Hearing Impaired Drummer Keeps the Beat on European Tour

“ There is one thing however that sets this globe-trotting drummer/producer apart from the pack: He was born with a degenerative hearing loss that has kept audiologists and ENT's puzzled for decades. ”

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(eMusicWire.Org) – Brooklyn based drummer Ben Herson is no stranger to the road. In fact, since he graduated from high school in 1993, Herson has toured all over the United States, Europe and Canada dozens of times (with some stints in Africa to boot). However, there is one thing however that sets this globe-trotting drummer/producer apart from the pack: He was born with a degenerative hearing loss that has kept audiologists and ENT's puzzled for decades.

"They first diagnosed me in kindergrden" says Herson about his hearing loss. "They thought that I was just playing around and not paying attention during the hearing test, but in fact I simply could not hear." Herson was diagnosed with untreatable and unexplainable nerve damage in both ears and was fit with hearing aids, technology which he would not embrace until many years later. In spite of his loss, Herson (32), who grew up in a musical household has never felt disadvantaged when it came to playing music or in any other aspect of his life. In fact, he even credits his hearing loss for his ability to play the drums with metronomic precision.

"When I first started playing in bands in high school, I could never hear what the horns were playing or what the singer was singing. Instead, I developed a really solid sense of time and just learned to dig into the groove as tight as possible as well as memorize the song. I think that in a sense, my hearing loss really made me respect the groove and tempo in a way that I might not have had I been able to hear."

Some may find it odd that someone with hearing loss like Herson would gravitate towards playing music professionally. Herson's non conventional upbringing may shed some light on his decision to pursue his creative vision. "I grew up in a house where my mother was always playing music. Sometimes she would need to play a gig or have a rehearsal and a babysitter would not be available. She would take me with her, give me a tambourine or a shaker and I would play along. I just learned to keep time and fell in love with drums and percussion. I never really thought about the fact that there was something unconventional about that until people started to mention it to me."

Herson who has mastered a plethora of groove based styles including hip-hop, dub, reggae and African music has earned him praise in unlikely places. From 1993 - 2000, Herson's hectic touring schedule landed him endorsements from Slingerland, Evans, Pro Mark and Paiste cymbals. In 2000 Herson became a regular session musicicial playing with reggae legends Yabby U, Sugan Minott, Glen Brown and the Upsetters' Glen Adams. From 2003 - 2005 Herson toured with NYC's Dub is a Weapon and the Rocksteady 7 touring in both the United States and Europe.

Most recently, Herson's playing has earned him praise amongst nu-disco and house music producers and record labels. Herson (who is also known for his Global Hip-Hop record label Nomadic Wax - www.nomadicwax.com) recently caught the attention of Brooklyn based nu-disco band Escort (www.weareescort.com) a 16 piece ensemble boasting a string section, horns, percussion and back up vocals. When asked whether his hearing loss was a challenge with a band of this size, Herson replied: "It's a challenge in terms of keeping the tempo correct when you have so many elements happening at once. You really need to keep the beat solid for an ensemble this large. There are some songs with arrengements so busy that I hardly play any fills. I just lay back and keep the beat going."

House Music record label Environ Records also became enchanted with Herson's playing after seeing him play with Escort and enlisted him for their latest project - Kelley Polar (www.kelleypolar.com). Herson will be hitting the road with with electro-pop/disco house band Kelley Polar from August 26th through September 14th visiting Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, the UK, Scotland and Dublin. Upon his return, Herson will be touring through the United States at colleges and universities with the critically aclaimed African Underground All-stars, a 10 piece African Hip-Hop ensemble featuring MCs from all over Africa.

Herson is ultra vigilant about protecting his hearing. "I wear earplugs from the moment I walk into the club. I have 3 pairs of Westone's musicians plugs and I wear them religiously. When I play with Kelley Polar, I use headphones that block out 25 decibels and I get a direct line in from the sound board with a volume control since I need to be playing in time with a computer that's triggering samples, strings etc and don't want to blast my ears out".

"At this point in terms of where science is at, there is no cure for the kind of hearing loss that I have. Hopefully some day they'll put the kind of money into research that is needed however in the meantime, I've got to make the most of what I have. I have never taken my ears for granted and I do everything I can to protect what I have left"