Ed Masley

The Republic | azcentral.com

Brian Faber, owner and vice president of Zia Records, died Sunday after suffering a brain hemorrhage and stroke. He would have turned 46 this coming Friday.

Zia Records has posted an official statement on its Facebook page in which the store paid tribute to his "boundless energy, enthusiasm, wit, love of people and vision, saying, "He inspired us to believe in ourselves."

Details of a memorial service and fund will be posted on the website soon.

I spoke to Faber in July about the opening of a Zia Megastore in Mesa, and he was upbeat as usual, making a point at the end of the call to ask how I was doing, something almost no one ever does.

"The other local (Zia) stores have all moved and expanded in the past 10 years," he said. "But in terms of opening a purely new store in the Valley, it's the first one in 10 years. So we're pretty excited. This is a brand new store in a brand new city for us."

The first Zia opened its doors in 1980 in Phoenix. The expansion into Mesa brings the total of stores in the chain to nine, with locations throughout the Valley as well as Tucson and Las Vegas. The leading independent music retailer in Arizona and Nevada, Zia offers new and used music on vinyl and compact disc, movies, games, books, toys, comics, musical instruments, electronics and a wide selection of T-shirts, posters and more.

'My heart aches'

Jason Patrick Woodbury, who worked closely with Faber at Zia, posted an emotional Facebook remembrance Sunday, writing that he’d all but given up on posting anything because "no words could hope to capture the enthusiasm and humor of his oversized personality.”

Then, he remembered something Faber wrote on Facebook when their mutual friend Steve Wiley passed away under similarly sudden circumstances.

“Irreplaceable people,” Faber wrote, deserve "to be remembered and toasted and mourned and shared in every way we may need to in order to honor (their) place in our lives.”

And Faber deserved that honor, Woodbury wrote. “He was a unique, powerful force in my life, and I'm far from the only one. Since the news of his passing has spread, I've received texts, messages, and calls from people I know through Zia Records. Brian affected them all, and through his efforts and vision we had a place to call our own. Nearly every one of these correspondences has ended the same way: ‘I love you.’

"My heart aches for Brian's family, for his cherished wife Kate, his mother, his lifelong friends and all those who knew and loved him. But I'm thankful for his words here, to remind me of our countless conversations, peppered with innumerable jokes and thoughtful wisdom.

"Like I did so often, I defer to Brian's words. He always knew what to say.

"‘His passing will serve as a stark reminder of why we need to make time for each other, that sharing moments with people you love or admire or that make you laugh or make you swoon, all matter.’"