THE STEEL LIONS
BAND HISTORY
The Steel Lions was conceived by PLB guitarist/vocalist Patrick Lew and formed during a break from touring and recording with the Patrick Lew Band. PLB recently finished a short tour across Antioch, CA during Summer 2011, and the band was going through a rebuilding process with touring members Greg Lynch and David Hunter alongside Lew. The roots for the Steel Lions began with Lew self producing his own musical ideas in his own studio during studio and touring autonomy for Patrick Lew Band and grew from there. A lot of the ideas that Patrick Lew recorded in his home studio was initially going to be brought over to PLB as possible material for the follow-up to PLB’s 2011 album Murder Bay. However, Lynch rejected the musical ideas for creative and religious reasons. Feeling “bummed out” by the situation with the Patrick Lew Band undergoing a rebuilding process, Lew felt an “itch to do something that PLB wasn’t able to do with the new lineup involved.” In a Facebook post made by Lew in 2016 on the band’s page, Lew wanted to incorporate more of his late 80’s and early 90’s rock influences in Patrick Lew Band while the other members disagreed with the idea, claiming that Lew “wanted PLB to try and sound like Bon Jovi, Nirvana and White Lion and that’s what side projects were for” and wasn’t willing to evolve or shift from their earlier style.
According to Lew, the project “wasn’t meant to be a real band” but rather “something to do creatively in his spare time when PLB wasn’t one of his priorities in my life, but just to have an experimental creative outlet.” Patrick Lew began posting on his personal Facebook profile asking for his Facebook friends to suggest ideas for a band name. Initially, his former online friend on social-media suggested Lew to name the project Chaos In Chinatown. For a short time, The Steel Lions was recording under that “guise” until Lew quickly dropped that band name due to a concern of offending Asian Americans and shaming his own heritage. For a few years, the project would be known as Heavy Sigma. Which the former band’s name’s origins were disputed. Eventually, Patrick Lew would change the name Heavy Sigma to The Steel Lions as an amalgamation of two 80’s hair metal bands: Steelheart and White Lion. Two bands that Lew grew up listening to and being a fan of. To complete the project, Lew then enlisted help from long-time PLB drummer and close friend David Arceo and his then-fiancee Faith Lambright. Officially cementing the band’s lineup.
The Steel Lions began recording demos throughout late 2011 and the first half of 2012, primarily at Lew’s newly built home recording studio The Blizzard of Sound in San Francisco, CA. Rather than “spend months trying to refine everything and do mass marketing for the new band or side project for the indie music scene,” The Steel Lions followed a more DIY spirit as musicians and artists putting themselves out there in the music business. Arceo completed sampling and drum programming in two weeks at Lew’s new home recording facility, and Lew and Lambright would complete the rest of the instrumentation and self recording later. ANN, an upstart indie label based near Seattle, WA found out about the project on the band’s ReverbNation page, liked what they heard, and offered to distribute the band’s music on the Internet. Arceo’s fascination with Electronic Dance Music and the Bay Area rave culture played a huge factor in The Steel Lions initial output, which is evident in the band’s 2012 release Taiwanese Rebels. After months of home recording and alternating between college, day jobs and putting some time and effort into the Patrick Lew Band as they were rebuilding their band, direction and business for the future, another album from The Steel Lions was released during Fall 2012 titled Voyager, which were based off outtakes from the recording sessions and rejected song ideas that were planned for PLB that was kept on Lew’s hard drive on his computer.
The creation of The Steel Lions would cause great division in PLB, mostly between Lew and Arceo with guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Greg Lynch. Tensions would rise at an accelerated pace related to creative, personal and religious differences within the Patrick Lew Band. The PLB would rehearse sporadically during mid 2012 and during the band’s final recording session in Antioch, CA, Lynch would make criticism towards Lew’s musical abilities. In a Facebook post on the Patrick Lew Band’s official Facebook page in August that year, Lew was increasingly irritated at the band’s slow and stagnant rebuilding process and band drama that was being initiated by Lynch’s remarks and actions. Although David Hunter was signed on to become the PLB’s bassist, he was absent throughout most of the band’s practices, meetings and recording sessions. Because of a lack of unity within PLB caused by creative and religious differences, alongside confusion and dysfunction within the band’s direction, future and music business caused by a lack of communication and ability to collaborate as musicians playing in a band. The then-lineup of PLB would eventually go their separate ways. On the afternoon of September 5, 2012, Lew would post a blog on PLB’s Facebook page announcing an “indefinite hiatus.”
“Think it's really time to put the Patrick Lew Band to rest. Me, Greg, and David H are more likely going to play music together with other people under a different band name in the Antioch/Brentwood region. Music is always going to be there, but you know, it's time to move forward from the Patrick Lew Band because it's a thing of the past and there's always gonna be more music with other bands and my own solo project to do with close friends and peeps.
