Battleme

Battleme is the stage name and band of Lions singer Matt Drenik, an American musician. It was started as a creative outlet to other projects Drenik was involved in during 2009.[1]

Battleme
Battleme @ The Echo (LA, CA)
Background information
Also known asMatt Vondy
OriginAustin, Texas U.S.
GenresRock
Years active2009–present
LabelsEl Camino Media, Sony Music Entertainment, Trashy Moped Recordings, Get Loud
Associated actsLions
WebsiteBattleme official website
MembersMatt Drenik

Early career

Battleme first appeared in the season 2 finale of Sons of Anarchy on FX Network with the song, "Burn This Town." It was a departure from the guitar heavy band Lions that Drenik fronted.[2] These spurts of lo-fi acoustic folk produced numerous songs that began to see Drenik breaking away from the heavy psychedelic outfits he'd previously played in, one of which "No Time For Blood" was featured on NPR's KUT "Song of the Day." [3]

Battleme (2012)

In the summer of 2010, Drenik relocated to Portland, Oregon to solely focus on the project. He built a studio in the basement of his house and began recording the demos of what would become Battleme's self-titled debut full length. After tracking over 40 songs, the record was narrowed down to 10 and sent out. Thomas Turner of Ghostland Observatory responded and signed Drenik to his Trashy Moped Recordings label. The two began working on the final version of the record in the fall of 2010 with Turner producing. In conjunction to working on the full-length record, Drenik released a quieter solo EP, Big Score, on his own imprint Get Loud. The record consisted of six previously recorded concrete folk numbers.[4]

On March 8, 2012, the video for Battleme single "Touch" made its premiere on MTV Buzzworthy.[5] That same year, the band also appeared at Music Fest NW (Portland, OR), Capitol Hill Block Party (Seattle, WA), SXSW (Austin, Texas) and Lobster Fest (LA, CA) in 2012.

Sons of Anarchy (2010-2015)

Several Battleme songs appeared in Sons of Anarchy season 3, including a cover version of Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My," which has received over 42 million YouTube views and an assortment of remixes by the likes of Stefan Biniak and others.[6] Battleme's collaboration with Bob Thiele (Sons of Anarchy, Forest Rangers) on songs "Time" and "Lights" was released on November 19, 2012 on the Sons of Anarchy Volume II soundtrack via Columbia Records. On December 6, 2012 Esquire Magazine picked the Battleme / Thiele collaboration "Lights" as one of the 10 Best Songs of the Week, stating, "Because if the Flaming Lips had written an original song for their Dark Side of the Moon live shows, this is what it might've sounded like.".[7] Drenik began appearing with The Forest Rangers on multiple original cuts for the show. He remained working with them through 7 seasons of the series.

Future Runs Magnetic (2014)

In the spring of 2013, Drenik left Trashy Moped Recordings and signed with El Camino Media, an LA imprint headed by former EMI VP of Publishing Matt Messer. He went into the studio in April to work on his 2nd full-length album with producer Doug Boehm (Girls, Guided By Voices, Tokyo Police Club).[8] The record was released to positive reviews from such outlets as Magnet Magazine, USA Today and American Songwriter with American Songwriter stating, "a timeless collection of rock anthems." [9] The video for the first single, Just Weight, premiered on Filter.

In the spring of 2014, Battleme toured the US in support of Future Runs Magnetic, opening for The Toadies and The Supersuckers on three US legs. That summer, Battleme opened for Veruca Salt for 10 shows on the Midwest and East Coast legs of the tour.[10]

In the spring of 2015, they did a short run of dates with US band Local H, previewing new material they had recorded in late 2014. That fall, Drenik entered Revolver Studio (Portland, OR) and began recording.

Habitual Love Songs (2016)

On October 29, 2015, Billboard Magazine premiered the first track, Shake Shake, off Battleme's upcoming record "Habitual Love Songs". The record was released on January 15, 2016 via El Camino Media.[11] On December 19, 2015 the track was featured on Seattle's KEXP as "Song of the Day".[12] In January 2016, Habitual Love Songs was released to positive reviews, with Relix Magazine noting, "From the driving riff and disaffected vocals of 'Shake Shake' to the jangly Wilco-sequel country sheen of 'Back To You', Battleme delivers something for everyone." The album premiered on BlackBook that same month, with the influential blog stating it's "full of sexually charged, slithery, Stones-like blues rockers." [13]

In February 2016, Battleme appeared on KEXP Seattle with Cheryl Waters to perform four songs live in-studio from the record.[14] The band played regionally, headlining small clubs in Portland and Seattle in support of HLS, along with a few festival appearances in the summer of 2016 at Wildwood Music Festival (Oregon) and Fisherman's Village Music Frestival (Washington). In October 2016, Drenik's full band embarked on a headlining tour of Europe, ending with five live appearances in Greece. The shows were well received, with a number of show reviews, like Greece's FeelA RockA, concluding, "Without exaggeration, this is one of the best live performance I have attended. Battleme reached the bar sky high, earning full respect from the audience." [15]

Live From Cactus Cafe (2017)

In November 2016, Drenik announced via his website that a live, solo EP was slated to be released in January 2017 via El Camino Media. The four song set was recorded at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas on May 3, 2014 and includes a live version of "Burn This Town", originally featured on The Sons Of Anarchy Volume 2 Soundtrack.[16] In February 2017, Drenik embarked on a European solo tour playing select shows in Italy and Portugal.[17]

