The Patrick Lew Band Story

"Hello! My name is Patrick L. Hayashi. Im a 35 year old Asian-American who is born, raised and currently living in San Francisco, California. Thank you for visiting my page (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, etc etc) and taking the time to listen to my music or watching my videos. I sincerely and definitely appreciate it! I hope that you enjoy the music that I post on here. If there is anything about my work that resonates with you, whether it be the lyrics or the compositions themselves, I am truly grateful and honored that it did. I hope to connect with many musicians and listeners across the world, regardless of musical genre, race, color, creed, sexual orientation or religion. My music is Patrick Lew Band. And right now. You are reading and listening to my story on social-media."

 In 2001, Patrick Lew-Hayashi formed a band under the banner Patrick Lew Band in his hometown of San Francisco, CA, when he was just 15 years old. At the time, Hayashi played guitar and occasionally sang and they had a lead guitarist named Eddie and a drummer by the name of Tommy Loi. Most of Hayashis early years in the indie music circuit was playing in a garage band mostly. In 2005, Hayashi was attending City College of San Francisco and was briefly signed to an indie label based in La Jolla, CA. After he was dropped from his developmental contract with the label, Hayashi decided to book studio time with the help of his friends.

Most of the time, Hayashi was on the Internet putting his bands music out there. While recording a demo in a local recording studio, the band eventually came up with enough music to self-release a full-length album. On November 15, 2006, which was also Patrick Lew Hayashis 21st birthday, the Patrick Lew Band released their debut album JUMP, RATTLE, AND ROLL on CDBaby. Patrick Lew Band would begin to sporadically play small shows in the San Francisco area by 2007 with a frequently changing line-up. They originally attempted to pitch in with the post-hardcore scene, but the band did not fit in as they were considered too raw, lo- fi and unhinged. Their first single AZN GIRLS was posted online during late 2007, leading to a critical backlash among the band locally and social-media over unbeknownst reasons. Around this same period, the bands chiptune rearranged cover of the Nirvana song Drain You was published on Nirvanaclub.com. By 2008, Hayashi built a home studio and began recording demos rigorously throughout the year. However, an intense backlash over his music and public persona intensified on social-media. By this time, the band had dwindled to Hayashi and his close friend and drummer David Arceo. While attending CSU East Bay to study a B.A. in Philosophy, he rebuilt Patrick Lew Band around himself and Arceo with three of his former toxic friends Jeremy, Greg and David Hunter. During 2009, Patrick Lew Band began making their strides in the regional music scene and on the Internet. Their song Everyone Loves Ashley brought them to notoriety and initial indie-level fame. Between 2009 to 2012, the band would write and record up to as many as 60 songs per year in their home studio. The band was trying their very hardest to land a spot in the major leagues. To have something to fall back on, Hayashi taught himself the fundamentals of the indie music business and being his own entrepreneur in the digital age. During this period, Patrick Lew Band had aborted plans to tour locally. Adding more trouble to the dysfunctional garage band, they canceled an offer to perform a benefit show at UC Berkeley in Fall 2010 because of tensions within the Patrick Lew Band. However, the group would perform live in the Antioch area occasionally during some of 2011 with Hayashi and his former friend/bandmate Greg Lynch on guitar and lead vocals on stage. Some of these performances can be found and since leaked on Patrick Lew- Hayashis official YouTube channel. Between 2009 to 2012, the Patrick Lew Band self-released their music online: Let It Rise And Against (2009), Murder Bay (2011) and the EP Angry Yellow (2012). On February 4, 2012, Patrick Lew Band performed at Dolores Park in San Francisco. After taking a few years away from the music scene and indies because of a failed common-law marriage with his then-partner Faith and very well documented personal problems, Hayashi made his return to music with the Patrick Lew Band by the beginning of 2015. Embarking on their most profitable and memorable run in the indie music circuit. 