Givensix Singer Talks Recent Injury + Upcoming Benefit Show at The Machine Shop [INTERVIEW]

We recently caught up with vocalist Jamie Taylor of Givensix to discuss the band's future, their upcoming show at The Machine Shop and the brutal injury he sustained during a recent music video shoot -- get the interview here.

Here at the Banana, Givensix is one of our favorite bands. Hell, we'd pay them to be the house band at the station if we had the budget for such things. We've done so many events where the band has also been performing... we're about as close to being co-workers with the guys in the band as you can be without having musical talent or loading their gear. We even had Jamie writing some pieces for our website when he wasn't too busy rocking out and hurting himself.

The band is taking to The Machine Shop stage August 1st, with our good friends in Ana, as well as 1876 and Brobot for a benefit show to pay some of Jamie's medical bills... an idea he admits "seems so weird" to him. Having only heard a few vague things about his injuries and that they happened while shooting the soon-to-be-released music video for their track 'Victim,' I figured I should find out what really happened.

So I guess we should start with the obvious question... WTF happened?
Hahahaha. I had the idea of being bound in mic cables and spinning/unraveling while screaming the chorus.

That does sound like it would look cool if shot right… I’m assuming it didn’t end up the way you planned?
Ultimately no. The only thing I could think of that would spin, was Eric's drum throne. Thinking that a wider shot was going to look better, I stupidly stood on it, instead of just sitting my ass down, which after having seen the footage, would have been completely fine. The video footage of the incident in our promo flyer was actually just a rehearsal of the idea that happened to accidentally be captured. The last thing I remember saying is, "let's see if we can lower this stool."

Did the footage make the final cut?
No, the footage didn't make the final cut. If it had worked, it would have been another story. But unfortunately, the few fragments of footage that exist just don't lend themselves to the aesthetic of the video.

So what injuries did you sustain?
I scored my self a displaced fracture along the right side of my skull (occipital to mandible), a fractured right clavicle, and ruptured right ear drum. The drum stool broke when I fell, leaving a piece of jagged metal sticking straight up that I miraculously wasn't gored on, just ended up with a small but painful abrasion. A few days after the incident, I developed facial paralysis to the right side of my face as a result of nerve damage. I was sexy.

Is your face still paralyzed?
Nope my face is almost 100% back to normal, though there may still be a barely noticeable droop under my right eye. The part that really sucks is that I still to this day can't taste food properly on the right side of my tongue.

F--- that! Did the doctors say that you'll make a full recovery?
They believe I will. My bones are healed, and the damage to my ear drum is technically healed, but I still have vertigo and hearing issues from time to time. Incidents involving the inner ear are no joke! I'm taking vitamins to improve the strength of my nerves that will hopefully restore my taste sensations.

A lot of people don't know this, but Sylvester Stallone's lower part of his face was paralyzed at birth due to an accident with forceps and that's why he has that weird slur. Did your facial paralysis or any other injuries affect your singing abilities? For some reason I keep laughing at the idea of Stallone singing 'Victim' now... anyway.
Lol. I would love to witness that. Yes and no, at first it was much more of an issue. I do still deal with a bizarre sort of hearing issue, wherein I experienced a lot of internal resonance of my own voice at all times. If you can imagine wearing a single earplug for days at a time, that's much like what I'm dealing with. That really has affected my speech to a certain extent, but we've been practicing diligently, and I think I've been able to regain my voice as it was, if not better. Experience, rather

So about this show... there's a lot of s--- going on. Mind giving us the rundown real quick?
Aside from an eclectic mix of Flint bands including Brobot, 1876, Ana Kills, and ourselves, we'll be celebrating the Grand Opening of Loyalty Tattoo Company (formerly Almighty Tattoo), who have been absolutely instrumental in helping us to put this show together. We'll also be debuting the music video for Victim just before we take the stage that night. Victim is and was an absolute work of collaborative art put together with the help of new friends at Black Jacket Films. We can't thank them enough for the time they've put into the video as well as the supplemental promotional material they've provided. Throughout the night, we'll be having some prizes and giveaways, as well as a sexiest tattooed female contest. We're all gonna have an excellent time and get #roont.

Is the petting zoo still part of the deal?
I might be replacing that with a "Make out with Jamie from Givensix" booth instead. Those goats are hard to get settled sometimes.

Well, at least half of your mouth won't be able to tell when your kissers have bad breath. Blessing in disguise. bro.
Lol.

Besides the music vid, what's next for G6? I (and everyone else on Facebook) couldn't help but notice you've been hashtagging anything and everything with #mainstage, anything you can tell us about that?
We have a lot of things going on, some of which I can't reveal just yet. We are currently working on new material for the next album. I've had a bit of a Josh Homme situation due to the accident, so we're writing lots and lots and kind of taking a new approach on some of the existing material we had intended to record. #Mainstage is both a nickname and an affirmation of sorts. Always be awesome, always do awesome things, and always be awesome to each other, be #mainstage.

Be excellent to each other.
#station. Not interested in #roont and #brood, huh?

I get #roont and #brood (I think) #mainstage was a bit mysterious though.
I have actually seen people start using it, on a few different occasions

I am going to start hashtagging the everliving f--- out of everything with #station.
Lmao.

Last question, thanks for playing along, What's the most important thing you've learned from this entire experience?
Wow. That's a much more loaded question than you may think! I've learned what isolation can do to a person. Hearing your own voice booming back inside your head constantly is very literally being trapped in your own thoughts. But I've also learned that I'm not done with my life and what I want it to amount to. It's honestly been a long journey, and a lot of it has been dark, but then I think I've always had a home in the shadows. Ultimately, I've come out of this a better stronger person, with a fresh perspective on life and a new appreciation for the people in it. It has been staggering at times, the love I've received from those around me. I am #mainstage. And I hope that doesn't sound s----y. Lol.

That's deep. #Socrates
#so #crates

You read it correctly. Mission accomplished
Lol.

Thanks for taking the time to chat. I'm hoping to make it to the gig.
For sure dude! That would be super cool, we're working on creating a rather visually intensive show, but have a lot of kinks to work out, so we haven't hyped it yet, but the plan is to just obliterate everyone's idea of a local show.

Nice. The kissing booth should help.
Lmao, I'm actually considering that stupid stunt.

*The preceeding interview was conducted via IM, hence the frequent usage of "LOLs"