I play guitar in Crazy Loser in a Box!

This is some piece of music I did outside of Patrick Lew Band and TheVerse with my friend Sigyn! I played that acoustic guitar though.

Last year was when it wasn't really all about PLB. It was when I was dabbling with hella side-band hustles. Lol. 

I dated Sigyn during the Summer last year. Before her, I didn't date anybody for at least three years. Also. Dating her was me going back to my Asian sisters. Even though she's only half Asian of Vietnamese descent. Despite it all and no longer dating, we still have lots of respect for each other and support for our respective bands. 

I can honestly say. I love my work with Crazy Loser in a Box.

https://open.spotify.com/track/30wQUDUyL0BrmMlc6iCeFy?si=ws7272rpQ-ep6PXg1sfdiw

2018: A Year I Will Never Forget!

TRIVIA: Patrick Lew Band wasn't really the focus of my indie music career last year in 2018. Yes, PLB was active, recorded sporadically in the studio and released a few tracks on Spotify. But looking back, it was a year where it wasn't all eyes on PLB. Lol. 

It was a very creative and productive year however. I was doing hella side-band hustles. 

I played five shows with my band TheVerse in the Bay Area for an intermittent non-stop tour in support of our self-titled EP. I joined my friend Sigyn's garage band and also lent voice acting for her YouTube animated series Deceiver of Fools. And oh yeah...I played bass with a metal band for a few months whom I not going to properly acknowledge for my reasons. And I also acted and made a cameo appearance on the beloved Amazon TV series Man in the High Castle. 

As a matter of fact, 2018 will go down as one of the most busiest and productive years I've had as an artist! And funny thing was, most of it didn't involve Patrick Lew Band!

If Patrick Lew Band ever in a million years toured China...

If Patrick Lew Band music was marketed in and brought to mainland China. These are examples in regards to my personal life or the music that will obviously be heavily censored or omitted. 

1) My ethnic background (Japanese, Chinese/Taiwanese) will be watered down and sugarcoated completely. Mainland China hates Japan and Taiwan, or at least, the government does. The feelings are at times shared mutually through Japan and Taiwan. As a matter of fact, the Chinese government will fuck it all up with the public and say yours truly. Patrick Lew was just a pure Han Chinese guy. No mentions of my Japanese and Taiwanese background that I hold so proudly. And me being 100% Han Chinese is far from the truth and downplays an important part of my story and potential legacy! 

2) A lot of the music itself would be heavily censored due to China's strict policy on censorship on even the most pettiest of themes and lyrics in the media. The creativity and artistic expression I've made known with PLB will be completely restricted. A song like Asian Girls would probably be renamed "Girl Talk" and I'm not talking bout that shitty EDM one-man band either. A lot of the song titles (such as "Cum to Me" or "Fuck Boy") and its lyrics will be heavily censored and bleeped out or worse. Just like a clean version of a Limp Bizkit CD. Even the song titles would be renamed without my consent because even the most subtle of anger and teen angst in PLB music would not float their boats. 

3) Madeline Lew. Reason for it? It's LGBT related and it's illegal to showcase homosexuality or anything LGBT in the media in mainland China. Madeline Lew is obviously me in "crossdressing" drag. Any references to her presence in my music will be erased completely. 

4) It would showcase moments where I dealt with toxic people. But based on the circumstances how it happened in my life and China's strict censorship policy, a lot of it will be presented with almost 99% of the back story and coming clean about it completely erased. No explanation on what really happened. And I also had problems with the Mainlanders often in the past, and any mentioning of that part of my story will be completely erased and never acknowledged at all. China wouldn't want that acknowledged even. For better or worse! They don't wanna look like the bad guy. Not saying all of them are bad people, but some of the ones I dealt with in my life were pretty shitty. 

The end result? It's turning something potentially fascinating yet enigmatic at the same time and certainly making the music I've created and the story much worse that even my former haters of mines would agree with me, "It's a very terrible portrayal and presentation of my music and my life story." Even the Disney Channel wouldn't be as tame as a government censored Patrick Lew Band. And at least Disney Channel still entertains! Lol.

The Evolution of Patrick Lew Band (PLB)

I divide and split Patrick Lew Band in two different eras. Kind of like the Bible where there's an Old and New Testament. 

I started the PLB as a somewhat lovable yet aloof, goofball and angsty teen idol. The kind of guy you would see your daughter ride her coattails over. For better or worse. 