Cult Psychotica (2017)

In June 2017, Battleme announced via multiple outlets the release of a new record, Cult Psychotica, via El Camino Media on Oct 6, 2017, along with a series of European tour dates in support.[18] The album's theme was heavily influenced by the American political system and, more overtly, the outcome of the 2016 election.[19] On August 27, 2017 Classic Rock Magazine via Team Rock premiered Battleme's first UK single, "Testament" stating "Testament is the latest single and comes bearing blues-based riffage of the most swashbuckling calibre.[20] A few weeks later, Flood Magazine (US) premiered Battleme's first US single, Hot Mess, stating "in Drenik's hands, the draining of meaning and morality from the world results in nothing less than a post-punk-powered dance party. It's the same impulse that brought us The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand in the years after 9/11, newly revved up and goosed practically to oblivion and back." [21] On October 27, 2017, All Music reviewer Matt Collar hailed the record's achievement with an 8 out of 10 rating, stating "the album is a red-eyed collection of fuzzy rock anthems, all centered on Drenik's throaty, nasal-pitched sneer. What he lacks in outright vocal resonance, he makes up for with strutting rock attitude and literate, philosophical lyrics that are equal parts Lou Reed and Elliott Smith." [22] In their end of the year recap for 2017, Classic Rock Magazine listed the single 'Testament' as one of the year's best picks.[23]

Discography
  • Big Score (2010), Get Loud
  • Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Season 1-4 (2011), Columbia
  • Battleme (2012), Trashy Moped Recordings
  • Green Fields Session 1 (2012), Get Loud
  • Sons of Anarchy: Volume 2 (2012), Columbia
  • Weight on the Brain EP (2013), El Camino Media
  • Future Runs Magnetic (2014), El Camino Media
  • Habitual Love Songs (2016), El Camino Media
  • Cult Psychotica (2017), El Camino Media

Appearances
  • "Hey Hey, My My" featured on season 3 of FX Network's Sons of Anarchy finale and soundtrack
  • "Dead Man" featured on season 3 of Sons of Anarchy
  • "Miles Away" with Slash featured on season 3 of Sons of Anarchy
  • "Burn This Town" featured on season 2 of Sons of Anarchy
  • "Here With Me" featured on season 4 finale of NBC's Chuck
  • "Gun" featured on season 6 of CBS's Criminal Minds
  • "Killer High" featured on season 4 of Sons of Anarchy
  • "Big Score" featured on season 4 of Sons of Anarchy
  • "Time" featured on season 4 of Sons of Anarchy
  • "Lights" featured on season 5 of Sons of Anarchy
  • "Trouble" featured on season 2 of Necessary Roughness
  • "Shoot the Noise, Man" featured on the soundtrack of NHL 13
  • "I See Through You" featured on season 6 of "Sons of Anarchy"
  • "Shoot the Noise, Man" featured on PGA Golf commercial.
  • "Shoot the Noise, Man" featured on Project Almanac Film Trailer.
  • "Hey Hey, My My" featured on episode 2.3 of 13 Reasons Why

References
  1. "Exploding in Sound". Matt Drenik speaks with Exploding in Sound. Exploding in Sound. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  2. "Austin Sound". No Time For Blood. Austin Sound. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  3. "Song of the Day". No Time For Blood. Exploding in Sound. Archived from the original on 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  4. "Austin Sound". Battleme I Got Fire. Austin Sound. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  5. "MTV Buzzworthy". Video Premiere : Battleme 'Touch'. MTV. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  6. "Stefan Biniak - The Johnny Rotten Bootleg". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  7. "Esquire". Songs of the Week. Esquire.
  8. "Stunt Company". Battleme. Stunt Company.
  9. "American Songwriter". Battleme. American Songwriter.
  10. "BATTLEME ON TOUR WITH VERUCA SALT IN JULY!". battleme.tv. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  11. "Billboard". Battleme Premieres "Shake Shake". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  12. "Song of the Day: Battleme - Shake Shake". kexp.org. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  13. "BlackBook Premieres: Battleme's Habitual Love Songs". Battleme. BlackBook. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  14. "Live on KEXP YouTube". Battleme Live on KEXP. KEXP. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  15. "Ανταπόκριση: BATTLEME - Drunken Gramophone, Κύτταρο, 04/11/2016". Battleme Live on Kyttaro. FeelA RockA. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  16. "Battleme | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  17. "Battleme | Music Coast to Coast". www.musiccoasttocoast.it. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  18. "Pure Grain Audio: BATTLEME Announce "Cult Psychotica"". Battleme. Puregrainaudio. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  19. "Indie Spotlight: BATTLEME". Battleme. BMI.com. 2017-10-05. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  20. "Team Rock: Tracks of the Week". Battleme. Team Rock. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  21. "Flood Magazine: PREMIERE : Battleme Descends into Post-Election Hot Mess". Battleme. Flood Magazine. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  22. "Cult Psychotica". Album Review : Battleme 'Cult Psychotica'. All Music. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  23. "Party Animals and Headbangers". Best of Classic Rock Magazine. Classic Rock Magazine. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
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