Pasadena Star-News: (Keifer) began experiencing vocal troubles while touring in support of the group’s third album, “Heartbreak Station.”
“The onset of the problems was pretty sudden, almost overnight,” Keifer said. “It was towards the end of the tour. We only had a few weeks left when I noticed that my voice just started breaking and cracking, more in the middle register of my voice, and I couldn’t control the notes.”
The doctor went on to tell him that most singers don’t sing again or don’t sound like they did before. He also said that there wasn’t a cure, but with extensive therapy, working with speech pathologists and vocal coaches, Keifer might be able to teach his vocal cords to respond normally again.
It took Keifer more than three years of working with coaches to get enough strength to sing again. When it was time to record a new album (“Still Climbing”) his vocals were pieced together in the studio.
There have been other obstacles over the years, including vocal strain. Keifer also has had six surgeries on his throat to fix “collateral damage,” including several hemorrhages. But Keifer says his vocal paresis also has a good side.
“One of the positive things that came out of this whole mess is that from the voice training I learned a lot of things and developed different areas of my voice,” he said. “The middle part of my voice in particular, it’s probably a little stronger than it used to be, although it’s still volatile from day to day. But on a good day I can do things that maybe I couldn’t do before this.”