Matt Drenik (born June 18, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Drenik was the lead singer of

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

, a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...

band from

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, Texas. He also performs under the moniker

Battleme 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. Early career Battleme first appeared in the season 2 finale of S ...

, a

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

project that he formed when he moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

in 2010. His songs have been featured in numerous American television shows and commercials, including dozens in FX's hit show

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

. His version of Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My" has over 60 million YouTube hits. Drenik was also a contributing member to Los Angeles-based group ''The Forest Rangers'', alongside

Bob Thiele Robert "Bob" Thiele (July 27, 1922 – January 30, 1996) was an American record producer who worked on numerous classic jazz albums and record labels. Early life and career Bob Thiele was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United Sta ...

Dave Kushner Dave Kushner (born November 16, 1966) is an American musician best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. Kushner has also been a member of Wasted Youth, Electric Love Hogs, Loaded, Danzig, Jane's Addi ...

, and

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on '' Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present), Cate He ...

. They served as the house band for

. His song "Metal Heavy Lady" was featured in the game ''Guitar Hero 3''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' has written about his music, as well as ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'',

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

'', ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' magazine, ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' and others. In 2017, ''Classic Rock'' picked his song "Testament" as one of the year's best. His most recent recording, "Cult Psychotica", received an 8 out of 10 on

All Music AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the datab ...

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 Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

and

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...

." Drenik has worked with dozens of acts as a producer, including a solo effort from

Louise Post Louise Lightner Post (born December 7, 1967) 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. Career Shortly after they me ...

of alternative rock band

Veruca Salt 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 rel ...

. In addition to Post, Drenik has produced two albums by Seattle rock band

Acid Tongue (band) Acid Tongue is an American rock band, formed in 2015 in Seattle, Washington. In 2022, ''Rolling Stone'' featured Acid Tongue on their ''In My Room'' concert series. To date, the band has released three studio albums and four EPs on Seattle inde ...

, as well as Grizzled Mighty, Charlie Hilton Blouse (band),

, 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 Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', In 2018, Drenik took a role as Creative Director at Los Angeles-based music company, South Music. Since joining the company, he has worked and overseen music campaigns for Nike, Google, Activision, Cadillac, Jeep, and AT&T. As a writer, he's contributed op-ed pieces to ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'', ''

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

'', ''

Talkhouse ''Talkhouse'' is a digital media outlet and online magazine created in 2013 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Musicians, actors, and filmmakers share their experiences in their respective fields in personal essays, discuss their peers' work in edi ...

'', and ''

OPB Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF translators, ...

Music''. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

With Lions

* Volume 1 (2006 EP) * No Generation (2007 LP) * Let No One Fall (2009 EP)

With Battleme

* Big Score (2009 EP) * Battleme (2012 LP) * Touch (2012 single) * Weight on the Brain (2013 EP) * Future Runs Magnetic (2014 LP) * Habitual Love Songs (2016) * Cult Psychotia (2017)

Production

* Battleme *

* Miller Campbell * Acid Tongue * Chief White Lightning * El Madre (Louise Post of Veruca Salt) * Danny Dodge * Aaron Behrens ( Ghostland Observatory) * Charlie Hilton (

Blouse A blouse () is a loose-fitting upper garment that may be worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women, and children.The Concise Oxford English Dictionary It is typically gathered at the waist or hips (by tight hem, pleats, parter, or belt) so th ...

) * Grizzled Mighty * The Furies * Jesse Vain * Far Lands * Felix Rose * Hairy Patt Band * Moon Darling

References

American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers Living people Musicians from Portland, Oregon People from Greenfield, Indiana 1979 births Singers from Oregon Guitarists from Oregon 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers {{US-rock-singer-stub