Tony Gebhard

Location: Grand Rapids, MI

Challenge: Blind

Website: www.tonygebhard.com

Tony Gebhard is a blind musician from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He primarily plays guitar, but is skilled in many instruments. Tony adds "I write my own music, as well as host a podcast and work with several bands."

Tony recalls "I Grew up in Jenison, Michigan, I was born fully sighted but slowly lost my vision throughout the years. I was diagnosed with vitreoretinopathy. This causes retinal detachment as you grow throughout your childhood but considering I was also diagnosed with severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the hyper effects caused the process to quicken for both eyes. My right was the first to go from an accident at two years of age which I don’t necessarily remember much of. Being also "legally" blind in the left, I was fortunate enough to have vision for eight years of my life. That game slowly came to an end though as I approached seven years of age."

Being through countless eye surgeries and thousands of dollars in medical bills, the stress and tension of the condition of Tony's vision status brought a lot of hardship to his family and close friends. He adds "I would have my first and second grade classes call me on the phone while I stayed home from major surgeries and each and every single kid would tell me they loved me and hope I would come back soon. Always brought such high, positive spirits to my family and I".

Music began to give birth and show it’s first signs of life during Tony's childhood. His father, Doug, had purchased me a classic Fender Strat that Tony thought was the coolest thing in the whole universe. Tony says "I would spend hours on end in the garage with Metallica’s black record, Godsmack’s Good Times, Bad Times album and learn each song by ear. Lessons were out of the critter for me. Someone without sight, I just wanted to find an alternate way of developing the skill".

When Tony was 13,he was playing guitar in his middle school’s lunch room, participated in little talent shows, and he also played at lunch time in elementary school as well. He adds "I just had this passion to show off this talent and bring forth the beauty of heavy metal to all the kids".

Tony adds "My first real metal guitar was the classic BC Rich warlock. I received a Dean flying V, I owned two black and white Fender Strats, and sorta slowly collected as I went through Jr. high"

In eighth grade, Tony started his first band, I Among Giants. Tony adds "The name was given to me by my really close friend, Kiko". Starting off as a silly death metal project, Tony had no intentions on making anything professional at the time. The band had Jordan playing drums, and Tony playing guitar. They would record really cool demos in Tony's basement on his neighbor’s drum kit. Tony adds "We'd record guitar by line in on my computer with window’s sound recorder".

It wasn’t till freshman year when things got a bit more serious for Tony. Jordan was still with the band for a short time but departed late 2011 for school purposes. Christian Storms, being the current drummer, had stepped in as bass and helped record their first ever song, Suffocation. Tony adds "Right after Jordan left, Christian stepped up to drums and we began the beautiful legacy of what I Among Giants is today".

Tony is affiliated with many projects and bands that he hasworked with over the years including his own solo project. He adds "Truly love every single second I devote to it".

Tony Gebhard - Dead Eyes