Stevie's health and smoking ???

[StevieRox2]

I know it sounds crazy, but air conditioning makes me lose my voice and gives me a sore throat, and here I am, the day before Stevie's Birthday concert and can hardly talk, I won't be able to talk tomorrow at Nissan for sure! I always say, "smoke 'em if you got 'em".

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Also, the fact that Stevie is 56 tommorow probably has a lot to do with it. Everyone's singing voice lowers with time whether they smoke or not

C'mon!

If Stevie is smoking again, and this is all speculation on our part (none of us really know whether she is or isn't), she's being stupid. Not only that, but irresponsible, too. For someone who has had so many vocal problems thorughout the years, it boggles my mind that they would go back to one of those very problems that caused their voice to worsen.

She killed her voice in the seventies and eighties because she didn't know how to sing. She didn't have a clue and she tore her voice to shreds. Couple that with constant cocaine use. Then add a pack of cigarettes to that mix each and every day. It's no wonder that her voice is so low nowadays and not as flexible as it once was. No one's singing voice will ever get that low simply because they're getting older; it'll get that way if you don't take care of it as you're getting older. And Stevie never did take care of it. Inhaling steam and moisture before you go out onstage will help you get through the first song, nothing more. Same with cough drops; they don't work once they melt. Lord help her if she had the air conditioning on in the venues she performed at, that's death to a singer. She should've been practical when it came to the instrument that made her the steak: her voice. Swallow olive oil, drink orange juice, eat spinach, sing with your diaphragm and not your throat, etc. And no matter how many vocal exercises our gal does, if she's still puffing little sticks of suicide, none of them will help.

Of course, all of this smoking business is speculation, anyways. End rant.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by StevieRox2

I know it sounds crazy, but air conditioning makes me lose my voice and gives me a sore throat, and here I am, the day before Stevie's Birthday concert and can hardly talk, I won't be able to talk tomorrow at Nissan for sure! I always say, "smoke 'em if you got 'em".

That's because cold air dries out your vocal chords.

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by StevieRox2

I know it sounds crazy, but air conditioning makes me lose my voice and gives me a sore throat, and here I am, the day before Stevie's Birthday concert and can hardly talk, I won't be able to talk tomorrow at Nissan for sure! I always say, "smoke 'em if you got 'em".

I suffer the same thing when I am driving, My car's AC fries my throat (Which is fried already and tomorrow I get to FINALLY know what the cause of it is...Yeah, I am VERY nervous)

[dissention]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

that she is smoking while being diagnosed with Epstein/Barr syndrome...

That cannot be healthy in the least (I know for a fact it isnt healthy because my wife Debbie suffers from Epstein/Barr which possibly contributed to her current diagnosis with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, aka Cancer of the lymph nodes/system. Debbie's Dr's said Epstein/Barr definitely can drain your immune system, And if she hadnt quit smoking several years back her current bout with this cancer could have been more severe than it is.)

That's awful, Brian. I suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for ages and I know the pure hell it is to feel that way. Epstein Barr and CFS are usually brought upon by throat infections and bacteria that lingers down into your body, so I suspect that's probably why Debbie's doctor said it was a good thing that she had stopped smoking!

EDIT: I forgot you were having your throat checked out! I hope I didn't set off any alarms!

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by dissention

That's awful, Brian. I suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for ages and I know the pure hell it is to feel that way. Epstein Barr and CFS are usually brought upon by throat infections and bacteria that lingers down into your body, so I suspect that's probably why Debbie's doctor said it was a good thing that she had stopped smoking!

EDIT: I forgot you were having your throat checked out! I hope I didn't set off any alarms!

it will take alot to set my alarms off, Unless a 50-something blonde witch happens to pass by

[dissention]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

it will take alot to set my alarms off, Unless a 50-something blonde witch happens to pass by

Reminds me of that Prince concert you told us about.

[strandinthewind]

Please do not flame me for this, but I know more than one professional singer (ages 20 to late 50's) who can still powerhouse vocal despite chain smoking

But, ITA agree smoking cigs. is not great for you, blah, blah, blah - but singing every other night and frequent exposure to different climate changes is IMO worse for the sort term effect on the cords. Plus and again, no singer I know at age 56 can consistently sing in the same high octave(s) they used to be able to sing in their 20's. Think about Babs, who rarely tours and compare the above middle C "People" to the current way below middle C "People" she is singing these days.

Anyway, no one should smoke period.

[StevieRox2]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

I suffer the same thing when I am driving, My car's AC fries my throat (Which is fried already and tomorrow I get to FINALLY know what the cause of it is...Yeah, I am VERY nervous)

I Hope that all turns out a-okay for you!

I thought I was an idiot when I put two and two together about the A/C - glad to hear I wasn't going crazy after all!

[strandinthewind]

Many singers, esp. in opera, insist that no AC be used during rehearsal, much to the chagrin of the sweating orchestra

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Please do not flame me for this, but I know more than one professional singer (ages 20 to late 50's) who can still powerhouse vocal despite chain smoking

But, ITA agree smoking cigs. is not great for you, blah, blah, blah - but singing every other night and frequent exposure to different climate changes is IMO worse for the sort term effect on the cords. Plus and again, no singer I know at age 56 can consistently sing in the same high octave(s) they used to be able to sing in their 20's. Think about Babs, who rarely tours and compare the above middle C "People" to the current way below middle C "People" she is singing these days.

Anyway, no one should smoke period.

No flaming from me, doll. I didn't say that smoking was the one thing that caused Stevie's voice to degrade so much. I said that it was a great combination of smoking, drugs (not to mention alcohol!!!), and misuse of her voice. Combine all those things and it's no surpise at all. Plus, the hole in her nose and the asthma. You can tour all across the country for a year and still be in perfect vocal form as long as you take care of yourself. Stevie never really did that. She'd go onstage no matter what, even when she was sick and look how her voice has changed. Now, I love her deeper voice more than her high voice, but all the damage she has done to her vocal chords has resulted in not having much of a range at all and they get worn out much easier. You simply cannot defend her voice by saying that it has been a natural thing; it hasn't. It's the result of irresponsibility. There's a way to take care of your voice and there is a way to screw it up; Stevie has taken the latter road more than the former. All of her illnesses can be traced back to the misuse of her voice, too.

And I know plenty of singers in their fifties who can sing in the same octaves as they did when they were in their twenties. Cyndi Lauper and Patti Labelle come to mind. To be honest, their voices have improved with age.

[strandinthewind]

Patti L. is an anamoly in more than one way She abused herself with booze, etc. (she no longer drinks) and her voice, although no longer youthful, to our great fortune, emerged unscathed!!!!!!

[darklinensuit]

I called my friend Whitney and she said "Stevie ain't poor, she doesn't need to do tobacc, tobacc is whack!"

- Jake

[estranged4life]

hopefully Stevie will be on the mend now that the show tomorrow night has been officially cancelled and will not be rescheduled...

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Patti L. is an anamoly in more than one way She abused herself with booze, etc. (she no longer drinks) and her voice, although no longer youthful, to our great fortune, emerged unscathed!!!!!!

I agree, but she had the sense to at least take care of her voice. If she hadn't, she wouldn't be the powerhouse she is today.

So, I'm just saying that if Stevie is smoking, it's irresponsible and rather shocking. And if she gets sick and can't sing a certain song, tough tacos, she has no one to blame for herself.