# 76
Brian D. McTear to me
May 16, 2009
I like that thing you mention about Writings of a Samurai… I am going to have to check it out. You are right. This is exactly what we do. My music for years was almost entirely about dying. It was actually mostly brought about at the time by the death of my dear friend, Sara Weaver (she died of Leukemia in 2002), but really loss of her made me think a lot about my own passing.
Likewise about the parents and the upbringing… My family made me the “star child”. I felt like the featured event in everything I did. I even feel like it was a little damaging to my younger brother, though he says otherwise today (I am one of seven, by the way, with a youngest sister who also has CF). But there was a time when I was about 10 years old where my doctors thought I should go to the Children’s Seashore House in Atlantic City. They said it was like Summer Camp, only in a loosely “hospital-like” setting. It felt more like the institution in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I was supposed to stay for three weeks, but the place and some of the people just freaked me out terribly. When I begged and pleaded to leave, my parents told my doctors that they were going to pick me up (after just 5 days), to which the doctors admitted they were a little concerned that my parents were “in denial” about my condition. The experience really solidified the family approach to raising Brian with CF. In a nutshell, it could be summed up as, “Don’t let anyone tell you that CF means you can’t have a normal life.” Of course, as the circumstances present themselves we have to roll with it, but I am not sure I would have ever had a band, written songs, sang on a stage … These are the most profoundly enjoyable experiences of my life. I am very grateful for their approach!
I can’t wait for you to hear SUNSET, too. If you like Blood Feathers, you are going to love this song. One of the best experiences any of us has ever had in the studio!
B