Adam Fisher

1962 - 2025

Adam Fisher
11/13/1962 - 12/31/2025
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Adam Land Fisher on New Years Eve of 2025. Before suffering a traumatic brain injury in 1994, Adam was a loving husband and devoted father who was widely known in the SF SOMA nightlife scene in the late 80's and early 90's as both a dee-jay and a cafe owner. He will be remembered for his distinctive style, his passion for vintage vehicles, and his joy for life. He leaves behind a daughter, Zoe Fisher, and grandson, Jude Smith, as well as a sister, Jennifer Fisher, brother, Peter Fisher, niece, Mira Knowles and nephew, Elihu Knowles.
Adam was born in New York City on Nov. 13, 1962, the first child of Mark Fisher and Claudia Land. He spent his early childhood in Detroit, MI, where his siblings were born, and his family moved to California in the mid-70's, ultimately landing in Sacramento, when Adam was 15.
In Sacramento, he developed his love of music and distinctive personal style, hosting a series of house parties and organizing live performances at local nightclubs where he also started cutting his chops as a dee-jay. A prolific artist, he earned a B.A. in fine arts at UC Berkeley and moved to San Francisco in 1986, where he began working as a dee-jay at the DNA Lounge.
Known for his sharp sartorial sense, Adam favored impeccable vintage suits and ties and rode about town on vintage motorcycles and cars (preferably British), which he loved to restore. With friends Paul d'Orléans and Denise Leitzel, he started a motorcycle club in 1987. Tasked with asking the local Hells Angels, Adam approached the local chapter about the possibility of another club wearing "colors." "Just don't use red and white," they responded, and "The Roadholders" motorcycle gang was born.
Beginning with his days as a dee-jay, Adam was a fixture in the South of Market nightclub scene. In 1988, with partners Bill Stone and Courtney Persinger, he took a lease on an old blacksmith's shop at 1539 Folsom St. and opened The Ace Cafe, a fashionable restaurant, late-night hang out, and, eventually, live music venue.
Adam married the love of his life, Darcy Campbell, at Glide Memorial Church in 1990, and the couple's only child, Zoe, was born on Feb. 19,1991.
Adam's life was tragically upended in March of 1994 during a Northern California road rally that he had organized. His MGB GT slid off a rain-slicked roadway in Hopland, CA, crashing into a tree and killing his passenger, James Zaremba. Adam suffered a traumatic brain injury and was never the same. In 1995, Adam's mother Claudia Land and sister Jennifer brought him to New York, where he lived with 24-hour care until the end of his life.
Though profoundly altered by his accident, Adam still retained bits of himself, including his proclivity for bad puns, his artistic bent, and his love of his family. In May of 2023, he was able to attend his daughter Zoe's wedding to Alex Smith in upstate New York. On that joyous day, he danced with his family and charmed everyone--those who had known him for years and those meeting him for the first time--with his infectious, beaming grin. A year later, gushing with pride, he told his physician about becoming a grandfather, a particularly noteworthy occurrence given that his accident had left him with little short-term memory.
Adam always loved a party, and was known for his exuberance at the ones he hosted at the Ace Cafe. Though mostly a tee-totaller, on occasion, after he had a bit too much champagne, he would impress those in attendance by dancing the kozatzke, a memory that will not soon fade for those who were lucky enough to have witnessed it. He seemed to favor celebrations of the passage of time, with birthdays and New Year's Eve at the top of his list. He died from a prolonged seizure at his home in New York City, a complication of the brain injury he suffered nearly 32 years ago, about seven hours before the new year.
Adam will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by all who were lucky enough to know him. The family asks that anyone wishing to honor his memory donate in Adam's name to YAI of New York City, a disability advocacy group that, among other things, organized the art classes that Adam attended in his final years.
https://www.yai.org/get-involved/donate