Aaron Lewis

Aaron Lewis
Lewis performs at the Rolling Rock Town Fair on August 4, 2001
Background information
Born	April 13, 1972 (1972-04-13) Rutland, Vermont
Origin	Longmeadow, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Alternative metal, nu metal, post-grunge, country
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Flip, Elektra, Atlantic, Stroudavarious, R&J
Associated acts	Staind
Website	www.aaronlewismusic.com

Aaron Lewis, (born April 13, 1972), is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and founding member of the rock group Staind, with whom he has released seven studio albums. He has since ventured into country music with his debut solo album, Town Line. The EP was released on March 1, 2011 on Stroudavarious Records. Lewis' first full-length solo release is scheduled for release in the Spring of 2012 on R&J Records, who launched in May 2011 after acquiring several assets from Stroudavarious.

Early life

Lewis grew up, largely, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, then moved to the Forest Park section of nearby Springfield from 8th grade through high school. His mother is Jewish with origins in Russia, Poland and Germany and his father is Catholic of Italian, Welsh and English origin. His hobbies include fishing, golf, riding his motorcycle and dirt bike, as well as hunting. He has worked in landscaping, cleaned hotel rooms, and played solo acoustic sets in bars, pool halls, restaurants and coffeehouses.

Career

Lewis was, before Staind, in a band known as J-CAT with Tori Sands, Chris Ballini, and Staind bandmate Jon Wysocki. An album surfaced on the internet with nine of J-CAT's performances at Club Infinity in Springfield, Massachusetts. The performances were recorded while Dysfunction was being recorded. Two of Staind's popular singles—"Outside" and "It's Been Awhile"—were both originally performed by J-CAT with somewhat different lyrics. Lewis has been nominated for three Grammys.^{[citation needed]}

Solo career

Lewis has been performing solo acoustic shows since he was 17 and still does today. He has written and performed many songs that have never been officially released such as "Angel", "Something Like Me", "Bonghits for Breakfast" (originally performed with J-CAT), "Anywhere but Here", and "Sleeping at the Wheel".

In July 2010, Lewis finished recording a country music EP entitled Town Line that was released March 1, 2011 on Stroudavarious Records. It features 7 tracks including 3 versions of the first single "Country Boy" featuring George Jones, Charlie Daniels, and Chris Young, as well as the songs "Massachusetts", "Vicious Circles", "The Story Never Ends", and a re-recording of "Tangled Up in You" originally from The Illusion of Progress. Lewis said in a July 2011 interview that he was introduced to country music as a child by his grandfather, but his interest was recently rekindled when he toured with Kid Rock.

Collaborations

He was featured on the song "No Sex" by Limp Bizkit on their album Significant Other. He was also featured on a remix for the song "Crawling" on Linkin Park's album Reanimation (the remix is titled "Krwlng" on the album), as well as Cold's album 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage. He contributed vocals to the song "Follow" on Sevendust's third album, Animosity, and to the songs "Bleed" and "Send in the Clowns" by the band Cold. He's also featured on Jimmie's Chicken Shack's song "Falling Out", the only single off their 2004 album re.present. July 2011 while promoting his Town Line album Lewis collaborated with Corey Taylor for a one night only acoustic duet show covering songs such as, Pearl Jam's "Black", Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", and Alice In Chains' "Down In A Hole."

Equipment

• 1950 Gibson Acoustic J-45
• 1951 Gibson Acoustic Southern Jumbo
• 1936 Gibson Acoustic Jumbo J-35
• 1956 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top
• 1968 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top
• 1980's Gibson Heritage Series Les Pauls (At least 5)

Personal life

He is married to Vanessa Lewis and has three daughters, Zoe Jane, Nyla Rae and Indie Shay. Aaron also has two sisters, Evyette and Rachel, as well as a brother, Jesse.^{[citation needed]}

Aaron Lewis is a registered Republican. He is a constitutional conservative and opposes high taxes, but supports marijuana use. His views were expressed in the song "Country Boy".

In a five minute interview with Outdoor Life magazine Aaron Lewis shared that he has been hunting whitetail deer since he was old enough to keep up in the woods, probably age 4 or 5. His preferred method of hunting deer is with a compound or recurve bow, and occasionally utilizes a muzzleloader.

Philanthropy

On November 4, 2006, Aaron performed at his old high school in Longmeadow, Massachusetts and gave all the proceeds to the music department to fund the department's expenses to buy new equipment and supplies. Lewis' main focus, however, is the nonprofit organization, It Takes a Community, where he and his wife have started to reopen their daughters' elementary school in Worthington, Massachusetts.

Discography

Extended plays

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US	US Rock	US Indie
Town Line	Release date: March 1, 2011 Label: Stroudavarious Records Formats: CD, music download	1	7	3	3

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
		US	US Adult	US Alt	US Main	US Country	US Rock
2000	"Outside" (with Fred Durst)	56	31	2	1	—	—		The Family Values Tour 1999
2011	"Country Boy" (with George Jones and Charlie Daniels)	87	—	—	23	50	39	US: Gold	Town Line (EP)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2010	"Country Boy" (with George Jones and Charlie Daniels)	Alex Castino

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Result
2011	CMT Music Awards	USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year - "Country Boy"	Nominated
		Collaborative Video of the Year - "Country Boy" (with George Jones and Charlie Daniels)	Nominated

References

• The Darkness Within by Jenny Eliscu, Rolling Stone, July 19, 2001 (In depth interview, includes birthplace)

External links

• Official website
• Official Staind website
• ADDICTEDtoStAiND