Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist.

Early life

Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

. He attended

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

, graduating in 1997 with a degree in literature. His Senior Literary Thesis was on the comic book ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

''. Lewis also lectured on the topic of ''Watchmen'' at the Institute For Cultural Studies at the University of Leuven, Belgium, in 2000, and the text of his lecture ("The Dual Nature of Apocalypse in Watchmen") was published in the book ''The Graphic Novel'', edited by Jan Baetens, in 2001. Starting in 2000, he spent about two years living in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, playing

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

nights, working odd jobs and distributing his autobiographical comics to local coffee shops.

Music

Several of his musical influences have been acknowledged in his songs such as "Williamsburg

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

Horror", and "The History of The Fall." Lewis' lyrics are complex and literate, often combining a nihilistic world-view with a hopeful message and sharp wit. Growing up on the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, his songs are also highly informed by his home surroundings, with songs name-dropping places such as

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

, the

FDR Drive Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly known as the FDR Drive, is a controlled-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park Underpas ...

and the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

. Lewis is often regarded as part of the antifolk movement, foremost because he was one of the many bands and performers (including

The Moldy Peaches The Moldy Peaches are an American independent music, indie group founded by Adam Green (musician), Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band had been on Recess (break), hiatus since 2004, but in 2023 announ ...

Kimya Dawson Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song " Anyone ...

Diane Cluck Diane Cluck is an American singer-songwriter. She describes her music as "intuitive folk". She currently resides in Virginia. Early life Cluck was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She began taking piano lessons at the age of 7, and was classi ...

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...

, Major Matt Mason USA and

Lach Lach is an international artist who founded the antifolk movement, which is cited as a main inspiration by contemporary performers like Beck, Jeffrey Lewis, Hamell on Trial, The Moldy Peaches and Regina Spektor in the US and Laura Marling in ...

) who played in the 1990s at New York's

SideWalk Cafe A sidewalk café or pavement café is "a portion of an eating or drinking place, located on a public sidewalk, that provides waiter or waitress service" (as defined by the American Planning Association based upon the New York City planning regul ...

and its biannual antifolk festivals and

events. His music also possesses certain traits of a perceived antifolk style – a downbeat self-deprecating humor, an off-kilter singing style, a mixture of acoustic and 'punk' songs which feature themes of everyday occurrences and feelings. Lewis himself does not mind the 'antifolk' tag: "I think it's a cool title. The fact that no one knows what it means, including me, makes it kind of mysterious and more interesting than saying that you're a singer/songwriter or that you play indie rock." After being signed by the British record label

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

in 2001, Jeffrey Lewis released his first official album '' The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane''. Also that year (in February), Lewis was visited by

while living in

. Over the week she stayed there, they wrote five songs. These songs were later re-recorded with a full band and released by K Records under the moniker "

The Bundles The Bundles were an anti-folk music group formed in 2001 by Jeffrey Lewis and The Moldy Peaches' Kimya Dawson. Their members included, in addition to Lewis and Dawson, Lewis' brother Jack Lewis (musician), Jack, Brooklyn-based drummer Anders Griff ...

," on an album of the same name, in 2010. In 2003, Rough Trade released the album '' It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through,'' credited to Jeffrey Lewis with Jack Lewis and drummer

Anders Griffen Anders Griffen is a drummer, composer, and trumpet player from Brooklyn, New York. Griffen works in a range of contexts including folk, jazz, pop, improvised music, and modern dance theater. Career Griffen is known for his work with songwriters a ...

. His third Rough Trade record, '' City and Eastern Songs'', was released in the UK in November 2005 and in the US in September 2006. Most of Lewis's albums also include his brother, Jack Lewis, who wrote or co-wrote and sang and played bass on a number of the songs. In October 2007, Rough Trade released '' 12 Crass Songs'', a Jeffrey Lewis album consisting entirely of songs written by the British punk band

Crass Crass was an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestyle, and a resistance movement. Crass popularized the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, ...

