PLB was previously known
under various guises and pseudonyms. Since 2016, PLB is largely an
Internet-based rock band and mostly participates in home recording and
occasional local live performances.
The band also features a
virtual band member and bassist named Madeline Lew, marketed as
Patrick's younger sister. The band's bassist Madeline was created
through modern smartphone apps, such as FaceApp and Reface, alongside
other digital special effects and sophisticated editing, such as
cosplaying.
He is currently an unsigned
independent musician, but he is distributing his music through his own
label, Lewnatic Records. Since the mid-2020, the Patrick Lew Band (PLB)
has expanded and digitally reached 51 countries worldwide of underground
music. Most of PLB's credentials came thanks to the Internet through
bloggers/curators and digital music magazines writing about the Patrick
Lew Band.
THEIR STORY
Patrick Lew was born in San Francisco in 1985 to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother of mixed descent.
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. Most of Hayashi's early years in the
indie music circuit was playing in a garage band. 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.
Patrick attended Wallenberg High School
in San Francisco, graduating in 2004 after being held back one grade
while in elementary school. He also attended Soko Gakuen Japanese
School, and graduated and got certified around the same time he
graduated from high school. He later attended CSU East Bay, graduating
with a B.A in Philosophy and Music Composition in 2011. He began playing
guitar at the age of 13 through his older cousin Andy, whom was living
with his family at the time in San Francisco.
Patrick also began using YouTube as a
platform dedicated to his life as an artist/musician and in general on
February 2, 2007. After several years, his YouTube channel reached a
respectable amount of recognition on the Internet. As of today, there
are 400+ uploaded videos on his YouTube channel.
The Patrick Lew Band is largely influenced by the iconic Seattle grunge band Nirvana.
Other key influences in the band and
their music ranges from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Yutaka Ozaki,
Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Oasis, Miyavi, Guns N Roses, X Japan, Danny
Chan, B'z, Beyond (HK Band), Hatsune Miku, BTS, Jim Johnston, Pearl Jam,
Rage Against The Machine, Nine Inch Nails, The White Stripes, Green
Day, Blink 182, The Fall, The Sex Pistols, and many more.
Most of the time, Hayashi was on the
Internet putting his bands music out there. On November 15, 2006, which
was also Patrick Lew's 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. Their first single AZN GIRLS
was posted online during late 2007, leading to a critical backlash
among the band on 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.
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.To have something to fall back on, Hayashi taught
himself the fundamentals of the indie music business and being his own
entrepreneur.
During this period, Patrick Lew Band had aborted plans to tour locally.
However, the group would perform live in the Antioch area occasionally
during some of 2011. Some of these performances can be found and since
leaked on Patrick Lew Band's (PLB) 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 indies because of a
failed common-law marriage and very well documented personal problems,
Hayashi made his return to music with the Patrick Lew Band by the
beginning of 2015. Embarking on his 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.
Around this same period, Patrick introduced a crossdressing M2F
alter-ego by the name of Madeline Lew 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 Lew's 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 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 Lewnatic
HQ.
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. 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. The
primary casue of the PLB's second departure was caused by his mother's
passing. But also, due to exhaustion.
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 June 7, 2019. Patrick Lew Hayashi received the 40 Under 40
award at his alma mater CSU East Bay. He would become the first major
Japanese-American male to receive the high honor.
Outside of PLB. Patrick Lew also made a brief uncredited cameo
appearance on the acclaimed Amazon TV series Man in the High Castle on
Season 4 and Episode 1. He also is a moderately known and prolific
social-media influencer and persona, most notably on YouTube and
Instagram.
The band just returned to full-time
status in 2020. And they reached potentially prolific status with their
music and brand in the indies and on social-media with what they do.
Recent years proved to be very prosperous and helped the Patrick Lew
Band reach new heights. Since then, the band's music has reached
thousands of listeners in an estimated 51 different countries worldwide
on Apple Music/iTunes. Subsequent reviews and press regarding PLB have
been positive.
From 2020 onward since returning to
pursuing their passion for making music, the Patrick Lew Band (PLB)
decided to transition their project into an exclusively Internet Only
type of band.
Since 2020, PLB has been featured in
numerous blogs and digital music magazines online. While Lew maintains
his citizenship and residence in San Francisco, the band also began
gravitating their musical focus to "break into" the music scene
worldwide.
2020 and 2021 also saw the band continue
and sustain their momentum as a Internet-based rock band. Conducting a
few Livestream concerts on social-media, and gaining new legions and
generation of followers. The band also released several albums during
these two years respectively on iTunes and Spotify, including their
first live album IN YOUR HOUSE! Rumors began to swirl in mid-2021
regarding the Patrick Lew Band's future online. However, the PLB
released more new music going into the year 2022 online.
During most of 2022, Patrick re-launched
a spin-off of the Patrick Lew Band known as LEWNATIC. As COVID-19
pandemic began to quietly wind down in San Francisco, he began touring
and live-streaming under the LEWNATIC name. Lewnatic would perform at
San Francisco's historic DNA Lounge on February 20, 2022. Shortly after,
he began working on demos and released the mixtape Strictly Prohibited worldwide on iTunes, Spotifty, and everywhere else through his distribtutor CDBABY by April that year.
As Patrick Lew retains his citizenship
and residence in the Bay Area, he also planned to introduce his music to
JAPAN on the world wide web. By March 2022, he worked with TOP MUSIC
JAPAN to get PLB's music out there. Currently, their prolific 2020 album
Rolling Thunder was consigned to EGGS, a subsidiary of Tower Records in
Japan. He also wanted to expand his music and attention globally, and
remains persistent while doing so.
Patrick Lew Band would remain occasionally active during early-to-mid 2022.
Much of Patrick's musical activity
during 2022 was placed primarily on LEWNATIC. As PLB remained
exclusively a virtual rock band in the Metaverse, for many kinds of
reasons.
On July 19, 2022, Patrick signed a 1-year Artist Development Contract with New York based label Bentley Records. And released his first EP RAPID FIRE under the LEWNATIC banner
as a signed artist a month later. By this point, Patrick began focusing
more of his attention to LEWNATIC as a musician and social-media
influencer. Madeline took a step back from Patrick Lew Band by August
2022, in kayfabe, she relocated back to Asia. In reality, Patrick wanted
to semi-retire her character in the project, feeling that it served its
pupose. Nonetheless, Madeline Lew will still continue to make
occasional part-time appearances with the Patrick Lew Band.
On September 5, 2022, the Patrick Lew Band released their 12th album Adrenaline worldwide
on all the platforms. They would also release an 11-minute Blues
inspired song She's All That a month later on October 17th.
While the future is uncertain for the
Patrick Lew Band (PLB). Patrick wants to continue doing music actively
as a virtual rock band.
The band PLB however remains active on social-media and as an Internet-based band!
ARTISTS WE ALSO LIKE: WE SUPPORT ALL LOCAL BANDS THAT CAN RIDE WITH US.
BAND INTERESTS: Making Music, YouTube, Netflix, PlayStation, Fast Cars, Oakland A's, Pro Wrestling, Pizza, Sexy Curvy Ladies, Jamming
PERSONAL INTERESTS: Making Music, Playing Shows, Making YouTube Videos, Immortality.
PRODUCTS: Streaming Video & Audio, Digital Downloads, Digital Brochures, Band T-Shirts, YouTube, Photography, YouTube.
MEET THE PLB BAND!
PATRICK LEW (林正道) - lead vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, programming, drummer
MADELINE LEW (林綾香) - keyboards, synthesizers, programming, bass, lead vocals
THIS IS US!
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