Victor Vincent "Vic" Fuentes (born February 10, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

rock band Pierce the Veil.

Biography

Fuentes was born on February 10, 1983, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, to Vivian K. Fuentes and Victor Gamboa Fuentes, a painter and former

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician. He has a younger brother,

Mike Fuentes Michael Jay Fuentes (born July 11, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball player. He attended Florida State University, where he was the 1981 recipient of the Golden Spikes Award. Career Fuentes was selected by the Montreal Expos with ...

, two half-brothers, and one half-sister. He is related to Nick Martin, who currently plays in Sleeping with Sirens, and Coal Flower, a lesser-known independent artist. At age 7, Fuentes learned to play guitar. After attending

Mission Bay High School Mission Bay High School (MBHS), is a public high school located in the San Diego, California community of Pacific Beach. It is a magnet school with emphasis on Academic Studies. In Fall 2006, Mission Bay introduced International Baccalaureate c ...

, he attended

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, where he studied graphic design. He quit studying after his former band Before Today was signed to

Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. The label originally existed solel ...

.'' FUZE Magazine'': ''Pierce the Veil - My Artwork: Würde ich keine Musik machen, wäre ich wohl Grafikdesigner'', Seite 17 (Fuze #35, Sep/Aug 2012
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He wrote the song "A Match Into Water" on their third album, '' Collide with the Sky'', for his former girlfriend who was suffering from breast cancer.Amanda Ferrante Batista: ''

The Aquarian ''The Aquarian Weekly'' is a regional alternative weekly newspaper based in New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1969, its focus is rock music and related events in the New Jersey/New York City/Eastern Pennsylvania region. From 1986 to 1992, it ...

''
An Interview with Pierce The Veil: Colliding With The Sky
/ref> He is friends with Curtis Peoples, who was co-writer of the gold single "

King for a Day King for a Day may refer to: Film and television * ''King for a Day'' (1940 film), a 1940 cartoon short in Max Fleischer's ''Gabby'' series * ''King for a Day'' (1934 film), a 1934 short film starring legendary tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinso ...

". They played together in a band called 3 Simple Words while attending high school.

Musical career

During his time at Mission Bay High School Fuentes played in a local punk band called 3 Simple Words alongside Curtis Peoples, who later worked together with Pierce the Veil on some songs, including "

". In 1998 he formed a band called Early Times with his younger brother

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

. After releasing three EPs the band was forced to rename due to copyright violation. The group changed their name to "Before Today". After signing a recording contract with

the band released their only album, ''A Celebration of an Ending'', in 2004 before breaking up two years later.''

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a ...

''
Pierce the Veil
/ref> In 2007 the duo released their debut record, '' A Flair for the Dramatic'', with the newformed band called Pierce the Veil. With this band Fuentes released three more albums, ''

Selfish Machines ''Selfish Machines'' is the second studio album by American rock band Pierce the Veil, released by Equal Vision Records on June 22, 2010. Produced by Vic Fuentes and Mike Green, it was recorded between late 2009 and early 2010. Fuentes wrote mos ...

'', '' Collide with the Sky'', and '' Misadventures'' after integrating bassist Jaime Preciado and guitarist, Tony Perry. He toured in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

several times, played at big music festivals such as

Rock am Ring and Rock im Park The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...

Reading and Leeds The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

, Soundwave Festival and

Slam Dunk Festival Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company, founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six and Decade. The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", ...

. On concert tours Fuentes shared stage with acts including

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardis ...

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band too ...

, Sleeping with Sirens,

Tonight Alive Tonight Alive are an Australian Rock music, rock band from Sydney. As of 2018, the band consists of lead vocalist Jenna McDougall, guitarist Jake Hardy, bassist Cameron Adler, and drummer Matty Best. Formed in 2008 by Hardy, Adler and Whakaio ...

and

A Day to Remember A Day to Remember (often abbreviated ADTR, and previously known as End of an Era) is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida, founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of meta ...

. Alongside his brother, he was involved in the short-lived supergroup

Isles & Glaciers Isles & Glaciers was an American post-hardcore supergroup formed in 2008. They recorded material for their debut EP, '' The Hearts of Lonely People'' December 3–13, 2008 in Seattle, Washington and again in April 2009. It was produced by Casey B ...

with musicians including

Jonny Craig Jonathan Monroe Craig (born March 26, 1986) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter, best known as the former lead vocalist of bands Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa, and Rain City Drive, as well as the co-lead vocalist of the short-lived supe ...

