Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts

Rough Trade

Born and raised New Yorker Jeffrey Lewis leads a double-life, as both a comic book writer/artist and a musician (or is that a triple-life?). His band also has a multi-faceted existence, exploring a stylistic swath from contemplative folk narratives to distortion-fueled garage rock to soundscape abstractions and more, usually all within any given ten-minute period.

Most often a trio (though occasionally just Jeffrey solo, or as a duo, and on some tours as a four-piece), the Jeffrey Lewis group has shuffled its name a number of times over the years, from Jeffrey Lewis & The Jitters to Jeffrey Lewis & The Jackals, Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Jeffrey Lightning Lewis & The Rain, Jeffrey Lewis & The Jrams and others, in 2015 becoming Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts. These various formations (often in the past featuring Jeffrey’s brother Jack on bass) have toured the world from Los Angeles to London, Berlin to Beijing, Melbourne to Moscow, Houston to Ho Chi Minh City, blowing minds all along the way and sometimes sharing stages or full tours with the likes of Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Devendra Banhart, Devo, The Mountain Goats, Thurston Moore, The Fall, The Vaselines, Roky Erickson, Pulp, Beth Orton, Frank Black, The Fiery Furnaces, Daniel Johnston, Scout Niblett, The Moldy Peaches, Cornershop, The Cribs, Dr. Dog, Kimya Dawson, Adam Green, Akron/Family, Black Dice, Au Revoir Simone, The Television Personalities, Jarvis Cocker and many other luminaries. Live shows often incorporate “low budget videos,” Jeffrey’s large illustrations displayed to accompany certain songs, such as Jeffrey’s educational multi-part “History of Communism” or flights of fancy like “The Creeping Brain.”

In 2001 Jeffrey Lewis signed to the venerable Rough Trade Records label (home to The Smiths, The Strokes, and many more alternative legends) and has since released seven albums worldwide on Rough Trade/Beggars, the most recent of which is Manhattan, released at the end of 2015. Jeffrey has been self-publishing a comic book series called “Fuff” since 2004, has lectured around the world on topics such as the Watchmen comic book and independently produced music, and in recent years his work has been featured by The History Channel, The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, and elsewhere.