Patrick Lew Band (PLB)

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). Created in 2001.

PLB was previously known under various guises and pseudonyms. Since 2016, PLB is largely an Internet-based rock band and mostly participates in home recording and occasional local live performances.

The band also features a virtual band member and bassist named Madeline Lew, marketed as Patrick's younger sister. 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.

He is currently an unsigned independent musician, but he is distributing his music through his own label, Lewnatic Records. Since the mid-2020, the Patrick Lew Band (PLB) has expanded and digitally reached 55+ countries worldwide of underground music. Most of PLB's credentials came thanks to the Internet through bloggers/curators and digital music magazines writing about the Patrick Lew Band.

We are a Metaverse-themed rock band from San Francisco.

Born 1985 in San Francisco as Patrick Allan Lew, Patrick was raised in the Bay Area to a Chinese father and Japanese mother of mixed descent. He became a passionate fan of Grunge, Punk, J-ROCK, and American and British Classic Rock music as a child. His favorite bands growing up were Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, X Japan, Green Day, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, The Beatles, Pearl Jam, Oasis, Silverchair, BEYOND, B’z, and Led Zeppelin.

He began playing guitar at the age of 13 and studied guitar and music composition at Vibo Music Center and California State University East Bay (B.A., 2011). While attending Raoul Wallenberg High School in San Francisco during the early 2000s, he formed what would become the first incarnation of the Patrick Lew Band (PLB) with his classmates. While a student in college in 2007, he began uploading online content on YouTube related to his music.

Patrick graduated from Raoul Wallenberg High School in 2004, and also graduated from Soko Gakuen Japanese School that same year.

By the early-to-mid 2000s, the Patrick Lew Band began putting their music online on many different websites. In 2005 at the tender young age of 19, the group was briefly signed to Statue Records. The group would relocate to Antioch, CA during the late 2000s, and would perform and record locally in Contra Costa County’s garage band circuit. After many false starts on-and-off, personal struggles, and a rotating line-up of sidemen and potential band members, the Patrick Lew Band briefly took a two-year break from making music by the end of 2012.

During 2013 and 2014, Patrick Lew focused on his mental health and working on self-improvement. He also experienced a bitter and acrimonious breakup with his then-girlfriend. That breakup was the catalyst for Patrick Lew Hayashi wanting to return to making music.

Patrick Lew Hayashi also played locally in other musical projects outside of the Patrick Lew Band: TheVerse (2015-2019), Pleasure Gallows (between mid-to-late 2018 until early 2019), and Crazy Loser in a Box! (2018-2024). He also made a brief uncredited cameo appearance on Season 4 and Episode 1 of the critically acclaimed Amazon TV series The Man in the High Castle as an extra.

In 2015, he officially introduced his fictitious relative Madeline Lew (his M2F cross-dressing alter-ego) as a virtual band member and mascot of the Patrick Lew Band. That same year, he also rebuilt and rebranded the Patrick Lew Band (PLB) as an Internet-based virtual rock band, performing live sporadically, but more focus on home recording and producing unique music that’s been described, “as a dynamic and anthemic fusion of classic rock, J-Pop, and grunge.” After Madeline’s arrival in the project, PLB began achieving exposure in the local music scene that long eluded them. By 2020, the Patrick Lew Band (PLB) became relatively prolific in the indie music community and on the Internet, as numerous press and bloggers began curating PLB and writing about them.

Madeline’s singing voice was created on VOCALOID and A.I. singing technology, whereas, her likeness is mainly created by Gender Swapping on very popular iPhone/Android smartphone apps, alongside Photoshopping.

By 2017, at the height of PLB's initial strides in the music scene, the Patrick Lew Band took an extended leave of absence, which lasted until St. Patrick's Day 2020. Which was directly caused by his mother Winnie's passing on April 8, 2017. And also, because of creative burnout and personal demons resurfacing. Following a show at Brick & Mortar in October, Patrick began initially playing guitar for TheVerse and Crazy Loser in a Box full-time.

The Patrick Lew Band has recorded 13 CDs as a prolific home recording act and as bedroom producers: Jump! Rattle! And Roll! (2006), Let It Rise and Against (2009), Murder Bay (2011), Angry Yellow (2012), Bubblegum Babylon (2015), Oakland (2017), Cold Sirens (2017), Immortality (2020), Codebreaker (2020), Rolling Thunder (2020), No Sleep Till San Francisco! (2021), Exclamation (2021), Adrenaline (2022), Forbidden Door (2024), and Rebel Radio (2025).

The Patrick Lew Band was inducted in the Akademia Music Hall of Fame in September 2023. A few years earlier in 2019, Patrick adopted his mother’s maiden name Hayashi (林) legally into his name, and created a touring and live-streaming solo project as a musician under the stage-name LEWNATIC, touring Japan and performing live shows once-a-month at San Francisco’s historic DNA Lounge, until the COVID-19 pandemic happened a year later.