2015 began with Hayashi being appointed the Ambassador for Antennas Direct. And conducting a televised interview with the 24 HOUR K-POP music TV channel in the San Francisco Bay Area. While maintaining a stabilized indie music career, Hayashi also began working traditional day jobs following his college graduation from CSU East Bay. Working numerous day jobs such as a cashier at Walgreens, a computer sales associate at Best Buy. By this time, the bands line-up had just whittled down to just Hayashi and Arceo. Around this same period, Patrick Lew-Hayashi introduced a crossdressing M2F alter ego by the name of Madeline Lew Hayashi into the band. Created from digital special effects, CGI and Photoshop. In a music marketing storyline, Madelines role in the band is described as, the long lost younger sister of Patrick Lew-Hayashi saving the band from failure and bringing his band and his music back to prominence. Madeline Lews introduction into the Patrick Lew Band as a virtual band member and mascot brought Patrick Lews profitability back to prominence in the music scene and helped Patrick Lew Band achieve publicity and moderate indie-level success that he did not accomplish prior to 2015. The bands drummer David Arceo mutually departed from the Patrick Lew Band in mid-2016 to pursue other life avenues. The success and exposure that the Patrick Lew Band received during this period included a couple music blogs writing about the Patrick Lew Band online and being mentioned on-air on Bay Area rock FM radio station 107.7 THE BONE. The band was mostly recording in their home studio in San Francisco. By 2016, the band launched their own label and multimedia start-up Promisedland. The band was often working on new music in their home recording studio between 2015 and early 2017. The Patrick Lew Band would release their album OAKLAND on Valentines Day 2017. Tragically, Hayashis beloved mother Winnie passed away on April 8, 2017. For most of the year, Hayashi laid low. He returned to the music scene as Patrick Lew Band later in the year, working with booking agents AFTON SHOWS. He and his alter ego Madeline Lew would perform at Brick & Mortar Music Hall on October 8, 2017. By the end of 2017, the Patrick Lew Band no longer was a full-time responsibility as Hayashi began working a stable full-time job at Chocolate Heaven Pier 39. He also began only sporadically making studio recording appearances with the band as he branched his talents to other outlets and playing music with local bands outside of Patrick Lew Band. On March 17, 2020, Patrick Lew Hayashi shocked the world and Internet music community when he randomly announced the return of Patrick Lew Band on his Instagram and Facebook page. And furthered his intentions in the music scene amidst COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide lockdown as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Because of his band Benigneglects uncertainty, Hayashi didnt want to not have anything to do during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Advancements in technology and modern formats enabled the return of Patrick Lew Band and helped accommodate their music and band for their audience during Quarantine. Such as live stream concerts and a virtual fan club exclusively through PLBs main hubs online: Facebook, Twitter, IG and YouTube. The return of Patrick Lew Band involved Patrick Lew Hayashi himself and the return of his kayfabe sister Madeline in the bands lineup. Within the next couple of months, a flurry of activity followed. Patrick Lew Band made its first major appearance since their return to music by hosting a series of live stream concerts directly at Lewnatic/PLB HQ on the Covid Concert Series group on Facebook. After a dismal and lukewarm response in regards to PLB in the Covid Concert Series group on Facebook, PLB decided to revert to their YouTube channel for live stream Quarantine concerts and fresh new online content. Between April to July 2020, the band had created and uploaded at least 20 new YouTube videos on PLBs channel. The band was also busy working on new music in their home studio Lewnatic HQ in San Francisco. Rigorously practicing and creating new material. The band would release their first new music of all-new originals and not rehashes/off-cuts since 2017, a three-song EP titled PARIAH on May 1, 2020. Sister Madeline Lew was also involved in many projects outside PLB as well, including making music for a solo EP titled TO THE MOON AND BACK and making amateur JOI videos on Pornhub. During this fruitful period however, the band was not free from criticism, controversy and toxic energies. But to much of the bands relief, this thankfully did not lead to a third social-media backlash for Patrick Lew Band. As the bands circle of stans and numbers in the digital age grew rapidly and skyrocketed during this eventful period since returning. The week after, Patrick and Madeline returned to their day jobs while continuing doing music with PLB full-time. They also occasionally worked with Yandie on new material in separate home studios (SF & San Jose) for their other band Crazy Loser in a Box. On June 13, 2020, Patrick was interviewed via FaceTime with his good friend Howard Billington from the Japanese music scene for their YouTube channel The Baka Broadcast about PLB and the East Asian music scene and community. The podcast real-time interview would be posted a week later worldwide online. During the month of July 2020, Patrick Lew Band was featured on four prolific different music blogs on the Internet. All thanks to the music marketing services with the right middlemen on Fivver app. Currently. PLB is hard at work on some new music and continuing to do their thang in the indie music scene and as prolific online content creators. Theres really only more to come!

STAY TUNED!