Patrick Lew Band (PLB) is an Asian-American rock band from San Francisco, California. The band was formed in 2001 by Patrick Lew Hayashi, who is also a singer, guitarist, and YouTuber. Their music is a mix of rock, grunge, and K-Pop.
The band's debut album, Jump, Rattle, and Roll, was released on CDBaby in 2006. They began playing small shows in the San Francisco area in 2007. Since 2016, the Patrick Lew Band has transitioned exclusively into an Internet-based project. The band also features a virtual member, mascot, and bassist named Madeline Lew, marketed as Patrick's younger relative or sibling.
The band's YouTube channel has over 500 videos. Their music is influenced by the Seattle grunge band Nirvana.
Some of their songs include: Glaring Dream, Simply Ravishing, Badlands, Cartoon Catastrophe, Orgasm.
In 2022, they released a cover of Bryan Adams' "Cuts Like A Knife".
PATRICK LEW BAND
ORIGIN: San Francisco, California, USA
GENRES: Punk, Electronic Music, Instrumental, Alternative Rock, Grunge, K-Pop, J-Pop, Rock And Roll.
YEARS ACTIVE: 2001-present (hiatuses: 2013-15; 2017-19)
OFFICIAL MEMBERS:
Patrick Lew/Madeline Lew - All Instruments, Guitar, Lead Vocals (2001 onward)
Madoku Raye - Lead Vocals (2021-Present)
FORMER MEMBERS:
Tommy Loi - Drummer (2001-2005)
Eddie Blackburn - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals (2001-2005; 2007)
David Arceo - Drummer (2005-2016)
ABOUT THE PATRICK LEW BAND...
Want to enjoy new and interesting songs or unique and entertaining YouTube content? Patrick Lew Hayashi is the guy for you. He has been creating amazing and amusing content in terms of songs and videos for 20 years. The idea of making a fictional character of his sister Madeline and starting a band named Patrick Lew Band (PLB) with her is humorously intelligent. This idea is getting a lot of attention.
About
Patrick Lew is an Asian-American multitalented artist, possessing the incredible skills of a singer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and YouTuber. His style is mostly Hard Rock as he has a fondness for all the genres. His sole purpose is to create vibe music to save people from negativity by amusing them through entertaining songs. Regardless of no support from around him, he smiles and puts smiles on other people's faces. Patrick Lew was born and grew up in San Francisco to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father on November 15, 1985. Being a 90's kid, he creates many nostalgic videos, such as the one he recently made, a 90's themed documentary about his journey.
Childhood
Patrick fell for music at an early age. The childhood of Patrick Lew seemed good enough to an outsider, but he was facing a lot. His grandfather, who was as close as a best friend to him, died in his childhood. Plus, he was facing a lot of racism and negativity in school and other surroundings. Patrick turned to video games, television, and professional wrestling to get rid of all the negativity. He also fell for music as it distracted him.
Patrick's parents' love for music also played a part in creating a music fondness in him. He grew up listening to his mother's favorite genre, classic rock, by The Beatles and Stones, and his dad's favorite funk, R & B, and Motown music.
The Start of a Musical Journey
Patrick's musical journey began in 2001 when he was just 16 years old. He would create mixes for solo and high school bands and upload them on social media sites under multiple band names. After finishing his schooling at Wallenberg High School, he got admission to CSU East Bay and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy with a minor in Music Composition. The band also ended up with the name Patrick Lew Band then.
The Patrick Lew Band (PLB), which hails from the thriving American city of San Francisco, is a major player in the Rock music scene. They have built out a unique sound with their fusion of Rock, J-POP, and Alternative Rock that makes them stand out from the competition. The Patrick Lew Band's music engulfs you from the moment you press play, grabbing your attention and refusing to let go.
They produce an exhilarating atmosphere with their unbridled energy and contagious songs that leaves fans wanting more. The group's versatility and musical aptitude are demonstrated by their ability to smoothly combine parts of Rock, J-POP, and Alternative Rock. Their music has a life of its own, driven by the mysterious frontman Patrick Lew. Every song is given a sense of passion and intensity by Patrick's strong vocals and his captivating songwriting. The Patrick Lew Band's songs touch listeners on a profound emotional level, whether they are gritty, hard-hitting Rock anthems or more reflective and melodic works.
