get recognition and respect, the Patrick Lew Band began attracting a cult following on the Internet and in the SF Bay Area. Mostly comfortable as a home recording musician as opposed to playing guitar and singing onstage, Patrick feels most delighted whenever he writes a song on his guitar and records them on his laptop running Acoustica Mixcraft. Putting the finishing touches on every rocking new record he attempts before posting them online.
In 2011, Patrick accomplished a few small things with the Patrick Lew Band. His name was mentioned in an electronic music magazine and the underground media. He played bass in a side project with his college friend Greg Lynch called the P&G and made YouTube videos through Patrick's digital camera of their live musical performances as buskers in Antioch, California. His album "Let It Rise And Against" brought Patrick the critical moderate success he needed as an independent musician. Aside from his talent in music, Patrick has acted in a few school plays and is an avid video blogger and amateur comedian on YouTube.
Patrick is passionate about creating music and playing his guitar. Without focusing or dwelling on fame and fortune, Patrick is a determined hard working young man who makes his success in his music on his own terms. He loves and cares about the few fans who come out on his Facebook page and support him, and takes extra time to make qualitative rock and roll music while taking care of adult responsibilities. His own bedroom is his rock star playground, with musical equipment and the latest electronics. Patrick currently resides in the Excelsior District in San Francisco. Some of his interests outside of music include watching TV and movies, traveling, going to sporting events, reading, and spending time with his long-time girlfriend Faith Marie and his friends.
I cut cable TV. And I'm enjoying free and cheap alternatives to cable and satellite.
I was a loyal cable TV customer all my life. I started having cable once my parents bought an old analog Sony TV set from an electronics store back in the early 90's. I was a little kid at the time and I had cable TV throughout my childhood and young adult years, especially when me and my parents moved to a house in Antioch, California, a suburb in the Bay Area. I enjoyed that I can watch 24 hour cartoons, 24 hour movies, and 24 hour music with the cable networks. My brother Ricky was still living in my childhood home in San Francisco, and he wasn't using cable TV there. When I moved back to my childhood house in San Francisco about two years ago, I had my mom's old 1993 analog Magnavox TV set up in my bedroom. Yet I couldn't watch anything on my TV except using my Xbox 360 to play my movies and TV shows I had on DVD. It wasn't until later years I found out that analog TV sets now needed a DTV converter box and antenna to watch over-the-air programming. Back in June 2009, the US government now ensured that all networks upgrade from analog to digital broadcasting. I didn't have an HDTV set, and it turned out only HDTV sets or Smart TV's didn't require you to buy a separate converter box to watch local channels and the big networks like PBS, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and CW. They had digital tuners built in, so if someone didn't subscribe to cable or satellite TV, they can watch over-the-air broadcast TV channels through connecting their antenna to their HDTV set.
Analog TV's weren't obsolete but they now needed a DTV converter box and antenna to watch free TV (the local channels and big networks) since June 2009 when the Digital TV laws were passed by the government.
Of course I didn't have cable anymore once I moved into my childhood house. For the next year or so, I was stuck using my Xbox 360 gaming console to watch DVD's I bought from Rasputin Records or I borrowed DVD's from the library to watch whatever I could. Something in me was missing. I wanted to watch actual TV. So I went on the Internet to find out how my old 1993 Magnavox tube TV can receive free TV programming from the local channels and big networks like ABC. Me and my brother Ricky weren't subscribing to cable or satellite, so our options were limited to watching over-the-air antenna programming of shows like Grey's Anatomy or Nashville. So I went to Radioshack the next day without getting enough hours of sleep, excited, and I bought me a DTV converter box and a Radioshack TV rabbit ears antenna. The reason why my brother didn't have cable or satellite was because we didn't want to pay $80 on basic cable with most channels we wouldn't even watch. Plus there was too much trashy reality shows and with so many channels and smut, it was harder to surf through cable to find good quality TV. Too much smut too. We thought it was pointless. My brother had a Samsung HDTV he bought from Costco in 2008, so he was able to watch over-the-air programming without a converter box as it had a digital tuner. Not sure what shows he watches though.
So I bought me the converter box and antenna. I set it up on my old analog TV, I scanned for channels and tweaked the rabbit ears antenna a little bit and I had about 36 channels! Some of these local channels didn't work because it had a very weak or no signal. I couldn't get KTSF very well because of a very weak signal on my antenna and DTV converter box. Now you see, I live in a metropolitan city that's very popular in America called San Francisco. Tourists come here and many people in the world would love to live here. Because I lived in a big city, I was able to get a lot of over-the-air DTV channels! Here's my channel lineup through my converter box and rabbit ears antenna.
