TOM KEIFER On His Pre-Show Collapse: 'It Was A Pretty Rough And Scary Night'

Tom Keifer spoke to Myglobalmind about being forced to cancel his concert in Pennsylvania earlier in the month due to a medical emergency. The CINDERELLA frontman was scheduled to perform at Jergel's in Warrendale on October 14 when he was taken ill.

"It was a pretty rough and scary night," Tom admitted to Myglobalmind. "We had a pretty heavy schedule with back-to-back shows coupled with press days in New York. We were on our fourth show in a row, and fifteen minutes before showtime, I collapsed. I felt it coming on while I was warming up and ended up in the hospital for the night. It was heat exhaustion and dehydration that crept up on me over the course of a ten-day non-stop schedule promoting the deluxe edition of 'The Way Life Goes' CD. It's something I don't ever want to relive again. I've played one show since that night in Pennsylvania at a state fair in Arkansas and now taking a little break. I'm getting my legs back and then we are off to Denver for a big Halloween bash."

Asked if dehydration simply comes from not from not drinking enough liquids the day of the show, Keifer responded: "I sweat like crazy on stage as it's a pretty high-energy show. My performances have always drained me even in my twenties. A lot of people will say, 'You're getting older!' but this wasn't for the faint of heart even in my twenties. You have a packed house with sold-out shows, lots of bodies in the building, hot lights, and a high-energy show. You do your best to try and hydrated along the way with tons of Gatorade, water, and coconut water, but it's hard to keep up with it. What happened in Pittsburgh was different in the sense I collapsed before the show. Just this year I have been hospitalized after a run of shows needing IV fluids. It happens when you do two or three shows that are super hot; you get home, and you are just not feeling right, so you get your tank topped off. This time it was pretty severe as it happened before the show I was in pretty bad shape where they kept me overnight. This was the worst I have ever experienced it."

According to Keifer, taking care of himself on tour goes beyond making sure that he is properly hydrated. "I try to eat healthier and be mindful of my health," he said. "I always have — even back in my twenties due to the strain the show puts on my body. I don't drink or do drugs and try to lead a healthy lifestyle. It's hard eating healthy on the road. I really can't eat fast food because I don't feel good after I eat it. If that's all that's available, I'll decide not to eat unless there is a healthy choice, which is not going to make me feel like crap. Sometimes it's just a PowerBar. That may have played into some of what happened in Pittsburgh. During the press days in New York, I barely ate. I was either at a press event or sitting in traffic getting to an interview."

Tom is continuing to promote an expanded compilation of his critically acclaimed solo debut album, "The Way Life Goes", which was made available on October 20 via Cleopatra Records.

Although CINDERELLA hasn't released a new studio album since 1994's "Still Climbing", the band started playing sporadic shows again in 2010 but has been largely inactive for the last few years while Keifer focuses on his solo career.