Replay: Deaf Concert-Goers Can Feel the Beat

Producers Ryan Wilde and Katerina Barton report on what makes a show or concert accessible to the deaf community and they look at, and try on, some technology from Music: Not Impossible that could help make attending concerts and experiencing music more accessible. Music Not Impossible created what they call “Haptic Suits,” specifically designed for the deaf and hard of hearing. The suits are used to translate music into vibrations that people can then feel throughout their entire body, which can provide a greater connection to music for deaf and hard of hearing communities, and break down barriers between hearing and deaf concert-goers. They spoke with a number of guests about this cutting-edge technology that's making the experience of music accessible for all.

Guests:

Jeff Rosen, who is a Grateful Dead fan, and a Deafhead (which is what people who are deaf and also Grateful Dead fans, call themselves). Jeff was also the Chairman of the National Council on Disability under the Obama Administration and is now the general legal counsel for a company called Convo Communications LLC. We spoke to Jeff about the history of accessibility at Grateful Dead shows and what it means to have an accessible concert or venue.

Paddy Hanlon is a co-founder of Music: Not Impossible and a Vibro DJ. He gave our producers a demo of their Haptic Suits at Nublu 151 in the East Village, New York. 

Alberto Madero, an ASL sign language interpreter, and his mother Merry Cuascut (Alberto interpreted for his mother), about their experience trying on Music: Not Impossible's Haptic Suits at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra this summer.

Shelly Guy through an ASL interpreter about her experience trying on Music: Not Impossible's Haptic Suits at Lincoln Center's "An Evening of Access Magic
" at their Silent Disco this summer. Shelly is a director of Community Engagement and Events Coordinator and the Director of Artistic Sign Language for Body Language Productions. She is also a performer and a deaf interpreter and works very closely with a non-profit organization called Up Until Now Collective.

Song credits:

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Performed by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, conducted by Louis Langrée with pianist Conrad Tao. 

Binarium by Danny Dunlap, who is one of Music: Not Impossible's Vibro Tactile Composers and a Vibro DJ.

Check out this video of Katerina and Ryan talking to Shelly Guy and her interpreter Brandon Kazen-Maddox about haptic technologies:

Producers Ryan and Katerina report on what makes a show or concert accessible to the deaf community and they look at, and try on, some technology from Music: Not Impossible that could help make attending concerts and experiencing music more accessible. Music Not Impossible created what they call “Haptic Suits,” specifically designed for the deaf and hard of hearing. The suits are used to translate music into vibrations that people can then feel throughout their entire body, which can provide a greater connection to music for deaf and hard of hearing communities, and break down barriers between hearing and deaf concert-goers. They spoke with a number of guests about this cutting-edge technology that's making the experience of accessible for all.