Beethoven’s Nightmare – The World’s First Deaf Band Breaking through the Sound of Silence

”Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes.”
Ludwig Van Beethoven

On December 17, 1770 a young man was baptized into the Catholic Church in Bonn, the capital of the Electorate of Cologne. By the age of 26 he began to go deaf, which he referred to as his nightmare. However, that would not stop Ludwig Van Beethoven from composing some of his greatest masterpieces which continue to resonate through time.

Almost 180 years later, the Beatles American invasion was in full swing, and three different deaf children in three different cities got swept up into it as well. While they could not hear the full range of frequencies produced, their powerful hearing aids could pick up the vibrations from Ringo Starr’s drums and Keith Richard’s guitar. Ten years later they would meet at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (a school for the deaf and hard of hearing), form a rock band called The Funk, and began playing parties and clubs in the area. A name change to Beethoven’s Nightmare and over 20 years later, the world’s first deaf rock band is still creating music and touring he world.

Dragonland – Beethoven’s Nightmare

When asked about his creative process, Ed Chevy the bassist and chief songwriter of Beethoven’s Nightmare, he responded that his parents taught him to perceive art visually.

“I’m looking at a portrait on the wall. The picture shows a woman looking down, holding a rose to her heart,” Chevy said. “When I see that picture, I play my music according to the story in the frame. Then I end up writing my lyrics last.”

No doubt the famous composer in whose honor the band is named would be proud.

Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony Number Five written in 1804 – Four Years after Deafness Set In