Miss-Delectable
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Deaf fan feels Snoop's vibes
A somewhat astonishing e-mail came in this week from a young woman. She had had a terrific time at the Snoop Dogg/Ice Cube rap concert at the arena.
Nothing unusual about that. What took me aback is the fact that Celeste Taylor-Sage of Saanich is profoundly deaf. She can't hear a thing, whether it be a pin dropping or thunder clapping.
But Taylor-Sage can feel. And that, I've learned, is all anyone -- hearing or otherwise -- needs to enjoy music.
"This was my first time going to a concert, and it's something I will never forget," she wrote in her note. "There were a few of us [there] that are deaf. Although we could not hear the songs, we could definitely feel the vibes, the bass, and our lungs were literally shaking, almost forgetting how to breathe!"
A deaf person at a concert? Doesn't that sound like an oxymoron, akin to the blind man who attends a Degas exhibition, or the wine connoisseur who lacks a sense of taste?
Taylor-Sage agreed to an interview. This presented a problem -- how were we to communicate? She can read lips and can speak, but not as clearly as a hearing person. So the newspaper hired a sign-language interpreter.
Taylor-Sage, who showed up 10 minutes early, turned out to be a smart, articulate woman. She wore a comfy fleece jacket, and her long brown hair was parted in the middle. She is 24 years old and works with the disabled as a support worker -- a job she adores. She is married to a house renovator who also cannot hear.
I confess I was a little worried about the correct way to refer to Taylor-Sage's disability. She lost her hearing at 18 months after a bout of meningitis. So ... is the term "deaf" acceptable? Oh sure, said Taylor-Sage, her white fingers flying as she signed, her face animated. Some don't like the word deaf, she added. But it's perfectly fine with her.
With that out of the way, the big question was: Why would a deaf person want to go to a rap concert, or any concert for that matter? I mean, what can you get out of it?
Taylor-Sage's interest in rap began with reading stories about Tupac, the rap singer who died in a 1996 drive-by shooting. She became fascinated not only with rap, but the whole black street experience. Urban American blacks have suffered the effects of prejudice, of course. And in this regard, there are some similarities to the deaf community, which -- like the rap and hip-hop scene -- has its own distinct culture and struggles with discrimination.
Two years ago, Taylor-Sage attended Blast Vancouver, a nightclub evening for deaf folk. The fundraising event lived up to its billing -- she had a blast.
"The music was really, really loud and I really enjoyed it," she said. "I've never really experienced that before."
Before that, her experience of music was almost non-existent. In her early teens, she read the lyrics on CD liner notes. She would place her hands on stereo speakers to feel the vibrations. But as Taylor-Sage entered adulthood, her interest waned.
At Blast, she loved the way soundwaves from a powerful system made her entire body vibrate. It was a nice sensation.
So when the Snoop Dogg concert was announced, she decided to go. Her interest in rap made it all the more appealing. She convinced the folks at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to let her and two non-hearing friends have seats in the fifth row reserved for disabled concertgoers -- even though it was already booked up. "I said, 'We're deaf and we really need to be close.'"
Anyone who has been to a loud stadium concert knows how it can vibrate your body. I've been to shows where it felt as if my kidneys were shaking. I've felt the cloth of my shirt quiver. Actually, if the bass gets too loud (despite wearing earplugs) it makes me nauseated.
But for Taylor-Sage and her pals, it was pure, unadulterated manna. She could feel the rhythms course through her body. She danced like other concertgoers.
And afterwards, Sage felt a pleasurable physical "aftershock" that was, well, hard to explain.
The deaf rap fan tried to convey to me how her first concert affected her emotionally. "I felt alive, would be the best way to explain it. I felt exposed more. I felt the event through my body. I felt more alive, more there, more involved."
Taylor-Sage is a happy person. She finds her job tremendously rewarding. She takes pride in being who she is. Yes, having no hearing can be frustrating -- for instance, she dislikes having to write things down to communicate. But grocery-shopping and other details of everyday living are no big problem, she says.
Still, a world without sound -- even for a married deaf person -- can be an isolating life.
"It's like your brain is a little bit dead sometimes," said Taylor-Sage. "Going to the concert has given me a stimulation. It's made me feel quite alive, you know."
What would old Snoop say if he could meet Celeste Taylor-Sage? If I were him, I'd be absolutely amazed. It's a mysterious world, all right.
