Husband-and-wife musicians Charles and Lauren Eddy have been wanting ahead to beginning a brand new chapter of their lives as a rock duo.
After doing time in Houston rock bands El Lago and Younger Mammals, the couple started composing music as goth rock/darkwave duo Raudiver, naming the band after Latvian author/parapsychologist/digital voice phenomena investigator Konstantīns Raudive. Final September, they launched their debut album Depart Earlier than Darkish, which acquired some important love from the native press, together with rating No. 6 on the Houston Chronicle’s “10 Greatest Albums from Native Houston Artists of 2024” record.)
The Eddys have been prepared to start out off the brand new yr by performing reside exhibits round Texas. However, in February, it was introduced on their Instagram web page that exhibits can be canceled because of a medical emergency.
“[Charles] all the time would get migraines,” says vocalist/keyboardist Lauren, 38, throughout a Zoom name along with her guitarist husband. “He would have, like, nausea. He’d must sleep it off. He would not need to eat. And it was simply changing into extra frequent, extra extreme.”
On the morning of February 5, Charles had a seizure that prompted Lauren to name 911. “It was a extremely scary expertise,” she remembers. “We went to the hospital, the emergency room, they usually did the preliminary CAT scan and located a mass. And the unhealthy information simply stored going from there.”
Scans revealed Charles had a mind tumor two inches in measurement — a malignant, aggressive, grade 4 glioblastoma. The survival price for this most cancers may be very low; the median survival time is 12-15 months with therapy, and the five-year survival price is lower than 5 %.
After spending per week in ICU, he was transferred to MD Anderson Most cancers Heart for “awake surgical procedure.” “They woke him up in the midst of it and had him do some workout routines to make it possible for they weren’t bagging one thing vital,” says Lauren.
For Charles, it was a three-hour means of answering easy questions. “They have you ever reduce open and it did not harm or something — simply, each on occasion, some bizarre stress,” says Charles, 34.
“And it is like anyone you’ve got already talked to some occasions – the speech pathologist. They’ve an iPad over right here that you could see, they usually’ll say, ‘What animal is that this?’ And it will be a canine or a cat or no matter, and it is a sketch of the animal. After which they will say, ‘Okay, what sort of tree is that this? What sort of flower is that this? What sort of chook is that this?’ The entire time, they’re feeding you one ice dice at a time, as a result of you possibly can’t transfer and your mouth will get dry.”
Based on Lauren, medical doctors took many of the tumor out. Charles is presently going by chemotherapy and radiation remedy to do away with the remaining, which continues to be in a really delicate a part of his mind. Together with consuming a number of meds (which he carries in a fanny pack wrapped round his chest) on the day by day, Charles is doing bodily and occupational remedy simply to get again to the easy issues, like writing a music.
“I do have an issue with studying now,” he says. “I’ve to train that muscle. ! get a stutter and, even in my writing, I will have sentences the place I am like, ‘Oh, God, what’s that letter?’ And it simply will get caught generally.”
Fortunately, they’ve family and friends prepared to assist them. The previous Galveston residents have been dwelling on the residence of Jacob Villarreal, Lauren’s brother, whereas he’s out of city. Villarreal additionally launched a GoFundMe web page for medical prices, restoration bills, and monetary backup. With a $60,000 aim, as of this writing, the marketing campaign has raised over $55,000.
Folks in Houston’s music group have additionally stepped up. Earlier this yr, Cactus Music held a File Retailer Day raffle that raised $1,500 for the Eddys. Final month, Axelrad held a “For the Love of Charlie” profit live performance the place limited-edition, seven-inch remixes of Raudiver songs have been offered with different merch. And there’s one other profit present occurring August 30 at Outdated Quarter Acoustic Cafe in Galveston. Says Charles, “I do not know what we’d have achieved with out all of the help.”
For the time being, the Eddys don’t see reside performances occurring within the foreseeable future. “I am frightened about simply taking him to a restaurant,” says Lauren. “He had a seizure at dinner at a restaurant and it was a 911 name and we shut down the entire restaurant. My anxiousness is all the time so excessive with him.”
However the music of Raudiver continues to be obtainable at your nearest report retailer or streaming platform. Regardless that they haven’t had a easy, painless 2025 up to now (and, actually, who has?), they’re nonetheless pleased with the work they made as a rock-and-roll couple.
“I hope that it’s one thing that possibly offers different folks inspiration to do this factor that they are interested in attempting creatively or taking a step of their life personally,” says Lauren. “Perhaps take a danger that they hesitate to take and possibly give just a little inspiration to do this, since you by no means know what is going on to occur subsequent.”
