Q&A

Tom Petty once said, “Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure, and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.”

Last month, I kicked off a series on optometrists and their hobbies with pilot O.D.s, or, “eye guys of the skies.” This month, we talk to O.D. musicians — and there are tons of them, probably because music is something that resonates on some level with everyone — including me.

In fact, in 1995, a friend and I began a 20-year hobby of running a major music festival: The Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil. I started the event to raise money for children’s charities, such as Smile-a-Mile and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The event donated more than $500,000 to charity.

When we began, we had 2,000 audience members and three bands. When we ended it, we had more than 44,000 in the audience and two days of music and entertainers, including Common, Snoop Dog, Fergie, Flo Rida, LL Cool J, John Mayer, Katy Perry, The Wallflowers, the Village People, and the list goes on. One night, the Allman brothers just showed up to jam with Drivin’ N Cryin’. Enjoy this month’s O.D. Scene!

Jack Schaeffer, O.D., F.A.A.O.,
Editor-in-Chief
O.D. Scene

O.D. MUSICIANS WEIGH IN . . .

GARY GERBER, O.D., KAREN MERKLE, O.D., & MIKE SILVERMAN, O.D..

Q: HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN MUSIC?

GG: I started like a lot of kids do, with piano lessons when I was nine years old.

KM: I went to a small school in rural Iowa, and participation was encouraged. My parents made sure all three of us — myself and two siblings — at least tried an instrument.

MS: I always loved music as a small kid, and I took drum lessons when I was 14 and played drums in bands throughout high school, college and optometry school.

Q: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR PARTICULAR INSTRUMENT?

GG: My dad was a professional drummer, so, of course, I wanted to be just like him. He said, “Don’t play the drums. You’ll have too much stuff to carry, making you the first and the last one to leave.” What’s funny about this is that with all my keyboard equipment, I’m usually tied with the drummer in that department! In my dad’s honor, however, I also learned to play the drums.

KM: My sister, who is five years older than me, already played the flute. When she started, she really wanted to play the clarinet, but our parents, who picked up the instruments from the school, said there were too many kids getting clarinets. So, they came home with a flute for her, and this is what I ended up playing too.

MS: It was chosen for me. When I graduated from SCO in 1984, I joined a band on Long Island, NY (as a drummer), but my bandmates said they needed me to play bass, so I bought a new Ibanez Roadstar II Bass with a Sunn Bass Amp and took lessons. The instructor had me ear train and learn bass lines to The Beatles, YES, Jethro Tull, Level 42, Led Zeppelin and many other groups. I’ve been playing bass in bands ever since.

Q: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING YOUR INSTRUMENT?

GG: I’ve been playing piano since I was probably age three.

KM: I’ve been playing since 4th or 5th grade. Music is definitely part of a well-rounded education. I am sad to see budget cuts that sharply curtail or eliminate music from some schools.

MS: Drums since 1972. Bass since 1984.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO PLAY AND WHY?

GG: My favorite type of music to play is classic rock. Once it gets into your blood, it’s there forever!

KM: I have a love/hate relationship with “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” It is the ultimate piccolo piece, but it isn’t easy for me to play. A D-flat piccolo makes “The Stars and Stripes Forever” easier to play, but it isn’t made anymore. My piccolo is a C. The band I’m in often closes our concerts with “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” I need to practice that piece the day of a concert, so that I’m ready for it.

MS: “Born to Be Wild.” It’s a hard-driving rock ‘n’ roll song from the 1960s. It makes me feel free, especially since I’m stuck in an exam room all day!

Q: HOW IS BEING A MUSICIAN LIKE BEING AN O.D.?

GG: To just be an average O.D. or musician, you still have to put in a lot of work. To do either well takes the humble reckoning that you’ll always be a slave to the continuous learning and technology changes. Also, with music, you want the mechanics of playing to happen via muscle memory, so you can focus on the bigger “gestalt” of the rest of the band, the emotion of the song and the energy of the audience. With optometry, you want the mechanics of doing your tasks to be a part of muscle memory, so you can focus on the patient.

KM: For both practicing optometry and playing an instrument, I need to be on my toes. Both require me to think and process new information, such as thinking through a patient’s symptoms or sight reading a new piece of music. However, some things can be very routine and are almost done without thought. Flipping dials on the phoropter or fingering notes correctly just happens automatically.

MS: In music, as with optometry, you can really hone your craft and become as good as you want to be. In both professions, there is always a chance to better yourself.

Q: HOW DO YOU THINK BEING A MUSICIAN HAS HELPED YOU IN OPTOMETRY?

GG: I think it’s more the other way around! Succeeding in optometry has allowed me to pursue my bucket list dream of playing with pro-touring bands!

KM: Being a musician has been shown to lower the risk of dementia. It keeps my brain active and makes me a more well-rounded individual. Anything I can do that keeps me engaged and happy helps me relate better to my patients and enjoy my work.

MS: First, it gave me a break from all the studying required in optometry school. Second, learning my instrument gave me the discipline to be the best optometrist I could be. And, attention to detail in both professions is very important.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE STORY ABOUT PLAYING?

GG: It’s been surreal to meet the musicians I idolized as a kid while I’m out on the road with Joe Lynn Turner. The thrill of hanging backstage with guys from Def Leppard, Motley Crüe and Whitesnake for example, is an otherworldly experience!

KM: The band I’m in plays for residents of nursing homes and retirement communities. For our holiday concerts, we play a rather obscure piece called “Poland at Christmas.” We have been surprised that elderly people in Milwaukee recognize the music. We have seen people sing along and have noticed some of them tearing up when they realize what they are hearing.

MS: During the Summer of 2016, my Tina Turner tribute band, Simply Tina, was one of seven tribute bands in the country chosen to perform at the Sounds Like Summer Concert Series at Epcot in Orlando, Fla. This is one of the best gigs any band could ever hope for, as you’re playing on a multimillion dollar sound and lighting stage. My great friend, and fellow O.D., Frank Verdone, who was diagnosed with ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis] a few years ago, flew with his family from Long Island, N.Y., to watch us, which was just icing on the cake! My band donates all the profits of Simply Tina T-shirts to ALS research.

Q: WHAT MUSICIAN DO YOU IDOLIZE AND WHY?

GG: As a rock keyboard player, of course, Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, among other bands, has to be on my very long list. Jon Lord would be another. Both elevated keyboards to the same degree of “rock cool” as the guitar!

KM: Sir James Galway is a wonderful flutist. Listening to him play things like the “Flight of the Bumblebee” is amazing. I cannot imagine being that talented.

MS: Paul McCartney. His bass lines are smooth and melodic; he’s not a show off. He plays exactly what the song needs, no more, no less. McCartney is completely ear trained and does not read music — a true music genius. OM