Steve Giannaros and “Dakota;” Hitting all the Right Notes

Picture this: a dusky club in Cambridge, Massachusetts; a quartet of musicians jamming
in the front, playing a mixture of jazz, both traditional and contemporary, funk, and fusion. Chairs squeezed together and people packed close in, tapping their feet and nodding in time to the music. A guide dog relaxing in the corner.A guide dog relaxing in the corner?

That would be Dakota, musician Steve Giannaros’ Fidelco guide dog. In matching a guide dog with Steve, the Fidelco training staff had a challenge. They needed a dog that was a music lover. As always, they were right on the mark in their matching abilities. In pairing Steve with Dakota, they found a dog who took music as seriously as did Steve. Steve says, “Dakota never bothers me when I have the saxophone in my hand.”

Music is Steve’s life. Take a look at his website (www.stevegiannaros.com) and you’ll be amazed at the breadth of his experience. He has played with multiple bands and appears on a myriad of CDs, which include his own projects, as well as the projects of other musicians who hire Steve as a sideman to lay down horn lines or sax solos on their recordings.

At the time he lost his vision, Steve was a professional musician. He now works by day for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and jams by night. It’s a perfect arrangement, he says, because his creativity is strengthened when music is not his full time endeavor. And, he regularly performs in clubs in the greater Boston area and beyond; including a summer spent performing on Carnival Cruise Lines.

Now 33 years old, Steve was an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts, majoring in music business, when he began to recognize some problems with his vision. He went to the eye doctor and was diagnosed with Cone Rod Dystrophy and he began to gradually lose his sight. Steve was able to drive until he was 25 years old at which point his vision worsened rapidly. At the time, he was supporting himself as a professional musician with weddings and lots of “gigs.”

When he lost his sight, his world narrowed considerably. “I didn’t want to do errands, didn’t want to go out in the neighborhood,” he says. Even though he lived close to the “T,” Boston’s extensive public transit system, he avoided taking subways and buses.

In other ways, though, his world broadened without his sight. No longer able to read music, Steve learned to transcribe the notes directly from listening to a piece.

He says, “Any great jazz musician is an advocate of memorization, and using your ears, rather than reading notes or chord changes on a page.”

In April 2006, John Byfield, Fidelco’s senior placement specialist, introduced Steve to Dakota, his first Fidelco dog. That first day, John told Steve, “Play the horn every day this week for an hour a day.” Steve happily complied and Dakota settled into his new lifestyle.

It was a turning point. “Having Dakota has totally changed my life. Before I had Dakota, if I needed to pick something up at the pharmacy or the grocery store, I wouldn’t do that alone. Now, if I feel like a cup of coffee, we simply head over to Dunkin’ Donuts,” he says. “It’s awesome.” Together, Steve and Dakota navigate their way each day on buses and subways from Medford to the Massachusetts State House for work.

Fidelco was Steve’s only choice for a guide dog school. “The other schools required you to train in their locations for a month,” he says. “I couldn’t afford to take that much time off from work.” In addition, he could not have missed his band’s rehearsals and his other musical obligations. Quite simply, he says, “I wouldn’t have a dog right now if not for Fidelco.”

Steve loves Dakota for the freedom he brings to him but he also loves him for his personality. “He’s a very vocal dog. I’ll talk to him and he’ll answer me. When we’re alone, I’ll make up songs with his name in it and he just loves it. He starts wagging his tail, panting and dancing.”
On the job, however, Dakota is all business. When Steve’s friends do accompany them, they are amazed at his guide dog’s skill. “You should see what he’s doing, Steve,” they’ll call out. “He’s weaving through the crowd.” Steve smiles at their amazement because he knows Dakota is amazing. And he says, “I’m along for the ride!”