So another successful tour has wrapped...A very successful South African and European tour to be specific. :) In usual tour fashion, I either begin with some type of illness, or end with one...The first leg of the Passion Like Fire Tour in the 3rd quarter of 2018, I had Strep Throat just as rehearsals were starting. Of course I sat out until I was healthy...but illness still loomed as tour mate after tour mate caught severe colds throughout the tour. And alas...it caught me mid-way through. The tour before that, The Love Life Tour, I caught the flew during rehearsal from someone who had "Allergies"...everyone's go-to answer to sneezing and sniffling when you look at them as though they have the plague. But in actuality, in the tour world, a mere cold is the plague. In this world of 'rest is for the weary' atmosphere, what's easily forgotten is that a singer's instrument is our voice. Whereas a drummer, keyboardist, sound engineer, and-so-on can still show up and perform well (though not their preference and may be slightly off their game), a singer is screwed. Ok, I'm being a little dramatic, but not entirely. See, as a singer, I not only have to stay healthy for my own vocal abilities; but also for the vocal abilities of my vocal mate as well as: DON DON DON DOOOOOON...THE BOSS! The Artist. The one everyone is buying tickets to come and see. The very reason you have a job that lands you all over the world doing what it is you love...and for money even! Simple colds to a singer equals congestion and sore throats. Which turns into skewed hearing and pitchy notes. And perhaps a slightly sluggish performance to an audience who spent their hard earned money to see a show. Which also consists of people who don't aaaaalways realize performers are just people too..and they take to IG and Twitter and comment under a post where your boss jokingly outs you for getting her sick after using your mic during the show, and the IG-ers tag their friends and shade you for having one bad night...ONE! Not realizing you had the freaking flu and had to choose rest at the hotel over soundcheck and had literally just jumped out of an Uber to the side door next to the stage entrance with your show clothes on and your in-ear monitors already in, to be tossed a mic and walk out just as the opening music began!......But I digress. haha...What's my point in all of this??....Stay away from singers with your overly simplified colds...because it isn't so simple for us... and also, I would just rather not have your cooties. But in all seriousness, with the ever-changing climates from city to city when on tour, to shaking hands at meet-n-greets, to all of the random places you stop to eat...add the lack of rest that your body needs to actually heal and whallah!!.. You've got a gift that's going to give it's way through your whole camp if not careful and/or quarantined. So how do you prevent it while trying to remain holistic and sane? I'll tell you. And as easy as it is, we still get caught up in the day to day travel and get absent minded and sometimes just downright lazy..because that backpack that should be in your bunk was tossed under the bus with your other luggage cause you were exhausted. Or in an effort to lighten your 'show bag' which should remain on you at all times, you chucked it into your checked bag at the airport and now everyone on the plane has the plague and you've got no immediate defense, and now you're at home writing a blog from bed still coughing from a tour that ended five days ago. But if you're willing to insert just a little day to day effort, you can remain healthy and germ free for the duration of the tour. So here it is: Take Cod Liver Oil softgels every..single..day. I mean it. One in the morning after breakfast, and one before bed. This should be a habit by tour time, so start making this a regular part of your routine at least a couple of weeks out from rehearsals. You could really just stop there, but to further ensure a healthy stretch, keep Echinecea capsules or tea on hand. This vitamin boosts your immune system and promotes quicker healing if taken at the first sign of a cold. Please keep in mind though, you will need to take a few of them at a time to be effective. And nothing regulates your system better than plenty of water and as much rest as you can get. So that means you may have to forego a night or two of staying up late with your band mates while sharing a bottle of wine and singing to old school hits on the tour bus, as if you don't already do that for a living. ;-) SH