Today marked the official 1 year anniversary of surviving the brain surgery I had to remove a fist-sized tumor.  It's hard to believe it's been a whole year.  To think, as I sit here righting this blog, last year at this very moment I was lying in ICU with 35 staples in my head.  Fortunately, these next few up-coming days will be far more enjoyable than they were last year.  There was one night in particular when one of the medications was giving me some serious hallucinations.  Interesting, but not at all fun.

Anyhow, it has been a great year and I could not be more thankful!  So many wonderful things have happened and I'm in the best health of my life.  I'll also be hosting my own radio show starting Saturday September 12th (8-10pm Central) on 99 Hit FM.  (If you're not in the area, you can stream it at www.99HitFM.com)  Starrfadu has been doing some recording and we played a couple of local shows this past month that went great.

I've said it before, and I always will, God has a plan for my life and He spared it for a reason.  So many prayers went up for me and I know He heard them... otherwise I wouldn't be writing this right now.

Thanks for your support and encouragement and I hope you're doing well.

Austin

Well I have some great news!  For those of you who have been following my brain tumor blogs, I had another MRI a couple of weeks ago and the results were amazing.  The surgeon said (in a letter) that "... the scan looks excellent."  The even better news is that the 2% of tumor he had had to leave has been reduced and that "In truth, this looks more like resolving scar tissue than an active tumor."  WOW, what an answer to our prayers!  On a side note, my energy and recovery is going great.  I bought a Wii Fit (and love it) and started using free-weights again.  I still have some tough days every now and then, and my memory is becoming a chore, but other than that I'd say I'm almost back to normal.

In Starrfadu news, we're back in the studio!  It's been close to a year since Brian, Dave and I worked together and I'm excited about how things are coming so far.  In the past I've always written songs, brought them to the guys, we'd practice and play them live for a peroid of time, and then go in to record them.  This time, we all got together in the studio, I played them a new song and we started recording that night.  Something else we're doing different is recording with Jeremy Larson.  Oran Thorton (who we recorded our last 2 albums with) moved to Nashville and it's not a feasible commute.  I'm really wanting to stay progressive in our music and I think doing things in somewhat of a new way will accomplish that.

You can expect some 'testing of the waters' so-to-speak in our up-coming project(s).  It's crazy the types of things you think of when you're on hardcore meds after a major brain surgery.  But hopefully, I'll be able to get out what I'm hearing inside.  As with anything, people will love it or hate it.  Doesn't really matter though, if we record it then we loved it.

I'm not sure if you know this or not, but I started updating Starrfadu's Facebook page.  I've been doing it pretty reguarly and I'm trying to post things I haven't already posted on our MySpace page.  Things like Videos and Photos and stuff like that - so be sure and check that out.  I'm also going to try and stay up on our recording process through video, photos and blogs. 

Thanks so much for your support of our music and encouragement throughout my journey having a brain tumor.  Your comments and prayers have been much appreciated.

God bless,

Austin

It's no surprise that a new year brings about new beginnings; or "changes" as the 'glass is half empty' people would put it.  And, as anyone who reads my blog knows, mine started last Fall with the discovery of my brain tumor.  No need to rehash all of that information so if you don't know what I'm talking about please go back and read my earlier blogs.

Over the course of these last few months while I've been home in recovery, which is going great I might add,  many 'new beginnings' have taken place.  One of the biggest has been my new way of eating.  I, like most people, love to eat and it is really more of a social thing I think then just the food.  It seems like whenever I want to hang out with friends or family it is scheduled around some sort of meal or coffee drink or something like that.  However... 

That surgery brought about the dawning of a new day.  After listening to a Bio Chemist talk about the top 10 things never to eat, and realizing that all of those things made up my own personal 'food pyramid,' I knew I had to make a change.  Thus, I was introduced to vegetables.

I can't say that I had ever eaten a vegetable.  I had seen them around from time to time but something about them just had no appeal.  They were a food that grown-ups ate and even though I've become a grown-up now myself, the same rule seemed to still apply - they were for anyone older than me.

So we shook hands and being polite I listened to what the vegetables had to say.  They seemed to mean well but I could never quite understand them.  Mainly because my gag reflex kept interrupting.  It was as if it knew that vegetables would make a positive influence on me and it didn't want that.  (Ever know someone like that?  They're bringing you down and in an effort to meet someone new who you think could lift you up they just keep getting in the way to prevent it?  I hate that.) 

Anyhow, it just wasn't happening.  So my wife bought a juicer.  Now, let me say this, for those of you who eat salads and vegetables and fruits, this is no big deal.  But you have to remember, in my 30 years of life I have never eaten food like this.  It's been nothing but pizza, Mexican, pork, grease and sweets for me.  Telling me something I tried to eat, that made me want to literally vomit, is about to be made in liquid form is a... shall I say, stand up routine?

