Where did you grow up? I grew up in San Francisco, born and raised. I am of Japanese and Chinese-Taiwanese descent but I was brought up in America predominantly. I have a Chinese father and a Japanese mother of mixed descent. I went to Wallenberg High School in San Francisco. And I studied at CSU East Bay for college. I hold a B.A in Philosophy. I have an older brother named Ricky, and a fictional twin sister Madeline, who was created through digital special effects and Photoshop as a crossdressing alter ego. Madeline is also a key member in the Patrick Lew Band as well!

What influenced you to get into music? Initially, my interests as a child were pro wrestling (namely WWE and ECW), video games and cable TV programming. I originally wanted to become a professional wrestler as a kid! I always was interested in music. My mother got me into American and British rock from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Hendrix and more. Some of my older cousins in the family were into bands of the time like Nirvana, Metallica, Guns N Roses, U2, Oasis and Bon Jovi. I initially got into that type of rock music. The arena hard rock stuff, heavy metal and the Seattle sound known as grunge. Coming from strong East Asian roots and all, I also grew up listening to J-Pop and Hong Kong Pop music growing up in the 90’s and early 2000s. When my cousin Andrew Hayashi was living with me as a foreign exchange student at a local community college. He would often play the guitar and amp that my older brother Ricky left sitting dusty in the bedroom. He would often play and freestyle them Hendrix songs on that old beat up guitar! That’s when I knew, I found my calling in life. So I started teaching myself how to play and BOOM, I started Patrick Lew Band in freshmen year in high school some time in 2001 with some classmates.

At what age did you compose your first song? I started home recording rather relatively early on in life. I used to have a Tascam 4-track that my mom got me on my 15th birthday. I would often write and make up ideas on my guitar and write a bunch of weird lyrics on a sheet of paper. Then whenever I felt ready, I put the cassette tape into the Portastudio and hit the record button! Some of these home demos can be heard on Spotify on the Patrick Lew Band Compilation History. Oh God, I can’t seem to remember when exactly. But I’m sure i was 15!

What is a songwriting session like for you? Making or trying to make good rock and roll music. The creative freedom to experiment in my home studio. These days, I use a Mac and have al the gear at home to write and record on Logic. I try to come up with new and fresh ideas a rock band to stay relevant and in the game. Whenever I feel it’s good and I’m ready to put it out there, I post my tracks online on websites like SoundCloud and Bandcamp. If I think it’s super cool enough for the world to hear it online, I send them to CDBaby to get my music on Apple Music and Spotify!

What inspires you to create? Because it’s what I do. It’s what I was born to do baby. I’m doing it for the Asian-American community and for all the good people on planet Earth. That’s what keeps the ball rolling man.

How did you and the band all meet? I started the Patrick Lew Band in high school at age 15 although we were under a different band name that time. Everyone knew each other from school and we used band practice as a way to escape the boredom after the bell rang on Saturdays. We weren’t the popular kids in school. We didn’t get the girl and we weren’t really the life of the party. Then, when I went to college...The initial lineup changed. My best friend over the last 14 years named David joined the band on drums (replacing Tommy) and my classmates from high school moved onto other things in life! While I was attending CSU East Bay to grab my Bachelors Degree in Philosophy...I formed a new lineup for Patrick Lew Band. Which was doomed from the start. Everything was all online collaboration and sometimes, me and Greg (former member) would play small shows in Antioch, California with it. Some of it is on YouTube I believe! The band then was inconsistent and a mess. And I was dealing with a lot of things in my personal life that time, such as a failed six year relationship with my ex and haters. Then I took two or three years to clear my mind and refresh. I then came back to the scene as Patrick Lew Band in early 2015 with just me and David. David’s time was more limited then, so he left the band to do his own thing but we’re still very good friends regardless. Because of past hardships, oddly enough, I created a crossdresser alter ego named Madeline Lew, who is in storyline, my imaginary twin sister. So she joined the band and we began accomplishing what we had to on a regional level. The belated success of PLB also gave me the chance and opportunity to play with other bands too in the scene, most notably, with the bands TheVerse and Crazy Loser in a Box. These days, Patrick Lew Band is now a very sporadic type of band in the scene. Ever since getting my 40 Under 40 award from CSU East Bay for my accomplishments with Patrick Lew Band and also becoming the first Japanese/Japanese-American man to do so there, I just been chilling! Lol. I still find the time and place to keep practicing, keep making music and doing whatever comes out of it.

Is it difficult trying to make it in San Francisco with so many other rock bands there? The San Francisco music scene these days kind of sucks. No offense or anything. There’s too much over saturation and a stack here to compete with. Not to only, changing vibes and gentrification taking over. Some music venues locally shut down over here as a result. It’s techie and yuppie capital now. I would like to make it as a performer and music artist in East Asia however, particularly in Japan. It’s definitely not easy to make it as an Asian man in the rock music scene here in America. The reasons for it, too many to go through, but it seems hard enough. Thankfully, there’s the indies! Which is what I have been doing since. I remain mid-card for life here in the San Francisco music scene.

Do you perform live often? I play live once or twice a month locally with my new band/solo project Lewnatic (JP). I usually get booked through Afton Shows to do these gigs. I have performed live before in my former bands TheVerse and Pleasure Gallows. A lot of my live performances were captured on video and edited into recaps on my YouTube channel (@djaudiorage66). Thank the iPhone and iMovie for that! And some close friends willing to go out their way to videotape our performances. These days, I don’t play live often much for a myriad of reasons but...Less is definitely more! I work a full-time day job at a chocolate store at Pier 39 in San Francisco as a Senior Sales Associate. I’m the kind of guy that’s like...I’ll play live whenever I’m asked and everything looks Gucci on paper. Lol. I love playing live. But I’m the type of guy who makes his mark through more than just live shows: social-media, streaming, band t-shirts and In-House performances and videos! I even played a show in Nagoya, Japan last year in August too impromptu style with my new band Lewnatic as well. Got them bragging rights yo!

Tell us about your latest project. Right now. I’m doing a Japanese rock band called Lewnatic (JP). And I’m playing guitar as a session guy in the band Crazy Loser in a Box. You can definitely find out about it online on social-media and Google!

What can we expect from you this year? Expect more from this Japanese-Taiwanese rock and roll pariah from the Bay Area! The Lewnatic is coming to town! I’m working on new music for a new LP with Lewnatic at my home studio and the 20th anniversary for Patrick Lew. And isn’t too far away! Expect more awesomeness and rock and roll from yours truly! I aspire to be bigger than before and you won’t forget the name PLB.

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