Matty Lewis
Encyclopedia
Matty Lewis is the rhythm guitarist and co-lead singer of Zebrahead
, and is a native of Papillion, Nebraska
. Lewis took up playing the guitar and writing songs at age 12.
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".
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.
- Blair, Nebraska
1998) to use in the Washington 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 2004, Lewis received a call from Singerman, who informed him that the lead singer of Zebrahead, Justin Mauriello
, had recently left the band due to creative differences. 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 8, 2005.
were asked by SEGA
to record vocals for a new theme song, entitled "His World", which appears in the 2006 Sonic The Hedgehog
game for Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
.
Zebrahead
Zebrahead is an American punk rock band from Orange County, California, which fuses elements of Rapcore, Pop Punk, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal, and Funk Metal.-1996–98: Formation:...
, and is a native of Papillion, Nebraska
Papillion, Nebraska
Papillion is a city in Sarpy County in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is a suburb to the southwest of neighboring Omaha, and is the county seat of Sarpy County. The population of Papillion was 18,894 at the 2010 census. In 2009, Papillion was named the #3 best place to live in the United States by...
. Lewis took up playing the guitar and writing songs at age 12.
Jank 1000
While still in OmahaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
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".
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.
Zebrahead
Miles from home and without a band, a financially strapped Lewis put his teaching degree (Dana CollegeDana College
Dana College is a now defunct baccalaureate college located in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 25 miles northwest of Omaha, and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley....
- Blair, Nebraska
Blair, Nebraska
Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2000 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
1998) to use in the Washington 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 2004, Lewis received a call from Singerman, who informed him that the lead singer of Zebrahead, Justin Mauriello
Justin Mauriello
Justin Mauriello is the lead singer and guitarist for the alternative rock band Darling Thieves.-Zebrahead :Mauriello was a founding member of the band Zebrahead, with lead guitarist Greg Bergdorf and drummer Ed Udhus , and bassist Ben Osmundson ; they began collaboration through sharing the same...
, had recently left the band due to creative differences. 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 8, 2005.
Side projects
Due to Zebrahead's growing popularity in Japan, Lewis and Zebrahead bandmate Ali TabatabaeeAli Tabatabaee
Ali Tabatabaee is one of two main vocalists in the band Zebrahead. He is from California. He attended high school in La Habra, California, where he met the other members of Zebrahead...
were asked by SEGA
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
to record vocals for a new theme song, entitled "His World", which appears in the 2006 Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game)
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2006 platform video game for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 that was made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise...
game for Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.