Band
drew bellGuitar, Lead Vocals
 Birthday: December 18thFrom: Clearwater, FL Equipment: ESP LTD Electric Guitars Takamine Acoustic Electric EVH Amplification Marshall Amplification Boss and MXR Pedals D’Addario Strings Dunlop Picks With the right spark, a fire can catch, and in minutes spiral out of control. With the right precision, this blaze can be controlled and honed and pushed in the direction it needs to go. Drew Bell brings his passion and vision to From This Fire with a seeming reckless abandon. He has a specific plan for the group, however, and to speak with him, you would be able to share in the sheer excitement of the music, from his perspective. Drew’s beginnings in music formed early on. From two hand-me-down cassette tapes supplied by his brother, he would listen to Stryper’s “Yellow And Black Attack” and “Soldier’s Under Command” over and over. Something about the blazing guitar work and the message convinced him that this is what he wanted to do. In middle school, Drew formed his first “band.” Sure, no one knew how to play anything or sing a note, but that didn’t stop him from drawing logos all over his notebooks and using art class to perfect the album covers he had in his mind. Then the real test came. Once in high school, Drew was called upon by his church’s youth group to play drums. He had only to this point played his brother’s set a total of probably two times, and pretty much air-drummed to all of his favorite records. However, he had such a curiosity about different rhythms and drum fills, that he would often painstakingly rewind the CD he was listen to multiple times to hear the fill correctly. He played drums in his youth group for years and still plays drums to this day. Around twelve-years-old, Drew picked up his brother’s classical guitar, learned the D-chord, and played that one chord for about a year. The large frets proved no match for his smaller hands, and he believed he would settle for being a drummer. He gave up the guitar, but eventually returned to it a year or so later when his father bought him an acoustic-electric Takamine. This guitar, which Drew still has to this day, is the main guitar he uses to write on. It also during these formative years that Drew discovered Metallica’s “Black Album,” and the rest is history in the making. Drew honed his songwriting skills and played with different friends throughout high school. When he was 21, he formed his first “real” band and played guitar and sang lead vocals. After joining up with Brian in 2004, and Gabe later in 2005, Drew continues to focus on his skills to bring the band to the next level. The band, his passion and intense vision, of course, is From This Fire. And with the release of From This Fire's debut album on Jan. 12th, 2010, and the addition of Derek Fair on bass guitar and Ben Bowman on lead guitar, this passion and intense vision has only grown exponentially. Comments (1)
gabe HigginsDrums/Percussion/Vocals/Light Saber
Equipment: From This Fire would not be the same band without the thunderous talents of Gabe Higgins. More than just a backbeat, Gabe provides the entire backbone of the group and although confined mostly to the drum riser, he manages to push his personality to the front of the stage. The band as a whole pushes to a new level when they feel the excitement and charisma Gabe brings to the table. The influence of rock’n’roll started early for Gabe, and apparently, hasn’t left him since. His earliest memories include riding in the car with his father while the Rolling Stones or George Thorogood blasted through the speakers. Nothing like driving around town with his dad with “Bad To The Bone” on 11! When Gabe attended middle school, he began playing the drums and practicing in earnest when he joined the school’s band class. Having a natural ability to play the drums, He was soon asked to play the drums for his youth group. This was where he was able to develop his skills on the drum set. He didn't have drums at home though, and his family wasn't wealthy enough to buy any. However, Gabe’s passion for drums was too strong to let the lack of having money to buy drums keep him from playing. So he took it upon himself to fashion a make-shift drum set at home out of boxes, basketballs, and tin can lids. He even fashioned a working foot-pedal out of home-made materials. Eventually his passion and talent at the drums was more then evident and someone at church took notice. They saw the potential and anonymously donated an entire kit to Gabe. This was a sure sign from above that this is what he was meant to do and since then, playing music has dominated his life. He even took up playing guitar early on just to expand his abilities in playing and writing music. Even joined his first band "Limbo" with some friends at the age of 12. Since then, He has played with many different artists running the genre gamut from blues, to pop, to rock, to country. Now Gabe is focusing on the style he enjoys to play the most while striving to be the best he can be in doing what he loves. Gabe's larger-than-life stage presence may seem overbearing for other bands to have their drummer become such a personality, but with FTF... it's a perfect fit. Now feeling at home, Gabe has joined his friends Drew, Derek & Ben to bring a long time vision into fruition that is From This Fire. ben bowmanLead Guitar / BG Vocals
Ben Bowman Equipment:
With a wisdom and maturity beyond his years, this youngest member of the band grew up listening to bands such as Rush, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and AC/DC. Having been raised in church and possessing a strong belief and firm foundation nearly from the start, Ben went through a “formative stage” where he picked up the bass guitar to start playing in local bands in the area. Instead of going for the easy route, he was particularly drawn to the riffing and lead-style bass of Rush’s Geddy Lee.
derek fairBass Guitar
 Birthday: May16thFrom: Clearwater, FL Equipment: Yamaha Bass Guitars Carvin Amplification Home Grown Fingers Rounding out the talent that Drew Bell and Gabe Higgins have been blessed with to have in From This Fire, Derek Fair has a story similar to Ben Bowman’s. His earliest memories consist of tagging along to his father’s band practices, often falling asleep on the couch. At the age of 15, the bass player position in his dad’s band became vacant, and the joke was, “Hey – we should get Derek to play bass!” The influence on Derek was nearly priceless, as his father pulled out his The Who records and Derek was immediately hooked.
Needless to say, he decided right then and there to learn the bass guitar. He’s enjoyed every moment that he’s used to expand his skills on the instrument, and has become quite proficient on the instrument. This is positively a no-brainer if you’ve ever seen Derek live. He loves to lay back, but his bass riffing and bass lines play an integral part of whatever project he’s involved in. This is none more evident than in his live contributions to From This Fire. He adds a depth to the band; a sonic space that allows certain passages to breathe, even when the band is barreling through big, bombastic song sections.
Over the past 19 years, Derek has played music in numerous genres, including Alternative Rock, Top 40, Blues, Oldies, and more. Derek was also proud to receive an Ampeg endorsement. From This Fire represents the pinnacle of his music career and Derek is proud to be a part of such atalented group. The passion and dedication of all of its members can only take this band in one direction - up! |
Birthday: March 23rd