At the center of Staind’s heavy sound lies the clues from the frontman Aaron Lewis’ personal life and struggles. Throughout his career with the band, the vocalist tried to incorporate his feelings of depression, relationships, struggle with addiction, and becoming a father in his lyrics. So, one can read the musician’s life story through Staind songs.
Aaron Lewis was born on April 13, 1972, in Rutland, Vermont. Growing up in a dysfunctional family, Lewis moved from place to place during his childhood. He moved to New Hampshire at age eight and lived there until he turned 12. When his parents divorced, he decided to move to Longmeadow, Massachusetts, with his father. There, he attended Longmeadow High School. He also lived in Forest Park, Springfield, Massachusetts, at some point in his life.
Throughout his life, Aaron has been pretty outspoken about his mental health struggles. He didn’t live his childhood in a safe environment, developed abandonment anxiety when his grandfather died, and was subjected to bullying and severe harassment at school. These facts contributed to his severe mental health issues accompanied by substance addiction. Thankfully, the singer found music as a way out.
As a child, Aaron Lewis liked listening to country music his grandfather introduced him to. However, he also developed a taste for metal music in his 20s. In 1993, he met guitarist Mike Mushok at a Christmas party, and they decided to form a band with drummer Jon Wysocki and bassist Johnny April’s addition. With their first public performance in 1995, Staind was born.
Highlights From Aaron Lewis’ Career With Staind
Adapting a heavier and darker heavy metal style, Staind started to gain a following in the first few years of their career. They started with touring extensively, playing cover songs by artists like Korn, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam, and playing at local venues. However, this wasn’t enough — they had to come up with original songs.
In 1996, Staind released their debut album ‘Tormented.’ The following year, they found an opportunity to perform on the same stage with Limp Bizkit. Shortly before the show, Fred Durst came across their album cover and decided to remove them from the bill, thinking they were Satanists. However, he eventually changed his mind and let them perform. Actually, Durst ended up being so impressed by their sound that he signed Staind to Flip Records in 1998.
A year later, Staind released their label debut ‘Dysfunction.’ The album slowly but surely brought Staind huge success, and they started being compared to Korn and Tool. Besides, Aaron’s vocals were highly appreciated by music critics, who believed he sounded like Eddie Vedder. This success was followed by tours with bands like Limp Bizkit and the Crystal Method and the release of their third album ‘Break The Cycle.’
‘Break The Cycle’ was a chart-topper and their best-selling release, with seven million copies sold worldwide. The album featured the nu-metal sound found in their early work and a post-grunge sound clearly heard in the hit ‘It’s Been Awhile.’ However, its follow-up, ’14 Shades of Grey,’ leaned more towards post-grunge and departed from their nu-metal sound. Despite these changes, the band continued to stay prominent in the scene.
Following the successful releases of ‘Chapter V’ and ‘The Illusion of Progress,’ Staind toured extensively with various prominent rock and metal acts. A year after the release of the 2011’s album ‘Staind,’ the band took a hiatus which they deserved for a long time. In 2014, they made a return at the Welcome To Rockville Festival. However, Staind went on a hiatus again after playing at several festivals. During this inactive period, Aaron Lewis focused on his solo career and continued to play solo shows.
Aaron Lewis’ Country Music Career As A Solo Artist
As we said before, Aaron Lewis has had country music roots — he loved listening to country songs as a kid. His desire to release a country music effort was rekindled when he toured with Kid Rock. Aaron then focused on country music during his solo music career and released his first country effort, an EP titled ‘Town Line,’ in 2011. The following year, the musician came up with his first full solo album, ‘The Road,’ which featured ten songs he himself wrote.
While touring to promote ‘The Road,’ Lewis found time to write songs for his second solo album. Titled ‘Sinner,’ the album was recorded in an 18-hour session, with many tracks Aaron recorded in one take. During this period, the musician announced that Staind had no plans of touring extensively. In April 2019, Aaron Lewis released his third solo album’ State I’m In’ and announced Staind’s reunion for live shows that year.
Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, and almost every musician had to put their plans on hold. Aaron used the lockdown as an opportunity to work on new songs. After releasing his protest song ‘Am I the Only One’ and ‘Goodbye Town’ in late 2021, the singer released his fourth studio album ‘Frayed At Both Ends.’ On the other hand, Aaron Lewis also worked with other artists like Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and Cold as a guest musician.
