The pollen count is off the charts, plus, it was a smoky bar. At the gig last night, my voice would just disappear during a song! Some notes just don't come out! Weird! I kept drinking water. I also have some throat spray for singers; maybe I should have used it more. Yet, I really don't know how to combat this. Any ideas, another gig tonight in another bar. I hope it is not as smoky, probably won't be, that one last night was extra bad. This "problem" happened several times during the gig.

The other issue is cig smoke. I swore off playing in honky tonks months ago but I really needed to test some equipment, so, I booked these two gigs. Gosh, I hate cig smoke.

I feel for you...here in NJ there is NO SMOKING ANYWHERE PERIOD!
And it was just passed No Smoking on Public Beaches, Parks, or soon In your own Car with kids !

Bill, reminds me of a song I wrote years ago.
It starts like this:

I'm not like most people, I go to work late at night,
Playin' guitar in a smokey ol' bar hopin' nobody starts a fight . . .
DonM

Bill,

A light antihistamine will take care of the pollen. And, of course, keeping your self well hydrated. As for the cigarette smoke--nothing works!

Good Luck,

Gary

You wanna borrow my fan to blow the smoke back at 'em?
DonM

Don ... would LOVE to hear the rest of that ...

Bill ... a fan MIGHT help ... also I use 'Hall's' Cough Drops:
http://www.gethalls.com/halls.aspx

I use the menthol ... Helps keep the pipes hydrated ...

Hi Bill,

As a singer who's sensitive to smoke & prone to allergies as well, I empathize with you.
I recently discovered a remedy that helped clear up the problem a lot.
Recently having suffered a bad cold and sinus infection, my doctor recommended using a Neti Pot.
When I first got it I thought it was totally weird, but believe it or not, it really WORKS great, flushing your sinus' of pollen, smoke, and gunk.
I use it once in the morning, before going to bed, and before a gig to keep my sinus' clear to freely breathe and sing clearly through the day/evening.
My doc also told me that using the Neti Pot regularly may also help reduce the chance of catching a cold.

Here's the one I use & recommend:

NeilMed NasaFlo Unbreakable Neti Pot with 50 Premixed Packets

Good luck, - Scott

Good post Scott. My wife uses Neti Pot and swears by it. It really works for her. I am sure it would be particularly beneficial to a vocalist.

Thanks Scott...

I never heard of this stuff...must be a California thing?....I'll look into it. I usually just use Claritan or an equivalent to clear up the congestion...but I hat the jittery feeling it sometimes gives.

I wipe my nose on my left sleeve.
DonM