Rock-n-Roll Singer's Survival Manual

I'm reading a book by Mark Baxter, Dan's former voice guru, and it's quite the good read. He approaches singing like we're approaching this whole folk music grad school thing...on a holistic level. Chapter one is all about general care-taking...it could probably stand to be the first chapter in a lot of "how-to" books. Basically, you sing what you are, so you should take good care of yourself. Points Baxter makes... - I should quit smoking. Oh wait. I don't smoke, hehheh. But the description of burning your throat is enough of a permanent deterrent for me, I think. - No dairy, not much meat, very little red meat. Well that's handy, too. I have had a year full of indecision, but I haven't eaten meat since I don't know when and I take extra care to be vegan in my food choices (still cannot turn down Mom's rhubarb pie, though!) It does make a difference, I think. So far, knock on wood, I have not gotten my usual winter cold (which could just have to do with the fact that it's not really winter in Austin, just mildly cloudy and 55 degrees. Brr.) But I also don't get phlegm in my throat anymore. Dairy makes phlegm. Veganism and throat health seem to co-exist in harmony. - Stress. We all know stress takes a toll on your body. It takes a toll on your voice, too. Handling it makes for good singing, which I think makes for less stress. When I figure that one out, I'll let you know. If I ever let you know, it'll probably be from a small island and a beach chair. The most interesting point is that most musicians are really obsessive about their instruments and the environments they live in. I won't leave my guitar in a car, I hate playing outdoors when it's reallyreally hot or reallyreally cold, I humidify if it's dry, I keep it in the case when I'm not using it (hanging your guitar on the wall is bad for it! Stop that!). But your voice IS an instrument, and the throat gets some pretty bad treatment sometimes. Even just standing near a street and inhaling a big cloud of smog will knock you out for a while. Would you stick your guitar in a BBQ grill? I type this as I drink a Coke, which is...well, nothing natural. Clearly I've not mastered the treatment of my voice, but it's good to be thinking about these things.