CANCER CONNECTIONS
Nathan Parker, Spencer Sexton, Hayden Fishburn & David Salmon
Mission Statement
Cancer should be eradicated from the Earth, so we should support the American Cancer Society.
Non-Profit Biography
The American Cancer Society is and important part of American lives. If you contract cancer, they are there every step of the way towards treatment and recovery. They provide houses, travel to and from hospitals, and contribute to large portions of the bills. The American Cancer Society also has been searching for a cure since their inception, and won’t stop until cancer is eradicated forever.
Band Member Biographies
Spencer Sexton: Spencer personally has a connection to the American Cancer Society because his grandfather passed away recently due to cancer. Therefore, he has had a lot of drive and purpose in writing this song. From the perspective of songwriting, he provided critical advice throughout the entire process as well as proposed an alternative song for the group. He also used his experience in Audacity, a sound editing program, to further assist the band. Though it didn’t come into play, he also has two years of choir experience to use if he was called upon to sing the song.
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David Salmon: When looking for nonprofits in which the band could write a song about, the American cancer society seemed especially appealing since multiple members had known victims of the disease. With this, the songwriting included a personal anecdote to illustrate how cancer affects a person’s life. David has musical background from being in band for six years and plays trombone. For the song David had written a majority of the lyrics and sang the song. After seeing the production of the song, he can gladly say that this definitely shows how cancer can appear in daily life and hopes that this will make a difference.
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Nathan Parker: Nathan composed the instrumental backgrounds for the song that was chosen. Nathan has a strong musical background from being in band for several years as well as having taken courses in music theory and playing piano since a young age. Nathan also edited the lyrics to fit better with the music. Nathan spoke about having been inspired by the stories of both his band members as well those he heard from the representative from the American Cancer Society, and hopes to do more in humanity’s struggle against cancer.
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Hayden Fishburn: While searching for a non-profit to make a song about, the American Cancer Society stuck out to me because my closest friend was a victim of this terrible disease. Hayden has a musical background from piano and drums since I was young. Contributed with edits to the lyrics and instrumentals. Learning more about American Cancer Society has opened his eyes about the details of Cancer and how to support it.
Quotes From The Band
Hayden Fishburn stated prior to this project, “What do want I to get out of this” and after Hayden said, “I got so much!”
Final Song: Away
I knew that I had zero power
Something had felt wrong
I knew it didn’t belong
A big black spot
It was like an impossible knot
Thought it would go away
Went to church to pray
Research is being done
To stop the relentless one
Lots of time has been spent
To end this bad torment
The researchers are breaking barriers
We are their message carriers
Away, away, away, away
Make cancer go away
Together we can make the difference
I want to be freed of the condition
So, I decided to visit my physician
My future was unsure
Thankfully they had the cure
Then my cancer was removed
And my general health improved
My face is completely clear
No longer will I have any fear
My heart had skipped a beat
I no longer felt the heat