MATT DRENIK VS. BATTLEME

So which is it?

My name is Matt. I’ve gone by Battleme since 2010, deciding on that after my rock band Lions split up. My albums have been written up by Rolling Stone, Billboard, Esquire, Classic Rock Magazine, Magnet and others. They generally said the same thing, mostly positive remarks, with the occasional swipe at my genre bending attitude and lazy singing style. I’ve toured with Metric (which I wrote a short unpublished novella about), The Toadies, The Supersuckers, Veruca Salt, Louise Post (of Veruca Salt), Monster Magnet + more.

Sons of Anarchy

In 2009, I was sent the pilot episode of a new FX show called “Sons of Anarchy.” I had met one of the music heads at FX a few weeks prior during a showcase at SXSW. My band ended up replacing a few songs on that pilot episode, leading to the start of a relationship between Bob Thiele and I that lasted 7 seasons, including a run with the SOA house band, The Forest Rangers. I recorded a cover of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My” for the Season 3 finale with a piano and a single microphone. That version has over 100+ million views or spins on YouTube / Spotify / streaming platforms. I’m forever indebted to Bob, Kurt Sutter, and Ward Hake for their belief that I had the goods to be one of the many voices on the show.

Battleme

In 2012, I made a record with Thomas Turner (Ghostland Observatory) out of some demos I recorded in Portland. It was my first “official” Battleme release put out on Turner’s label, Trashy Moped Recordings. A few months later, Thomas and I flew to LA to make the video for lead single, “Touch.” After it aired, I woke up to a flurry of Twitter noise all pointing towards Jonah Hill. Apparently, he posted the video. He must’ve really been high or had a weird gurney fetish. Matt Pinfield had a 120 Minutes spin-off on MTV that he played the video on a few times. I saw him years later on that 90’s cruise I was playing with Louise Post (Veruca Salt). He didn’t remember me.

I made several other records; 2014’s Future Runs Magnetic (w/ Doug Boehm), 2016’s Habitual Love Songs (my favorite, critics least), 2016’s Live from Cactus Cafe (solo), and 2017’s Cult Psychotica (EU’s favorite). I’ve since slowed the releases and focused more on production.

I attempted to write a book called, “First of Three,” about touring, specifically the three month Future Runs Magnetic run with The Toadies and Supersuckers. The 400 page behemoth is finished, and it’s currently taking up space in a drawer in my attic.

Production

Around 2016, I built a studio in Portland to record my own records. Eventually, I ran out of songs to record and started helping, and inevitably producing, my friend Charlie Hilton’s unreleased songs. We built a band with friends and started recording. For me, it was magical, spirited time — a glimpse of what fearlessness looks like through someone else’s POV. And while those sessions remain unreleased, they provided a glimmer of hope and opened my eyes to the magic of production. This was it! I started recording friends’ bands around the Pacific Northwest and beyond — Acid Tongue, Far Lands, Grizzled Mighty, Danny Dodge, Roselit Bone, Aaron Behrens (Ghostland Observatory), White Lightning Company, and more.

In early 2017, my best friend Andy and I started a record label called Get Loud. We put out records by Danny Dodge, Roselit Bone, Kinky Fingers, Howard Ivans, Merciful Heavens, and others.

In 2018, I moved to Los Angeles, CA. My first project was working with Louise Post (Veruca Salt) on a new project she was forming called Veyls. Those sessions eventually led to Louise and I working on her debut solo album, Sleepwalker. Upon its release, we toured across the US to support it (including a 90s rock cruise). Most recently, I finished co-writing / producing / mixing the debut LP of singer-songwriter Miller Campbell. Amazing, amazing stuff.

And this, everyone, brings us to present day 2024.