Aaron Lewis Biography

Aaron Lewis, (born April 13, 1972 in Rutland, Vermont), is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock group Staind.

Lewis grew up, largely, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, then moved to the Forest Park section of Springfield, MA from 8th grade through high school. He is of Jewish-Russian descent. His hobbies include fishing, golf, riding his Motorcycle, 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. 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].

Lewis was, before Staind, in a band known as J-CAT 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.

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.

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", "Anywhere but Here", and "Sleeping at the Wheel".

In July 2010, Lewis finished recording a country music EP entitled Town Line that is slated to be released March 1, 2011 on Stroudavarious Records. It will feature 5 tracks including the first single "Country Boy" featuring George Jones, Charlie Daniels, and Chris Young, as well as the songs "Massachusetts," "Vicious Circles," and a re-recording of "Tangled Up in You" originally from The Illusion of Progress.

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. Lewis' main focus, however, is the nonprofit organization, It Takes A Community, he and his wife have started to reopen their daughter's elementary school in Worthington, Massachusetts.

Aaron uses Gibson acoustic guitars (he favors a 1951 Southern Jumbo), and Gibson Les Paul electric guitars as well. He also uses Marshall Amplification amplifiers with Marshall Cabinets.