But, being the father of two small boys who are needing to see their dad be a man who can overcome challenges (as if brain surgery weren't enough) I downed a few ounces of carrots and greens with an apple for taste.  I was reborn.  I could actually drink vegetables!  I'm not talking V8, I'm talking natural, organic and raw.  Manly vegetables!  (Sorry ladies, that was for humor.  Everyone knows there's no distinction when it comes to veggies.)

So why am I telling you all of this?  To say that you can overcome and achieve "new beginnings" this year!  Don't let anyone, including yourself, prevent the changes you know you need to make in your life happen.  If I, after 30 years of eating unhealthy food, can start eating the right things (causing me to lose 25lbs. I might add!) then you can jump your hurdle too.

Just remember this, when you overcome something this year, I'll be toasting you with a nice glass of cauliflower.

Austin 

About a week ago I did an interview with Trey George of Springfield's GO Magazine.  Brian, Dave and I would like to thank everyone at GO for choosing to focus on us.  You can support them by checking them out at SpringfieldGO.com

Here's the full version of our interview together.

Q: How did it all start?

A: My last semester at Evangel University (Dec. 2000) I had an apartment
and decided to teach myself guitar and start writing lyrics.  When I
graduated, I moved back in with my parents (just South of Branson) and got
a few guys together.  We became an official 'garage band;' as we literally
practiced in an auto shop where a guy would often be welding a Jeep right
next to us as we practiced.  Long story short, we just weren't the right
blend and split up (with no hard feelings).  And a couple of months later
I bought a house in Ozark.

In 2001, some friends of mine in a band from Atlanta were in town for a
show and asked if I wanted to open for them.  I didn't have a 'band' at
the time, so Jason Poe & James Hafner (formerly of The Professional
Americans) played guitar and bass, while Brian Moody (formerly of Still
Water Rhythm) would join on the drums.  My very first show was to play a
birthday party at Lighthouse Lanes... on the lanes... beneath the black
lights.  It was great!  Afterwards we received a lot of positive feedback,
so I decided to try and build a new band.  After a handful of local shows
and various members, Brian Moody would come on full-time for drums and
Dave Martin would join full-time for bass.  And the official 'Starrfadu'
was born.

Q: Why 'Starrfadu'?  

A: 'Starrfadu' came from a girl I knew in 6th grade; whose name was 'Starr
Fedew.'  After seeing an old class photo and going through the names, I
just felt like it made a good band name.  But I liked it pronounced as one
word instead of two.  When I asked Brian and Dave what they thought, they
pretty much replied that it sounded weird, but really didn't care either
way.

Q: How did the Kleenex deal come about?

A: A guy in the creative department at JWT (New York), the ad agency who
created the ads, found our song 'Let It Out' on iTunes.  They emailed me
about licensing the song, and things just moved along from there.  It was
a much longer process than you'd probably expect, but rewarding.  The
biggest reward however, was giving a large amount of the licensing money
toward building clean water wells in Africa.  An investment that we're
still trying to continue... and by investment, I mean a future of lives
saved through clean water.

Q: I'd thought I'd heard rumors of the band breaking up, but that was before
this most recent album.  Where those rumors unfounded?

A: When Brian decided to move to Boston to get his Master's Degree in
Theology (which takes 2 years), I can see where people might have thought
that we would break up.  We had him record his remaining drum parts for
the album before he moved, so we'd still be able to move forward.  Often
people would ask me if we were going to break up... or who I was going to
replace him with.  Honestly, I didn't feel like either was going to
happen.  When we released our album ('And Yes... Our Thoughts Were
Elsewhere') at BB Kings in Nashville for a special Kleenex event with Will
Hoge, we flew him in for it.  He has since moved back, become a father,
and is taking his courses through correspondence.  He's got one class
he'll take in Boston from January to May, but when he gets back we'll
start working on a new project.

Q: How was recording with Jeremy Larson?

A: It was an honor to record with one of Springfield's most elite.  Being
with him was like hanging out with a famous rapper. It was nothing but
box-seats and the Tower Club every night... with coffee anytime we wanted
it.

All kidding aside, we've actually recorded our last two albums with Oran
Thorton (of Flick), whose an amazing guy to work and hang out with.  Due
to some scheduling conflicts towards the end of the project, we had to do
some recording with Jeremy.  He was great to work with as well, and we
have developed a very mutual sarcastic friendship.  Like Oran, he's a very
talented guy, and it was great to play with him for the filming of his DVD
at the Gilloz.

Q: Doing any record label shopping?

