Disappointed, but Perhaps Expectations Were High |
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Ridgeback
Forum Groupie Joined: December 17 2018 Location: Usa Status: Offline Points: 50 |
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Posted: November 28 2019 at 11:36 |
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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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Atavachron
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 65166 |
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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. |
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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octopus-4
Special Collaborator RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams Joined: October 31 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 13940 |
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It's a very interesting story. Hopefully that program can be used also by others.
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Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com |
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Manuel
Forum Senior Member Joined: March 09 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13250 |
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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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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46833 |
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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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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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dougmcauliffe
Forum Senior Member Joined: February 23 2019 Location: US Status: Offline Points: 3895 |
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Well that’s something. As a musician, I’d rather die than go deaf.
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The sun has left the sky...
...Now you can close your eyes |
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Lewian
Prog Reviewer Joined: August 09 2015 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14660 |
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Yeah... I fall in love with a woman's voice first, not with her look or even... "inner values"...
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Lewian
Prog Reviewer Joined: August 09 2015 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14660 |
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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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HolyMoly
Special Collaborator Retired Admin Joined: April 01 2009 Location: Atlanta Status: Offline Points: 26138 |
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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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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46833 |
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^ obtw Steve.. you are my new hero. Gobble gobble
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46833 |
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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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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Ridgeback
Forum Groupie Joined: December 17 2018 Location: Usa Status: Offline Points: 50 |
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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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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46833 |
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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 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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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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presdoug
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 24 2010 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 8593 |
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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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friso
Prog Reviewer Joined: October 24 2007 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 2506 |
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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. |
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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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SteveG
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 11 2014 Location: Kyiv In Spirit Status: Offline Points: 20602 |
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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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SteveG
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 11 2014 Location: Kyiv In Spirit Status: Offline Points: 20602 |
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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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judahbenkenobi
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 09 2017 Location: Guatemala Status: Offline Points: 844 |
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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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miamiscot
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 23 2014 Location: Ohio Status: Offline Points: 3562 |
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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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cstack3
Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: July 20 2009 Location: Tucson, AZ USA Status: Offline Points: 7233 |
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Welcome to PA, Ridgeback! This is quite a collection of personalities and minds, you fit in nicely!
Cheers, Charles.
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I am not a Robot, I'm a FREE MAN!!
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