Now known as the Wu-Tang interpreter who put her back into it, Holly Maniatty is keeping cool about the attention she's received lately. The video of her interpreting to Wu-Tang's performance at Bonnaroo landed her onto a stage of her own. Providing the most authentic experience for deaf patrons at concerts, she commands an amazing set of skills. Her immersion in deaf culture helps her know the right signs for anything Killer Mike could throw at her.
6 years ago, she jumped in with both feet to interpret for a Marilyn Manson show. Since then, she has been hired for Bonnaroo, Phish shows and New Orleans Jazz Fest. She shared all that and more with me when we spoke earlier this week:
Sonicbids: You've been getting a lot of attention lately, was this at all expected, or was this a surprise for you?
Holly: Definitely a surprise, I've been doing music festivals and Bonnaroo for 6 years now. So there's been lots of performances that were exciting. I was really surprised that this was the one that got mentioned.
SB: Where did you hear that this story was breaking about you?
H: There was a writer from Stereogum that asked me a couple of questions, and then he sent me a link and said "I made you one of Bonnaroo's 9 best moments." I was like 'Oh my goodness, that's really exciting!' That was Sunday night, after the festival ended on the 16th. Then on Tuesday when I landed in Baltimore, my email flooded. "I see you everywhere, you're on the news!" I'm wondering what everyone is talking about. I'd been on a plane for a couple of hours. It just hit really hard and fast, and it's been a really great experience.
SB: You said that Marilyn Manson was your breakout show. How did you feel when you were getting ready for that show?
H: I was really nervous. He's a controversial performer in general, and I wasn't really part of his music scene or that genre at all. It was a lot of study for me and a lot of getting ready. It was a big jump for me in my interpreting to be able to go to the places he went with his music. I also studied how he carries himself, it's very unique to him, seeing how he moved and incorporate that into my interpreting. It was a little nerve wracking, but after the first song I was like, yeah this is happening and this is awesome and I'm going to do this. The deaf patrons that were there were so excited and they had a wonderful time at the show. I left feeling like this is something I could do. I really focused my energies on interpreting for live.
SB: What would be a dream band for you to interpret?
H: This year at the New Orleans Southern Heritage Festival, I got to interpret for Billy Joel. That was a pinnacle moment for me. I wanted to interpret for him since I became an interpreter. That was an amazing experience for me. The whole audience got a share of that because he was supposedly done touring. The venue was packed, and there were tons of deaf patrons there who were really excited to see him play. For me, that was definitely a pinnacle moment in the last 8 years of interpreting.
"I also feel that Bonnaroo has such a great line up every year. When I go there, I feel like this is the best yet. Then the next line up comes out, and I think 'No, this is the best yet!' I'm very fortunate to be able to work with them.
SB: Glad we can help them raise the bar each year. You got your breakout moment from hip hop, obviously. What other genres do you specialize in?
H: I do a lot of interpreting for Phish. I'm born and raised in Vermont, so I get that whole culture. I don't think there's really a genre I don't do. I really enjoy hip hop as a big challenge for me. There's a lot that goes on culturally and politically. Then there's the rapid rate of speech. I think if I can make it through Marilyn Manson, I can make it through anything.
SB: You said that for some of the faster shows you will have more than one interpreter. How many intepreters for music shows are there nationwide? Do you have to fight for the popular spots?
H: For Bonnaroo, I'm part of The Access Team which provides access to all patrons with disabilities. There are 8 interpreters on the team, which come from all over the country. Those are very coveted spots. There's an interview and application process that the interpreting team leader David Coyne and I go through. If there's an open spot on that team, we have them submit videos and we go through and rate them for various things. Are they really signing sign language? Some people think that sign language could be interpretive dance, which it's not *laughs*. It's definitely a competitive process. There are lots of people who love music, and are interpreters. They want to do that kind of work, and you have to have a very special skill set to do it. The team was very committed to having the best they can. As you get more well known with promoters and deaf patrons, you get into that network of being requested for shows.
SB: It's always good to be requested. So, Lydia Calas, who signs for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is another interpreter that received a lot of attention recently. Are there any other big names we should look for?
H: I think there were lots of amazing moments this year with musicians on the Bonnaroo team. Tina Orzali, from Cincinnati, got pulled up on stage for The Lumineers when they covered a Bob Dylan song. Billy Idol's guitarist came down, put his guitar over the interpreter Jen Abbott from Long Island. He started playing over her when she was interpreting for him. She was also with me for Wu-Tang. Mat and Kim pulled Amy Adkins on stage while we were interpreting for them. We have such a high caliber team that any of them would be a name to look out for.
SB: One of the fascinating things for me to learn was that there are differences in the regional dialects for ASL. Could you explain how those evolve and what some of the differences are?
H: I would liken it to the conversation people have "Is it soda? Is it pop? Is it coke?" There are about 50 different signs for Happy Birthday, for example. Any sign language, particularly ASL is culture-bound. The south has a very different culture than New England for example. So the colloquialism and the dialects develop for different pockets of people. That's something we strive to interpret since artists are from different parts of the country. We want to make the interpreting experience as authentic as possible. We'll use signs from that area of the country.
SB: So, if you were signing for an Atlanta artist playing up in the Bronx, would you use the southern dialect or take it native for the locals?
H: My approach as an interpreter is I want them to have as close an experience as someone hearing the music, so I would use the signs from Atlanta. That's my choice. But you can't go off the grid and use signs they don't know. But you want to think of the context of the artist and help the patrons access that.
SB: How do you keep up with new sign language slang?
