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It's
a rocking scene at the Roseland Theater in Portland,
Oregon, on this May night. The band MiNDFRaME is
blasting away while 800 audience members cheer them
on. Brothers Cameron Byrd, 18, lead guitar and vocals,
and Brett, 16, drums, are joined on stage by John
Young, 26, rhythm guitar, and Jason Beito, 26, bass.
Out front, the brothers' father, Craig Byrd, and
stepmother Dana Roy, watch, beaming with pride. But
there is another presence there as well, an unseen
one: the brothers' mother, Carol House, who died of
breast cancer in February 1999 at the age of 52.
"She's always
with us," says Cameron, of Camas, Washington.
Brett firmly agrees.
Carol is the reason
the brothers are here tonight, and every time that
MiNDFRaME plays. In her memory, Cameron and Brett are
committed to raising $1 million for breast cancer
research through their concerts and CD sales. So far
they have reached $400,000, about half of which has
gone to the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation,
chosen because their mother had often participated in
the Komen Race for the Cure fund-raiser, even before
she was diagnosed. "Mom taught us to help others
in any way we could. I hope we can help find a cure
for breast cancer so other families won't have to go
though what we went through," says Brett.
Craig, a financial
advisor, knows that what makes his sons reach so high
is not just how their mother died but also how she
lived. "She was a teacher and a coach. The boys
saw how she inspired and motivated so many people. She
was an amazing woman," he says.
Music came easy for
the Byrd brothers. Each had played the piano starting
at age four. When Cameron was 11, he found the guitar.
A short while later Brett started playing the drums.
Other friends joined in and the band was born.
After a few years the
band won a major talent competition, and bookings and
TV
All seemed rosy until Carol became ill in 1998. "In January 1999 I sat the boys down and told them that Mom was probably not going to make it and maybe we should cancel the upcoming concert that was scheduled for that March," Craig recalls. Cameron and Brett thought about it overnight. The next morning they went to their parents and asked if they could do the concert in their mother's honor.
Carol hugged her sons and said, "Yes, but please don't do it for me forever. Play because you love your music. The best way to honor me is to follow your hearts and talents." She died one month later.
Over two night the concert raised $30,000 for breast cancer research. "Even though I was missing Mom, it was more of a happy moment because we were doing it for her. It was like bringing her back a little," Cameron recalls.
The support was so strong that the brothers decided to keep going. (They now have their own booking agent.) The members of MiNDFRaME have played more than 50 concerts, sung the national anthem at an Oakland A's baseball game, performed on
network TV and been grand marshals for Portland's Rose Festival. The brothers have set up a Web site for the band: www.mind-frame.
com. Also Brett and Cameron each won a Prudential Spirit of Community Award, which honors young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Only one could win at a time, so Brett accepted in 2000, and Cameron in 2001.
Cameron has written one song about his mother, "I'm Okay," which he plays at every concert. When he sings, "Our hearts are always with you now / I'm sure you're with us too," it's tough not to wonder what Carol would think if she could hear it. Cameron
knows: "She'd say, 'Keep on rockin'!"
---By Beth Levine
FOR BOOKING INFORMATION CALL: 503-225-9493