Zach Blair (born December 26, 1974) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Chicago-based punk rock band

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...

. Before joining Rise Against in early 2007, Blair was a member of

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...

group

Only Crime Only Crime is an American melodic hardcore group formed by Good Riddance singer Russ Rankin and Bane guitarist Aaron Dalbec in 2003. The band plays melodic but hard-hitting punk rock that borrows heavily from early-1980s hardcore bands such as ...

along with his brother, Doni Blair, who currently plays with the

Toadies Toadies are an American rock band formed in 1989 in Fort Worth, Texas, best known for the song " Possum Kingdom". The band's classic lineup consisted of Vaden Todd Lewis (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Lisa Umbarger (bass guitar), Darrel Herb ...

. The brothers were founding members of the bands

Hagfish Hagfish, of the class Myxini (also known as Hyperotreti) and order Myxiniformes , are eel-shaped, slime-producing marine fish (occasionally called slime eels). They are the only known living animals that have a skull but no vertebral column, a ...

and Armstrong. Blair was also

Flattus Maximus Flattus Maximus is the name of a character and former guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known for his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" is indicative of the charact ...

GWAR Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...

from 1999 to 2002. He made a return to GWAR as Splattus Maximus on the 2013 album ''

Battle Maximus ''Battle Maximus'' is the thirteenth studio album by Gwar. The album was released on September 17, 2013 through Metal Blade Records. The album was the first to feature new guitarist Brent Purgason (of Cannabis Corpse), portraying the new characte ...

''. He has also been a second touring guitarist for The Loved Ones and was second guitarist on the instrumental band The Mag Seven's album ''The Future Is Ours, If You Can Count''. Rise Against's fifth studio album, '' Appeal to Reason'', released in 2008, was its first with Blair. He also appeared on the band's sixth studio album release, ''

Endgame Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to: Film * ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film) * ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film * ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...

'', which was released in 2011. Rise Against's seventh studio album, '' The Black Market'', was released in 2014. As of early 2015, Blair has taken part in playing guitar for the punk band Drakulas alongside members of

The Riverboat Gamblers Riverboat Gamblers is an American punk rock band originally from Denton, Texas, formed in 1997, now residing in Austin, Texas. The band's current line-up comprises vocalist Mike Wiebe, guitarist/voc Fadi El-Assad, guitarist/voc Ian MacDougall, ...

. Blair currently resides in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. He is

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

, a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

and an

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

advocate and actively promotes

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

with the other members of Rise Against.

Equipment

2018 RiP - Rise Against - by 2eight - DSC1864

Guitars *Gibson Les Paul Custom (Black). Custom made for Blair by Gibson. Single humbucker (bridge), single knob (volume) and toggle switch middle and neck position made into kill switch *Gibson Les Paul Classic (Black) w/Seymour Duncan JB pickups (with Motörhead symbol) *Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Reissue (Chambered Body) w/Seymour Duncan Distortion Pickups *Gibson Les Paul Standard (Black) w/ Seymour Duncan JB Pickups *Gibson SG Standard (Black) w/ Seymour Duncan Distortion Pickups *Gibson Les Paul '68 Custom (Black) w/ Seymour Duncan JB Pickups, without Pick-guard. (White) Amps and Cabinets *Marshall JCM900 4100 100watt Hi Gain Dual Reverb amp head (with 5881 Tubes) *Mesa Boogie 4x12 Recto Cab with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers *Mesa Boogie custom built Road Ready Cab with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers Effects and More *Boss TU-2 pedal *Lehle P-Split A/B/Y splitter *Boss NS-2 pedal *Line 6 Echo Park pedal *Rivera Channel Switcher *Furman Power Conditioner *Shure ULX Wireless Receivers *Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus Strings and Picks *Ernie Ball Coated Slinky guitar strings (10-46 gauged) *Ernie Ball Hybrids .10 - .52 *Dunlop Tortex Standard Guitar Picks (.50 .60 .73 .88)

Discography

;With Hagfish *''

Buick Men ''Buick Men'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band Hagfish. It was released in 1993 on Dragon Street Records. Eight of the album's tracks would be re-recorded for the follow-up ''Rocks Your Lame Ass''. Critical reception ''Trouser ...

'' (1993) *''

Rocks Your Lame Ass ''...Rocks Your Lame Ass'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Hagfish, released in June 1995 on London Records. The album was recorded and produced by Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Col ...

'' (1995) *''

'' (1998) *''Caught Live'' (1999) *''That was Then, This is Then'' (2001) ;With GWAR *''

You're All Worthless and Weak Gwar is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984. Their discography includes fifteen studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, and two EPs. The band has also released nine singles. Discography Studio albums ...

'' (2000) *''

Violence Has Arrived ''Violence Has Arrived'' is the eighth studio album by the band Gwar. It was released on November 6, 2001, through Metal Blade Records. According to an interview with Dave Brockie, it was originally supposed to be released on September 11, 2001, ...

'' (2001) *''

'' (2013) ;With Armstrong *''Dick, the Lion-Hearted'' (2002) ;With Only Crime *'' To the Nines'' (2004) *''

Virulence Virulence is a pathogen's or microorganism's ability to cause damage to a host. In most, especially in animal systems, virulence refers to the degree of damage caused by a microbe to its host. The pathogenicity of an organism—its ability to ca ...

'' (2007) ;With The Mag Seven *''The Future is Ours, If You Can Count'' (2006) ;With Rise Against *'' Appeal to Reason'' (2008) *''

'' (2011) *'' The Black Market'' (2014) *''

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

'' (2017) *''

Nowhere Generation ''Nowhere Generation'' is the ninth studio album by American punk rock band Rise Against, released on June 4, 2021 on Loma Vista Recordings. It is the band's first album in four years, serving as the follow-up to 2017's ''Wolves''. Four singles w ...

'' (2021)

References

;Other sources *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Zach Living people American punk rock guitarists Singers from Chicago American heavy metal guitarists People from Sherman, Texas Singers from Texas Only Crime members 1974 births Guitarists from Chicago Guitarists from Texas American male guitarists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers Rise Against members Gwar members