Brian Fair

Brian Fair (born May 30, 1975) is an American musician from Massachusetts, best known as lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Shadows Fall. He graduated from Milford High School in 1993 and went on to study literature at Boston University.

History

From a young age, Brian Fair had always been known for his affinity for a wide range of music. In seventh grade he had his first visit to a recording studio after he and two friends won a radio jingle contest (sponsored by Mass Electric) with a Beastie Boys-inspired tune "The Energy Conservation Rap Song." In high school, he played bass and sang in a punk band called Frenzy that performed at local underage shows. In the summer of his sophomore year (August, 1991), Fair co-founded Overcast, an influential hardcore band in the Worcester music scene. While Fair was on vocals, Scott McCooe and Pete Cortese played guitar, Mike D'Antonio played bass, and Jay Fitzgerald played drums. Overcast's first 7", Bleed Into One, was released in 1992 through Exchange Records. The band's first full-length, Expectational Dilution, was released in 1994 and is considered a groundbreaking effort as many claim that Overcast are the pioneers of the metalcore scene. Their final full-length, Fight Ambition To Kill, was released in 1997. This release was followed by nationwide touring with Shai Hulud and Disembodied. Overcast eventually split up in November 1998.

Shadows Fall

Shadows Fall is an American heavy metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. Although the band has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of Brian Fair (vocals), Jonathan Donais (lead guitar), Matt Bachand (rhythm guitar), Paul Romanko (bass), and Jason Bittner (drums).

Shadows Fall have released seven studio albums, two compilation albums, and two DVDs. The band's first album featured Philip Labonte (of All That Remains) on vocals, although he was soon replaced by Fair. Shadows Fall's first two studio albums featured David Germain playing drums, but in 2002, Bittner joined the band full-time. In February 2008, the band was a Grammy Award nominee in the category Best Metal Performance for the song "Redemption" off the album Threads of Life. In late 2011, the band entered the studio to begin recording their latest studio album. The album, Fire From the Sky, was released on May 15, 2012, and is the first to be produced by Adam Dutkiewicz since the band's first studio release.

Brian

Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meaning "high" or "noble". For example, the element bre means "hill"; which could be transferred to mean "eminence" or "exalted one". The name is quite popular in Ireland, on account of Brian Boru, a 10th-century king of Ireland. The name was also quite popular in East Anglia during the Middle Ages. This is because the name was introduced to England by Bretons following the Norman Conquest. Bretons also settled in Ireland along with the Normans in the 12th century, and 'their' name was mingled with the 'Irish' version. Also, in the north-west of England, the 'Irish' name was introduced by Scandinavian settlers from Ireland. Within the Gaelic speaking areas of Scotland, the name was at first only used by professional families of Irish origin. It was the fourth most popular male name in England and Wales in 1934, but a sharp decline followed over the remainder of the 20th century and by 1994 it had fallen out of the top 100. It retained its popularity in the United States for longer; its most popular period there was from 1968–1979 when it consistently ranked between eighth and tenth.

Fair

A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks.

Types of fairs

Variations of fairs include: