March 28, 2019
It is with broken hearts we share with you that in the wee hours of March 26th we lost our dear friend and band-mate Brain Lahaie. Brian was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer in early February and left us peacefully, his partner Mira by his side. Brian is survived by Mira and their young daughter Davida, his mother Tuula, Brother Trevor, In-laws Shari and David, sister-in-law Hannah, and brother-in-law Luke.
As drummer, principle producer and engineer for The DoneFors, Brain’s creative light shone so brightly. He played drums unlike any other drummer we’ve known and was an enormous part of what created our ‘sound’. Brian always approached arranging his percussion parts with extreme thoughtfulness, always wanting to connect intimately with the core theme or lyrical sentiment of a song. And his ideas always illustrated his creativity. He was engaging to watch perform. A gentle giant, bobbing around in intense concentration – always having the best time. We’ve known a few drummers who have tried to wrap their sticks around some of his parts and failed to figure out his secrets. During any writing and recording we always conferred with Brian before booking sessions, as it was very important we work during specific phases of the moon so we could yield the most fruitful results.
As a friend, Brian was always there for a hug, a warm conversation, a debate about something existential, or a laugh at bad jokes. He was truly a gentle and kind human; a unique individual who saw the world slightly differently than most. Brian lived his life by a certain set of principles that could only be envied by many. He seemed to put the right things first and not be troubled by the trivial details.
One of Brian’s favourite things was spending time in nature. He’d been working on building a log cabin by hand and had big dreams of a studio in the woods. He revelled in the solitude of his time alone there… just Brian and the mosquitoes. Brian also taught us the value of a good quality coffee bean. He was a hugger of trees. He danced. He was a great cook.
As a dad, Brian brought grace, kindness and compassion to his role as father to his young daughter Davida. He was a loving partner to Mira and their family was a marvel to anyone who got to spend time amid their almost tangible love for each other. We are heartened to know that Brian was surrounded by this incredible love in his final days.
Though we can’t bring this incredibly beautiful human back to us, we can show our support by helping Mira and Davida through these difficult days ahead, as well as contribute to helping with Davida’s care and education funding.
We thank you for your support!
With love,
Janine, Paul and Liam
GO FUND ME