Accommodating Steve’s deafness has been a complex, but rewarding experience for all the musicians in Wide Mouth Grin. Learning to work with a deaf musician has made the band more expressive and musically adventurous.  At the same time, there's a level of perfection that must be attained, since mistakes become compounded.  They rehearse relentlessly. When performing, the band communicates with hand signals (mostly based on American Sign Language), eye contact, facial expressions and body language, making for a truly unique live show.

The small percent of Steve’s remaining hearing lies in the lower registers, so he essentially writes his music at the bass guitar level.  To continue composing the music, Steve has tried all sorts of creative systems, including constructing various tubing devices from the bones in his head to the guitar or speakers.  Eventually he designed specific rehearsal spaces to best meet the needs of a deaf musician.

Dr. Dean Shibata an assistant professor of radiology at the University of Washington, has researched the brain functioning of deaf people.  According to his work, deaf people sense vibration in the part of the brain that other people use for hearing – which helps explain how deaf musicians can sense music, and how deaf people can enjoy concerts and other musical events.  His report found, “perception of the musical vibrations by the deaf is likely every bit as real as the equivalent sounds, since they are ultimately processed in the same part of the brain"