But the critics were very dismissive about what I was doing and couldn't take the music or me as a human being seriously. But I think I sold a little better and done better as an artist during middle and later half of my music career as a member of PLB (the experimental years) than most of my first decade as an active artist (the child star years). 

When the depression, the drama and all that sh*** such as getting into a fraudulent common law marriage at age 24...A lot of the people lost interest in Patrick Lew Band or began seeing me as a lost cause. 

I'd say 2009 was the last year of the "child star" PLB and 2010 onward as the beginning of the "experimental" and "trying to break the walls down" (sorry Y2J) period. 

Some of the old fans who turned their backs on Patrick Lew Band probably did that because I started to become more harder-edged, less vibrant and eventually more jaded. That started happening during 2008-2010. And those old fans began going after more conventional sounds and music artists that were on YouTube, Top 40 or whatever format going on at the time. But I've also started gaining more new fans and more moderate respect gradually for dropping the "child star" image and going for a more "no holds barred" gimmick. I was tired of the drama I was dealing with in my life and I was sick of being treated like a doormat from people. 

So I stopped smiling in press photos. The songs got more serious in nature and the music got a little more sophisticated. A true music fan with open minds and open ears wouldn't like PLB from much of my 2000s era "child star" output. But would grow to appreciate my later band TheVerse and PLB albums like Bubblegum Babylon. Maybe even my short stint with Pleasure Gallows. 

I remembered the sh*** got really bad initially because people wanted the cute, likable and sad Asian boy from the 2000s back. And they backstabbed me and my music because I was with my ex for six years. The sh*** I was doing was too much for them to handle and they couldn't understand it. 

Also, much of society was changing rapidly at the time and was coming of age. So I grew up with them to get with the changing times. 

But once I started being more experimental in the home studio, putting myself out there more, trying out new ideas and concepts, joining the band TheVerse and truly paid my dues based on blood, sweat, tears and persistence. My status as PLB became more profound and true fans of music began to really see my music for what it is and begin little by little to appreciate and admire what I do more! 

Patrick Lew is an artist and musician. And also a human being god dammit. Lol. He wasn't a puppet or yes-man for this crazy world we live in. I had so much to give and I always tried to bring new ideas and concepts to the table and carve my own path and success in life and with my music without the middle man involved, people having to kiss my ass or me doing it myself and conforming to the people who didn't understand me or worse. I was going to be content forever being that cute sad Asian boy playing "Asian Girls" forever onstage and be remembered for that. I had bigger dreams and ambitions in mind!

So yeah...The old era of PLB was the "child star" years (2001-2009) and the new era of PLB was the "so-called revolutionary/experimental" years (2010 onward). Just a fact and personal story to tell y'all! Love me, hate me, whatever...Patrick Lew and his music is here to stay!

If I were a movie...

I wouldn't mind if the film industry or Hollywood made a biopic or live action movie about my life story as Patrick Lew Band. Lol. It would be definitely one of those rare movies (especially in rock and roll) where the movie has a large casting of Asian actors and POC. 

I want the movie however, to portray me and the band in a good and presentable manner. Like it's definitely not going to be a typical rated R movie talking about PLB, TheVerse or anything else related to me with swearing, sex and all that. Surprisingly, I would want it to be a PG friendly version of the PLB saga on film because it would be more marketable and accessible to the public than a prototypical rated R as usual telling of my story on the silver screen!

There's some things I want to be covered, some things I have to omit or leave out and some things that would seem more interesting but either never existed or was feasible in the Patrick Lew Band story. 

I definitely want the film to focus on PLB obviously. How I started my indie music career and the start-up bands leading up to my controversial peak years between 2008 to 2012. I also want the movie to get into some details about my six-year relationship with my ex Faith. And some of the band drama and bad stuff I had to deal with with the social-media and my role in the music scene will also be mentioned or featured unfortunately. But I also want the movie to talk about my friendships with my mom, Janny, David and of course my role and music career as a member of the band TheVerse. Because TheVerse played a large part of my success in the scene. Maybe briefly and more subtle, my day job at Chocolate Heaven or previous day jobs I've worked at. 

What I also mean by that is...It's not going to discuss every major detail of my life such as my relationship with my father, my toxic relationships with everybody from the past and even some things related to my music career. I don't think I want a PLB biopic to talk about or feature anything in regards to Pleasure Gallows, whom I played bass with for a short time recently. Because it's not necessary and it would distract everything. It might or might not even discuss the time I filled-in as a touring bassist for my friend's band The Tortured twice because my relationship with them is very sacred and brotherly and keep in mind...We have at least 3 hours to tell the Patrick Lew Band story on the silver screen on camera and acting. So we might not be able to include every detail or immortal moment in the film.