My digital broadcast TV channels
| Callsign | Network | Virtual Channel | Band | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | KPIX | CBS | 5-1 | UHF |
| KBCW | CW | 44-1 | UHF |
| KRON | MYTV | 4-1 | UHF |
| KQED | PBS | 9-1 | UHF |
| KCNS | IND | 38-1 | UHF |
| KOFY | IND | 20-1 | UHF |
| KTVU | FOX | 2-1 | UHF |
| KMTP | ETV | 32-1 | UHF |
| KFSF | TELEFUTURA | 66-1 | UHF |
| KCSM | PBS | 60-1 | UHF |
| KGO | ABC | 7-1 | Hi-V |
| KKPX | ION | 65-1 | UHF |
| KNTV | NBC | 11-1 | Hi-V |
| KDTV | UNIVISION | 14-1 | UHF |
| KSTS | TELEMUNDO | 48-1 | UHF |
| KTNC | TUVISION | 42-1 | UHF |
| KTSF | IND | 26-1 | UHF |
 | KICU | IND | 36-1 | UHF |
 | KQEH | unknown | 54-1 | UHF |
| KTLN | IND | 68-1 | UHF |
| KRCB | PBS | 22-1 | UHF |
| KVIE | PBS | 6-1 | Hi-V |
| KXTV | ABC | 10-1 | Hi-V |
| KOVR | CBS | 13-1 | UHF |
| CALL SIGN | NETWORK | CHANNEL | HD |
|---|---|---|---|
| KBCW | 
CW
| 44-1 |  |
| KCNS | 
MundoFox
| 38-1 | |
| KCNS | 
Sino TV
| 38-2 | - |
| KCNS | 
Estrella TV
| 38-3 | - |
| KCNS |
Japanese
| 38-4 | - |
| KCSM-TV |
Educational
| 60-1 | |
| KCSM-TV | 
MHz Worldview
| 60-2 | - |
| KCSM-TV | 
Audio
| 60-3 | - |
| KFSF-DT | 
UniMas
| 66-1 | |
| KFSF-DT | 
Bounce TV
| 66-2 | - |
| KGO-TV | 
ABC
| 7-1 | |
| KGO-TV | 
Live Well
| 7-2 | |
| KGO-TV |
Live Well
| 7-3 | - |
| KMTP-TV |
Ethnic
| 32-1 | - |
| KMTP-TV |
NTDTV
| 32-5 | - |
| KMTP-TV |
Asian
| 32-6 | - |
| KOFY-TV |
Independent
| 20-1 | |
| KOFY-TV | 
Me-TV
| 20-2 | - |
| KPIX-TV | 
CBS
| 5-1 | |
| KQED | 
PBS
| 9-1 | |
| KQED |
PBS
| 9-2 | - |
| KQED | 
World Channel
| 9-3 | - |
| KRON-TV | 
My Network TV
| 4-1 | |
| KRON-TV | 
Weather
| 4-2 | - |
| KTVU | 
FOX
| 2-1 | |
| KTVU | 
LATV
| 2-2 | - |
| K14MW-D |
-
| - | - |
| KTSF |
Asian
| 26-1 | - |
| KTSF |
ICN
| 26-4 | - |
| KTSF |
Vietnamese
| 26-5 | - |
| KTSF |
World
| 26-6 | - |
| KNTV | 
NBC
| 11-1 | |
| KNTV | 
COZI TV
| 11-2 | - |
| KTNC-TV |
Estrella TV
| 42-1 | - |
| KTNC-TV |
Estrella TV
| 42-2 | - |
| KTNC-TV | 
This TV
| 42-3 | - |
| KTNC-TV | 
Retro TV
| 42-4 | - |
| KTLN-TV |
TLN
| 68-1 | - |
| KTLN-TV |
Infomercials
| 68-2 | - |
| KTLN-TV | 
SonLife
| 68-3 | - |
| KDTV-DT | 
Univision
| 14-1 | |
| KDTV-DT |
UniMas
| 14-2 | - |
| KSTS | 
Telemundo
| 48-1 | |
| KSTS | 
Exitos TV
| 48-2 | - |
Now that I am enjoying TV. I found that most of the TV shows, entertainment, and other fine programming on these broadcast channels were better than what I was getting on cable. I get to enjoy the local news on ABC with Carolyn Johnson and Dan Ashley. I get to watch the latest hit TV shows on the networks like Dancing With The Stars and The Mindy Project. With cable, there was just 600 channels and pretty much nothing was on during most of those channels and I would never watch most of them anyways on my TV. So I wasn't paying for a hundred something cable TV channels I would never watch or had nothing on. I loved the fact I cut the cord and disabled my cable. Watching free TV should be something that is embraced. As of these days, I heard most people are getting fed up with the rising costs of cable and satellite TV and cut their cord for streaming video/Internet TV set-top boxes like Roku and/or just settled with digital broadcast TV channels with their antenna hooked up to their flat LED screen HDTV sets. Plus finding good TV shows and movies on cable gets mundane and tiring quickly!
