Give Steve a break!
Posted by:
Tony Harnell
()
Date: December 25, 2001 04:07AM
No wonder singers have so many problems. You people are ruthless. It's a nerve racking position to have in a band and deserves some slack from time to time. Remember it is coming from within a human being not a machine. I'm about to enlighten many of you on singing and the voice. Listen up. I have studied with one of the best voice instructors on the planet and as many of you know I have been practicing my craft for many years. Here is the scoop. The human voice can be a fragile instrument. It is affected by any emotional or physical changes in the body. Think about when you first start getting sick what is usually the first symptom? A sore throat right? Now, there are also other factors like diet and whether the person smokes or not etc. The male voice if well cared for in a healthy person should be stay strong well into his 50's or even 60's. Look at Tyler for example. Anyway, it is not always easy to maintain it and sometimes, no matter what you do it is not your day, week, month or whatever. Many times if a person has a long period of inactivity the voice will change and feel tight and rusty. The good thing is that even if someone is not sounding so great on one day, or one recording, he can always get it together again as long as there is no damage to the chords as in nodes or some other long term physical problem. Though it is fragile, it also is strong and will come back from the dead more often than not.
In conclusion. I think Steve has done enough in his career, has given us enough beautiful moments for us to allow him some slack. Most of the time, when I read bad reviews, I realize that the person writing has no musical talent or is not a singer. Singers are pretty nice to each other cause they understand what it takes to be really good. It's a hell of a lot of work. And touring can be a totally hellish experience as you always want to be your best. You are very aware of hypercritical audience members who cannot have anything but album quality. That's a lot of pressure. I used to care. Now I have done it enought to know that some nights are good and others are not and you take care of yourself and hope for the best. So, lets give Steve a break huh? He will always be amazing if he never records again. Just pull out Raised on Radio and listen to "Why can't this night go on forever". It's like a painting. It will always be there to listen to. Let him be for Christs sake.
Merry Christmas Steve.
TH