When Muuy Biien‘s frontman Josh Evans shattered his hip and fractured a femur during a skateboard ride gone horribly awry back in April, the Atlanta/Athens-based punk outfit was left in a tight spot. “I came out of my house to ride my skateboard, and 10 seconds after I stepped onto it I was on the ground — pretty much a freak accident,” Evans says. “The doctors said breaking a hip at 22 is pretty rare.”
Of course, all of this had to happen while the group was gearing up to hit the road in support of its latest album, D.Y.I. (Do Yourself In), a rugged effort filled with propulsive bass riffs and raw, tenacious songwriting. Released two days after Evans’ accident via Athens’ Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records (HHBTM), D.Y.I. is the second LP from the caustic punk five-piece whose members are split between both Atlanta and Athens. The group formed in 2012 when it released its debut album, This Is What Your Mind Imagines.
Muuy Biien canceled its May and early June shows and rescheduled national dates in August so Evans could heal after the accident. While the frontman was in the hospital, friends came up with a few creative fundraising efforts to help the frontman pay his medical bills and living expenses while he’s out of work and home, undergoing physical therapy. HHBTM owner Mike Turner is selling special, limited-edition Muuy Biien T-shirts titled “Broken Hip Priest” and printed with an excruciating X-ray of Evans’ mangled hip. “Once I heard he had broken his hip, I knew it was gonna be a while before he would be able to get back to work,” Turner says. “Most folks really don’t have three or four months of savings sitting around for bills and rent, especially not at the age of 22.”
So Turner hatched a plan as an effective way to help Evans financially without just asking friends, family, and acquaintances to donate money. “This way people get something in return, and it’s not just asking for charity,” Turner says.
Printed with the help of Athens’ Sasquatch City Studios, the T-shirts are being sold online through the HHBTM website. The extras, if any are left over, will be sold at Athens’ Wuxtry Records, where Turner also works.
In addition, Muuy Biien will throw fundraising shows in late June — with Evans on crutches or a wheelchair. On June 28, the group will open for Washington, D.C., punk outfit Priests at WonderRootafter playing two shows in Athens, including a June 20 performance at this year’s AthFest. If he stays off of his skateboard till then, Evans is projected to make a full recovery in three to five months. “I hope that people like the shirts,” Evans says. “Just the idea that I might be able to live off of them for a little while is pretty awesome.”
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