Today, he has a number of songs uploaded on various music websites such as Apple Music, Spotify, etc. His most famous works are Glaring Dream, Badlands, Try a Little Harder, Chasing Reality, Orgasm, and many more.
Madeline Lew
Patrick has one real brother, Ricky Lew, but he always says that he has two siblings. The other is his fictional sister Madeline, whom he created to make entertaining content. Madeline is Patrick dressed as a girl. He used this character for making music as well as making YouTube content. He even made a separate channel on YouTube in her name where he uploads funny content.
Achievements
Patrick received a number of naming achievements which spread his fame a lot. For example, he was the first Japanese-American male to receive the honor of 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame in 2019. He got a lot of appreciation for his work under Patrick Lew Band at the age of 33. At age 38, his project PLB was included in the Class of 2023 Akademia Music Awards Hall of Fame.
The Patrick Lew Band is an absolute force in the Rock music world thanks to their distinctive sound and outstanding talent. They stand out from their colleagues because of their capacity to push limits and give exceptional performances. As this innovative band continues to create waves and leave their impact on the worlds of Rock and Alternative music, keep an eye out for them.
Patrick is not stopping here though. He is ready for more struggles in the future for his fans. He is currently working on a project (LEWNATIC) which he is going to launch soon. And he is also planning to continue making music with the Patrick Lew Band going forward. Keep following him on social media for more updates. CLICK HERE: https://linktr.ee/patricklewband/
GEAR: Epiphone Les Paul * Fender Telecaster * 2012 MacBook Pro * 2014 MacBook Air * Apple GarageBand * Apple Logic Pro X * Apple MainStage 3 * Vox AC50 * Boss DS-2 * Marshall CODE50 * Boss Dr. Rhythm Drum Machine * PreSonus Audiobox iOne * iPhone 13 PRO * Fender Jazz Bass * VOCALOID (to create Madeline Lew's voice) * A.I. Music Generators
THE PLB STORY
PATRICK LEW BAND (PLB) is an Asian-American rock band formed in San Francisco, California by singer, guitarist, YouTuber and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Lew Hayashi (born Patrick Allan Lew; November 15, 1985).
The band PLB was previously known under various guises and pseudonyms. They were previously a dysfunctional and inconsistent type of local punk rock band (with 4 or 5 members previously) before becoming the solo project of Patrick Lew. In addition to guitar and vocals, Lew plays all or most of the instruments on the records. Since 2016, the band PLB is largely an Internet-based rock band from San Francisco and mostly participates in home recording and occasional live performances locally.
The band also features a virtual band member and bassist named Madeline Lew, marketed as Patrick's younger sister in storyline. 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 as her character in the band.
He is currently an unsigned independent musician but he is distributing his music through his own label Lewnatic Records. Since mid-2020, the Patrick Lew Band (PLB) has expanded and reportedly reached 51 countries worldwide on the Internet in the modern era of Internet indie music, despite having very little or no mainstream presence, marketing or promotion from the media. Most of PLB's credentials came thanks to the Internet through bloggers/curators and digital music magazines writing about the Patrick Lew Band.
THE HISTORY
Patrick Lew Hayashi has been active locally and online in music since 2001. He was playing in various short-lived local bands in San Francisco before pursuing his music in general with the Patrick Lew Band worldwide. He originally started his main YouTube channel and began uploading his homemade videos related to his life and his music on February 2, 2007. 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 while attending a community college as an International Student.
Patrick was born on November 15, 1985 to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother of mixed descent. He mostly grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His upbringing was rather tense and unstable, but Patrick often maintains that he had a happy childhood for the most part. To make up for his problems during childhood and while going to school, he turned to rock music, video games, professional wrestling and TV shows for comfort. And he often traveled with his family for vacations in foreign countries (such as Hong Kong) and other places common with tourists, such as Las Vegas and Hollywood.
