CINDERELLA Frontman To Discuss Voice Problems In 'Much Greater Detail' Than He Ever Has

CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer, who has been posting video clips on YouTube in which he has answered questions about his musical influences and upbringing, has issued the following update:

"'Often the struggler has given up / When he might have captured the victor's cup / And he learned too late when the night came down / How close he was to the golden crown / So stick to the fight when your hardest hit / It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.'

That is a passage from a poem that my mom gave me when I was just a kid called 'Don't Quit'. Simple but true! It has gotten me through a lot of things in my life!

"I am sharing this with you because the next set of interviews in the series, I will be talking about the voice problems that I have struggled with for years in much greater detail than I ever have. We all have our own battles in life. Sometimes it's hard for me to talk about mine, but if sharing my experience provides hope to anyone that is going through something difficult, it is worth it.

"I want to thank you all for being here and for all the support you have given me over the years. It means more to me than I can say!"

In a recent interview with Michelle J. Mills of Pasadena Star-News, Keifer stated about his battle with vocal-cord paresis, also known as vocal-cord paralysis, which is the inability for one or both of the vocal cords to move due to abnormal nerve input to the laryngeal or voice box muscles: "The onset of the problems was pretty sudden, almost overnight. It was towards the end of the tour [in support of CINDERELLA's third album, 'Heartbreak Station']. 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."

He added, "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. 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."

"I think if there's anything to be learned from it, there's never an ill wind that doesn't blow some good if you stick to something and you have enough belief and you work. I'm certainly not out of the woods, it's something that will always be with me and it's always going to be a struggle, but I've been able to regain enough to do what I love to do."