Patrick (on behalf of the PLB Army)”
Lew would remain friends with Lynch and Hunter until mid 2014 when their friendship would dissolve because of remaining tensions and what Lew perceived as “toxic friendships.”
Because of discouragement and antagonization from a former friend and peer from the local San Francisco music scene, and Lew’s desire to “spend more time rebuilding his relationship with his significant other,” The Steel Lions would not tour or play any shows to promote their new music. Instead during the absence of live performing, The Steel Lions would turn to social-media as a way of keeping their audience updated and connected. During mid 2012, The Steel Lions would become “trending now” on ReverbNation in their local region under the Punk genre. Patrick Lew would work on a follow-up album with Steel Lions tentatively titled Some Kind of Misfit which was eventually scrapped. The aborted album would eventually become Patrick Lew Band’s 2015 release and comeback To the Promised Land.
However by 2013, Lew’s relationship with his then-fiancee Faith would become strained and decline considerably. Despite some of his achievements and rewarding experiences as a determined musician from the Bay Area, Lew would grow disillusioned with the politics of the music business and scene and became deterred by his growing number of detractors on social-media. Lew would take a sabbatical from music to clear his mind. His then-fiancee Faith would also play a factor in his exile from playing guitar and making music. Lew and Arceo also would not speak to each other during the first half of 2013 because of undisclosed reasons. However, the two would eventually sort out their differences and were encouraged by peers and close friends to continue their friendship and play music together. By this time, Lew wasn’t playing guitar or recording any music in his home recording studio. The Steel Lions were booked to play a show at Mama Art Cafe in San Francisco, CA on September 13, 2013 and would perform two new tracks “See It Through” and Arceo’s spoken word composition “Reality Check” to a gleeful reception. However, tensions between Lew and his then-fiancee would rise to an accelerated pace which made Lew once again exile from the music scene.
It wasn’t until long after Lew’s relationship with his then-fiancee Faith ended that he considered returning to playing guitar, making music and putting himself out there on social-media. Possible legalities related to PLB were resolved by the end of 2014, with Patrick Lew being granted full ownership of the band’s business, music and direction. On New Years Day 2015, Patrick Lew Band would announce their return to the indie music scene and Lew would purchase two MacBooks from an electronics store to use as his home recording studio device.
However, there would be extremely difficult struggles during that moment when Lew and Arceo were playing music again under the Patrick Lew Band name. Lew had a falling out with his then-girlfriend, which deeply affected him as she was very close to him at one point before the couple split. Lew would experience a minor backlash on social-media through AMWF Facebook dating groups alongside having his money and credit card almost completely wiped out and stolen by his then-girlfriend Monique, whom he acquainted with through those dating groups on Facebook. Lew filed legal action against his then-girlfriend Monique, which the case is still pending. Lew would also engage himself in a strange yet bitter personal feud with his then-fiancee Faith on social-media behind closed doors, which was caused Faith's actions by belittling Lew's personal failures in his love life and sabotaging his potential relationships and interests. The feud would quietly disappear during the end of 2016, with nothing ever conclusively settled between the two former significant others. Arceo, would battle detractors and struggle to cope with his personal demons.
However, the Patrick Lew Band would play shows again in 2015 in the Bay Area. The newly revived PLB self-released two new "comeback" albums that year through digital distribution: To the Promised Land and Bubblegum Babylon. The latter, a Chiptune/EDM influenced record compiled from several years of outtakes and unreleased electronically produced music that never went public in the indies. Lew would also collaborate with Neverfade and former Distorted Harmony drummer Erick Salazar at the Salazar Residence in San Francisco, working on a new album under the pseudonym "THE STEEL LIONS." By the end of 2015, Lew and Arceo would begin jamming with long-time friend and EDM producer Gem Jewels AKA Janny in the Shoegaze influenced indie rock act TheVerse. TheVerse would establish themselves as an indie home recording trio at Lew's home studio in San Francisco and would begin putting themselves out there locally and on social-media. Generating a tiny buzz within their networking.
Patrick Lew kept busy in 2015 and 2016 alternating between four different bands: Patrick Lew Band, The Steel Lions, TheVerse and filling in as a bassist for the San Francisco punk band The Tortured.