There's two major things in this movie that I want that you never saw in the Patrick Lew Band story in real-life: My mom in heaven and Madeline Lew. In the PLB saga, Madeline Lew is just me in drag and an alter ego. But in the movie, she will be portrayed as a guardian angel sent from heaven and love interest of mines, helping and motivating to guide me through life's toughest moments and taking me somewhere further in life and with my art and my music with both Verse and PLB. There might be some scenes where my mom is in heaven too and showing her seal of approval. 

That's pretty much how I want my life to be told on the big screen as a live action movie! And oh yeah. The casting has to be on point and not be some typical Whitewashing commonly found in Hollywood movies. Lol. Of course, an Asian actor has to fill my role and character on screen. Same with David. Madeline can be played by either a Japanese or hapa actress. 

This movie should be interesting and it shouldn't be too overdramatic. I want it to be a comedy drama! 

#TheFutureIsUnwriitten

Musical Lyrics & Style

Everyone be singing about the conventional things in their music. Especially Asian pop groups and idols. 

While PLB is singing about social issues and what's really going on in the world we live in. 

While a lot of my musical influences are rooted in "traditional" arena hard rock and 70's, 80's and early 90's heavy metal...Punk has had a very strong influence on what I do musically. The attitude, the bravado and the lyrical themes in the songs I be writing and bleeding on the track in the studio! 

For instance. I sing about child abuse ("Story of a Lonely Guy"), social inequality in the music scene ("Evil Record Label Man"), taboo interracial romantic/intimate relationships ("Shanghai Kiss"), saying fuck you to Donald Trump and his crew ("Just Say No"), how hard it is to be an Asian man in America run by the White man ("Asian Girls"), coping with the death of a loved one ("Window to the World"), long-distance relationships and relationship goals ("In Her Garden"), the search for immortality and the meaning of life ("Free My Soul") are such examples. 

Not a lot of Asian musicians or artists would sing about shit like that. I'm sure there are some that do out there. Musically, it's a blending and marriage of 70's and 80's American and British hard rock and contemporary punk rock. Lyrically, I'm literally singing about serious deep shit in Patrick Lew Band. Stuff you'd hear more frequently in some bands from certain sub-genres of punk rock and gangsta rap. 

My goal isn't really to become as famous as Green Day or Metallica were. But big enough to be cool in music. I try to use my music and my life's work to speak to my generation and onward about the struggle and how to overcome beating all the odds stacked against you!

So yeah I sing about real-life. But I'm still gonna get pussy. Lol.

Steel Lions Update

Unfortunately, The Steel Lions quietly disbanded in 2017. 
Reasons for it was I felt as if Steel Lions served its purpose and I used it as a continuation of where Patrick Lew Band was heading in afterwards. Plus, me and Janny were doing TheVerse full-time on an intermittent basis. Lol. 
Then, I was doing many many other side-projects in 2018 aside from my main band TheVerse. One of the bands I joined as a bassist and was eventually fired on bad terms, of course. 
I always saw Steel Lions as a stop-gap band in between Murder Bay era PLB to present day Patrick Lew Band. It's like how the Sega 32X was the stop-gap between Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. Hahahaha. 
Also...My good friend/drummer David didn't want to do music in all three bands anymore and left on his own terms. Me and David were Steel Lions. It would be sacrilege to do Steel Lions without him involved. Me and David are still very good friends despite it all and I love the Fil-Am brother till the very end. 
There won't be anymore Steel Lions for the foreseeable future. But my record label Promisedland has 100% ownership of the band Steel Lions and its archives. 


Namaste, Love, Peace, 
Mr. PLB XOXO 

Give Thanks!

I was floundering in my music career for years before I joined my band TheVerse. If it weren't for Janny and TheVerse, I would not be where I'm at today musically. I am forever grateful and I owe my livelihood to TheVerse for my "second wind" in this cut throat business that I'm a part of! 

I know I'm mostly known for my music career as Patrick Lew Band. But you got to take your hat off and pay your respects to TheVerse too. 

Despite doing a totally different style of rock music, TheVerse has great songs too and amazing stage presence. I used to hate touring before TheVerse for a myriad of reason, but even if we play a show like five times on average yearly...We try to steal the show and make everyone inside the pub witness an experience they will talk about on Facebook and won't forget for awhile! Less is more and we sound very anthemic live. One person compared us to Led Zeppelin with a female lead vocalist and punk vibe as a live act personally, and that's pretty cool.