During a recent show, Scottish heavy pirate-metal band Alestorm invited an ASL interpreter to sign on stage for the final song. Derek, a hearing man also known as The Signing D, was already translating the performance to his deaf wife in the crowd when he got the invitation. With a mix of excitement and nervousness, Derek exclaimed, "Fuck yes," although he had never performed on such a large stage before.
Did he nail it? Of course, he did! The song he signed was "Fucked with an Anchor," a track filled with irreverence and plenty of chances for Derek to flip the bird. Here's how it starts:
Fuck you, you're a fucking wanker
We're gonna punch you right in the balls
Fuck you with a fucking anchor
You're all cunts, so fuck you all
Fuck you, you're a fucking wanker
We're gonna punch you right in the balls
Fuck you with a fucking anchor
You're all cunts, so fuck you all
And, here's the story of what went down, as told by Derek himself:
My wife is deaf and we love live music, but venues can be hit or miss when it comes to accessibility. We're lucky that we have the ability to deploy me as a pocket-interpreter when venues are less than stellar and I can terp shows myself. I'm always a little nervous with new venues/new bands, and this was my first time ever going to a metal show so I had no idea what to expect.
So we did that with Lutharo/Gloryhammer/Alestorm, and all of the bands were really fucking cool, shooting me set lists and lyrics ahead of time. And the crowd. The CROWD. Everyone was so fucking cool, understanding, and supportive. I didn't know what to expect ahead of time, but we IMMEDIATELY felt at home within minutes of meeting people around us.
I terped the show in a little corner by the stage until there were about 3 songs left, then a guy with the band ran up to me with a note on his phone that said "can we get the ASL interpreter on stage for the final song?" I immediately replied "fuck yes," without thinking, then remembered I had never been on stage in front of more than about ~100 people before for my comedy. I spent the next two songs laughing with my wife going "what the fuck did I sign up for" in sign language to her between songs. She just kept signing back "GO. DO IT."
When I met her after the song she laughed at me downing the giant shot of rum and went "that's…my husband."
(via Digg)