, reworked to match Lewis's antifolk style. He has also performed and collaborated with

as well as

. Some of his hand-drawn comics appear in the cover art of his CD releases. In June 2008, Jeffrey was the support act for

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks is an American rock band consisting of Stephen Malkmus, Mike Clark, Joanna Bolme and Jake Morris. Malkmus is the main singer and songwriter behind the influential 1990s indie rock band Pavement. History The Jick ...

in Europe. Other well-known acts that Lewis has performed shows or whole tours with include The Presidents of the United States of America,

Devendra Banhart Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career. ...

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...

Black Dice Black Dice is an American experimental noise music band based in Brooklyn, New York and consisting of brothers Bjorn and Eric Copeland along with Aaron Warren. Formed in 1997, the group was initially inspired by hardcore and noise rock, but s ...

, Adam Green,

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

, R. Stevie Moore, the Fall,

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...

the Fiery Furnaces The Fiery Furnaces are an American indie rock band, formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York.. - ''In 2000 they moved Brooklyn... and began playing as the Fiery Furnaces late in the year''. - Allmusic The band's primary members are Matthew and El ...

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in Outsider music, outsider, Lo-fi music, lo-fi, and alternative rock, alternative music scenes. Most ...

Scout Niblett Emma Louise Niblett (born 29 September 1973), better known by the stage name Scout Niblett, is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Niblett debuted in 2001 with her first full-length studio album ''Sweet Heart Fever'', and h ...

the Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in Claremont, California, Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole me ...

Dr. Dog Dr. Dog is an American rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy (rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), Eric Slick (drums), and Michael Libramento ( ...

Cornershop Cornershop are an English indie rock band formed in Leicester, in 1991. The group are best known for their single " Brimful of Asha" from their third album '' When I Was Born for the 7th Time''. A remixed version of the track reached number one ...

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players were an American indie rock/art pop family band. It consisted of main vocalist Jason Trachtenburg, his wife Tina, and their child Rachel. Overview The band's members consisted of father, Jason Tracht ...

Wooden Wand Wooden Wand is the stage name of singer-songwriter James Jackson Toth, who has recorded under his given name as well as the name WAND. The style of music recorded by Toth and his many incarnations has drawn on a variety of both conventional and ex ...

the Cribs The Cribs are a British indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that formed in 2001. The band consists of twins Gary Jarman, Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The ...

Danielson Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Brot ...

, Herman Dune, Los Campesinos,

Roky Erickson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Called an "outsider genius," he was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic r ...

, and

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' has published his writings and graphic works. ''The New York Times'' online Op-Ed page "Measure For Measure" hired Jeffrey Lewis to write a number of short essays on the topic of songwriting, some of which he drew in comic book form. All went up on ''The New York Times'' website at intervals from 2008 to 2013. Lewis has created a number of illustrated historical songs, usually sung while flipping through accompanying books of color drawings, including ten such pieces which are in use by

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

on their website. In November 2011, ''The New York Times'' ran a feature article on Jeffrey Lewis in the Arts section of November 23, written by Ben Sisario. Lewis published a comic strip in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper in London. It was entitled "What Would Pussy Riot Do?" and it was printed on the occasion of a new release of a single with the same title. In a January 2018, "MusicMakers" interview with

Adafruit Adafruit Industries is an open-source hardware company based in New York, United States. It was founded by Limor Fried in 2005. The company designs, manufactures and sells electronics products, electronics components, tools, and accessories. It ...

, Lewis announced he was working on numerous new projects, including "Writing a new issue of my comic book series, mastering an album I recorded of covers of

Tuli Kupferberg Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, editorial cartoonist, comic artist, columnist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs. Biography Naphtali Ku ...

songs, mixing an album I recorded in collaboration with

Peter Stampfel Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American Violin, fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter. History Stampfel is best known as a member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a ...

, and working on writing and recording new songs with my band for my own next album. Remastering and repackaging my old 2005 album “City & Eastern Songs" for a deluxe vinyl re-issue."