A: Honestly, I've never had any motivation to do that.  I enjoy writing,
recording and owning my own music. The idea of changing that from a hobby
to a job (where I'd be working for someone else) just has never had an
appeal to me.  When the Kleenex ads started airing in the UK (Jan. 07) we
were offered a record deal from EMI to release our CD 'A Narrow Road To
Silence' in March of 07.  My father has always said to shoot for a win/win
result, and since we weren't able to do so, we had to turn it down.  On a
side note, Plain White Tees took the path we would have taken, had we
accepted the deal.

Q: As a band, compared to other successful Springfield acts, you keep it
pretty low key – not a lot of shows. (Though, I think I saw you guys on a
Pepsi truck on MSU campus, right?)  And I can't recall a tour that you've
been on.  If that's correct, was it a decision to take the unconventional
route, or did it just kind of happen that way?

A: We've strived to keep things low-key.  We don't play in bars, so that's
'limited' our options for local shows.  And we've never been on an
official tour of any kind.  That's funny; I had forgotten about the Pepsi
Tour performance.  I think they found us on MySpace and asked us to play
while they were at MSU.  It was fun and they were great to work with. 
We've played to 80,000+ (for the 'I Love America' Celebration) and 6
people at The Magic Bean... in the same week.  As fun as both of them
were, I think the three of us prefer the more intimate sets.  Even
throughout the Kleenex and EMI decisions we kept asking ourselves if we
really wanted to do this, and how would affect our daily lives?  And
basically, those decisions have kept our day-to-day lives the same.  And
we enjoy it that way.

Q: How have you handled your recent cancer scare?

A: Towards the end of July I found that I had a brain tumor. 
Fortunately, it was benign.  Originally it was thought to be the size of a
golf ball, but later was sized around a small fist.  I was told that a
male in his early 30's is rare for this type of brain tumor.  From the
moment I heard, I knew God had a purpose for it, and I was ready for it;
regardless of the outcome.  A couple of weeks later my family and I drove
to Minnesota to have it removed at the Mayo Clinic.  They were able to
remove 98% of it, and the other 2% we'll continue to keep an eye on.  I
actually just had my three month follow-up MRI at Mayo and the surgeon
says everything looks great.  I'm not sure what lead me to do so, but I
have been blogging the whole experience on our MySpace page; including a
CAT Scan photo of the tumor, a short video at Mayo and a photo of my
incision with the 35 staples in my head.  Fun stuff.  It's been great
doing it though, and physically I feel great.  The prayers and
encouragement from all over the world that have come in have been amazing.
 And as I said before, I know God has a purpose for all of it.  Thanks for
asking.

*

I must admit, despite all of the great days and written optimism, there are days where I feel weak. Yesterday was one of those days. It's days like those where I am reminded that less than 3 months ago I had brain surgery. I don't think I'll ever truly understand the magnitude of the situation I was in. It all happened so fast. I found out I had a tumor - I had it removed - I was sent home - Back to being normal. Then days like yesterday hit, and I think 'whoa. I'm still not as strong as I used to be... yet!' Recovery is a process; we all know it. Fortunately, mine is going extremely well.


Back when we were recording "And Yes... Our Thoughts Were Elsewhere," I knocked out a couple of acoustic versions of old songs I just wanted to have good versions of. To clear the conscience, I guess. When I first started Starrfadu I had no real knowledge of guitar tone or singing in key. Excitement can cloud things like that. So anyway, one of the songs I re-recorded was "Nowhere." It was one of the first songs I ever wrote, and we performed it live for our second show. (*Side note: the song is in G and my harmonica was in C.) A couple of days ago I remembered that I had those songs on my computer and had a listen.


"Nowhere" seems to capture my whole recent experience - (ie: Questioning life's problems and choosing to deal with them positively). Yes, I know, the song sounds VERY Bob Dylan. The humor in that is that I'm not musically influenced by him. Whereas I have a lot of respect for him as an artist, I have none of his CDs. (*Another side note: Yes, we have been known, when playing live, to cover "Knocking on Heavens Door;" but wasn't that by Guns & Roses? hehe) Anyway, when I wrote it, it was more-or-less a way to learn how to sing, play guitar and harmonica at the same time.



Here are the lyrics:


I look to the sky when I have lots of questions / I talk to the Son when it's real late at night
And ponder the issues that trouble my conscience with life

I dream of the day when I'll be who You want me / To walk on the earth with a light in my eye
And I'll shine it on people that I see passing me by

I wrestle with things that I've always believed in / I see my ideals and they're pulled with the tide
The salt of the sea has been bittered and my taste buds are pride

Clouds in the heavens are forming around me / I lay in the grass and I pass blades of time
And feel a breeze that's been a blowin' a peace through my mind

A garden of colors has taken me over / The beauty I see words can barely describe
And all of the problems that life likes to bring me... subside

If there was one thing that I could leave with you / I'd tell you to smile and have joy full to share

Pack up your heartache and mail it to the middle of nowhere

Send it nowhere

****

Maybe in saying all of this I'm just feeling sentimental. Regardless, optimism and positivity will always trump feeling sorry for yourself.

