brywool wrote:slucero wrote:brywool wrote:RocknRoll wrote:Isn't Arnel dealing with a severe case of acid re-flux which was affecting his vocals?
I heard this is a condition he's suffered from for a long time. Sounds to me like getting it treated and reducing the causes and he should be able to get back on the road.
I understand one of the causes of acid re-flux is stress, so glad to see his family has just recently joined him on the road.
He sounds like he's getting a pretty full plate with what he's doing with Journey, his fans and at home. Maybe he just needs to decide on priorities, which obviously reduces the stress...or delegate some of those projects to others!
It's not because he "blew his voice out" or the "songs are too high for him". Singers are more prone to getting what Arnel has because of the work they put on their gut, voice, etc. Many singers have this and it does screw up the voice, particularly their highest notes. Been dealing with it forever. It also can trigger things like bronchitus and other respiratory issues. It's a bad situation and also elusive and tough to stop- but it most likely isn't the end of his career as so many here wish for. He may have the reflux and not even know it until he sings then he finds out his upper range is affected. The damage to the esophagus has to heal and that will take a bit of time. People are so quick to say he's done. Arnel's been singing all his life in clubs for HOURS every night. Journey shows are, what, an hour and a half? He will be fine, he just has to get it under control. Most significant will probably be diet changes and medicines to stop the acid, unless he does the surgery, which eh, if he's smart, he won't.
You're contradicting yourself Bry.,..
1. If it's a common ailment with singers, and
2. it does affect their upper register
Then it will impact ones ability to sing songs that require the use of the upper register that has been affected, which in AP's case has confirmed itself with his hiatus.
Further;
1. if increasing stress and
2. the continued use of the voice to sing
are the cause... it stands to reason that touring is the main driver of it.
The problem is while the esophagus heals and scars over, so does the larynx. And scar tissue on the larynx is fatal to the voice.
Good points Slucero. What I'm getting at is, I don't think it's a "fatal diagnosis" of his voice by any stretch. He will have to make some changes and he will be fine. But it's not like Adele or any of the recent folks that've "blown out their voices" and have shut up for 6 months, that is if what is out in the press is correct. There are ways to manage what he has. All this BS about "there'll be no Journey in 2014" or whatever is just ridiculous. The esophagus will heal, if there is permanent scarring on his chords, nobody has said that (have they?). His chords are probably inflamed from it. He'll recover. He knows what he's doing vocally. Also, remember the story about his younger years where he pretty much abused/drank his voice into being "gone forever"? He came back from that and I would think THAT damage would be much more severe. Granted, he's older now, but he's not OLD, you know? He'll be fine. Not to mention, I would imagine that he'll be able to see great doctors for his issues unlike the rest of us...
Vocal injuries are the type where "some" injury occurs before any injury is obvious... usually injury occurs well before there are obvious symptoms. I do however agree with your the "not fatal" point. I also don't think anyone would be allowed to say "Arnel has hurt his voice" until it was absolutely necessary to.
One thing about being young vs. old... I think we all can agree that the body is much more elastic and pliable when young, and as one ages muscular lubricity declines, and the sum of the negative effects of a repetitive activities begins to show itself. It's why we feel the affects of our high school sports injuries as we get older, and pro athletes also suffer the same result.
It's a double edged sword. by singing Arnel retains some of that youthful pliability simply because he is "exercising" his voice, effectively slowing the pace of decline, but the use also increases the chances of exposing it to injury. The net is still a declining instrument.
Good doctors can ameliorate some of the consequence... but for the most part it requires proactive prevention... which for Journey means finding a medium that mitigates the risk by limiting Arnel's exposure to the point at which he crosses it..
If everything preceding this stays the same.. the same will likely re-occur.
Neal needs to realize that 70 dates a year is probably not going to be a good long term plan for Arnel, and Arnel needs to decide whether he wants to preserve his voice for his post-Journey career.