Artwork and writing

Jeffrey has his own comic book series titled ''Fuff'' (formerly called ''Guff''). The series ended in 2020 with issue 12. In 2021, the ''Complete Fuff Comix Collection'' was released, a bundle of all 13 issues with an exclusive dust jacket and 3 page bonus comic. In March 2009, he designed the cover to the sixth issue of ''Bearded'' magazine. Comics *''Reflections on Tomorrow thus a yesterday Flower Shall Doom'' (1998) *''The Worldwide Comix Scavenger Hunt vol 1'' (1998–2003) *''Reflections #2'' (1998–2003) *''Trip to Key West'' (1999) *''1999 European Travel Diary'' (1999) *''Jeff's Austin Diary'' (2001) *''Come to My Show'' (2004) (reissued as "Fuff # 0" in 2011) *''Guff # 1'' (2004) (reissued as "Fuff # 1" in 2005) *''Guff # 2'' (2005) (reissued as "Fuff # 2" in 2008) *''Guff # 3'' (2005) (reissued as "Fuff # 3 in 2008) *''Fuff # 4'' (2006) *''Fuff # 5'' (2006) *''Fuff # 6'' (2007) *''Fuff # 7'' (2008) *''Fuff # 8'' (2010) *''Fuff # 9'' (2014) *''Fuff # 10'' (2014) *''Fuff # 11'' (2016) *''Fuff # 12'' (2020) *''Complete Fuff Comix Collection'' (2021) *''The Art of Touring'' (2007) (A compilation book featuring a comic story that also appears in Fuff # 6) *Comic book press kit for Mountain Goats' album ''

Heretic Pride ''Heretic Pride'' is the eleventh studio album by the Mountain Goats, released in the UK on February 18, 2008, and in the US on February 19 by 4AD, their sixth album on the label. It is the first to feature the band's lineup of John Darnielle, ...

'' (2008) *The chapter "Tuli Kupferberg" in ''The Beats: A Graphic History'' (2009) (co-author) *''Statics: Issue #1'' (2022) *''Statics: Issue #2'' (2023)

Discography

Albums and EPs

*''When Madman Was Good - Version One'' (1997) *''When Madman Was Good - Version Two'' (1998) *''Indie-Rock Fortune Cookie'' (1998) *''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (1999) *''The Only Time I Feel Right Is When I'm Drawing Comic Books'' (2000) *''I Am, Of Course, Glad'' (2000) *''Kimya Dawson And Jeff Lewis'' (2001) *''Songs From Austin'' (2001) *''Diane Cluck And Jeffrey Lewis'' (2001) *'' The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane'' (Rough Trade, 2001) *''Guitar Situations: Musical Conduct'' (2002) *''AntiFolk Collaborations Volume 1'' (2002) *'' It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through'' (Rough Trade, 2003) *''Jeffrey Lewis "Four Seasons" Box Set'' (Hallso, 2004) *'' City and Eastern Songs'' (Jeffrey & Jack Lewis) (Rough Trade, 2005) *''Gas Money EP'' (2005) (split with Schwervon!) *''Tapes From The Crypt'' (2006) *'' 12 Crass Songs'' (Rough Trade, 2007) *''City and Eastern Tapes'' (2008) *'' 'Em Are I'' (Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard) (Rough Trade, 2009) *''The Bundles'' (K Records, 2010) *'' Come On Board'' (Peter Stampfel & Jeffrey Lewis) (2011) *''A Turn in the Dream-Songs'' (Rough Trade, 2011) *''Hey Hey it's... The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Band'' (2013) (with

) *''Jeffrey Lewis & The Jrams'' (2014) *''

'' (Rough Trade, 2015) *''...Did Not Choose the Tracks...'' (PIAPTK, 2016) *''A Loot-Beg Bootleg'' (Jeffrey Lewis & The Jrams) (2016) *''Works By Tuli Kupferberg (1923–2010) ''(Jeffrey Lewis & The Deposit Returners) (Don Giovanni Records, April 2018) *''13 Fall Songs'' (Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts) (2018) *''Bad Wiring'' (Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage) (2019) *''2019 Tapes: Cowardly & Brave & Stupid & Smart & Happy-Ever-After & Doomed'' (Jeffrey Lewis) (2020) *''2020 Tapes: Shelter-at-Homerecordings & Pandemos'' (Jeffrey Lewis) (2020) *''Both Ways'' (The Jeffrey Lewis &

