Adam Lazzara Biography

Adam Burbank Lazzara (born September 22, 1981 in Sheffield, Alabama), is the lead singer of the American rock band, Taking Back Sunday. Along with singing lead vocals, Adam Lazzara occasionally plays guitar and harmonica.

Adam Lazzara grew up in High Point, North Carolina, before moving to Long Island. He has a younger brother, Nathan Lazzara, who is also a musician. His first band was called Nine Lives Left. In 1999, Adam joined Taking Back Sunday, replacing Antonio Longo who sang briefly on their first EP. In 2002 the band released their debut album Tell All Your Friends. On the album he sung co-lead vocals with guitarist John Nolan. It gained popularity by the single Cute Without The 'E' (Cut From The Team), which had a Fight Club themed video. Due to personal differences, Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left to form Straylight Run. They were replaced by singerguitarist Fred Mascherino and bassist Matt Rubano, a former child friend of Mark O'Connell. Fred has since left the band, and the band is currently searching for a replacement.

His live shows are known to be energetic. He tries to interact with the fans as much as he can during concerts. In 2006, his stage antics were noticeably less energetic. The reason for this is unknown, but it has been reported that the band's label has warned him of dangerous stunts resulting in injuries that might cause death, particularly his infamous habit of swinging the microphone.

On February 17, 2007 the band issued a statement on their Myspace page saying this was not the case: "Anyone who has been to recent shows knows that Adam is as active as ever. Anyone remember when he knocked Matt out by swinging the mic in the UK in April? Anyone see the last show on the summer tour where he climbed about 30 feet in the air to hang upside down to finish the last song? Our new label has been nothing but supportive with everything we have done. It's an incredible partnership. They would never tell us to change anything. Please challenge yourselves to think about things you hear."

Along with his other stage antics, Lazzara is most famous for swinging his microphone around by the cord on stage and in music videos. He learned this particular move from famed Garden Weather member Bret Pollington. In the video for the song "MakeDamnSure" from their album Louder Now, Lazzara exhibits this 'habit' to an extreme, including swinging it around his neck like a noose.

During the Give It A Name Festival of 2006, in front of roughly 12,000 people at Earls Court, he accidentally hit bassist Matt Rubano in the head while swinging his microphone, resulting in six stitches. This incident re-popularized a t-shirt design: a bloody microphone wrapped around the neck. This tendency was once mocked by fellow Long Island band Brand New, who released T-shirts reading "Mics are for Singing, Not for Swinging", and "You Know Who You Are" printed on the back. The shirts were designed in the aftermath of John Nolan and Shaun Cooper's departures from the band in 2003. In an email that had been sent out, detailing their fans on the introduction of Fred Mascherino and Matt Rubano's entrance into the line-up, the Taking Back Sunday members stated: "p.s. T-shirts are for wearing, not talking about on the internet..." Later that year, Taking Back Sunday released a retort shirt that read: "Proudly Swinging Since 1999."