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!

Your Audio 2 Riot

Musician, Tortured Artist, Asian, Guitar Player, Rock And Roller, Electronic Dude and College Student at California State University Hayward.

OTHER MUSIC PAGES:

www.soundclick.com/youraudio2riot
www.myspace.com/patricklewsband
www.purevolume.com/audioriot415

Patrick Lew started making music in 2001 when he finished a few weeks of guitar lessons. And other music courses at a music school in San Francisco. He began writing original rock and EXPERIMENTAL video game music and recording home-made demos of his music with his former bands and solo. Interestingly enough, Lew might have musical experience in various areas in music -- playing in bands, composing music, self-promoting his recorded music online. But cannot READ music or knows little music theory. He mostly uses digital technology like computers to help understand or improve his music-making experience.

Though not always the best guitarist, songwriter or musicians. He consider himself to be a very primitive musician. He has idiosyncratic and unique talent and creativity when recording music. Patrick Lew's music is Experimental and Alternative in many ways. And unconventional. He expanded his musical creativity as he was able to afford computers and digital recording equipment from the Guitar Center. Along with self-taught mastery of writing slightly decent songs and recording demos on his OLD computer laptop Through music magazines and reading Guitar World. Lew's musical productions RANGE from his various musical projects he's been associated in throughout the years:

Band of Asians -- His former band he played guitar and made music in with his schoolmates from City College of San Francisco in the Liberal Arts and Music department at the community college. They recorded 3 studio albums, played several gigs, and promoted their music online. Along with fighting to earn an opportunity in the music industry as successful artists.

Patrick Lew's Band -- A portfolio and resume containing all the MUSIC and associated projects Lew's done music in throughout his odyssey as a musician and artist. Includes his former band Band of Asians and current projects. Also contains magazine-like resources for him and his work of ART.

Gamecube Box -- Lew's ambitions and project where he is a composer for Film & Game Soundtrack music. Lew is currently taking a Composing & Digital Music Production for Film course at his current institution Cal State East Bay. He uses FL Studio and Apple GarageBand to rearrange or create music for Film and Video Games.

Your Audio 2 Riot -- His solo project creating Hard Rock music alone with his guitar, computers and other musical gear from the Musician's Friend shop. Aiming for a RETRO MODERN Rock And Roll sound in creating original music at home.

Though not the best musician alive, he tries his best to educate himself how to make music better and expand his musical interests. Because of this, he can play other instruments such as Keyboards and Bass. Not to mention, making exotic Electronica on FL Studio. He usually doesn't get discouraged what former music critics on Soundclick or anywhere else said about his music and him. Some great achievements Lew has done as a musician include: 1) He's been in 5 local bands, and recorded and toured with two of them in his musical adventure for FAME. 2) He earned a few spotlight awards and recognition on a few different websites for his music. 3) Patrick Lew was featured in the March 2008 issue of Recording Magazine advertising Patrick Lew's Band. 4) His music was played on Pirate Cat Radio once supposedly, and thanks for his speech instructor Sam Kudsi. His music landed airplay on City College's FM college radio for local bands.

At the moment, Lew is attending University and finishing up his college education at Cal State East Bay for a BA in Philosophy and Music. He's currently doing music in Patrick Lew's Band, and studying Digital Music Technology and Composition at his college CSUEB. And is planning to compose music for a film for school on his computer laptop running FL Studio or Apple GaragreBand.

Why this name?
My Facebook and AIM screen name. BAND refers to the musicians and artists who had associations in making the music, or performing the primitive Rock And Roll and Electronica music onstage for gigs with me as Patrick Lew's Band. This project also is a portfolio and resume for all the music I've done in my life and part-time occupation as a local musician since 2001. Don't get offended or baffled if there's about close to 300 recordings of my music, unfinished or not, on Patrick Lew's Band's music page.

Do you play live?
Yes as a matter of a fact, I did. Duh! I mainly toured locally with my two former bands, Band of Asians and Silent Minister in my music career as an independent musician and sound artist. We played shows in recreational centers, bars, small nightclubs, Chinatown and EVEN. School. We did play a few gigs as talented yet starving Internet musicians in the Powell and Civic Center BART subway station in San Francisco and the streets of Downtown SF and Oakland at times. But we mainly promote our music via Internet and did focus on investing money into musical gear from the Guitar Center to make some rockin' music. Patrick Lew's Band along with OTHER former projects associated with my music career has been promoting our music and franchise via Internet since 2001. And we're passionate about music regardless.

How, do you think, does the internet (or mp3) change the music industry?
10 to 20 years ago, no band or music artist could get heard or famous that easily without the Internet and mp3 files. If they had to win a spot and get famous, they would have to play shows at clubs and hand out flyers and tapes to random people and places in their hometown. Even record deals were I noticed, a thing of luck to get your music famous. Basically if anyone has a computer at home, the Internet makes it easier for bands and musicians to get their work simply out there. So in many ways, it's a good way for them to get their music some exposure and to find a way to start their careers. I mean, I started promoting my work back in 2001 on my computer and 56K modem online. I started playing music around the time Napster hit. Helps the UNKNOWN music artists get heard!

Would you sign a record contract with a major label?
I would actually. It's a dream for me other than putting my music online on websites like this, to actually get to play shows across the universe and record better versions of my tunes. I worked sort of hard before taking college seriously to get my music out there, but the only question is, "Will they offer me the opportunity or other talented bands out there fairly?"

Band History:
Internet musician SINCE 2001. Been in 3 or 4 local Bay Area bands, promoted my music online. Done some shows. Now, serious with college and doing music solo.

Your influences?

I was 2 when I first heard The Beatles and Rolling Stones, which was what got me into music. Music from my former Asian hippie mom. Then I was 7 when I got into bands such as Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Pearl Jam and Soungarden. I started dressing in band shirts, grew my hair into a moptop, people thought I looked like an Asian girl but I didn't care. I bought a guitar kit at the Guitar Hut at 13, and learned a few basic things on my instrument and took two weeks of guitar lessons. So I went to high school at Wallenberg. I had a band but we got booed because everyone at school liked rap more than rock. So I later developed an interest in electronics. Then I dated Asian and White girls who liked R&B. Turns out I respect that genre too. If anything, my musical influences range from classical to heavy metal, hard rock to blues. Even electronica. I always loved popular music, but retain my local Bay Area music scene roots in between. I love it all, as long as it's up to my liking. I normally don't shoot my mouth on music I hate, although I did talked badly about 2000s mainstream music in America so many times.

Favorite spot?
East Bay, California. Places in general? My school, CSUEB of the CSU college system. Other places I like are, the Guitar Hut and EB Games. If anything, I love ROMANCE! Meaning, I enjoy being in love with a girlfriend if I had one. Since I am sort of an enigmatic wanderer in society. Guess because, I can't meet girls in reality at school or any social event. I guess I stick to my dating websites and personal ads online. F***!
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quipment used:
My musical gear for making Rock And Roll: -- Acoustica Mixcraft for PC -- Excel Les Paul guitars -- Line6 TonePort GX for Recording -- Fender Stratocaster guitars -- Sony Vaio computer laptop -- BOSS DS-2 Turbo Distortion pedal -- Digitech RP50 Multi-Effects pedal -- Fender and Marshall guitar practice amps -- Various drum loops off audio production websites!

Anything else...?
No. That's all.

Music MySpace - www.MySpace.com/PatrickLewsBand
MySpace - www.MySpace.com/AudioRage66
Facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=50352496

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