Band) (2021) *''2021 Tapes: Suddenly it's Been Too Late for a Long Time'' (Jeffrey Lewis) (2021) *''2022 Tapes! Slices of Water (and Song Junk)'' (Jeffrey Lewis) (2023) *''Asides & B-Sides (2014–2018)'' (2023) *''It Could Be Worse'' (2024) *''The Great Gatsby'' (2024) *''2023 Tapes'' (2024) *''The Even More Freewheelin' Jeffrey Lewis'' (2025)

Singles

*"The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song" (2001) *"Back When I Was Four" (2002) *"Graveyard/Spirit of Love" (2002) *"No LSD Tonight/Don't Let The Record Label Take You Out To Lunch" (2003) *"Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror" (2005) *"Had It All" (2005) *"To Be Objectified" (2009) *"Roll Bus, Roll" (2010) *"Cult Boyfriend" (2011) *"WWPRD/Sunbeams/The Fall of the Soviet Union" (2013) *"LPs" (2019) Spotify *"In Certain Orders" (2019) Spotify *"Except for the Fact That It Isn't" (2019) Spotify *"Exactly What Nobody Wanted" (2019) Spotify *"Keep it Chill! (in the East Vill)" (2020) Spotify YouTube *"Now We've Beat That Stupid Virus We Can Get Back to Our Stupid Lives" (2021) *"Bartholomew" (2023) *"The History of the Development of Punk on the Lower East Side, 1950-1975" (2024)

Compilation appearances

*''Antifolk Vol. 1'' (2002) – "You Don't Have To Be A Scientist To Do Experiments on Your Own Heart" *''Call It What You Want This Is Antifolk'' (2002) – "So Long (I'm Gonna Go Draw All Alone In My Shack)" *''Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before'' (2003) – "Part-Time Punks" *''The Art Star Sounds Compilation'' (2005) – "Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror *''R. Stevie Moore presents: "Aesthetic"'' (2005) – "Who Killed Davey Moore (Dylan)" *'' Still Unravished- A Tribute to June Brides'' (2006) – "Waiting For A Change" *''

Anticomp Folkilation ''Anticomp Folkilation'' is a 2-CD compilation album featuring a variety of artists from New York's anti-folk scene. Sounds and themes This album itself has been described as incongruous yet in line with traditional Folk and Punk sensibilities. ...

'' (2007) – "The River" (with

) *''Tallahassee Turns Ten: a Mountain Goats Cover Album'' (2012) *''

Audio Antihero Audio Antihero is an independent record label founded in October 2009 with a South East London base, now located in New York. They have been the subject of several radio BBC, PRI and international radio stories. The label has released titles f ...

Presents: "Some.Alternate.Universe" for

FSID The Lullaby Trust (formerly FSID) is a British charitable organisation aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health. The Lullaby Trust funds research, supports families whose babies have died suddenly and unexpectedly, d ...

'' (2012) – "Dog Eat Dog" *''Weary Engine Blues: Crossroads'' (2013) – "Farewell Transmission" *''Audio Antihero Presents: "Regal vs Steamboat" for Rape Crisis'' (2013) – "Infinite Monkeys" *''Audio Antihero Presents: "Unpresidented Jams" for SPLC & NILC'' (2017) – "Dictator Seeks Reichstag Fire" *''Punk Against Trump Vol. 2 '' (2020) – "2nd Amendment Song" *''Coalition '' (2020) – "Oh My Little Life On Earth"

References

External links

The official Jeffrey Lewis websiteRussian-english podcast about Jeffrey Lewis in Moscow''Efe Eme'' spanish magazine interview by Eduardo Tébar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Jeffrey 1975 births Living people Songwriters from New York (state) Anti-folk musicians American comics artists American folk singers Rough Trade Records artists State University of New York at Purchase alumni Don Giovanni Records artists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male songwriters Jewish anti-folk musicians The Bundles members