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Disappointed, but Perhaps Expectations Were High

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Ridgeback View Drop Down
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    Posted: November 28 2019 at 11:36
Here is an unusual tale even by PA standards. Kinda how I got into prog as well. On the night of the Mayan prophecy when the world was to end, I woke up the next morning deaf. Yes, deaf. Deaf as a bloody door nail. No rhyme or reason was ever found. After a half year of being deaf and going all over world to find a cure (unsuccessfully), I relented to get a cochlear implant. I was unaware that an implant itself is only half the battle. One must train their brain to learn how to interpret the impulses into the cochlear since they don’t follow the normal auditory pathway. That is a momentous process. Most people with implants don’t listen to music. I however had my ex-girl friend and great overall friend. She is a classically trained singer with an advanced knowledge of musical theory. She scripted a program that used stages and concepts of musical theory to accelerate the development of neuro programming which by proxy would allow for my brain to better understand normal sounds voices speech etc. it was brilliant

I started out the first month with basic music AC/DC. To learn and identify the instruments then the beat, the melody, the tones, the ranges etc. 5+ hours a day. Exhausting. Then to Phish using same concepts. Then to Pink Floyd where it all came together. That’s when I discovered Airbag and my brain and adaption turbo charged. My audiological scores were phenomenal and way ahead of most Cochlear patients. 3 months of Airbag and Bjorn Riis and I was close to normal (full hearing) for speech recognition and sound association. My hearing for music is precisely where it was prior to being deaf and that’s unheard of.

So I wrote an email to Airbag and to Bjørn telling them the story. It’s unique, cool, and presumably interesting. The response? None. Zero. I’m disappointed a bit. Shrug. Life goes on. Anyways being deaf lead me to PA too, so it ain’t all bad.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Atavachron Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 12:54
Wow that's quite a story.  Good on you for using music as a way to appreciate things you would otherwise not, and Happy Thanksgiving.

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."   -- John F. Kennedy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote octopus-4 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 13:11
It's a very interesting story. Hopefully that program can be used also by others. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Manuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 15:35
What a story!!! I'm glad that you can hear and appreciate music again. After all that work, it is certainly a gift of incomparable value to you. I'm really happy for you.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote micky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 15:44
man that is quite the story..  I could do without a lot.. but going deaf... I'd likely eat a bullet. Between music and Raff's voice.. along with other sounds .. like the wind through the trees.. the sound of wind chimes.  I'd find it hard to enjoy life without hearing..

that said.. it was close I suppose for me.  I mentioned earlier in another thread my first date with the Spawn of Satan (aka the ex-wife). Almost as memorable was our 3rd date..  she was an audiologist and it took her all of two dates to realize i had a problem and wanted to check me out.

you haven't lived until you have had candlelit dinner in a doctors office and being poked and prodded in ways that wouldn't seem erotic.. but man oh man...

anyhow.. found out I had nerve damage in my ear likely going back to my time in the miitary where I had a close run and was left temporarily deaf after an explosion. Guess it did nerve damage. Seems my hearing is perfect but due to the nerve damage my brain doesn't process what I hear or some educated mumbo jumbo but afterwards (ignorance really is bliss) I became more aware I favored my left ear when trying to hear someone and am very prone to asking people to repeat what they had just told me.  

the body really is a funny thing isn't it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dougmcauliffe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 16:26
Well that’s something. As a musician, I’d rather die than go deaf.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lewian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 16:47
Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

man that is quite the story..  I could do without a lot.. but going deaf... I'd likely eat a bullet. Between music and Raff's voice.. along with other sounds .. like the wind through the trees.. the sound of wind chimes.  I'd find it hard to enjoy life without hearing..

Yeah... I fall in love with a woman's voice first, not with her look or even... "inner values"...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lewian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 16:48
Anyway, you didn't get an answer but you still have your great story and achievement! Which is far more important.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HolyMoly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 18:43
Man, I can’t understand how a band wouldn’t reply to a story like that. You sure it went through the right channels? Might have gotten lost in the cracks. Maybe try again, I’m sure they’d be really interested in your story. I mean, unless they’re dicks, but I have no reason to suppose that.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote micky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 18:51
^ obtw Steve.. you are my new hero.  Gobble gobble LOLBeer
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote micky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 18:55
Originally posted by Lewian Lewian wrote:

Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

man that is quite the story..  I could do without a lot.. but going deaf... I'd likely eat a bullet. Between music and Raff's voice.. along with other sounds .. like the wind through the trees.. the sound of wind chimes.  I'd find it hard to enjoy life without hearing..

