I have learned how to breathe, to use my cords differently. I had been tilting my head in a way when I talked that wasn't good for my throat. I've been working on all of that, and it seems to be helping.
When I got hoarse, the manager would say, 'Drink this. Joplin used to drink this,' and I used to say, 'Joplin? Joplin's dead.
I do a lot of vocal hygiene.
A throat-coating tea with some honey is very soothing for my throat, so I always travel with that.
I'll take a shot of vodka if I want it to be raspy... I tell whoever's in the studio to get boiling hot water, like super boiling, that they're afraid to give it to me. I put it exactly on the back of my tongue to shock my body. That cleans it up.
I have to have lemon and honey. I have to have apple cider vinegar, Braggs. And I have to have either Red Vines or Twizzlers. These things, you know, are the things that help my vocal performance.
I always try and make the strongest ginger tea with manuka honey to keep my voice in shape.
I have as many pictures of my vocal cords as I do of my children. I have a great ear, nose and throat doctor, and we look at them - if there's some redness, maybe I'll take a little time off.
For a sore throat I take arnica, just a tiny pill dissolved under my tongue. And because your throat is like a muscle, I keep mine warm drinking herbal teas, usually camomile.
I have mugs of hot water every morning because the studio is cold, and also because it makes my throat sound clearer.
There's loads of things you can do to make things easy for your throat, you can drink a bit of lemon and hot water couple of spoons of honey, you can gargle with port, I've done it a couple of times myself - but don't swallow it!
