By Alex Lloyd Gross
Paul Stanley, guitarist and founding member of KISS is on a short tour to talk about a subject he is passionate about: Hearing loss. That may seem strange to a band who has a slogan "If it's too loud, you're too old" however according to Stanley, the volume is done with hearing protection. Stanley, working with the House Research Institute is speaking in two cities. New York and Los Angeles. However, this this program should be presented across the country. This initiative geared towards young people is called "It's How You Listen That Counts"
The message is local to Philadelphians as well as to the people of Japan. It's global. Too many young people listen to music at an insane volume with no ear protection. "I always use ear plugs, there are people that have been in KISS and did not and now they have problems", Stanley said.
The event in NYC was not well attended, which speaks volumes for how much young people need to be educated. No pun intended. The Directors Guild Theater holds about 400 seats. Less than 100 people showed up. "You guys are the smart ones Stanley said. You have to get the message out to those that did not show up" . Paul Stanley can draw a crowd, but when the subject matter is serious and not about when the next KISS record is due, even some die hard KISS fans don't want to be bored with talk.
If folks did not show up after they registered, it is their loss because this event was anything but boring. Dr. Jennifer Derebery from the House Research Institute joined Paul Stanley on stage . Before this Stanley sat on the edge of the stage and spoke from the heart. "Hearing protection is vital" he said. Not to many people know that Stanley was born with a serious hearing issue. He was deaf in his right ear until a corrective operation helped him. He could not afford to have any hearing loss but he loved to rock. "I like loud music", Stanley said. "A lot of rockers suffer serious hearing issues, such as Pete Townsend from the Who, because they did not wear earplugs", Stanley lamented.
Dr. Derebery is the perfect person to have on this tour with Stanley, she's smart, good looking, and articulate. She is from Texas but her practice is in los Angeles. There were interactive questions that those in the audience could answer to win a prize. The questions were about hearing protection. Did you know that most concerts have decibel levels at 110 or greater? "It would be illegal to have workers subject to that kind of volume without hearing protection", Derebery said . The maximum decibel rating that people should listen to without protection is 85.
According to Derebery, if you are in an enviornment and have to shout to be heard and the person you are speaking to is next to you, that is a good clue the music is too lound and you need ear plugs. This event was geared towards middle school and high school students. The same people that take MP3 players and turn them up as loud as they go. "That's not good", Stanley reiterated. "We are not telling you not to rock, but it's how you listen", said Stanley.
Students submitted videos about hearing loss. The grand prize winner won a guitar . While everyone was there to interact with Paul Stanley, the Q&A session was directed towards Dr. Derebery. This is a serious issue and people were asking serious questions, not if Stanley remembered them from a Kiss Konvention 15 years ago. By the time the event was over, Stanley jumped off the stage and into the crowd and signed autographs, and posed for photos. Chances are great he will do the same in LA May 12.On the way out, those that showed up got a KISS CD and t shirt. If you signed up for the NY event and did not go, don't you wish you did?
To learn more clickhere
Comments