A somewhat astonishing e-mail came in this week from a young woman. She had had a terrific time at the Snoop Dogg/Ice Cube rap concert at the arena.
Nothing unusual about that. What took me aback is the fact that Celeste Taylor-Sage of Saanich is profoundly deaf. She can't hear a thing, whether it be a pin dropping or thunder clapping.
But Taylor-Sage can feel. And that, I've learned, is all anyone -- hearing or otherwise -- needs to enjoy music.
"This was my first time going to a concert, and it's something I will never forget," she wrote in her note. "There were a few of us [there] that are deaf. Although we could not hear the songs, we could definitely feel the vibes, the bass, and our lungs were literally shaking, almost forgetting how to breathe!"
A deaf person at a concert? Doesn't that sound like an oxymoron, akin to the blind man who attends a Degas exhibition, or the wine connoisseur who lacks a sense of taste?
Taylor-Sage agreed to an interview. This presented a problem -- how were we to communicate? She can read lips and can speak, but not as clearly as a hearing person. So the newspaper hired a sign-language interpreter.
Taylor-Sage, who showed up 10 minutes early, turned out to be a smart, articulate woman. She wore a comfy fleece jacket, and her long brown hair was parted in the middle. She is 24 years old and works with the disabled as a support worker -- a job she adores. She is married to a house renovator who also cannot hear.
I confess I was a little worried about the correct way to refer to Taylor-Sage's disability. She lost her hearing at 18 months after a bout of meningitis. So ... is the term "deaf" acceptable? Oh sure, said Taylor-Sage, her white fingers flying as she signed, her face animated. Some don't like the word deaf, she added. But it's perfectly fine with her.
With that out of the way, the big question was: Why would a deaf person want to go to a rap concert, or any concert for that matter? I mean, what can you get out of it?
Taylor-Sage's interest in rap began with reading stories about Tupac, the rap singer who died in a 1996 drive-by shooting. She became fascinated not only with rap, but the whole black street experience. Urban American blacks have suffered the effects of prejudice, of course. And in this regard, there are some similarities to the deaf community, which -- like the rap and hip-hop scene -- has its own distinct culture and struggles with discrimination.
Two years ago, Taylor-Sage attended Blast Vancouver, a nightclub evening for deaf folk. The fundraising event lived up to its billing -- she had a blast.
"The music was really, really loud and I really enjoyed it," she said. "I've never really experienced that before."
Before that, her experience of music was almost non-existent. In her early teens, she read the lyrics on CD liner notes. She would place her hands on stereo speakers to feel the vibrations. But as Taylor-Sage entered adulthood, her interest waned.
At Blast, she loved the way soundwaves from a powerful system made her entire body vibrate. It was a nice sensation.
So when the Snoop Dogg concert was announced, she decided to go. Her interest in rap made it all the more appealing. She convinced the folks at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to let her and two non-hearing friends have seats in the fifth row reserved for disabled concertgoers -- even though it was already booked up. "I said, 'We're deaf and we really need to be close.'"
Anyone who has been to a loud stadium concert knows how it can vibrate your body. I've been to shows where it felt as if my kidneys were shaking. I've felt the cloth of my shirt quiver. Actually, if the bass gets too loud (despite wearing earplugs) it makes me nauseated.
But for Taylor-Sage and her pals, it was pure, unadulterated manna. She could feel the rhythms course through her body. She danced like other concertgoers.
And afterwards, Sage felt a pleasurable physical "aftershock" that was, well, hard to explain.
The deaf rap fan tried to convey to me how her first concert affected her emotionally. "I felt alive, would be the best way to explain it. I felt exposed more. I felt the event through my body. I felt more alive, more there, more involved."
Taylor-Sage is a happy person. She finds her job tremendously rewarding. She takes pride in being who she is. Yes, having no hearing can be frustrating -- for instance, she dislikes having to write things down to communicate. But grocery-shopping and other details of everyday living are no big problem, she says.
Still, a world without sound -- even for a married deaf person -- can be an isolating life.
"It's like your brain is a little bit dead sometimes," said Taylor-Sage. "Going to the concert has given me a stimulation. It's made me feel quite alive, you know."
What would old Snoop say if he could meet Celeste Taylor-Sage? If I were him, I'd be absolutely amazed. It's a mysterious world, all right.