H: I'm fortunate to work in the video relay service industry. I run an interpreting service for Sorenson so I interpret phone calls from all over the country all the time. So I get to see people from all over the US every day. I also am very fortuante that I get to travel as I'm doing concerts and other specialized events. I get to meet the local deaf people in that area and get to learn from them.
SB: Have you ever been on tour with a band?
H: That would be awesome if I could go on tour! How cool would that be? What happens usually is a deaf patron will purchase a ticket and they contact the promoter or venue and request an interpreter that way. I don't know of any bands that have an interpreter that travels with them exclusively. But, that would be an awesome thing, because you would know their music so well that the experience would be even more heightened for the patron. I do a lot of Phish shows, so I know a lot of the stories that back their music. And being from Vermont I have an intimate knowledge with that and the Phish-head community. It woud be awesome for an interpreter to work with a band that much.
SB: What's an example of your favorite subtleties in regional differences?
H: The birthday one is always a funny one. You're talking with someone from a different part of the country, and they're like "Hey!" You're wondering was that Happy Birthday or something else? You could go a lot of different ways if it wasn't happy birthday.
"There's been a lot of discussion of my choice to sign the N-word while Wu-Tang was performing. To me, that isn't a choice. It's not my role to censor Method Man. He makes the decision to say that word. I'm giving that opportunity to the deaf person to either be down with it, or be offended, like any hearing person has that opportunity. I'm going to put it out there, because that's what Wu-Tang is putting out there.
SB: So how does this work at the show? How do the deaf patrons know where to find you and get in your line of sight?
H: For Bonnaroo, they make an interpreter request. Then we cover all the requests for the festival. Over 4 days, an interpreter on our team will interpret 6 to 10 shows. That's a lot of music. We also have a schedule available through the access program.
SB: You must have some memorable moments from shows. What's the standout story?
H: This year, one of the deaf patrons came up to me after the Wu-Tang show and said "I never really understood why people like rap so much. Now I get it." To me, you can't ask for better feedback than that You give them the Ah Ha! moment. It makes the 50-60 hours of preparation you do for a show totally worth it.
SB: Music is often at the forefront of breaking down racial and other social boundaries. From Benny Goodman saying "It takes the black keys and the white keys both, to make perfect harmony " to Mackelmore's "Same Love" support for gay marriage. How do you think your signing for live shows will further help the deaf community?
H: I hope it brings heightened awareness to promoters and venues that get the requests for an interpreter. They may not know what to do with them and don't provide the interpreter. Maybe they'll make the adjustment to fly someone out to do a show. There's not a lot of hip hop in Portland, Maine. For some of the shows I've been requested to do, the promoters are willing to negotiate on travel. Certain interpreters are good at certain types of things. The Deaf community is just like any other community, they are a microcosm of the US. Some enjoy music, some don't. Some like Broadway stuff, some like hip hop, they're just like anybody else. They have this very rich culture through American Sign Language.
SB: Some commenters on the web have questioned the value of an interpreter for the deaf at a music show. Obviously live concerts and festivals are about more than just hearing a song. Would you like to address those comments? H: Yes. I think those comments are indicative of a person who hasn't considered an experience outside their hearing world. That's really the thing about this video going viral. More people realize that deaf people want to go to festivals too. Bonnaroo is so much more than just music. They have the visual design, then have comedians, they have movies. All this amazing stuff going on. "The Access team is committed to providing interpreters to allow patrons to attend yoga classes in the morning, then go make a hula hoop, and then sign up for one of their amazing service projects they have. There's a lot of different aspects to this festival on top of the music. "When the Beastie Boys played at Bonnaroo in 2009, that was their last show all together. After that they lost Adam Yauch, one of their members. That's a moment in history. I later heard from one of the patrons that was at that show. They said "Thank you so much for doing a great job." It's about the history, it's about the festival. Comments from people like that can be so myopic, and maybe they can open their eyes and realize that everyone is different, and everyone can experience things differently.
SB: Do you have any upcoming shows?
H: I'm doing a Phish show out at the Gorge in George, Washington this July. Beautiful venue. Then there's the Life is Good fest in Canton, Mass. They've got a great lineup this year. The Roots will be there, Jack Johnson, Hall and Oats. And a couple of other things are in the works.
SB: On Reddit there's a section called AMA or Ask Me Anything. Have you considered reaching out to the Redditors out there?
H: Yeah! I would love to do something like that if they would ask me. I don't want to be overly self promotional, but I would love to do that. I would love to make myself available for people to ask me questions. Whether it's interpreters looking to get into this line of work, or fans who are wondering how this works. The more dialogue we have about it, the more normal it becomes.
(Update: She posted an AMA here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/1h6t8l/wu_tang_interpreter_got_questions_ask_me/)
SB: How can people get in contact with you to do a show?
H: I've had a couple of requests through facebook. Also a few people have been referred to me through the Bonnaroo website. Or they can email me directly. My email is birdvery@gmail.com. If it's not financially feasible for me to go do a specific show, I have a network of connections in different cities across the US. I can refer them to an interpreter I know that has the skillset to do this.
"I got a message from this little girl out in the midwest who was deaf. She asked if I could come out and interpret for her school play. Thats so great. The message is getting out there.
SB: And the most important question, are you going to be back at Bonnaroo next year?
H: Yes absolutely! if they'll have me, I'm there. I've had so many amazing moments working with the Access team at Bonnaroo and seeing all the care and planning that goes on at that festival. I just love it. Everything they do from Cleanvibes to their political action stuff, and of course the music. It's something I look forward to all year. When the snow hits Maine, I start counting the months until Bonnaroo.
Holly Maniatty, CI/CT, NIC:Master resides in Portland Maine. To contact her for interpreting requests or with questions, email her at birdvery@gmail.com or tweet at her @Birdveryholly.