Yeah... I fall in love with a woman's voice first, not with her look or even... "inner values"...

amen brother..  it wasn't the smoking hot red dress she wore when we first met.. much less her considerable inner beauty

 it was her voice



classic Raff there with an assist by me.. in my Mr. Raff guise... lurking in the background...I provided the beer and smokes and think I did get a word in edgewise..
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ridgeback Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 19:02
Thanks Guys. It was a strange experience to say the least. Especially on the night I lost it. The day the world was supposed to end according to the Mayan calendar. In a previous life I must have been pretty mean to them! But I learnt to lip read really well in a very short period of time. You learn to be hyper alert. You learn to adapt. I hate have a device with a wire out of my head, but honestly, it’s a nothing compared to so many other issues that happen to people.

Once I learned to hear music properly again, well honestly you never take it for granted. Now I appreciate all music even elevator music. Now for the first time I HEAR music. I listen. There is no background music anymore. It’s hard to explain. It really does take on a new meeting. The truth is without going deaf, I would not be able to appreciate music as I do now.

Yeah, I emailed both Airbag booking, Bjorn booking, and Bjørn directly. I’m mystified myself. But perhaps they think it’s bullsh*t (if they ever read the emails). I didn’t ask for anything at all, I just wanted them to know the story and realize how powerfully therapeutic their music is. Totally disappointing but that’s my perception. They perhaps have a different viewpoint. Shrug.

Gotta laugh though... it took going deaf to appreciate prog :-)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote micky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 19:08
yeah..  take our responses in context.. as I'm sure you do. Perhaps it got lost in the mail otherwise ...f**k that band..  you have a helluva to be thankful for and really is quite the story. With a happy ending which doesn't happen more often than it does unfortunately Beer I'd lose a limb.. several.. hell up to 4 (as long as kept the 5th) before I'd live (happily at least) without losing one's hearing.

Edited by micky - November 28 2019 at 19:09
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote presdoug Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 28 2019 at 19:20
Man, being deaf would sure be a hard thing to deal with, I admire your story!
          What I have is permanent tinnitus (ringing in the ears) in both ears (kind of sounds like a conch shell) but somehow I have got used to it. I can't  go to loud concerts anymore, but still love to listen to music in my home.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote friso Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 30 2019 at 03:25
Great story!

Would give the advice to take in consideration that some emails get filtered and end up in the spam folder. Perhaps some of the medical terms used in your story are on the 'filter' list.
I'm guitarist and songwriter for the prog-related band Mother Bass. Find us at http://www.motherbass.com. I also enter stages throughout the Netherlands performing my poetry.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SteveG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 30 2019 at 04:58
Don't despair. Correspondences usually go through artist's websites that are handled by their agents/management people. I emailed Renaissance and Yardbirds founder Jim McCarty and he replied personally the next day. I recently emailed former Midnight Oil front man Peter Garrett and his management company responded for him about two weeks later, so it might take awhile to get a response. There may also be delays due to language problems. So, we can't tar everyone with the same brush.
 
Be happy with your good fortune and enjoy their music. I'm sure that's what they really want you to do.


Edited by SteveG - November 30 2019 at 07:06
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SteveG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 30 2019 at 07:00
I neglected to mention that active touring artists are quite busy and may not have the time to respond, at least not right at that moment.

Edited by SteveG - November 30 2019 at 07:03
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote judahbenkenobi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 02 2019 at 09:12
Incredibly touching story! And yes, along with a happy thing, there's always a sad thing. But I guess in your story the happiness of being able to hear again (and hear better) outweighs the bands' lack of response, because you don't really owe it to them... They were channels toward your recovery, but it could've been any other bands. 

I am happy for you and I admire your patience and perseverance. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote miamiscot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 02 2019 at 14:19
Nice story. Would have been nicer with a response.

I like artists who respond to their fans.

On the internet.

It's a thing.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 02 2019 at 14:43
Welcome to PA, Ridgeback!  This is quite a collection of personalities and minds, you fit in nicely!  

Cheers, Charles.
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