TheVerse would play their first show at The Stork Club in Oakland, CA on May 18, 2016. An audio recording and a few edited iPhone captured videos of the band's performance would be uploaded through Patrick Lew Band's personal YouTube account. A week earlier on May 12th marked the 15 year anniversary of the Patrick Lew Band's formation in the Bay Area music scene and the indies. Initially, Lew was compiling hours of recorded material at home for a Patrick Lew Band boxed set documenting their last 15 years as an indie band. Which consisted of live performances, home demos, outtakes and etc etc. Instead, Lew spent the first half of 2016 putting the finishing touches to THE STEEL LIONS album Unfinished Relics. Lew couldn't head into Erick's home studio to finish the album, so instead, Erick sent files of guitar tracks that Lew recorded at the Salazar Residence via email. Lew would later complete the album alone by adding a virtual drummer, bass, vocals and engineering and producing the album himself at home. He would sell Steel Lions album Unfinished Relics through CDBaby and its distributors. Patrick Lew Band would also continue recording at Lew's home studio sporadically during 2016, which resulted in the release of three EPs released within one year on the Patrick Lew Band's Bandcamp page: Fire in the Sky, Shortcuts to Fame and Oakland. TheVerse would consistently practice and make music at Lew's home recording studio between January to August of that year. Until Lew would fill-in for the San Francisco punk band The Tortured for two live performances in October 2016. This all happened when The Tortured's bassist departed the band to re-locate to reside in another State. The band posted on Facebook searching for a new bass player on their page, Lew answered the request and would play with the band for two shows before returning to focus on his work with Patrick Lew Band.
However, there would be extremely difficult struggles during that moment when Lew and Arceo were playing music again under the Patrick Lew Band name. Lew had a falling out with his then-girlfriend, which deeply affected him as she was very close to him at one point before the couple split. Lew would experience a minor backlash on social-media through AMWF Facebook dating groups alongside having his money and credit card almost completely wiped out and stolen by his then-girlfriend Monique, whom he acquainted with through those dating groups on Facebook. Lew filed legal action against his then-girlfriend Monique, which the case is still pending. Lew would also engage himself in a strange yet bitter personal feud with his then-fiancee Faith on social-media behind closed doors, which was caused Faith's actions by belittling Lew's personal failures in his love life and sabotaging his potential relationships and interests. The feud would quietly disappear during the end of 2016, with nothing ever conclusively settled between the two former significant others. Arceo, would battle detractors and struggle to cope with his personal demons.
However, the Patrick Lew Band would play shows again in 2015 in the Bay Area. The newly revived PLB self-released two new "comeback" albums that year through digital distribution: To the Promised Land and Bubblegum Babylon. The latter, a Chiptune/EDM influenced record compiled from several years of outtakes and unreleased electronically produced music that never went public in the indies. Lew would also collaborate with Neverfade and former Distorted Harmony drummer Erick Salazar at the Salazar Residence in San Francisco, working on a new album under the pseudonym "THE STEEL LIONS." By the end of 2015, Lew and Arceo would begin jamming with long-time friend and EDM producer Gem Jewels AKA Janny in the Shoegaze influenced indie rock act TheVerse. TheVerse would establish themselves as an indie home recording trio at Lew's home studio in San Francisco and would begin putting themselves out there locally and on social-media. Generating a tiny buzz within their networking.
Patrick Lew kept busy in 2015 and 2016 alternating between four different bands: Patrick Lew Band, The Steel Lions, TheVerse and filling in as a bassist for the San Francisco punk band The Tortured.
TheVerse would play their first show at The Stork Club in Oakland, CA on May 18, 2016. An audio recording and a few edited iPhone captured videos of the band's performance would be uploaded through Patrick Lew Band's personal YouTube account. A week earlier on May 12th marked the 15 year anniversary of the Patrick Lew Band's formation in the Bay Area music scene and the indies. Initially, Lew was compiling hours of recorded material at home for a Patrick Lew Band boxed set documenting their last 15 years as an indie band. Which consisted of live performances, home demos, outtakes and etc etc. Instead, Lew spent the first half of 2016 putting the finishing touches to THE STEEL LIONS album Unfinished Relics. Lew couldn't head into Erick's home studio to finish the album, so instead, Erick sent files of guitar tracks that Lew recorded at the Salazar Residence via email. Lew would later complete the album alone by adding a virtual drummer, bass, vocals and engineering and producing the album himself at home. He would sell Steel Lions album Unfinished Relics through CDBaby and its distributors. Patrick Lew Band would also continue recording at Lew's home studio sporadically during 2016, which resulted in the release of three EPs released within one year on the Patrick Lew Band's Bandcamp page: Fire in the Sky, Shortcuts to Fame and Oakland. TheVerse would consistently practice and make music at Lew's home recording studio between January to August of that year. Until Lew would fill-in for the San Francisco punk band The Tortured for two live performances in October 2016. This all happened when The Tortured's bassist departed the band to re-locate to reside in another State. The band posted on Facebook searching for a new bass player on their page, Lew answered the request and would play with the band for two shows before returning to focus on his work with Patrick Lew Band.
