I really hope my music and my life can help encourage people not to give up.
I never thought I would do a TV show, I never thought I could do it, so I was not expecting a really good performance. It was more about building confidence, and good or bad, I was encouraging other people and pushing myself.
I don't need pity. I want to be looked at like a musician, because I am one. I happen to be deaf.
I grew up with hearing, so I have a really good understanding of music theory and the structure of music.
It's just I do things differently and I want people to appreciate music for what it is, and not because of a story.
I grew up listening to the 60's and 70's... storytellers and poets.
Music gives people the ability to dream, to leave their troubles behind for a moment and experience something beautiful. You create dreams and that's a beautiful thing!
I wanted to show that even if you fail, you have the ability to pick yourself up off the floor and try again. I wanted to show a different side of what a disability looks like to highlight all the invisible ones.
I use the aid of technology while running through songs. Visual tuners and feeling the vibrations through the floor to keep time.
There is a lot of technology out there that can help people with hearing loss including wearable technology that vibrates.
I work a lot with dynamics of how loud I'm talking, like speaking into balloons and then feeling the texture on my fingertips, and then I get used to the feeling on my throat.
My feeling of security really went down the tubes when I couldn't hear anymore. When it got dark, I'd get very afraid because I can't hear people coming up behind me.
We need to work on creating a more inclusive music experience. I'm really so frustrated with going to festivals and there not being any closed captioning or interpreters.
I started to play music again because of my dad and my mom. I grew up playing guitar with my dad, and he and my mom encouraged me to start again.
A long time ago I started talking into a balloon so I could feel myself talking, to practice judging volume, and compare it to other musicians.
So I studied a lot with the balloon, and in learning how to sing with other musicians and keep in time - that's all by touch. A lot of that I feel in my body, and growing up with hearing I have pretty good muscle memory, and I was born with near perfect pitch.
I was in Colorado for about 15 years but my family is all from Florida.
TV has been so far outside my comfort zone.
My friends and family refused to give up on me even when I gave up on myself, and I wanted to hopefully encourage even just one person to try again.
The thing I love about music... you can close your eyes and be transported back to a memory or a dream or a feeling.
