Matty Lewis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Matty Lewis | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Background information | ||
| Born | May 8, 1975 | |
| Origin | Papillion, Nebraska, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Pop punk, Punk rock, Rapcore, Funk metal | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Singing, guitar | |
| Years active | 1998–2003 (Jank 1000) 2005–present (Zebrahead) |
|
| Label(s) | Sony Music Japan (2005–present) SPV (2006–present) ICON(2006–present) |
|
| Associated acts |
Jank 1000 Zebrahead |
|
| Website | www.zebrahead.com | |
Matty Lewis, guitarist and co-lead singer of Zebrahead, is a native of Papillion, Nebraska. Born May 8, 1975, Matty took up playing the guitar and writing songs at age 11.
While still in Omaha at the age of 22, he formed the band Jank 1000 with bassist Danny Isgro and drummer Jake Horrocks. Together the three produced two independent albums; "Suburban Punks Are Go!!" in 1999 and "My Love Notes And Her Death Threats" in 2000. Both albums spent several months atop the Homer's local album chart in Omaha, including extensive radio airplay for their first single, "Misty 540". The band quickly built a strong following, and immediately became a force in the Omaha-area punk scene.
During the summer of 2001, Jank 1000 signed a management deal with Todd Singerman and Singerman Entertainment. (Motörhead, Zebrahead, Sepultura...) After replacing Horrocks with Albert Kurniawan, the trio set sail for California, playing clubs and venues in and around Los Angeles to warm reviews. Jank 1000 also earned praise for their performance during selected dates of the 2002 Vans Warped Tour. On the heels of moderate success on the West coast, the band decided to call southern California their home. The following year, the band broke up under the strains of producing and recording their third album. The members went their separate ways and Jank 1000 was officially extinct.
Miles from home and without a band, a financially strapped Lewis put his teaching degree (Dana College - Blair, Nebraska 1998) to use as a teacher in Washingon D.C and Las Vegas areas. Meanwhile, he continued to write music and play acoustic gigs, while re-recording previous Jank 1000 songs in 2003 and 2004. In December of 2004, Lewis received a call from Singerman, who informed him that the lead singer of Zebrahead, Justin Mauriello, had recently left the band to pursue other interests. Lewis set out to California yet again to try out for the remaining members of Zebrahead. He was officially named Zebrahead's new co-lead singer and formally introduced to the world at a "secret" show at the Anaheim House of Blues on March 12, 2005.
Due to Zebrahead's growing popularity in Japan, Matty Lewis and Zebrahead bandmate Ali Tabatabaee were asked by SEGA to record vocals for a new theme song, entitled "His World", which appears in the latest Sonic The Hedgehog game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