My dad is a natural encourager; he's always been that way. So much so that sometimes you wonder if he's really telling you the truth... and for all the years I've known him, he was. I think encouragement can sometimes end up forgotten - in a way that we think it, but don't verbalize (or write/txt) it to the person we're thinking about. Growing up, my friends and I would always make fun of each other. It wasn't meant to be mean or hateful, just who could have the quickest and funniest whit. 'Yo Mama' jokes had no end. My headmaster (during a drive to an out-of-state basketball game) told us that if he heard one more 'ur mom,' he was turning the bus around and we'd forfeit the game. Inevitably, someone said 'ur mom,' and though he didn't turn the bus around, he took it out on us the following Monday during practice.

Somewhere along the line, I started seeing the importance of encouragement in other people's lives. And no more so than throughout my brain tumor/surgery/recovery process. The e-mails, comments, letters (yes, some people still take the time to sit down and write a nice letter), phone calls and text messages have been such an encouragement to me. Even though I've had an optimistic attitude from the start, all of the encouragement fueled my positive thinking, and continues to do so.

I think the power of encouragement is far greater than we'll ever realize; even when its in its simplest form. So, I guess I say all this to say: if you're thinking good thoughts about someone, let em' know. You never know how good it might make them feel.


(Austin)
ps: Brian's going to be a great dad, and his new son is actually a cute baby!

A few of you have been asking for updates - which I appreciate - so I thought I'd let you know how things have been lately. In a nutshell, great! I've really started to get my strength back, and I'm not getting winded after walks. As gross as this might sound, all of my scabs (from the incision) are pretty much gone. I've been to work quite a few times now, and have been able to get out more. Best of all, I've been able to start working on new music! It's a great feeling to be starting the process of a new project... but at the same time, reminded that I need to grow calluses back on my fingers. hehe

On a more somber note, as many of you may already know, my friend Andy Brown (from Stereo Static) passed away this last Sunday from a three year battle with Cancer. He was a great guy with a lot of compassion, and will be missed. His viewing will be tonight, and the funeral is tomorrow. He's the second friend I've lost to Cancer this year; as my buddy Breck (who I played high school basketball with) passed away in July. It's times like these that make me all the more thankful that my tumor was benign. As bad as it may seem, everything happens for a purpose... even if we never know what that purpose was.

On a happier note, Fall is here! I love Fall! Football, cooler weather and the changing of the leaves. OK, I'm starting to get all 'Singles Line,' but Fall is great. As weird as it seems, I enjoy the overcast days where it looks like it could rain at anytime, but never does. I don't think I'd want that year-round, so having Fall works just fine. I think I write better in the Fall. Speaking of writing, I've found that when I start to get the urge to start writing music, I listen to artist who I feel are lyrical writers. How about you? What are some bands and/or singer/songwriters that you feel really write well? I'm always open to checking out other artists, so feel free to comment back. (*Side note: songs that basically consist of "Baby, Baby, Baby, or "Shake that thang" do not apply.) hehe

Wow. This turned out to be a lot longer than I thought. Thank you once again for your CONTINUED prayers and support - it really does make a difference!

Austin
ps:"A Dispute Between Two Neighboring Towns" will be featured on the 6th episode of PBS's Roadtrip Nation.

I just wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going. Overall, I'm doing pretty good. I have a slow day every once in awhile, but I think that's because when I'm doing well, I tend to overdo it... so I'm trying to get better at that. My staples are out and are now up for bid on e-bay, if anyone is interested. (just kidding) And I shaved and got my haircut... so I pretty much look like normal - which is amazing considering it's been just under a month since my surgery!

Tonight, if I've got the strength, I'm planning on going to see 'Jets Under Fire.' They're some friends of mine who had a band here in Springfield called "The Professional Americans," but moved to Austin, Texas to change things up. They're in our Top Friends if you're interested in checking them out.

Oh, I found out that when I comment back to your blog comments, it doesn't let you know. So, just know that if you've commented on any of my blogs, I've responded. :-)

Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks (once again) for your prayers and support.

Austin

I hadn't planned on blogging about my birthday today, but it's probably the most important day I've ever celebrated. And because of all the prayers that were offered up that saved my life, you're just as much of a part of this celebration as me. So, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I look forward to this thirty-"1st" birthday being the 1st of many more. Again, thank you!!!

*ps: My friend Jenny asked (on the last blog) if I was going to post any pictures, and I put one up. If you're squirmish about staples, you might want to pass. :-)