Mudvayne/HELLYEAH vocalist Chad Gray has spoken with The Jesea Lee show about the recent vocal injury and illness that forced him to scrap a few dates of his ongoing fall tour. Gray went on to say of the matter on the show [transcribed via Blabbermouth.net]:
“I live in the desert, and we flew into Nashville for rehearsals [for my solo tour], and my voice wasn’t working. So I thought it was, like, allergies. There’s a lot of ragweed there, and just other shit. It’s a Petri dish in Nashville when it comes to allergies. So I thought it was just that. And then we started moving, and it wasn’t getting better; it was actually getting worse. I was just working with my coach, and she’s, like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but something’s going on. I don’t know what it is, but something’s going on.’
So I went — four days ago, [I] got scoped [where they] put the thing down your nose and look at your vocal cords. And they looked at it, and one of my vocal folds is twice as wide as the other one, which makes it heavier than the way your vocals work, ’cause [they’re like] butterfly wings. They hit each other, and now mine are fucking crazy hitting each other. And there’s a big broken blood vessel on the front of it, which means that at some point I’ve hemorrhaged and bled or whatever.”
When asked if he had coughed up blood, he went on to say:
“No. But I wish I would’ve coughed up blood so then at least I would know when it happened. Because my shows before these shows, I was, like, ‘I can’t miss.’ I felt really good about my voice vocally. So I’m supposed to stay quiet — vocal rest… So that’s where I’m at, man.
To tell you I was scared would be the understatement of my life. ‘Cause I’m fucking scared to death. It’s not only my instrument — it’s my life, it’s my career, it’s what I do for a living. The idea of the potential fatality of this is enormous. But you gotta take care of it. And it’s a hurry-up-and-wait thing. The only thing that’s gonna heal it is time.”
As for potential surgeries to follow, Gray offered:
“Not at this point. But I think I’m gonna need one, though, to deal with that larger fold. So, yeah. I don’t know. But, yeah, not to bring everybody down. But life-wise, I’m good. Health-wise, I’m good. Just my throat’s fucked up.”
Gray‘s tour with Butcher Babies and Devil’s Cut is tentatively scheduled to pick back up tomorrow, October 07th, in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas.
10/07 Las Vegas, NV – Fremont Country Club
10/10 San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre
10/11 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
10/12 Dallas, TX – The Studio at The Factory
10/14 New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
10/16 Clearwater, FL – OCC Road House & Museum – Music Hall
10/18 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte – The Underground
10/19 Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
10/20 Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl
