Rock shows sell the fantasy that you can outmuscle anything: pain, exhaustion, bad sleep, bad food, bad habits. Three Days Grace guitarist Barry Stock learned the hard way that your body does not care about the encore.
In an interview with a Guitar World story about Three Days Grace, Stock described a festival set in Detroit where he felt what he assumed was brutal heartburn halfway through “Good Life.” He kept playing anyway, silently counting down the setlist in his head. Then he made it offstage, collapsed onto a gurney, and heard the doctor level with him: he was having a heart attack and needed help immediately.
“I thought, I’m too young for this shit.”
– Barry Stock, Guitar World
The night it happened: a setlist countdown instead of a panic attack
Stock’s story hits because it is not a glamorous “rock star health scare.” It reads like the kind of private backstage math you do when you are trying not to look scared in front of 10,000 people: six more songs… five more songs.
That detail is the tell. Musicians are trained to push through. If you can finish a show with a sliced finger, a blown in-ear, or a back spasm, your brain starts filing every sensation under “deal with it after load-out.” Stock did exactly that, until his band convinced him to get checked out. The two-minute distance to Beaumont Heart Hospital was not a fun trivia fact – it was the margin.
The most unsettling part is the misread. What he perceived as heartburn was actually a heart attack unfolding in real time. That is not rare; heart attack warning signs can overlap with indigestion, nausea, pressure, or discomfort that does not feel like the movie version of “clutching your chest.”
Heart attack vs heartburn: why the confusion is so common
When people hear “heart attack,” they imagine a dramatic collapse. Clinically, a heart attack (myocardial infarction) is typically caused by reduced or blocked blood flow to the heart muscle, and the sensation can be subtle, weird, or intermittent.
The Mayo Clinic notes that heart attack symptoms can vary and may include pressure, squeezing, fullness, pain, shortness of breath, cold sweat, fatigue, and nausea.
On the other side, “heartburn” is a digestive issue, but it can feel like burning behind the breastbone, especially under stress, after greasy food, or when lying down. The NHS explains heartburn as a burning chest feeling caused by acid reflux, often after eating.
Online health guidance aimed at patients also emphasizes that people should treat ambiguous chest symptoms seriously, because mixing them up can be deadly. An overview of heartburn vs heart attack highlights the overlap and the importance of seeking urgent help when in doubt.
The uncomfortable truth: touring can be a cardiovascular stress test
No, playing guitar is not a sprint. But touring is a lifestyle stack that punishes recovery: late nights, inconsistent meals, dehydration, long drives, flying, and adrenaline spikes that whip your nervous system around. Add smoking and heavy drinking, and the “rock and roll” template starts looking less like rebellion and more like a slow-motion health debt.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death globally, and many risk factors are modifiable.
Smoking is one of the most punishing, especially for the heart and blood vessels. The CDC outlines how smoking increases risk for heart disease and stroke and describes the damage it does across the body.
Alcohol is trickier because people love arguing about it, but heavy or frequent use can harm multiple organs and contribute to high blood pressure and heart problems. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism describes alcohol’s effects on the body across systems, including the cardiovascular system.
“But I’m too young”: why age is not armor
Stock’s quote lands because it reflects a common mental loophole: I’m not in the danger demographic, so this can’t be dangerous. The problem is that heart attacks do not ask for your birth certificate.
The CDC’s heart attack overview stresses that recognizing heart attack symptoms and getting emergency care fast can save your life.
This matters for musicians because the stage rewards denial. You can hide discomfort behind a guitar. You can avoid “making a fuss” because you do not want to be the reason the show stops. That cultural pressure is real, and it is worth calling out: finishing the set is not bravery if it prevents you from seeing tomorrow.
Barry Stock’s reset: quitting the road habits that nearly finished the story
After surviving, Stock made changes that sound boring until you realize boring is the point: he quit smoking and drinking and shifted toward healthier habits, even while living on the road. That kind of change is hard in normal life, and touring is normal life with the volume knob snapped off.
His example also exposes a myth: that healthy living on tour is impossible. It is not impossible. It is just inconvenient, and rock culture has historically celebrated inconvenience as authenticity. That is a cute narrative until your chest starts burning mid-chorus.
A practical “touring musician” checklist for heart health
This is not medical advice, and if you have symptoms you should seek professional care. But if you want actionable, musician-proof habits, start with a few levers you can actually control.
1) Treat chest pain like feedback: deal with it immediately
If something feels off and it is new, intense, or scary, do not negotiate with it. The NHLBI lists common heart attack symptoms and emphasizes urgent response.
- Have a plan: who drives, where the nearest hospital is, and how to communicate if you cannot talk.
- Do not self-diagnose on the bus with antacids and optimism.
- Normalize calling it: canceling a show is painful, but dying is worse for the brand.
2) Build a “boring rider” that keeps you alive
You cannot out-supplement a lifestyle, but you can rig your environment. If you need one lever that actually compounds, prioritize sleep hygiene basics that make sleep easier to get and keep.
- Hydration: keep water visible, not buried under merch boxes.
- Food: ask for real meals plus grab-and-go options (fruit, yogurt, nuts) rather than only junk.
- Movement: short walks on off-hours beat sitting for 10 hours and then “performing fitness” onstage.
3) If you smoke, quitting is the biggest “tone upgrade” you can buy
Rock history romanticizes cigarettes like they are part of the backline. But the cardiovascular cost is not poetic.
4) Watch the stealth stressors: sleep debt and stimulant stacking
Touring sleep is often broken by travel, noise, and post-show adrenaline.
If you are also stacking caffeine, nicotine, and energy drinks, you are effectively living in a constant “fight or flight” rehearsal. That does not mean you cannot tour. It means you need to tour like a professional, not like a cautionary tale.
Know the difference: heart attack vs cardiac arrest (and why CPR still matters)
People often mix up heart attack and cardiac arrest.
Even if Stock’s case was a heart attack (not cardiac arrest), every touring crew should treat CPR training like learning the PA: boring until it is suddenly the only thing that matters. The American Red Cross describes CPR training options and certification and why those skills are valuable in emergencies.
The bigger takeaway: the show must not go on at any cost
Stock’s story is gripping because it exposes the hidden contract musicians sign with themselves: do not be a problem, do not stop the machine. That contract can kill you.
There is also a strange gift in the way he tells it. He survived, he changed course, and he talked about it publicly in a way that cuts through the usual macho fog. That makes his near-miss useful, not just dramatic.
“You’re definitely having a heart attack… but we got you.”
– Doctor speaking to Barry Stock, as recounted by Stock in Guitar World
Conclusion: if you can plan a setlist, you can plan to stay alive
Barry Stock finished the set, but the real win was what happened after: admitting what it was, getting help, and rebuilding habits that touring tends to destroy. If you play gigs, travel for work, or simply live hard and delay checkups, take the hint.
The next time your body throws a warning sign, do not count down songs. Count down minutes to care.