The Patrick Lew Band was previously an inconsistent would-be punk rock band between friends and former schoolmates. They performed under many "guises" such as Famiglia, Samurai Sorcerers, Band of Asians, Dexter Rotten, Patrick and Greg Blues Band and so forth. The band PLB was evolved and rebranded from these previous short-lived local bands around mid-2008 via the band's MySpace blog.
Patrick also began using YouTube as a platform dedicated to his life as an artist/musician and in general on February 2, 2007. Although, it would take several years for his YouTube channel to reach a small dose of recognition on the Internet. As of today, there are 400+ uploaded videos on his YouTube channel since he first created his account back in 2007.
After a few home-recorded demo albums between 2006 to 2012, the former band talked about making their band to transition from being an online collaboration to becoming in between a live performing and home recording local rock band. However, tensions flared within the band over creative and religious differences. Lew wanted to take his band and put it out there to see where the band's music would go, whereas the other band members were uninterested in pursuing a secular area in the music business.
The idea eventually was abandoned, and Lew was dealing with a loveless relationship with his former fiancee which affected and drained him mentally. Having played in the indie scene in many failed startup bands and false starts for over a decade, Patrick Lew seemed to have lost his passion for music. When his relationship with his then-fiancee ended, Lew decided to rekindle his passion for playing music and doing home recording.
The Patrick Lew Band as we know it now started in 2015 as a home studio project where Lew would write songs or compose instrumental ideas and post them on social-media to see what comes out of it.
Having learned the hardship and frustration of getting his music out there in various platforms in the "commercial" and traditional music industry. Lew created his own indie label and named his home recording studio LEWNATIC which foresees the releases of Patrick Lew Band related material through different platforms such as digital downloads, CDs and etc etc.
Despite some of the hardships and negativity that Lew has encountered during 2015 and some of 2016, the Patrick Lew Band maintained consistency and was experiencing a very creative period in their indie music career. By July 2016, the Patrick Lew Band won an award for Best Experimental Rock Song with the Akademia Music Awards. Lew also pursued side-projects and worked with other local musicians.
Lew also began expanding PLB to where he originally wanted. And he self-released a few EPs with the Patrick Lew Band through Bandcamp, Soundcloud and other sites. Having enough music to release a full-length album regardless of what people thought of him in the past or present day. The loss of his beloved mother and a scabies scare prevented Lew from touring and promoting his new album temporarily.
But with the blessings of positive outlooks and putting himself out there. Lew began working with promoters Afton to handle the booking for live Patrick Lew Band shows locally. The Patrick Lew Band was booked to perform at the Brick & Mortar in San Francisco, California on August 6, 2017 originally. Even local hard rock radio station 107.7 THE BONE marketed the show. Low ticket sales however pushed the show to October 8th that year, which Lew performed a stunning and blistering five-song set at the venue. A recap video of the show can be found on Lew's YouTube channel.
Also, the band introduced long lost sibling Madeline Lew as a full-time member on Halloween 2015. (SEE BAND BIO INTRO). And has remained a mainstay in the Patrick Lew Band since.
The band just returned to full-time status in 2020. And 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 estimated 51 different countries worldwide on Apple Music/iTunes. And subsequent reviews and press regarding PLB (Patrick Lew Band) has been more positive. By this stage, the band PLB has been featured in numerous blogs and digital music magazines online since 2020. And the band also began gravitating their focus in music by attempting to "break into" the Japanese music scene and Japan, while maintaining their citizenship and residence in San Francisco.
Patrick and Madeline Lew of the band PLB's main goal as artists is to bring their unique music worldwide without any limits or anything else holding them back. And present something positive to the world, the music scene and the Asian-American community!
With the recent release of Patrick Lew Band's latest music Rolling Thunder through CDBaby, Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms. And Patrick Lew is currently working full-time at Safeway outside of the music and entertainment industry. But Patrick Lew Hayashi plans to accomplish more with what he is set out to do with his music!
MUSICAL INFLUENCES
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, Metallica, Oasis, Miyavi, Guns N Roses, X Japan, 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.
The Band:
Patrick Lew - lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, slide guitar, piano, programming, drums, percussion.
Madeline Lew - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, lead vocals, programming, turntables.