A Thank You Message For All Of You...
I am Japanese and Taiwanese. Born in 1985. San Francisco native. Musician, actor, artist and TV lover. I play hard rock in a local garage band.
My music is Patrick Lew Band and right now you are viewing my story on social-media.
Please to meet all of you!
BAND LINE-UP: Patrick Lew (劉冠達): Guitars, Lead Vocals (2001-2012; 2015-Present); Bass Guitar, Synthesizers, Piano (2015-Present) Madeline Lew: Mascot, Live Backing Tracks, "Ghost" DJ (2015-Present)
“What is Patrick Lew Band?”
The jump, rattle and roll freak show. Japan and Taiwan’s “self proclaimed” greatest and crappiest rock band. Against all odds and doing you and putting it out there for the era of social-media.
Now lemme tell you something!
My name is Patrick Lew. Japanese and Chinese-Taiwanese. I was born in 1985 (Scorpio represent!) and I started playing guitar and trying to write and record my own tunes since I was a freshmen in high school. I was just some nerdy Asian guy who was just another face in the crowd. Who was pretty much at the bottom of the elite and almighty. As a kid, I loved watching TV programming like Nickelodeon, WWE and Cartoon Network. And that was my stress relief away from all the BS growing up in the 90’s.
As a kid. I mostly listened to Nirvana, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Guns N Roses, AFI, Green Day, Oasis and a lot of other bands that were popular on MTV and radio at the time. I craved the music, but didn’t knew if I had it in me to do something like that.
One Summer when I was like 13 years old. My cousin Andy was living with me and my family as a foreign exchange student. He would play around with the Fender guitar and amp that my older brother Ricky left sitting dusty in the living room. He was a huge Jimi Hendrix fan and would play Hendrix songs like Purple Haze and Hey Joe on that old beat-up guitar. That’s when I found my true calling in life: I wanted to become a guitar player and musician.
So I mostly taught myself how to play guitar. Soon after...I began writing and recording my own songs on a tape recorder in my bedroom. Yeah today’s kids, we didn’t record on computers. We did it old school and put our shit down on a cassette tape!
I needed a band to accompany me and my ideas and plans to take over. When I was 15 and going to Wallenberg High School. I met some friends, we all agreed to start a punk rock band. This was the early 2000s of course. And there was a way to get your band out there: That technology to do so was the Internet. We were previously known as Famiglia, and then Samurai Sorcerers. Until it became an outlet for my solo material and journey as the Patrick Lew Band. A lot of people I knew came and went in that band, of course. But it’s my quest to become the voice for anybody who has ever felt awkward in society and make this music I made become the anthem and soundtrack for the disaffected. Turning every negative into a positive most definitely!
“Definition of Patrick Lew Band.” 1) The jump, rattle and roll freak show. 2) Japan and Taiwan’s self proclaimed greatest and crappiest grunge rock band. 3) A semi-pro level garage band that mostly participates in home recording and occasionally playing live shows for a niche audience and regional level.
Almost 20 years later. I’ve had some highs. Some lowest of lows. Just a few years ago in 2016, I finally became a semi-pro indie musician. My resume of bands I played in (aside from my freak show PLB) were: Band of Asians (2005-2008), The Steel Lions (2012-2017), TheVerse (2015-2019) and Benigneglect (2019-Present). I also played for the SF punk band The Tortured for two shows in late 2016 as a fill-in touring member. And I also recorded some guitar parts for my friend and former girlfrend Sigyn’s band Crazy Loser in a Box.
Because of this digital age, I’ve come to realize the only way to get better as a songwriter is through computers. And the best way to reach out to everyone in the indie circuit as a musician is through social-media and Spotify!
I am right now 34 years old. By day, I’m a full-time Senior Sales Associate at a luxury chocolate store in San Francisco, CA. By night. I rock out all day everyday with my garage band as this eccentric and erratic Asian-American idol. Occasionally playing live shows. Mostly participating in home recording and taking the music directly to my audience and haters on social-media and on the Internet. Lol.
Aside from music. I've done a little acting. Maybe I want to do more of it as an Asian-American actor perhaps! But rock and roll is what I was born to do!
While it’s safe to say that I might most likely never make it to the majors as a musician and artist. Well that is what I am personally aiming for. I’ve had a long run in the indies. If I stay on the indie music circuit with Patrick Lew Band for life as a mid-tier act. That’s fine with me. I’m just craving and passionate about rock and roll music man!
Almost 20 years of jump, rattle and roll. Roughly 300+ songs recorded stored in the closet. Many albums from my PLB that has since dropped on Spotify and Apple Music (thank you CDBaby!) and all that other good shit. For my mom. My family. My friends. And to all my PLB Army across the universe. This is me. And I will continue to rock all of you.
Love Always, PL