Band or Artist Name
Patrick Lew & the Steel Lions (also known as Patrick Lew Band)
Hometown
San Francisco, CA
Contact Name
Patrick Lew
Contact Phone Number
(withheld)
Contact Email Address
(withheld)
Website
N/A (Check out my Facebook links)
Genre(s)
Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Punk Rock, Grunge
Band Bio & Formation Story
I'm a freelance rock musician who began making music on my own in 2012 ish after several flops with a local band I used to be in. I'm always trying my best to get better when recording and when it comes to playing the guitar. I always use social media to put my music and every band I played guitar and sang in out there. I've received a few tiny achievements with music. I also am endorsed by Antennas Direct, a TV antenna maker based in St. Louis, MO. A lot of my earlier work was more Garage Punk, very lo-fi and raw kind of stuff. Now these days, I attempt to blend a fusion of 80's hard rock, 90's grunge and punk within my music. I am influenced by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Mother Love Bone, Metallica, Guns N Roses, Blink 182, Def Leppard, The White Stripes, Tesla, Silverchair, Oasis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, John Lennon and Aerosmith.
Originally, I did Steel Lions as a creative outlet for my musical ideas that were rejected by former bandmates in my old band. I began making music with both Patrick Lew Band and Heavy Sigma, and my former bandmates and myself had creative and personal differences along with my dysfunctional relationship with my former fiancee at the time, so I quit creating music and playing guitar for about 2 or 3 years. I picked up the guitar again and started using my MacBook Air running GarageBand and began producing demos and new musical ideas again. Then one day in early 2015, my friend Erick Salazar who also plays drums in the San Francisco based punk band Neverfade sent me a private message on my Facebook profile talking about collaborating and working on new music together.
So in May of that year, me and Erick began creating music under the Steel Lions name in his home recording studio. Erick isn't an official member of the band, but he plays a big role in creating the music and business related things when getting it out there! The album that my friend Erick is producing is still in the works in the studio. Currently, the Steel Lions is a one man band with assistance of a live band if it ever boiled down to live performances. I also released three albums under the Patrick Lew Band name in 2015 and 2016. Steel Lions is a variation of the Patrick Lew Band in a more anthemic kind of way. And the rest is history!
Where have you played?
I played shows sporadically with Patrick Lew Band in the San Francisco Bay Area. We sounded like a punk band playing at a bar. A lot of it were small shows done in small environments and were free events that people can attend. We played at my college and also busked in various spots in Antioch, California. In 2012, I did a solo set under the Patrick Lew Band name alongside a DJ by the name of Sonny Forreli at Dolores Park in San Francisco. I also played open mics at Mama Art Cafe and Cafe International, 2013 and 2015 respectively. Definitely not like the Rolling Stones playing Madison Square Garden, but we were definitely a no nonsense local rock and roll band from the Bay. Some of our live performances can be found on my YouTube page.
Professional Performance Experience
I am mainly a musician who does home recording and puts myself out there on social-media. I also sell my material I've recorded on iTunes and Spotify to supplement my income along with my regular job. But I have had some experience with live performing. It might have been intermittent, but I've developed confidence and passion for playing music that I feel I can present an amazing punk rock live performance onstage.
Primary Motivation
To increase my audience, put myself out there and to make music my career professionally where I don't have to work a day job ever again. I don't want to become rich doing music, but if I can make $50,000 a year for playing and recording. I'd be very satisfied with how everything turned out in the end. But most importantly, I care about making a difference in society and make sure I live my life honestly with passion and to continue being an inspiration to close friends and fans.
Charitable Causes
I have donated some of my hard earned money to various charities such as cancer research, suicide prevention and Blue Cross relief for victims of natural disasters. Because of my endorsement with Antennas Direct, I also done a local event giving away 300 free TV antennas to underserved communities in Chinatown in San Francisco. Some of this can be documented on Antennas Direct's social-media sites and I was also on television doing an interview for the event. Although it wasn't related to music.
Passports available?
I have a United States passport.
Do you participate in any Extreme Sports?
I used to skateboard while I was in middle school and high school. I also did a little bit of backyard wrestling, which I don't encourage. Believe it or not. Before I became a musician, I wanted to become a professional athlete in Extreme Sports.
What Equipment Do You Own?
GUITARS:
- Epiphone HotWheels Les Paul
- Red Epiphone Les Paul Special Edition
AMPS:
- Fender 25 Watt Frontman
PEDALS:
- Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
- Digitech RP50 Multi-Effects
- Digitech Death Metal Distortion
RECORDING GEAR:
- Line6 TonePort Silver DI
- Peavey XPort DI (used rarely)
- Line6 POD Farm
- Acoustica Mixcraft 6 (2009-2012)
- Apple GarageBand (2013-present)
- LANDR.com (for mastering all of my tracks)
- Toshiba PC Laptop (2009-2013)
- Early 2009 Macbook (2013-2015)
- 2014 MacBook Air (since 2015)
- Apple Logic Pro X (2016-present)
- Radioshack Microphone
- Logitech USB Microphone
