David Fair, co-founder alongside his brother Jad of Half Japanese, one of the most liberated and undefinable bands to emerge from the American underground, has died. Fair passed away this Saturday, August 29, at the age of 74 due to cancer, as confirmed by his brother to Rolling Stone.
The Fair brothers started Half Japanese in their bedroom and released their first homemade recordings in 1977. Their music blended noise, pop, experimentation, delirious covers, and a wholly DIY philosophy, most visibly in their celebrated text “How to Play Guitar,” where they argued that learning to play basically meant forgetting the rules.
Although Jad was always the main creative force behind the group, David participated intermittently and also built a solo career as a visual artist, producer, and musician. Half Japanese would become a cult band, attracting fans such as Kurt Cobain and earning Nirvana an invitation to open several shows on their 1993 In Utero tour. The legend also has it that Cobain wore a Half Japanese T-shirt when he died.
In Spain we have had the opportunity to see Half Japanese on several occasions, including Primavera Sound in 2011 and GetMAD! in 2017.
