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Local H frontman attacked in Russia, damaged vocal cords; tonight's NYC show canceled, but tour will go on (dates)

Local H (Scott Lucas on right)
Local H

Sometimes when bands cancel shows/tours due to illness, our reaction is “buck up, camper! Play through it!” But in the case of Local H frontman Scott Lucas… we’ll let him explain (via facebook):

Here’s what happened : A month ago, after… a date in Moscow, I was assaulted and robbed. The attacker came up from behind and put me in a chokehold until I passed out. When I came to, I was in a stairwell with all of my pockets empty. No phone, no wallet, no cash, and (worst of all) no passport. Nothing. Even my hat and glasses were gone. It wasn’t until I found someone to ask for help that I realized something else was gone – my voice. When I opened my mouth to ask that person to call me a taxi, nothing but a scratchy croak would come out. I touched my throat and could feel that more damage had been done than I initially thought. A purple bruise began to form. I was having trouble swallowing. Russia………..

When I got back to the states, I just figured that resting my voice and taking it easy would allow everything to return to normal. I’d lost my voice before and I knew the drill : shut the fuck up (basically). But it soon became apparent that this time my voice wasn’t going to just heal itself and I had to see someone. The folks at MusiCares hooked me up with a voice doctor who found that one of my vocal cords had been damaged. How badly damaged, we’re not sure yet – we need a second opinion. But the doctor said if they had to go in and POP(!) the cord back into place, then we have a limited window for that until the damage becomes permanent.

Yikes. Bad news for fans is that all East Coast dates of Local H’s tour, including Gramercy Theatre in NYC which was to have been tonight (3/27), were canceled. Great news is Lucas’ vocal cords are gonna be okay and shows starting Saturday (3/30, Rosemont, IL) are back on. Here’s more from Local H’s Facebook:

I saw my third doctor and the possibility of surgery has finally been ruled out. My vocal cords are definitely not disjointed and the medication I’ve been taking seems to be doing the trick. When they forced the last camera I ever want down my nose today – I could see how much better (and how much stronger) everything looked than it did last week. It was gross, but it was a major relief. It’s been a very frustrating month, but last week was pretty fucking scary. I had a lot of help – and you all know who you are. Not to sound like a drama king, but I also really want to thank my doctors and MusiCares over at the Grammys – they’re the bee’s knees, goddammit (I think it’s safe to assume THAT will be the last time I make a Grammys acceptance speech)…
…So let’s go. I’m not suggesting that I’m completely out of the woods – and I’ll be continuing the medication and doing everything I can to make my voice stronger. All I’m suggesting is, “Let’s ROCK!”……..cautiously – but we WILL see you out there.

Here’s to a healthy recovery, Scott. Local H’s most recent album, Hallelujah, I’m a Bum, came out last year. All Local H tour dates are below.

Local H – 2013 Tour Dates
Mar 30 Montrose Room Rosemont, IL
Apr 04 The Waiting Room Omaha, NE
Apr 05 Bluebird Theatre Denver, CO
Apr 08 Club Congress Tucson, AZ
Apr 09 Soda Bar San Diego, CA
Apr 10 The Satellite Los Angeles, CA
Apr 14 Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, CA
Apr 16 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, OR
Apr 17 Chop Suey Seattle, WA