Fluids for recording vocals?

Other than water, what are some good fluids for keeping your voice in one piece while cutting vocal tracks?

Room temperature water. No bubbles. That's it.

Yeah, room temperature water. If the singer must have something else, particularly avoid dairy products.

And no coffee on the day of recording. It dehydrates the vocal chords.

But that's a moot point, if I can't sing without coffee cuz I'm asleep.

I like white grapefruit juice, lemonade, limeade, grape juice, anything WITHOUT **$%*$ CORN SYRUP!

Crystal Meth

And no alcohol, no coffee, no salty stuff (soup, whatever)...they all dry you out. Yes, dairy products can cause mucous, which actually drys you out.

No throat sprays - especially the stuff with anethetics. You won't be able to know when you are damaging something. Non-saline non-drug nasal sprays can actually be a great help (a neti pot?).

Every rule was made to be broken! Some singers might just need that Jack Daniels to get over some mic fright, or some coffee to keep going physically after a hard day at work, or some emergency treatment if a cold is coming on and the clock is ticking on your own dime. Whatever works!

Heineken

Ethanol!

Not in the US - you keep the good stuff there.

i have a little water sprayer mister thing so i can inhale some mist between songs. helps moisten up the folds a little

I drink so much water while I perform or record vocals that my biggest enemy is having to take an inordinate number of pee breaks.

But the way my voice sounds if I'm not properly hydrated (nails on chalkboard combined with a rusty hinge) basically dictates that water is an essential part of my singing warmup routine.

One more note: I know this isn't a good thing to do, but sometimes a small cup of hot tea with honey has felt pretty good on my voice when I've done several days of shows in a row.

But water, water, water. I absolutely won't sing without it.

I've seen people use lemon tea, water with lemon, and aloe vera to keep hydrated when they are singing. I don't know how good these options are. Opinions?

I have never drunken the U.S. Heineken so I've got no clue if that's true.

Have you ever drunk the Dutch stuff?

See, too much water is causing that "rusty hinge" effect. Try drinking some WD-40.

Mmmm! Oily!

Port.

For what I know opera singers eat a couple salted anchovies before the performance, that is the opposite of some of the things suggested here, but this is what I've heard directly from some of them.....it seems that a bit of salt triggers the natural local hydration and the fats of the anchovies make a long lasting protective layer.

Not my experience though, I'm not a singer, although I love salted anchovies.

Mmmm! Salty and fishy!

Herbal tea with honey. The tea should have cooled a bit, (slightly warm).

Kurdy-

I most be abnormal too because I have found Yoo Hoo (the chocolate drink) to help me when singing. I also enjoy the coat-y feeling that any chocolate puts on my vox. And as for coffee... thats a most.

EB

I suppose I'm an anomaly in that I've found dairy products have actually helped my voice. Maybe not dairy in particular, but any kind of rich foods or beverages. Honey would probably work too. I try to limit my dairy intake for dietary reasons, but with singing, I've found it makes my voice sound smoother and less harsh (natural EQ?), and I am able to hit higher notes with more ease (although my lower range diminishes somewhat, but that isn't a big issue for me, unless I wanted to do a Johnny Cash or Barry White impersonation). This pretty much goes against conventional wisdom, which is that dairy is a no-no for singers. However, it's worked for me.

But Lennon gargled with milk the whole day of the Please Pease Me album session!

I have not, but my friend has, and says that it's noticeably better.

I've been to Germany fairly recently, and wow, the beer there is *really* good.

And yes, I realize that I wasn't in Holland...