TOM KEIFER: 'Once I Hit That Stage, I Don't Hold Back'

CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer, who overcame vocal cord paresis, a condition that typically ends a professional singing career, spoke to the "Iron City Rocks" podcast about how he takes care of his voice when he is on the road. "You have to stay healthy," he said. "Your voice is — it's your whole body. It's not just the vocal cords; it's the whole breathing apparatus and just your whole overall energy goes into it. It's taxing, especially if you're a singer that really goes for it. Once I hit that stage, I don't hold back."

According to Keifer, he has learned to not push himself too hard when he performs live, especially when he first takes the stage. "If I would say anything has changed for me about my performance over the years, it's that," he said. "And what changed it was that the voice paralysis, or paresis, that I had. It's been highly publicized, so we won't go into that whole story, but it changed my voice. I was told I wasn't gonna sing again. Prior to that, when I felt that adrenaline surge when I hit the stage, I could just go for it out of the box and just go for it. When the adrenaline hits me now, I have to ease in a little bit, because that vocal cord has to warm up and kind of come into its place before I can really start going for it. So the first song or two, I'm conscious of that — I've gotta thread the needle a little bit more, not get too worked up [laughs], and wait until I feel that thing kind of settle in, because I always will have that weakness on the left side of my voice box. And even with the hour warm-up I do before, it's a little different when you hit the stage. I have to ease in the first song or two. And then once I feel like it really opens, then 'boom!' — back to full throttle."

Keifer's sophomore solo album, "Rise", was released on September 13 via Cleopatra Records. The disc sees Tom joined by his #keiferband — Savannah Keifer, Tony Higbee, Billy Mercer, Kendra Chantelle, Jarred Pope and Kory Myers.

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 has toured as a solo artist.