Country music flows in his veins but he is mostly known as the voice of the band "Staind".
His difficult childhood expresses the character of the band expresses in lyrics and musical style.
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1. He was born on April 13, 1972, to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father and has two younger sisters.
2. When he was born his parents were Hippies who lived in a log cabin in the woods, at a later stage they moved to a trailer park.
3. Lewis' parents often quarreled, broke up, and returned until at age 13 they finally divorced.
4. Lewis said that he did not have a warm and safe home, he often fight with his mother and even cut ties with her for several years.
5. He has abandonment anxiety following the death of his grandfather, who when passed away his whole family side cut ties which greatly affected Lewis and his family.
6. Another period that greatly influenced Lewis was in high school. He was subjected to bullying and severe harassment by students at a school, which he said did not only conclude with verbal and physical violence. He was not happy with his friends either, he was the group's punching bag which allowed his friends to get on him and harass him just to interact with them.
7. These periods greatly influenced Lewis' style of music and lyrics during his lifetime.
8. In 1993 Lewis met guitarist Mike Mushok at a party, the two became interested in music and started playing together.
9. Lewis brought in his bassist friend Johnny April and Mike brought in his drummer friend Jon Wysocki and in 1995 the four formed the band "Staind".
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10. The band has performed a lot in clubs playing covers of bands like "RATM", "Pearl Jam", "Tool", and more. The non-stop gigs managed to create a devoted fan base for the band and income that led to the recordings of the first album.
11. In 1996 they independently released their debut album “Tormented”. This is a very heavy and aggressive album that tells the story of a guy who is in a deep depression and ends up committing suicide. Lewis reflected (as on subsequent albums) on his childhood and adolescence, he too nearly committed suicide by shooting himself with a gun. The album cover reflected its contents in the harsh visuals. The album sold only a few thousand copies and the band fails to create groundbreaking exposure.
12. The same album features the song "Mudshuvel" which will be called "Mudshovel" and will become the band's breakthrough single.
13. A year later the band managed to get to be an opening act for the band "Limp Bizkit".
The band singer and leader Fred Dusrt heard the matter and opposed "Staind's" performance mainly due to their album cover and the devilish image it gave them. His opposition did not materialize and "Staind" took the stage. Fred, who was overwhelmed by their performance, decided to adopt them and signed them to the "Flip Records" label.
14. In 1999 the band released their second album but their debut album on the big label "Flip Records" was called “Dysfunction”. The album produced by Fred, continued the musical style of the first album with hard lyrics and heavy sound but it was more melodic and ear-friendly. Three singles came out of the album: "Just Go", "Mudshovel", and "Home". The album was not very successful with his issue but slowly climbed up the charts and only after half a year did it gain fame.
15. This is the band's breakthrough album that combines the heavy sound with Lewis' strong and penetrating voice which makes it a hallmark and a powerful musical stamp. As with this album and the rest of the band's albums, Lewis is responsible for the lyrics and melody, but the work is integrated between all the band members.
16. The band joined "Limp Bizkit", Korn, and other bands for the famous "Family Values Tour" where Lewis performed for the first time the song "Outside" accompanied by Fred, a very famous performance.
17. In 2001 the second album "Break The Cycle" was released, the first single from the album was "It's Been Awhile" which took the album straight to number one on Billboard 200. It is the second album that year with the highest number of sales for the first week (first place belongs to "Weathered" of "Creed"). Other singles from the album: "Fade", "Outside", "For You" and "Epiphany". To date, it is the band's best-selling album containing 13 songs each stronger than its predecessor.
18. At the top of their success, the band participated in the famous "MTV Unplugged" project when the album was released on November 20th of that year.
19. In 2003, the fourth album "14 Shades of Gray" was released. In that album, the band moves further away from Nu-Metal, associated with post-grunge. - "So Far Away" was a hit at the radio stations and aired non-stop.
20. Two years later their fifth album "Chapter V" was released and became the third album in a row to chart the first spot on Billboard 200. The lead single from the album was "Right Here" followed by "Falling", "Everything Changes" and "King of All Excuses".
21. In 2008 the sixth album "The Illusion of Progress" was released, the album did not reach first place but reached the top and released four great singles: "Believe", "All I Want", "The Way I Am" and "This Is It".
22. In 2011 Lewis started a solo career and released his debut EP called “Town Line”. The EP contains 5 country songs in which various artists from country music participate. One of the songs on the album is "Tangled Up in You" which was released on Staind's "The Illusion of Progress" album which he performs with singer Alexa Carter.
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23. The band released its seventh eponymous album that same year. The album was released along with a DVD that included a documentary of the recording process. In this album, the band returns to its style from the first albums and this is also their last album as of today and the last with the original lineup. Four singles were released from the album: "Not Again", "Eyes Wide Open", "Now" and "Something to Remind You". The recordings of the album were difficult and created a lot of tension and distance between the band members. Lewis had to "run away" often to hold his tour to promote his debut album to the consent of the rest of the band members, they said that in a large part of the recordings they were not even present in the same studio.
24. In 2012 the band went on a hiatus when in April 2019 they announced that they would reunite for a short tour.
25. That same year Lewis released his first full country album called “The Road”. The album reached # 7 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart.
26. In 2016, Lewis released his second country album "Sinner" which reached number four on the Billboard 200 and number one on the country album chart. The album also features Lewis's daughter Lewis Zoe Jane with background vocals.
27. In 2019 came out Lewis' third album "State I'm In", yes you guessed it, also country style which is so beloved by Lewis, the music he introduced by his grandfather.
28. In September 2023, after 12 years from the previous album, the band "Staind" released their eighth album "Confessions of the Fallen". Although during the hiatus they appeared several times as a band on stages, they did not create anything new until this album. According to Lewis, this album incorporates many synthetic elements that he wanted to explore and experiment with.
29. Over the years Lewis has faced severe mental health problems accompanied by alcohol and drug addiction, he has shared his experiences, feelings, and struggles throughout "Staind's" albums.
Listen to Lewis' latest album on Spotify, Apple Music