crowded bays.

It never fails.  After one week of touring, I get sick.

Down.

With.

The.

Sickness.

The first time we toured (July 2009), I got sick in Las Vegas.  Yes, Las Vegas.  I still tried to make the best of it, but I was pretty drained.  It was messy.  The guys in the band had a blast while I, with my nose stuffed in kleenex 90% of the time, had to call it every night around 9pm.  I remember the first evening it hit me.  We were riding the indoor rollercoaster at Circus Circus (yes, REAL MEN can still have fun without gambling) and firework blurbs filled my sight as I spun into a sick oblivion.  Game over.  I lose.  Literally.  I lost my voice completely in Salt Lake City.  We became a karaoke band for Mormon Town.

Here I am again, in San Luis Obispo,  with a beautiful cold.  So I’ve been thinking that I can’t be the only musician that this happens to.  I’ve decided to post my secrets for a quick recovery (unfortunately, quick doesn’t ever come fast enough).  These tips definitely aid singers on the road:

1) Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar.

That’s right.  None of the stripped ACV.  Bragg’s is the REAL DEAL.  It has something called “The Mother” which stands for “More Bad Ass Than The Others”.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be Bragg, but it does have to have “The Mother”.  It’s raw, organic… awesome for colds.  Boil some water, put 2 tsp of ACV, and some honey for good measure.  Drink this concoction every 2 hours for some immediate and long-term relief.

2) Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat Tea & Gyspy Cold Care Tea.

This will definitely sooth your throat and help with a cough (which is a MUST if you’re a singer).  Use often.

3) Tomato Tea.

TOMATO TEA RECIPE
2 cups V8 Juice 
2-3 cloves Garlic crushed (use more if you can) 
2 T Lemon Juice 
Hot Sauce (the more the better, so as much as you can handle)

Mix and heat in a pan or in the microwave. Sip slowly and re-warm as needed to get the full effects of the fumes. Let it sit in the back of your throat to bathe it. Suck the fumes through your sinuses and also down into your lungs. Its all natural and healthy, so drink as much of it as you want or need until you are SURE the infection is gone. This is past the time when you “feel better.”

4) Ricola Cough Drops.

These have literally saved my ass the past few days.  I use the lemon-mint cough drops and the honey-lemon cough drops.  Use whatever you want.

5) Vick’s Vapor Steam Inhaler

This thing is INCREDIBLE (but make sure you stock up on the menthol rings that go in it… they are extremely tough to find).  It really does the trick.  If you’ve got a cough, there is nothing more soothing than breathing in menthol steam.  I love this thing, and I’ve taken it with me on every tour.  It’s my companion.

Good luck, fellow sicklings!