The DN offers insights from four lead singers

Meg Mahannah, (Floating Opera)

How do you handle stage fright?

"Unlike when you're playing a musical instrument, there's nothing in front of you that can distract you. You're kind of naked up there on stage. It's just about becoming comfortable with who you are and how you sound."

If you could have one singer's voice for a day, whose would you pick?

"Billie Holiday. Without question. She has a very stylistic voice. You know exactly who's singing the second that she comes on."

What's your favorite description you've heard of your voice?

"I sang in front of someone and they told me when I sang they envisioned me laying on a piano in a smoky bar. That was very cool."

What's your first memory of singing publicly?

"I did choral music growing up and I was Mrs. Potts in ‘Beauty and the Beast.'"

Kris Lager, (The Kris Lager Band)

How do you handle stage fright?

"The more the merrier. I'm more afraid to play for a crowd of five than for a crowd of 5,000. You get five people in a bar, and they're looking around at each other like, ‘Is this the place to be?' You get thousands of people, and it feels like the place to be. You get that energy and excitement."

What's your choice method for preserving your voice?

"You can't party too hard. I'm doing four shows in a row and my voice is pretty hoarse. I'm not saying I've been partying that hard, but you're around that a lot on the road."

Does it annoy you when people say you should audition for "American idol"?

"I've got a spiel about how I really don't like ‘American Idol.' Singing shouldn't be a competition. And when you're making it into one you're kind of losing what music's all about."

If you could have one singer's voice for a day, whose would you pick?

"Otis Redding and Van Morrison. It's definitely a tie between those two. In my head I feel like I can sing like Van Morrison and then I hear myself and I'm like, ‘Ah, shit.' But it's fun to think like you can."

Heather Sticka, (Tsumi)

What's the role of the lead singer in the band?

"If a band is a boat, then the lead singer, whether or not they're the navigator, is always the captain. You're the one who has to call out the song if the next one on the setlist doesn't fit the mood or the crowd. Singing is different. Everybody can sing. Everybody can identify with the singer because that's something they can do."

What's your choice method for preserving your voice?

"Oh, I'm terrible. I eat spicy things. I put ice in my water. The thing I do like to rely on is this stuff called ‘Singer's Saving Grace.' It's an herbal spray for your throat. I had tonsillitis once and I had to play a gig and I sounded like Betty White ate gravel for breakfast. I squirted the crap out of my throat with that and I could sing just fine."

Falsettos: Yes or no?

"Yes, when used sparingly. It's really difficult to pull off a falsetto for an entire song. I think the only person who's done it really well is Beck on the song "Vultures."

Most interesting description you've heard for your voice?

"When I was 18 or 19, I got told that my voice sounded like wet gray velvet. That one made me really happy because it makes me think of going for a walk in the rain with a velvet jacket on. If you're going for a walk in the rain and you're dressed up nice, more than likely you're doing it because you want to be on a walk with someone else. It makes me think of love, and I love love."

Lucas Kellison, Lucas Kellison and the Assembled Soul

What's the lead singer's role in the band?

"People establish an identity of a band with the lead singer first. It's all gotta be exaggerated. If it's aggressive, the singer's gotta be thrashing around. If it's twangy, the singer's gotta be crazy and drunk."

Do you get annoyed when people tell you to audition for "American Idol?"

"Yes, I do. I'm not offended by it. It's just that I haven't really seen a lot of talent on that show. You could find an American idol at any church on a Sunday, or any club on a Friday night - in any city in the country, really."

What was the first song you sang publicly?