PATRICK LEW BAND (PLB)
FORMED: 2001 in San Francisco, CA
YEARS ACTIVE: 2000s, 2010s, 2020s
GENRES: Hard Rock, Grunge, Britpop, Pop Rock, Punk Rock, Heavy Metal, Art Rock, Japanese Rock
BAND LINE-UP:
Patrick Lew (劉冠達): Guitar, Compositions, Lead Vocals
Madeline Lew (劉 凛和): Representation
RELATED BANDS: TheVerse, Crazy Loser in a Box, The Steel Lions, Pleasure Gallows, The Tortured, Benigneglect
PATRICK LEW’S EARLY LIFE (1985-2001)
Patrick was born on November 15, 1985, in San Francisco, California, to Winson Lew (born 1948) and Winnie Hayashi (1951-2017). He has two siblings, Ricky (born 1981) and Madeline (born 1985; fictional twin sister). He was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area by his parents.
Patrick had a slightly difficult childhood and upbringing, caused by the death of his paternal grandfather Wayne at the age of four and furthered, when he was battling a disability as a child and getting into trouble in school and outside with his peers and elders. Patrick Lew’s interest in music began with his mother Winnie introduced him to 60’s and 70’s British rock bands and acts such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart.
To overcome a slightly difficult childhood, Patrick often traveled with his family for vacations and turned to pro wrestling, video games and cable TV as a source of comfort.
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In his pre-teenage years, Patrick Lew’s interest in music shifted to hard rock, heavy metal, J- Pop, alternative rock and eventually punk. He began playing guitar at the age of 13, after his maternal cousin Andrew was living with his family during the Summer as a foreign exchange student at a community college. His cousin Andrew was a guitar player and a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix and blues music. And he would often play the guitar and amp that Patrick’s elder brother Ricky left sitting in the closet.
His mom quoted him saying, “I’m gonna make it one way or the other by playing guitar and singing writing weird rock and roll songs!” He often practiced 45 minutes to one hour every other day.
Patrick Lew attended Raoul Wallenberg High School and graduated in 2003. He would later attend City College of San Francisco, before transferring to CSU East Bay. Graduating with a B.A. in Philosophy in 2011.
EARLY MUSIC CAREER (2001-2007)
Patrick joined his first band Samurai Sorcerers in 2001. Which would later be retconned and rebranded as Patrick Lew Band/PLB in August 2008.
They would often play music on the weekends in their garage as a hobby away from their studies. Patrick Lew would begin recording home demos on a 4-track Tascam and began uploading his work on the Internet as early as 2001.
In 2004, his band landed a record deal with a small indie label at the age of 19. However, they were soon dropped from their record label. Patrick Lew also roadied for the New Jersey based Asian-American rock duo FANTASIA for their San Francisco shows.
While attending City College, Patrick Lew played rhythm guitar and electronically composed for the deathcore band Band of Asians. Which also featured future former Patrick Lew Band drummer David Arceo.
PATRICK LEW BAND (2008-2012)
In 2008, Band of Asians called it quits and Patrick was without a band to play music in.
He was contemplating where to go next and what to do with his free time while not resuming his college studies and acting in community theater.
He decided to take his original concept and ideas for his first band Samurai Sorcerers but rebrand it as the Patrick Lew Band. He would also use some of his college funds to buy musical equipment and began recording many ideas in his bedroom.
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He began using the Internet as a format to put Patrick Lew Band out there. He also began playing guitar more, learning the tricks of digital home recording and began composing and putting out what would become his signature work as a composer, guitar player and artist. Needing some assistance to carry the band to its potential, Patrick recruited a few former schoolmates from CSU East Bay and his bandmate from Band of Asians, David, to finalize the Patrick Lew Band lineup initially.
Patrick then relocated to live with his mother in Antioch, California. This would become the location for where Patrick Lew Band would record and self-release their albums Let It Rise and Against (2009) and Murder Bay (2011) online. Dubbed “3700 PIETA”, this would also become the location for some of Patrick Lew Band’s live onstage performances.
Critical reception towards Patrick Lew Band were initially very lukewarm on social-media and in the scene, stemming from the band’s first controversial hit single “Azn Girls.” Which was written about wanting to finding a place to belong in a closed-minded community and circle. For unknown reasons, the song’s original message was misinterpreted, leading to some polarizing reactions from the public.
Patrick Lew also got into a common-law marriage with his former partner Faith. They got together on Halloween 2009 and would eventually divorce on July 17, 2014.
THE STEEL LIONS (2012-2017)
Eventually, the Patrick Lew Band wouldn’t function well long-term as a huge creative and personal conflict led to the band’s initial demise during September 2012.
In the meantime, Patrick retreated from playing music and pursuing his passion seriously and decided to work a full-time day job as a visual merchandiser for a tech start-up. Which was his first time working a traditional paying job outside of playing music. He would record on-and-off during his break and would secretly self-release new music under the name The Steel Lions.
The Steel Lions was intended as a modern day homage to 80’s and early 90’s American hard rock, influenced by bands such as Bon Jovi, Metallica, Nirvana, Mother Love Bone and even bands like Oasis.
