Matt Drenik | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Matt Drenik |
Also known as | Battleme |
Origin | Greenfield, IN, US |
Genres | folk, garage, post-grunge, classic rock |
Occupation | Musician / Writer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass, piano, vocals |
Years active | 2004–present |
Labels | El Camino Media, Sony Music Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Records, Get Loud, Trashy Moped Recordings, Maybe Records |
Website | Drenik official website |
Matt Drenik (born June 18, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist.
Drenik was the lead singer of Lions, a hard rock, post-grunge band from Austin, Texas. He also performs under the moniker Battleme, a folk rock project that he formed when he moved to Portland, Oregon in 2010. His songs have been featured in numerous American television shows and commercials, including dozens in FX's hit show Sons of Anarchy. His version of Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My" has over 50 million YouTube hits.
Drenik was also a contributing member to Los Angeles-based group The Forest Rangers, alongside Bob Thiele, Dave Kushner, and Katey Sagal. [1] They served as the house band for Sons of Anarchy. His song "Metal Heavy Lady" was featured in the game Guitar Hero 3. [2] Rolling Stone has written about his music, [3] as well as Billboard , Esquire , MTV, [4] Rock Sound , [5] Classic Rock magazine, Metal Hammer and others. In 2017, Classic Rock picked his song "Testament" as one of the year's best. [6] His most recent recording, "Cult Psychotica", received an 8 out of 10 on All Music with reviewer Matt Collar noting, "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." [7]
Drenik has worked with dozens of acts as a producer, including a solo effort from Louise Post of alternative rock band Veruca Salt. [8] In addition to Post, Drenik has produced two albums by Seattle rock band Acid Tongue (band), as well as Grizzled Mighty, Charlie Hilton Blouse (band), Battleme, Danny Dodge, and Miller Campbell. His most recent work with Miller Campbell was featured in Spin's August 2024 print issue, as well as a world premiere for the single, All Night in SPIN , [9]
In 2018, Drenik took a role as Creative Director at Los Angeles-based music company, South Music. [10] Since joining the company, he has worked and overseen music campaigns for Nike, Google, Activision, Cadillac, Jeep, and AT&T. [11]
As a writer, he's contributed op-ed pieces to American Songwriter , [12] Magnet , Talkhouse , [13] and OPB Music. [14]
Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro, and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, "Seether", which was released on the 1994 album American Thighs. That success was followed up with 1997's Eight Arms to Hold You. By 1998, Post was the only original member still in the band and continued on with other musicians. Veruca Salt released the album Resolver in 2000 and the album IV in 2006. After a hiatus in 2012, the band reformed with its original lineup. Their fifth studio album, Ghost Notes, was released in 2015.
American Thighs is the 1994 debut studio album by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt. The album features the single "Seether".
Eight Arms to Hold You is the second studio album by alternative rock band Veruca Salt. It was released on February 11, 1997, through Outpost/Geffen Records.
Resolver is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band Veruca Salt. It was released on May 16, 2000, on Beyond Records, followed by an Australian release on December 6, 2002. The album was the first for the band after the departure of all the founding members but Louise Post, who became the band's sole frontwoman.
Nina Rachel Gordon Shapiro, known as Nina Gordon, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-founded the alternative rock band Veruca Salt and played on their first two studio albums, American Thighs (1994) and Eight Arms to Hold You (1997). During that time, Gordon wrote the band's hit singles "Seether" and "Volcano Girls". After leaving Veruca Salt, she released two solo albums, Tonight and the Rest of My Life (2000) and Bleeding Heart Graffiti (2006). She then rejoined Veruca Salt for their album Ghost Notes (2015).
Voxtrot is an American indie pop band formed in Austin, Texas, in 2003. Their first recordings were released in 2003, and their debut EP, Raised by Wolves, was released in 2005 to critical acclaim, garnering attention from music bloggers as well as major publications such as Pitchfork and Spin.
Louise Lightner Post is an American musician. She is best known for being a vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Veruca Salt, which she co-founded with Nina Gordon in 1992.
Officially Dead is an EP by the American alternative rock band Veruca Salt, released in 2003 on Embryo.
"Seether" is a 1994 single by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt.
IV is the fourth full-length studio album by alternative rock band Veruca Salt. It was released on September 12, 2006 in the United States and on September 25, 2006 in Australia. This is the last album to feature Stephen Fitzpatrick on guitars and the only album to feature Kellii Scott on drums and Nicole Fiorentino on bass.
Kevin Tihista is a singer-songwriter and musician. He is a former bassist for the Chicago group Triple Fast Action and contributed songs to the Veruca Salt album Resolver. Tihista's solo music is a mixture of pop and rock combining orchestration, electronica, vamping, and multi-tracking. Much of his solo work has been released under the eponym, "Kevin Tihista's Red Terror," a musical collaboration between Tihista and brothers Tom and Ellis Clark of the band "Epicycle."
Vaden Danger Todd Lewis is an American musician best known as the vocalist and guitarist for Toadies, an alternative rock band from Fort Worth, Texas. Lewis was also the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Dallas-based Burden Brothers. In July 2017, Lewis opened The Loop Artist Rehearsal Studios in Fort Worth.
Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt is an EP by Veruca Salt released in 1996. It followed the band's hit album American Thighs (1994). The EP contains four songs, two by Nina Gordon and two by Louise Post.
Lords of Sounds and Lesser Things is a 2005 EP released independently by the American alternative rock band Veruca Salt and self-distributed through their Velveteen Records label.
Scott Warren Miller was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as leader of the 1980s band Game Theory and 1990s band The Loud Family, and as the author of a 2010 book of music criticism. He was described by The New York Times as "a hyperintellectual singer and songwriter who liked to tinker with pop the way a born mathematician tinkers with numbers", having "a shimmery-sweet pop sensibility, in the tradition of Brian Wilson and Alex Chilton."
Nicole Margaret Fiorentino is an American bass guitarist. She is best known for her work with alternative rock bands Veruca Salt and The Smashing Pumpkins. In both bands, she played as a touring member before contributing to albums. She replaced Eva Gardner of Veruca Salt before recording 2006's IV. For the band's final album Ghost Notes in 2015, Fiorentino was replaced by returning founding member Steve Lack, but reappeared on Louise Post's debut solo album Sleepwalker and corresponding tour in 2023. With the Smashing Pumpkins, Fiorentino, she became an official member in 2010. She performs on the band's third Teargarden by Kaleidyscope EP (2011) and subsequent album Oceania (2012). Fiorentino departed the band in 2014.
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.
Noah Gundersen is an American indie folk singer-songwriter from Seattle.
Ghost Notes is the fifth full-length studio album by American rock band Veruca Salt, released on July 10, 2015, through El Camino Records. It is the first to feature the band's original lineup since their second album, Eight Arms to Hold You (1997).
Jacob Martin Portrait is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the bassist of the New Zealand psychedelic rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and a current member of the Portland-based alternative rock band Blouse.