Black Veil Brides singer Andy “Andy Six” Biersack will likely remember the third week of June 2011 for two distinct reasons. His hard rock band scored a top 20 debut on the Billboard 200 — and he fractured three ribs while falling from a balcony at a Hollywood show on June 18.
The injury came when Biersack climbed a side balcony at the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall — during an appearance there in association with clothing retailer Hot Topic — and decided to jump back onstage. Unfortunately, he missed his mark and his torso rammed into the side of the stage.
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“It was just me being dumb onstage and trying to put on as good of a show as possible… I sort of misjudged the mark and paid for it dearly,” says Biersack, who somehow got up and used “a combination of stupidity and adrenaline” to finish the set in excruciating pain. After spending two days in the hospital, he’s now recuperating in a West Hollywood hotel.
Biersack’s injury aside, Black Veil Brides have enjoyed a breakout year, with their Lava/Universal Republic debut, “Set the World on Fire,” entering at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 with 23,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The California quintet recorded the follow-up to 2009’s “We Stitch These Wounds” with producer Josh Abraham (Linkin Park, Thirty Seconds to Mars) and road-tested the new material at the Bamboozle Music Festival and Rock on the Range in May.
Next up for the band is a slot on the Vans Warped tour, although Biersack’s injury will keep him sidelined until after the June 24 kickoff date.
“I’ve asked several doctors and gotten a bunch of different opinions,” he says about the estimated time it’ll take for a full recuperation. “I’m going to have to miss the first week of the Warped tour at the very least, and that’s frustrating, but I’m also not going to push myself to get onstage before I’m ready.”
After the tour wraps on Aug. 14, Black Veil Brides will spend the fall playing headlining shows in Europe and North America, then launch a South America tour early next year. In the meantime, Biersack now has an unexpected opportunity to connect with fans online.
“It’s a crappy time for [the injury] to happen . . . but you look at the silver lining, which is that I have time to go on the computer and read what fans are saying about the record,” Biersack says. “Seeing the reaction of our audience is what’s most important to me.”