Craig Owens Craigery "Craig" Owens (born August 26, 1984) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of Chiodos. He has also had an involvement in various projects such as Cinematic Sunrise, The Sound of Animals Fighting, Isles & Glaciers, ...

, Brian Southall, Nick Martin and Matt Goddard. After playing only one show at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

2009 and releasing only one EP ('' The Hearts of Lonely People'') in 2010, the band broke up. Fuentes was also a session guitarist for a short North American tour with the short-lived pop punk band

Cinematic Sunrise Cinematic Sunrise was a pop punk American band signed to Equal Vision Records. It consisted of Craig Owens (vocals) and Bradley Bell (piano), along with Bryan Beeler (guitar), Marcus VanKirk (bass), Nick Martin (guitar), and Dave Shapiro (drums). ...

. In November 2022, Fuentes was featured on

Cavetown Robin Daniel Skinner (born 15 December 1998), known professionally as Cavetown (sometimes stylized in all lowercase), is an English singer-songwriter, record producer, and YouTuber. His style blends elements of indie rock, indie pop and bed ...

's album "worm food" on track 4, titled "a kind thing to do".

Songwriting

Fuentes has written songs with the likes of

Tom Denney Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Curtis Peoples and Dave Yaden. He doesn't have a concept for writing his songs but gains inspiration from familiar situations, personal experiences in relationships, touring and friends.

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won fir ...

: ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

''
Interview: Pierce The Veil's Vic Fuentes on recording their “eclectic” third album
/ref> He has written songs inspired by fans, such as "Bulls in the Bronx", on the album '' Collide with the Sky''. This was written for Olivia Penpraze, who committed suicide in April 2012. Her friends wrote a letter to the band about what had happened. Penpraze had been a fan of Pierce the Veil. The band dedicated one song on ''Collide with the Sky'' to the young Australian, but it isn't sure definitively whether it is "Bulls in the Bronx" or "Hold On Till May". "I Don't Care If You Are Contagious", from the second album, ''

'', was also a fan-inspired song. The musicians said in an interview with music magazine ''

'' that a young girl had contacted the band, writing that her boyfriend had died in a car accident,''

''
Track-By-Track: Pierce The Veil
and that they had met for the first time during a Pierce the Veil concert. Fuentes wrote this song as a present for her. "Million Dollar Houses (The Painter)" from the same record is dedicated to his parents. The song is about their parents, who never separated even in a time when the family had almost nothing. Many fans thanked the band for the songs they wrote. They certify their lyrics would have a "healing effect". Some listeners prevented self-harm while listening to his lyrics.

Vocals

Vic Fuentes is well known for his high vocal range, which was compared to

Claudio Sanchez Claudio Paul Sanchez III (born March 12, 1978)Sanchez, Claudio: "The Amory Wars Sketchbook", page 30. Evil Ink, 2007. is an American writer and musician of Puerto Rican and Italian descentKitchen Chronicles: The Menna Family (New York, 2003, p.3 ...

from

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), an ...

by Elmar Salmutter, writing for the German ''

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 available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' magazine.Elmar Salmutter: ''

'' #2/2008: page 96, to be see
here
(

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

Archive)

Accolades

Alternative Press Music Awards The Alternative Press Music Awards was an annual music awards show in the United States, founded by the music magazine '' Alternative Press''. History On April 24, 2014, '' Alternative Press'' announced they were organizing an award show to be ...

** 2014: ''Best vocalist'' (nominated) ** 2015: ''Best vocalist'' (nominated)''Alternative Press''
Here are all the 2015 APMAs nominees!

Discography

Before Today

*''A Celebration of an Ending'' (2004)

Pierce the Veil

*'' A Flair for the Dramatic'' (2007) *''

'' (2010) *'' Collide with the Sky'' (2012) * '' Misadventures'' (2016)

Isles & Glaciers

* '' The Hearts of Lonely People'' (2010)

Guest appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuentes, Vic 1983 births Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists American male singers American rock singers Hispanic and Latino American musicians Musicians from San Diego American musicians of Mexican descent Pierce the Veil members Guitarists from California 21st-century American singers Isles & Glaciers members