heartwheel
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I've been told that both Phil Lesh, the GD's bass player and Ratdog (Bob Weir's band) have had intepreters recently at their shows.
http://www.shainhouse.com/gtb.pdf
Lori Abrams talks with her hands: The
Bay area-based sign language inter-
preter has spent the past two
decades signing Grateful Dead songs for
those who can't hear. Using her body to
interpret both Robert Hunter's prose and the
Grateful Dead's jams, Abrams captures the
entire Dead experience-without uttering a
single word.
"For many years, there was a prevalent
idea in our profession that there is no way to
interpret music-that you don't do anything
other than the lyrics," Abrams says. "We
make sure to express every vibration that
comes off a performer, be it the frequency,
the speed, or a twitch of a cheek."
Abrams honed her skills in Dead show
parking lots as a student. Since 1992 she
has been a licensed freelance interpreter,
hired by venues whenever the Grateful Dead
pulled into town. Today, Abrams' Hand
Dancer Interpreter Services remains one of
the most prominent sign language services
in the live music community, interpreting
acts as varied as CSNY, Billy Joel, even the
Backstreet Boys. Though her work with the
Dead has dipped since Jerry Garcia's pass-
ing, Abrams continues to sign for many
Dead-related projects, including this sum-
mer's Red Rocks run. With two weeks'
notice, she can pull a band's setlist and
lyrics off the internet and become familiar
enough with their repertoire to interpret the
artist's live show. But when it comes to
improvisational music, Abrams only signs
for bands she claims as her own.
"Jambands choose not to have a setlist—
they go on inspiration," Abrams says. "For
that kind of band, you have to be intimately
involved in the music. You have to know
everything about them to sign. The sound
waves off Jerry's guitar as he is plucking
would look very different than Phil on the
bass or Bobby when he is doing his strum
thing." * Mike Greenhaus
http://www.shainhouse.com/gtb.pdf
Lori Abrams talks with her hands: The
Bay area-based sign language inter-
preter has spent the past two
decades signing Grateful Dead songs for
those who can't hear. Using her body to
interpret both Robert Hunter's prose and the
Grateful Dead's jams, Abrams captures the
entire Dead experience-without uttering a
single word.
"For many years, there was a prevalent
idea in our profession that there is no way to
interpret music-that you don't do anything
other than the lyrics," Abrams says. "We
make sure to express every vibration that
comes off a performer, be it the frequency,
the speed, or a twitch of a cheek."
Abrams honed her skills in Dead show
parking lots as a student. Since 1992 she
has been a licensed freelance interpreter,
hired by venues whenever the Grateful Dead
pulled into town. Today, Abrams' Hand
Dancer Interpreter Services remains one of
the most prominent sign language services
in the live music community, interpreting
acts as varied as CSNY, Billy Joel, even the
Backstreet Boys. Though her work with the
Dead has dipped since Jerry Garcia's pass-
ing, Abrams continues to sign for many
Dead-related projects, including this sum-
mer's Red Rocks run. With two weeks'
notice, she can pull a band's setlist and
lyrics off the internet and become familiar
enough with their repertoire to interpret the
artist's live show. But when it comes to
improvisational music, Abrams only signs
for bands she claims as her own.
"Jambands choose not to have a setlist—
they go on inspiration," Abrams says. "For
that kind of band, you have to be intimately
involved in the music. You have to know
everything about them to sign. The sound
waves off Jerry's guitar as he is plucking
would look very different than Phil on the
bass or Bobby when he is doing his strum
thing." * Mike Greenhaus
