Musical History and Expertise

Patrick Lew's Band

Also known as: Your Audio 2 Riot

Origin San Francisco, California, USA / East Bay, California, USA

Genres: Hard Rock, Alternative Rock, Nu Metal (early 2000s), J-Rock (early 2000s), Grunge, Glam Metal, Electronica, Pop Punk, Thrash Metal (mid 2000s)

Labels: Statue Records, CDBaby, InGroove Music

Associated Acts: Band of Asians, Silent Minister, Eddie Blackburn

Official Website: http://www.patricklewsband.com

I (Patrick Lew) bought my first guitar at Guitar Center on Nov 13th 1998, it was a Fender guitar package which included a red Fender Squier Stratocaster, 15-watt Fender practice amp and a few accessories and a “how to play guitar” booklet. I took three weeks of guitar lessons from my teacher, Ahmed Drief. Then on July 1999 in Rooftop Alternative School in my hometown of San Francisco, Calif. I formed my first band Goldenweasel with my schoolmates. Though this band was just jamming in the basement, and we never really recorded any music together or promoted our music online or locally. When I graduated Rooftop with a middle school diploma on June 2nd, 2000, I went to Raoul Wallenberg High School and met my schoolmate and childhood friend Tommy Loi in my Chinese culture and language course. He was my closest pal and schoolmate from 2000 to 2002, and we still talk today pretty much! After me and him founded our high school band, Silent Minister. That’s when I started to take music super seriously as a passion and interest.

I began playing and creating music when I was 15. I began promoting my music via Internet on some websites like MP3.com, Lycos Listeningroom and obviously, Soundclick since 2001. I had a high school band who accompanied my and their musical creations. We played "Battle of the Bands" at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall back in October 2002. I was in high school, failing a buttload of chemistry and math exams, focused on music and making music. Even making it as a musician in the independents. I recorded in my laboratory on a reel-to-reel tape machine, my first album as Patrick Lew's Band in 2003. Called "Psychotic Love." At the time, we were playing Nu Metal and J-Rock music. Because those were fads in the magazines, pop culture and music at the time. Much of the time, it was a Freak Show. We were skipping school to play gigs anywhere we can in the Bay Area music scene and recording demos to promote on our music websites online.

I also went through a hard time. I lost my high school girlfriend Amy after I graduated high school, went through depression over alienation and isolation in my hometown I grew up in. Even! When I went to City College of San Francisco during my time in community college, I had to deal with college kids and girls I didn't want to have any association with. So my high school band broke up, because my schoolmates and band members were always doing music in other extracurricular projects. So I for a short time, took a break from community college and my education. To focus on my music career. So the Freak Show in being a circus of musicians playing a circus for every gig we did at small nightclubs and bars became a nightmare for me. Especially, because music critics and the music media and journalists were not taking myself as a musician serious enough.

So as Patrick Lew's Band the musical franchise, I went into a college rock band called Band of Asians. With schoolmates I knew from City College and my old friend, Zack on MIDI keyboards. I went out to Guitar Center to buy more guitar gear and other musical equipment. From 2005 and 2006, I was annoyed by my soap operas and dramas as an Internet musician. I was consistently promoting my music as Patrick Lew's Band on the Internet on my computer. So, we went into a local recording studio where they had modern music-making technology and all that stuff. Computers and everything.

I wanted to make a record that would shut the music critics and journalists up that wasn't taking my music seriously and promoting my music in the San Francisco independent music companies like the bands I was friends with. Even on social-networking websites like MySpace.com and PureVolume, another playground for unsigned bands and independent musicians to promote their music and franchise on, I wasn't being appreciated enough. Despite some accolades I won on the computer and Internet music websites for the music I was making.

So on my 21st birthday or around there, I published my second album as an independent solo musician and my college rock band's musical masterpiece "Revenge." It left many baffled, who once thought we weren't musically proficient enough as a Rock Band. Despite we actually had got lessons on our musical instruments at music school before. And it left those baffled, who once typecasted my music as a tribute to Japanese pop culture. Whilst, the album did had musical elements of Nu Metal. It aimed more towards Hard Rock and Electronic music. It was a very dark and personal record.

But then, my college band from City College were asked by a local music promotion company called KLC Music Productions to tour with our good friends Scarlett Bombs and Tinkture locally in recreational centers and theaters locally. We also began sending our portfolios to many music industry affiliated companies, but ended getting hurtfully rejected. So we focused on playing gigs and touring! Not to mention, creating music and recording in the studio. Then promoting our music on our websites.

My college rock band went through Bandalisms too. Bandalism is a book I purchased at Borders Books about why rock bands fail as musicians and is a how-to-book on how bands can survive as musicians making music amongst the soap operas. We are still close friends, but we felt we lost a lot of good ideas and we took the musical creation as far we could. We also had to worry about college, work, solo projects and our personal lives. So I decided to do music solo as a musician, and take college seriously for the first time in 2008. I thankfully got out of City College and transferred to a CSU college in California State University, East Bay. Studying Philosophy, Sociology and Music. I continued making music in the studio and promoting my music on websites online on my computer laptop.

I spent a bit of my college money on new musical gear at Guitar Center to rebuild my Underrated Sound Machine. By the time I was recording my third album as a solo musician as Patrick Lew's Band, "Curb Your Wild Life." I lost all interest in 2000s popular culture and music. Instead, I went back to Electronica music. Because I am Asian and all my schoolmates who were Asian often listened to Rave and Trance music on their iPods from the Apple store and popped purple pills at Rave music parties at nightclubs with the DJ on the turntables jamming to the music.

But, since I am a Nineties kid. I went back to the Alternative Rock and Glam Metal music on my iPod I grew up on. So I browsed the Internet to look or rediscover the music, and bought the CDs at a record store. With my Fender guitar, Line6 computer guitar gear and recording software on my computer laptop. That became the foundation of the music and franchise that is Your Audio 2 Riot! Promtoing my music everywhere on the Internet on hella websites for independent musicians and making Grunge music on my computer at home and the library.
So leave it to that! I also check my messages and keep in contact with old and new friends on social-networking websites like Facebook and MySpace. And network with interesting musicians on my favorite website for independent music, Soundclick.com. Although I been bashed by music critics often in music magazine reviews online and not been appreciated enough at times by the music industry in the independents or major record companies. It doesn't matter anymore! Music is me. I will always make music and promote my music via Internet or locally in retailers and school, no matter what people say!