Getty Diego Farias pictured in June 2016.
Diego Farias, one of the founding members of Volumes, has died, his brother, Gus Farias, confirmed on Twitter. Farias’ tragic death comes a few days after he announced his departure from the band.
Farias founded the metalcore band in Los Angeles alongside fellow guitarist Daniel Braunstein in January 2009. The band’s first album, “Via,” appeared in 2011 and was followed up with 2014’s “No Sleep.”
Gus Farias tweeted, “RIP to my brother Diego I love you. I can’t believe I’m typing this.” He followed that up with, “We toured the world together. We lived the dream together. I love you Diego. Rest in paradise little brother you now live thru me.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Numerous Musicians Are Expressing Their Grief at Farias’ Passing
In tribute to his brother, Gus Farias changed his Twitter handle to “RIP DIEGO I LOVE YOU LIL BRO.” Gus also posted the above image to his Instagram page in tribute to his brother.
Like Moths To Flames drummer Greg Diamond paid tribute to Farias tweeting, “RIP Diego Farias, an absolute genius of a musician and an even better person ?.” While Parick Hall wrote, “RIP Diego Farias, this one hurts a lot. Volumes for life ??.” Singer Hance Alligood said, “Very sad to hear about the passing of Diego Farias. The times we toured together, he always met me with a smile and a hug. Such a talented guy, and I am grateful to have known him. Rest In Peace, Diego.”
2. Farias Announced His Departure From Volumes in on January 29
On January 29, Farias tweeted that he was no longer working with Volumes saying, “Just wanna make an announcement that I am no longer performing or writing with the guys love you thnx xoxo.” Gus Farias left the group in December 2019 after being fired. The band is due to tour in Europe in March 2020 with singer Michael Barr who has rejoined the band after leaving in 2015.
An official statement from the band on Farias’ departure said in part, “Diego was never fired/kicked out of the band. Over the past few years, we have seen him grow in his career as a producer and as a result he lost the desire to tour with the band then subsequently couldn’t further commit to the overall writing process with the group.”
3. Gus Farias’ Departure From Volumes Has Been Described as ‘a Little More Complicated’
That press release said that the situation involving Gus was “a little bit more complicated.” The band says that their relationship with Gus was no longer “compatible.” The band said that they wouldn’t go into details on the departure but that Gus would “kill the game moving forward” with his new act, Yung Yogi.
Gus had said on his departure in a statement on his Instagram page, “To make it clear, me exiting had zero percent to do with drugs. It was over some way more petty s***; it’s sad… I just want to make it clear that I did not quit. I love being in a band. I got kicked out for personal bull****, which really is bull****. I’m gonna be the bigger man and not air out business like that. I got a check, I secured my royalties. I’m out.”
In March 2017, Gus announced that he was celebrating “almost three years off heroin.” Gus tweeted that it brought him “tears of joy” after finding the early stages of sobriety “impossible.” Gus added, “Music saved my life.”
4. Farias Was the Winner of 2 Latin Grammys
On his Twitter bio, Farias describes himself as “platinum, Grammy award-winning producer but sometimes I play guitar.” According to his Facebook page, Farias was a graduate of El Camino Real Senior High School and was a native of Los Angeles. On that page, Farias describes himself as the CEO of Farias Productions.
In 2016, Farias won two Latin Grammys for his engineering work on icon Juan Gabriel’s album, “Los Duo 2.” The album took home the awards for Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Farias was quoted at the time as saying, via Lambgoat, “I am stoked that my family and I were honored at this year’s Latin Grammy Awards. RIP Juan Gabriel, you changed so many thousands of lives for the better. On another note, I can’t wait to show you all of what we have in store with this new Volumes album. I have spent the last year and a half carefully & diligently crafting what I feel is our best work yet!” Juan Gabriel passed away in August 2018.
5. Farias Produced Jake Paul’s Viral Hit, ‘It’s Everyday Bro’
In 2017, Farias produced YouTube star Jake Paul’s viral hit, “It’s Everyday Bro.” Shortly after the video was released, it achieved more than 100 million views on YouTube. On May 30, 2018, Farias proudly announced on his Facebook page that following the success of the song, he was now a platinum producer.
Farias is listed as a composer and producer on the website for Farias Productions, a music production company that was set up by his father, Gustavo Farias. The page describes Farias as being “an established guitar player and producer.” The bio goes on to say that Farias has worked with acts such as Animals As Leaders and underground rapper, Pouya.
Farias’ father has worked with artists as varied as Melissa Etheridge, Juan Gabriel, Paul Anka and Andrea Bocelli, according to his official website. Gustavo Farias has also worked on commercials to Miller, Budweiser, Coca-Cola and Walmart.
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