Since I've been living like this for awhile already, do I really miss cable? Well I do miss watching channels like Comedy Central, Travel Channel, ABC Family, Disney Channel, BET, and TV Land. Instead of TV Land, I watch I Love Lucy reruns on MeTV. Instead of Comedy Central, I watch America's Funniest Home Videos on ABC. Instead of Disney Channel shows, I watch the Vortexx on CW on Saturday mornings. Now you see, I love TV but I don't let it consume my daily life. I have a girlfriend Faith who I'm in a long-term relationship with. I spend time with her in my free time. I make music with my guitar and use Mixcraft on my laptop. I walk around the Excelsior District where I live at in San Francisco for a few hours in my free time when the weather is good! And I work a per diem job at a greeting card company.
Because of the popularity of streaming video set-top boxes like Apple TV, Roku, and TV Pad, I learned online that using these electronics can be a money saving alternative to cable and satellite. In late April of 2013, I became one of the 5 million people who decided to give it a try. I bought Roku LT from Best Buy, and I set that purple box the size of a sandwich onto my TV. Because these things require WiFi at home to use, I wouldn't recommend a streaming Internet video box for people who watch TV but doesn't have Internet at home or isn't well adapted to this new technology. I wanted to try Roku out, and so far, I've been very pleased with it! I get to watch more of a variety of free content. Roku is basically streaming Internet video and watching it on your TV like shows and movies. Smart TV sets already have Hulu and Netflix built in. But Roku and streaming media boxes contain a lot of free awesome TV shows and movies and other interesting content. It gives you your own choice to choose what you watch that's made available. The thing about Roku is, it contains 600 online streaming Internet video channels featuring movies, the news, cartoons, and TV shows. A lot of the content is free, but it's mostly B-movies and I do get free Anime on the Crunchy Roll channel on my Roku LT box. To get the most of Roku, you need to subscribe to paid streaming channels like Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime. You get a lot of reruns of TV shows from the big networks like ABC, CBS, and FOX, programming from a few cable networks, and a whole lot more. Since Roku is fairly new, not every cable network has jumped on the bandwagon yet but it will happen soon considering the decline that cable and satellite TV had in recent years. Roku doesn't work like a conventional TV, you get to choose and click on what you want to watch on whatever channel you're on with Roku and you browse content for it, it's like using YouTube in a way on the Internet. I think Roku and these streaming media set-top boxes like TVPad are a great cheap alternative to cable. While you still have to pay a little money in your bank account for some of its better features, its still way less than what you're paying for in a cable or satellite TV bill. I use Roku to watch movies, TV shows, and things I couldn't get out of the converter box broadcast channels since it wasn't enough to satisfy my TV needs. It really worked! I get to watch reruns of Adventure Time and Beavis and Butthead by paying for the Hulu Plus channel on my Roku box, and I get to watch and stream movies as I browse for something good and interesting to watch on this awesome new technology called the streaming media player. And Hulu Plus shows some TV shows that they no longer show on both cable or satellite! Ooooh yeah!
I use Roku as a cheap alternative for cable and satellite TV. And I couldn't be any happier. Even my mom is thinking of cutting her cable for these streaming video set-top boxes! She was thinking of cutting cable for Dish Network because satellite is cheaper than cable, but we don't know for sure yet. I found the cheap and free alternative to cable and satellite, by watching over-the-air digital TV broadcast channels like ABC, KOFY, MeTV, CW, and FOX. And I use a streaming media player called Roku to watch more and more interesting TV shows and movies that I couldn't get on the broadcast channels or were only on cable or satellite. Who needs cable or satellite when you can find free and cheap alternatives to watching TV? :)
And I have a huge DVD collection of TV shows and movies. I downloaded them, bought them at the store, or I burned them onto DVDR's when I borrow them from the library. I don't really care what anyone says. I love TV. It's one of my interests and hobbies. But I do other things besides that too, keep in mind. And I'm here telling you all my amazing story of how I cut the cord and found the alternative to cable and satellite TV. :)
Thanks for reading!
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