I'm the local Member of Parliament here and people told me about Andreas and
what his family are doing to remember him.
This is a bloody brilliant event,
and I really admire Maria for organising it.
It's a great way to remember a life taken too soon.
I am Maria Florez, and I am the mother of Andreas Florez.
That shoot was done just about two weeks before he was diagnosed.
That was to coincide with the release of his EP,
which he had just finished recording and he felt pretty elated and pretty proud.
Andreas was a good friend of mine.
I produced his EP, and I recorded it all in my house.
And we were always talking about recording something for him, and
it finally took place and I was super proud of that.
He definitely had the songs written and everything like that
but he needed someone to kind of come in
and fill in the blanks.
I play all the other instruments on the album
and he kind of wanted my advice in terms of how to produce it and how to make it
a full-fledged release.
He really needed to be pushed as a singer as well
because he had an incredible voice but he'd never made a recording before.
Like, he actually sounded better singing my songs.
He went to have a blood test because some bruises had started appearing
all over his body, and then it came the devastating news that it was leukeamia.
Not only was it leukeamia, it was the most aggressive strain you could possibly get.
They diagnosed and then he passed away in the same six months.
I do think he packed it in. Like, he did a lot in his 24 years.
His EP that he had finished recording sounds quite mature
for someone of his age.
I don't think either of us really had any
point in the making of the album where we were at a tough decision
or anything like that.
We kind of really knew each other on a on a similar wavelength.
We were all into the same music, and all into the same ideas and I guess
creative vibe for what we were going for that we didn't really have a lot of disagreements.
He started traveling when he was quite young so I think that's
kind of, not a reason but, you know he was exposed
to many different things from early on
when he went traveling with my parents around the world.
This represents keeping his memory alive through something that he was
very passionate about which was music, travel and through that the connectedness with
the community, because for me what this represents is building communities and
giving back to the community.
Andy's my cousin and when he passed away tragically,
I felt hopeless and helpless and it just came to me that
I thought a nice way, or a good way of turning our grief into something more
constructive was to set up a scholarship in his name because I think that was a
really good way of remembering him and keeping the legacy going forward.
Our family is really supportive of education and so helping other talented musicians
like Andy to fulfill their studies overseas was really a fitting way to pay
tribute to him.
So tonight's one way to kickstart our annual event and
hopefully build on the goal that we're trying to get which is ultimately
$250,000 to set it up in perpetuity.
It'll be going on forever.
What impressed me about Andreas was that it was never about him.
When people said, "Man, you must feel really angry. You must feel really pissed off. You must really think,
'why me?'". And he said, "No man. It's not 'why me'. Why not me? It's why does it
happen in the first place?" And so to me that signifies that
the stature of the man.
He took it on his chin right up until the end.
He was given the news that we had reached the end of the road.
There was nothing else we could do for him.
He stood up with the little strength that he had.
He shook the hand of the doctor, and I think he even gave him a hug and said,
"I really feel sorry for you guys because I know how much you tried."
Who would say that?
And that to me, I carry that in my heart. That gives me inspiration.
That me gives me a reason to get up every morning and try to be
one minute part of how strong Andreas was.
When we were working out his songs, we were constantly hearing his voice,
looking at photos and, yeah look, you know you're always reminded
that, you know, he's not here or the reason why we're doing all this
is that he's not here.
It happened very very very quickly and I don't think
anyone expected it.
It's hard that it happened at such a transitional point
in his life because I think this body of work says so much about where he was and
that's why I think it's so important.
It's not just a group of songs.
He was really writing about where he was.
It doesn't feel right to pursue the band without him.
And that's of no discredit to any of us, it's just... I don't know
I think we were going somewhere with Andreas and that, you know,
we kind of had our heart set on that destination and you know without him there
it's not gonna be the same.
I think the hardest part is that he never got to sing the songs and
so you know there major responsibility on all of us as a group
to perform the songs and do it justice.
He was such a warm and goofy guy and he just had that nature where you know people would be
drawn to him all the time.
And he was so not fazed about you know the material things in life
or the things that we all fuss about.
He was always genuinely happy to see you.
Like, even the time you know when I was living at home.
You'd say good night and then in the morning you know he'd wake up and
be like, "Hey!" and give you this big hug and kiss.
You went to bed and in the morning it'd be like he hadn't seen you for a couple of years.
Back when we were much younger and everyone was buying you know
coloured phones back then and that was thing because it was just happening.
One thing led to another but Andreas decided on his walk home
he was gonna buy a cactus instead. And that really says everything about him.
He lived how he felt and he was special for that reason because he really just
didn't concern himself with the things that weren't important.
I think I just want everyone to have a solid listen to his work and get at least
a little glimpse of who he was.
It's an honour to get to know a bit of Andreas' work and the community that he
created and the amazing, I would say, the amazing legacy that he left us.
Andreas' life inspired so many people and it's a tree that kept growing, you know,
even if he's not here personally in the physical form, I think that the energy
and the message that he left was so strong that it's brought us all together here tonight.
What I appreciate about this event is that I'm a parent
of a 16 year old boy.
My son, Rupert, is very artistic and creative.
I cannot imagine when I read Andreas' story the sense of grief and loss.
It's unimaginable.
So the fact that his family want to introduce him to people who
would never otherwise meet him, I think is fantastic.
So that is something that is sustaining us and
it's transforming part of this unbelievable
unbelievably searing grief into joy
Hearing is the last sense to go.
We kept telling him that we knew that he was going to be played on Triple J.
By some way, some kind of miracle
he managed to communicate that he was still with us
that he heard it.
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