‘I can feel and hear the crowd’
Michael White tells Hayley McLarin he wants his fans to know he’s not being rude, he’s legally blind.
There is possibly no greater compliment for a band than seeing the crowd dancing and singing along as they perform.
Michael White doesn’t get to experience that when White Chapel Jak play to thousands of fans – because he is legally blind.
The double bass player has only peripheral vision, so although he can make out shapes in the foreground, he cannot truly appreciate how well-received the band is.
White Chapel Jak has been a support act for Bonnie Tyler and Alanis Morissette and will open for Trinity Roots at Summer Sounds in Marlborough next month before they again perform for more than 15,000 people at the SeePort Festival in Auckland.
They have built a large fan following over the past four years, and White wants their followers to know he is not being rude when he doesn’t interact with them on stage.
‘‘I might have someone standing right there, in the front row, trying to make a connection with me and maybe they think I am ignoring them,’’ the 39- year- old says. ‘‘I get the noise of the crowd and can feel how they are feeling. I can see people dancing right at the front, just not super-clearly.’’
White was oblivious to a fan throwing her bra at him, until he saw it lying on the stage.
He was about five when his parents realised there was something wrong – because he could not see the fish in the river below the bridge they were on.
He was eventually diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease – a condition that causes progressive damage to the macula, an area in the centre of the retina that is responsible for sharp, straightahead vision.
‘‘The centre is where you have the most detail. I’m using my peripheral vision to see everything which is much more blurry,’’ he says.
‘‘When I was a teenager, I could still read books, but I can’t without the aid of a magnifying glass now.’’
Music has always been something White wanted wanted to do as a career; he fronted the school band and played in a church band, before moving to Wellington to study music at university. He was the bass guitarist in Supermodel for 13 years but when the group broke up, and he found himself single again, he moved back to Auckland in 2015 to be with family. ‘‘ I wanted to find another band that did regular gigs, and I also started doing call-centre work. It’s kind of an obvious job for blind people. It’s mostly about using your voice. And people don’t see you so they’ve got no idea that you’re blind.’’
He met his partner, Kiki Yuan, when she came to view the flat he was living in with several others. ‘‘She came from Japan and was this fancy girl from Tokyo, wearing pink high heels.’’
He joined White Chapel Jak four years ago. The group were able to complete a North Island tour this year, around the confines of social distancing with Covid-19. As well as Marlborough, they will perform at a series of summer locations, before headlining at SeePorts at Auckland Anniversary Weekend. The band were the support act three years ago, but have become crowd favourites.
‘‘Normally you’re booked to be a break for the orchestra, but we went into it full-on like we do all of our shows. I can’t remember any gig where [ lead singer] Bonnie has been content to be background music. She loves getting everybody up.’’
He considers it a privilege to play with White Chapel Jak, who ensure he is very much a part of the chemistry on stage.
‘‘The band is super awesome. They keep coming to perform with me on my part of the stage to make sure I am part of the show. The band has a more visual connection than I do and talk about the love they feel from the audience.
‘‘I might be missing aspects in my life, but you make do. I love performing, I have had some super fun times. It’s a privilege. We all want to make this as good as we can.’’