Featured Article:
Living Indubiously
Spencer and his little brother, Evan, grew up surrounded by rock and roll. The two boys, separated by three years, received chest PT to the reggae beat of Bob Marley. They passed the time they spent with an inhaler listening to the Beatles and the Steve Miller band. They played the bass, the guitar and the keyboard. That makes it no surprise the two boys ended up on stage.
Doctors diagnosed Spencer when he was 3 years old, which led them to diagnose Evan at birth when he was born just a few months later. Evan admits he has struggled more with CF-related health issues, and so frequently looks to his brother for inspiration and motivation during tough times.
Spencer laughs. Evidently it's not a hard job to motivate his little brother, as long as it's something that Evan wants to accomplish.
“If you know Evan at all, he's determined; he's going to do it. It doesn't matter what it is – even walking on water – if he sets his mind to something, he does it.”
That get-it-done attitude may be what landed the two brothers in front of music audiences all up and down the West Coast in the first place. Family folklore has it that Evan looked into a crystal ball when he was 10 years old and predicted the future.
“We had to write an essay in my fourth-grade class,” remembers the 23-year-old. “The project was to write how you see yourself in the future. I found the essay in the closet a few years ago, because my mom had saved it, and it said 'I'm in a reggae band with my brother, touring the country.”
Bingo.
Despite the cystic fibrosis, despite the difficulty of “making it” in the music industry, and overcoming any obstacle thrown their way, the brothers are doing just that. Indubious, their reggae band, released its first CD in the spring of 2007, launching the performers on a West Coast tour.
“The essay was almost like a prophecy,” says Spencer.
Evan plays electronic keyboard to Spencer's bass guitar; Bobby is on drums; and, both brothers sing. Their music, and the stages where they perform it, gives the young men a platform from which they can share their optimistic life view.
“We identify ourselves with being musicians, being positive people that want to give a message of love, compassion, caring and kindness; not just in disease, but in life,” says Spencer. “We want to give that to people through our music.”
And they do, in what has been called “electro-funk reggae” by reviewers of their West Coast tour. While they don't keep their CF a secret, and occasionally use it to underscore the importance of their “carpe diem” philosophy, it's hard to believe that the two, bouncing lead singers on stage are living with a potentially life-shortening disease. They thank their parents for their life view.
“I think one of the greatest things about our parents in that respect was that they always told us that our minds were the most powerful thing we had,” says Spencer.
Evan is quick to agree.
“They always gave me the belief that I could do anything I wanted to. They said my disease wasn't going to dictate my life.”
From the looks of how things are panning out for the two brothers, that parental advice seems to have inspired a self-fulfilling prophecy. In fact, the two appear to be walking a sure-footed journey full of “what's next” exuberance.
“Our band's name is Indubious, which means 'not doubtful, sure of oneself,'” points out Evan. He shares a knowing smile with Spencer, who adds, “Living indubiously means being master of your own intention, and not being governed by the circumstances of your life.”
