Aaron Lewis
Aaron Lewis |
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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 six 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.
Early life
Lewis grew up, largely, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, then moved to the Forest Park section of Springfield, MA 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 an English origin[1]. 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, coffeehouses, and the like.
Career
Lewis was, before Staind, in a band known as J-CAT[2] 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.[3]
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.
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[4] He is a constitutional conservative and opposes high taxes. His views were said in the song Country Boy.[5][6]
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.[7] Lewis' main focus, however, is the nonprofit organization, It Takes a Community, where he and his wife have started to reopen their daughter's elementary school in Worthington, Massachusetts.[8]
Discography
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US [9] |
US Rock | US Indie | ||
| Town Line |
|
1 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] |
US Adult [11] |
US Alt [12] |
US Main [13] |
US Country [14] |
US Rock [15] | ||||
| 2000 | "Outside" (with Fred Durst) | 56 | 31 | 2 | 1 | — | — | The Family Values Tour 1999 | |
| 2011 | "Country Boy" (with George Jones and Charlie Daniels)A | 87 | — | — | 23 | 53 | 39 | Town Line (EP) | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
- A Current single.
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Country Boy" (with George Jones, Charlie Daniels and Chris Young) | Alex Castino |
References
- ^ http://www.staind.com/forum/topics/faith-1?commentId=2223627%3AComment%3A172361
- ^ "J.C.A.T Biography". Archived from the original on 2009-10-24.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/aaron-lewis-talks-town-line-alice-in-chains-christmas-and-george-jones/8195933
- ^ http://redmassgroup.com/diary/9462/mass-republican-and-staind-front-man-aaron-lewis-pens-new-tea-party-anthem
- ^ http://redmassgroup.com/diary/11414/massachusetts-republican-aaron-lewis-of-staind-shares-his-political-beliefs-with-paper
- ^ http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/aaron_lewis_of_staind_talks_ab.html
- ^ http://www.atlanticrecords.com/news/article/?articleId=atlnewsarticle35600064
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/news/staind-s-aaron-lewis-starts-new-charity-1004102263.story#/news/staind-s-aaron-lewis-starts-new-charity-1004102263.story
- ^ "Aaron Lewis Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
- ^ "Aaron Lewis Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ^ "Aaron Lewis Album & Song Chart History - Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ^ "Aaron Lewis Album & Song Chart History - Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ^ "Aaron Lewis - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Highlights for January 24, 2011". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Highlights for January 31, 2011". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
- The Darkness Within by Jenny Eliscu, Rolling Stone, July 19, 2001 (In depth interview, includes birthplace)