Stefan Lessard
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| Stefan Lessard | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stefan Kahil Lessard |
| Born | June 4, 1974 (age 34) Anaheim, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Rock, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Bassist |
| Years active | 1991-present |
| Label(s) | RCA |
| Associated acts | Dave Matthews Band Yukon Kornelius |
| Website | davematthewsband.com |
Stefan Kahil Lessard (born June 4, 1974) is an American musician, most famous as the bassist for the Dave Matthews Band.
He was born in Anaheim, California, to musicians Ron and Janaki Lessard. After moving a number of times during his childhood, Stefan and his family eventually settled in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1987. They had previously lived from 1980-1984 in Buckingham County, Virginia and in Richmond, Virginia from 1984-1986.
After moving to Charlottesville, he enrolled in the Tandem Friends School, where he studied under John D'earth, who would later be responsible for recommending Stefan to Dave Matthews for inclusion in the band. It was thus that Lessard joined the band as it was forming when he was sixteen years old. At the time, he was so young that he had to sneak in the back door of the clubs where the band were playing.
Lessard completed his junior year of high school before dropping out, and was accepted at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond in their jazz studies program. He dropped out of college after six weeks, when it became evident that he could not keep up with school work while continuing with the band, which was beginning to become extremely busy. He decided that touring with the band would be his schooling.
Lessard has acquired numerous affectionate nicknames, such as "Lizard," most likely a play on words using his last name and "Fonzy," most likely a pun using his first name.
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[edit] Fan Interaction
In 2006, Stefan began maintaining a MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/lowendude. He also owns and maintains a blog at http://www.izstyle.com. With his recent MySpace and Izstyle endeavors, Lessard has become arguably the most public member of the band behind Dave Matthews, sharing his pursuits and an occasional comment with fans on both sites. During the 2007 European Tour, Stefan also began a video blog on YouTube.
[edit] Personal life
Lessard married Long-term girlfriend Josie Baucom in 1997. They had one son together, Elijah Diego (born January 9, 1998) and lost a daughter, Aslan, to SIDS in 1996. They divorced in 2004.
In October 2005 he married girlfriend Jaclyn Burton and together they have two daughters, Hazel Bailey (born March 6, 2004) and Flora Jude. (born July 13, 2006)
On November 29, 2007, Lessard's home in western Albemarle County, Virginia, burned down, with a loss estimated at over 2 million dollars. The original 911 call came in around 7:30am reporting the front of the home on fire. When the initial fire crews arrived, the entire home was engulfed in flames. It took over 40 firefighters from 6 different fire departments to extinguish the blaze. The origin of the fire is unknown at this time, however, according to the Albemarle County Fire Marshall's Office, Cedar Shake siding contributed to the rapid spread of the fire across the house. Lessard and his son were home at the time of the fire. They escaped unharmed. The family is reported to be staying with friends in the area.
[edit] Equipment
Lessard plays a variety of bass guitars, including those made by Modulus and Warwick, and Hill Custom Basses. On the Dave Matthews Band album Busted Stuff, he also played piano, Hammond organ, and Dobro guitar.
- Thomastik-Infeld Power Bass Strings
- Ampeg SVT-2 and SVT-4 Pro Heads
- Ampeg 8x10 and 2x15 Bass Cabinets
- Furman PL-8 Power Conditioner
- Shure U4D-UB Wireless Units
- Eventide GTR-7000 Ultra-Harmonizer
- Whirlwind 4ch Multi Selector
- Korg DTR-1 Digital Tuner
- Rane SM26B Splitter/Mixe
[edit] Side Projects
On January 9th, 2008, Stefan performed with members of Guster and Barenaked Ladies under the name Yukon Kornelius.
[edit] Guest Appearances
Gov't Mule's - "The Deep End, Vol. 1", (2001) playing on the track "Beautifully Broken".
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