The band’s name Lewnatic is a spoonerism of Patrick’s father’s surname and “Lunatic.”

During 2021, Patrick and Madeline's close friend Madoku Raye joined the band as an occasional lead singer and contributor. She made her first appearance on their 2022 album Adrenaline. Between 2020-22, the Patrick Lew Band was heavily active as an Internet-based rock band.

By 2022, he reactivated his solo project LEWNATIC and quickly began making music and live-streaming as a recording artist on social-media. By July that year, he signed with Bentley Records and quickly produced and released three mini-albums (EPs) during 2022 and 2023: Rapid Fire! (2022), Getcha Mood On Right (2023), and The Lost Souls (2023).

He rebranded LEWNATIC as a more simplified version of the Patrick Lew Band, and as the spin-off/offshoot band related to the PLB. Most of LEWNATIC’s music tends to be Instrumental Rock, with some lead vocals on Patrick’s behalf on selective songwriting ideas. In LEWNATIC, like with post-2015 era Patrick Lew Band, he plays most or all of the instruments on the studio recordings. Onstage, Patrick plays guitar, sings occasionally, and uses a laptop running all the backing tracks as musical and rhythmic arsenal, performing a setlist of his more recent classic output with the Patrick Lew Band and all his selective musical work with LEWNATIC.

During 2023, Lewnatic performed a few live-stream performances on Patrick's YouTube channel. And also, performed and were interviewed extensively for Luke Sauer's podcast at San Francisco's Edge Studios streamed worldwide on Memorial Day. He recently renewed his recording contract with Bentley Records in August that year. Much of 2023 was spent on Lewnatic and detoxing from social-media adversity and mental health related issues.

Patrick Lew also reconnected with his long-time bandmate Madeline Lew briefly from PLB, and regrouped the Patrick Lew Band going forward. In December 2023, Patrick was interviewed by Recording Artist Guild magazine. Shortly after, Patrick Lew Band began releasing new songs occasionally on Spotify, which were mainly covers of 90's alt-rock and 90's J-Pop.

Madeline Lew, on the otherhand, pulled back from the Patrick Lew Band back in August 2022. In storyline, she relocated back to Osaka and focused more on herself. In reality, Patrick Lew officially retired her character and the alter-ego in PLB, feeling she served her purpose in his life and music.

The long-awaited 3rd album STARCADE from Lewnatic was released worldwide from Bentley Records on July 26, 2024. Patrick quietly discontinued Lewnatic by late 2024, feeling that his main creative strengths and path in life were more aligned with PLB.

Patrick Lew Band is still sporadically active in the Internet music scene, as a "special attraction" to those all who've supported them since day one.

Despite their primarily online presence, the band has not shied away from the stage, performing sporadic and selective local gigs that showcase their dynamic sound. Patrick is currently engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Manda Kay, born in 1982, a former stage actress who now thrives as a YouTuber and writer/journalist. Together, they represent a creative and romantic partnership that transcends traditional boundaries.

Looking ahead, Patrick Lew Band is set to self-release new music across all major streaming platforms while continuing to engage with fans through miscellaneous YouTube videos that delve into their artistic process and musical philosophy. Their commitment to innovation and connection ensures that the Patrick Lew Band will remain a vibrant force in the modern rock scene, inviting listeners to join them on their journey of musical exploration.

PATRICK LEW BAND

ALSO KNOWN AS: Famiglia (2001-2003), Samurai Sorcerers (2003-2006), Silent Minister (2005), The Band of Asians (2006-2008), The Steel Lion (2013-2017)

ORIGIN: San Francisco, California, USA (formerly Antioch, California, USA)

GENRES: Punk, Electronic Music, Instrumental, Alternative Rock, Grunge, K-Pop, J-Pop, Rock And Roll, Hard Rock, Emo.

YEARS ACTIVE: 2001-present (hiatuses: 2013-15; 2017-19)

OFFICIAL MEMBERS:

Patrick Lew - All Instruments, Guitar, Lead Vocals (2001 onwards)

Manda Kay - Creative (2024 onwards)

FORMER MEMBERS:

Tommy Loi - Drummer (2001-2005)

Eddie Blackburn - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals (2001-2005; 2007)

David Arceo - Drummer (2005-2016)

Madoku Raye - Lead Vocals (2021-2024)

Madeline Lew - Representation, Lead Vocasls, Bass Guitar (2015-2024)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

July 2016 Akademia Music Awards Best Experimental Rock Song - "Game Changer"
Class of 2019 Cal State East Bay 40 Under 40 Inductee
Class of 2023 Akademia Music Awards Hall of Fame Inductee
Antennas Direct Celebrity Ambassador (2015)
Quarter Finalist - Soundclick.com's 10th Anniversary Songwriting Contest (2007)