The Steel Lions would sporadically record at Patrick's newly built home studio in San Francisco during this period. And performed at Mama Art Cafe on September 13, 2013. The band would work with former Distorted Harmony drummer Erick Salazar in his personal studio to record the album Unfinished Relics. After several delays, The Steel Lions would self-release Unfinished Relics digitally on May 12, 2016.
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Patrick would discontinue the Steel Lions officially in early 2017, feeling that the project “served its purpose.” Patrick Lew also lated stated that Steel Lions was actually a “stop-gap band” and a “precursor to PLB’s second run” in the indies. He also later stated that Steel Lions was one of his biggest flops in his indie music career, and the band will never reunite.
SECOND RUN WITH PATRICK LEW BAND AND OTHER BANDS (2015-2019)
Patrick eventually returned to the local music scene and social-media as Patrick Lew Band on January 2, 2015. Continuing where he left off. The Patrick Lew Band would still remain predominantly a home recording solo act. With some assistance from David until mid-2016 when he stepped down from the band to pursue other things in life.
Some time around that same period, Patrick Lew introduced a female alter ego into Patrick Lew Band named Madeline Lew. Which was created from cutting-edge modern technology and editing. Intended in storyline and social-media marketing purposes, as a fictional twin sister and Guardian Angel for Patrick Lew. Madeline plays a prominent role in the current era of Patrick Lew Band as the brand ambassador and has been credited on the recordings as a bassist and DJ.
Eventually, Patrick became close friends with his long-time acquaintance Janny and founded the post-punk/shoegaze duo TheVerse. Janny was initially an EDM producer under the stage name GEM JEWELS. His collaboration with TheVerse also gave Patrick Lew his first success and major exposure in music for the first time in his life.
TheVerse helped Patrick truly pay his dues finally in the local music scene and indies, which also included an intermittent tour across the Bay Area which lasted from May 2016 up until their most recent live performance at El Rio in San Francisco, California, on August 22, 2018. TheVerse digitally released their first EP on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music in January 2018. TheVerse was initially at work in the studio on a new EP while enjoying a well deserved off-season. But a long grueling period of inactivity and the band procrastinating led to Patrick Lew getting frustrated creatively and pursuing projects outside the band to keep busy.
Patrick Lew left the band TheVerse on September 21, 2019. He however remains very close with his former Verse bandmates.
In October 2016, Patrick Lew became a fill-in touring bassist for the San Francisco skate punk band The Tortured for two live performances.
Patrick also played guitar and joined his then-girlfriend and close friend Sigyn’s band Crazy Loser in a Box. Often contributing guitar parts in separate studios with the band as collaboration. He can be heard on a few tracks off Crazy Loser in a Box’s 2018 debut album such as “Freckles”, “The Lie” and “Have You’ve Met My Friend?” Patrick Lew is still officially a member of the band under his stage name Satoru Hayashi. They are currently working on a 4th album in the studio!
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In late 2019, Patrick Lew began collaborating with Filipino rapper A.K.AYE with the rapcore/nu metal band Benigneglect. They would become once a month residents at San Francisco’s historic DNA Lounge.
Approaching closer to the end of the 2010s, Patrick Lew entered the annals of history when he was named the recipient for the 40 Under 40 Awards from his alma mater Cal State East Bay for his work with the Patrick Lew Band on June 7, 2019.
By the end of 2017, the Patrick Lew Band was no longer a full-time project for Patrick Lew as a recording artist and semi-pro musician. Patrick stated on his social-media, “The Patrick Lew Band will now be a sporadic part-time thing and it will always be there.” Whilst still active, the band was now a part-time responsibility for Patrick in the studio and all over the digital age of punk rock music. The Patrick Lew Band’s most recent albums were released all over streaming services digitally in 2017: Oakland and Cold Sirens.
Upon entering the CSU East Bay Hall of Fame, Patrick Lew announced publicly by June 2019 that he will be discontinuing the Patrick Lew Band. He felt that he accomplished all that he could with PLB and felt that he made and left his mark. And he personally wanted to disband Patrick Lew Band at its highest and at its zenith rather when it was at its lowest.
THIRD RUN WITH PATRICK LEW BAND (2020-PRESENT)
However, retirement of the PLB wasn’t meant to be! On March 17, 2020, Patrick posted on Instagram confirming the return of the Patrick Lew Band in the indie music scene and the Yay Area. Because of the COVID19 pandemic and resurgence of racism towards Asian people, further affecting his activities and live performance schedule with his band Benigneglect, Patrick decided to revive PLB for sporadic appearances in the Internet music world. Working a lighter schedule with PLB in case Benigneglect is cleared to tour again. He began throwing empty house shows at his home studio Lewnatic HQ, beginning the COVID19 Lockdown Tour. He also became very active on his YouTube channel. Because of the pandemic affecting his professional indie music career and day job at Pier 39, he decided to keep busy with his PLB! There’s only more to come in the unpredictable, wild and out world of Patrick Lew Band!
CONCLUSION/MORAL OF THE STORY
Let music be the labor of love! Patrick Lew's goal is to become bigger, better and badder in rock music despite his ethnicity or shortcomings. He will always be what he is, what he does and will continue to try and rock a million faces on the World Wide Web. And of course, the Bay Area.
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