One of the three evenings Months ago, Paul Klein was riding his motorcycle through the streets of Los Angeles. As the Laney singer was passing an intersection, a car making a left turn struck him, sending Klein crashing through the windshield. When he woke up in an ambulance 20 minutes later, Klein discovered he had suffered serious injuries. “I almost broke my face,” Klein says. “I broke my tibia, tore my calf muscle, and my shoulder was stuck by a ligament. I’m just thankful I didn’t lose any fingers or limbs, and that I’m not paralyzed.”
Somehow, just two months later, Klein and Laney were back on the road again, playing festivals across Europe. It was a remarkably quick turnaround for the singer, who had never spoken publicly about his near-death experience. Speaking with Rolling Stone Klein now describes the incident as a painful, humbling experience that forced him to slow down (as much as a touring musician might) and reignite a sense of purpose in his life. “The first feeling I had when I woke up was the thought that God loves me,” Klein says. “I know that sounds a little weird, but as I was moving my fingers and toes, it was this overwhelming feeling; I felt so much love and gratitude that I was still here.”
LANY has released their fifth album, Beautiful fogLast September, days before her 20-date tour of Asia and Australia kicked off, Rolling Stone Sitting on a pool table at his Hollywood Hills home, where he has spent the past few months recovering, Klein talked about overcoming death, recovering quickly, and finding God again.
How are you feeling these days?
I feel great. I got cleared for physical therapy about 10 days ago. I've been using the StairMaster a lot to try to warm up my knee. My shoulder may take longer than my knee, but other than that, I'm grateful to be here.
You haven't talked much about the incident other than your Instagram post in June. What actually happened that day?
I went to a gym about 2 miles down the road. I did some exercise and was on my way home. It was Thursday, June 6th, around 8:45 p.m. I had just reached the intersection of La Brea and Santa Monica, heading north on La Brea. I think the light turned yellow on the right as I started to pass, and the car at the light tried to quickly turn left through the intersection and didn’t see me. I remember hitting the brakes.
I was like, “Okay, this is going to happen. Nothing slows down the way we need it to.” At the last minute I let it go. My dad rides a motorcycle; I've always heard that people get hurt a lot when they're bracing for a crash. I woke up on a stretcher being taken to an ambulance, and I was trying to process what had happened. I was unconscious for about 20 minutes. I don't know who called the police. I don't know who checked on me. All I know is that I woke up in an ambulance and was being taken to the hospital.
What are the specific injuries?
I almost broke my face. I broke my tibia, tore my calf muscle, and had my shoulder stuck in one ligament. I'm thankful I didn't lose any fingers or limbs, and that I wasn't paralyzed.
I haven't lost any memory except for that moment. It's just a weird feeling. I have a helmet, but I wasn't wearing it. I came really close to death, but nothing about my physical abilities will change forever.
Have you ever felt this close to death?
No, it's one of those things that you go through and you refuse to be the same person on the other side of it. It felt like I flipped a coin, and I survived.
I wouldn't get into a car accident and come back the same. I'm so grateful that I survived. I wish there were some things that died inside me that night on the street – things I didn't like about myself, bitterness, intolerance, negativity.
How do you think you've changed?
I obviously have a very new perspective on life now. It may sound strange, but I had the best summer of my entire life, and I spent most of it sitting on a lawn chair, reading, and slowing down. If I hadn’t been in a car accident, I wouldn’t have had a summer where I had to slow down and process things. I feel like I’ve become more aware of my surroundings, and maybe I don’t like to be racing every moment.
What still sticks in your mind about this near-death experience three months later?
Well, I’ll probably never ride a bike again, will I? I have a lot to live for, and to stay alive for. I can’t do push-ups, which is really annoying, because my shoulder hurts so bad. I know it sounds silly, but I can’t even lift 10 pounds. I might need surgery eventually. I’m not trying to go my whole life not being able to pull or push with my left arm.
Mentally or emotionally, look man, the last few years I've wondered if God was still messing with me, honestly. There was a period where I felt His hand on my shoulder, and then there was a period in my life where I thought maybe He forgot or didn't care.
But when I woke up, it was like God was saying, “I love you so much, and don’t ever question that again.” I felt like I was suspended in the air and on the ground. Two days after the accident, I had a bruise on my thigh, a straight purple line. I said, “Oh, that’s steering wheel.” I got the police report six weeks later, and the driver confirmed that I had hit her windshield before I hit the ground.
All I'm saying is that part of me feels like I'm going to depend on this for the rest of my life in some weird way. I'm here for a reason, for a purpose. God still loves me.
Did you talk to the driver?
I know who she is. I haven't spoken to her personally. She was on a minimum insurance policy with Geico.
Will you take any legal action?
no.
I saw a few artists and industry executives send their well wishes after the announcement. Was there anyone else in the music world who offered special help?
John Mayer was one of the first people to text me. He's been like a big brother to me since we went on tour with him. He was one of my heroes growing up. He reached out to me. He lived in L.A. for many years, and he offered to help me if I needed any doctors or recommendations or referrals.
Did you agree to that?
We've asked my manager to reach out to other people as well. I don't ever want to upset John Mayer. [chuckles].
Why did you get back on tour so quickly?
There’s this guy Steve. He’s worked with us for years, and he’s my best friend. He and Robert, our manager, came over the next day and sat by the bed. We had a great time, and we cried. There was a part of me that was in a state of delusion. We were supposed to go on tour in a week. And I was like, “There’s a chance we can do this.” It’s funny to think about it now, but Steve and I definitely thought we could still go on tour in a week. And then we realized we were out of our minds. But we were playing the biggest shows of our lives. I tried to take care of myself as best I could and follow the doctor’s orders to a certain extent so that I could be back as soon as possible.
How can you make this work?
I've only done four shows, and they've been festival shows in Europe. I'd go out there with the crutch and then put it down when I needed to, then pick it up again when I needed to. The festival shows I do are a little bit shorter than the headline shows. I've told people who didn't know that I use the crutch, I got hit by a car a couple of months ago, but I'm doing the best I can, that's why I'm out here. People are accepting.
You said you were now in physical therapy. I can't imagine a doctor telling you at that time that it was okay to fly international flights and play concerts.
He wasn't very happy. He said if you have to do it, do it. He said that everywhere I go, I have to use crutches to keep the weight off my knee so it doesn't move. If that happens, it will lead to surgery.
How was your recovery this summer?
I spent a lot of time alone. I went to Kansas. There's a songwriter named Nicole Galyon who lives there in a little town called Sterling. I knew I wanted to write songs and write my thoughts down after the accident, and she was the only person I wanted to do that with.
There are a lot of different sessions you can go to in L.A., where a lot of people are trying to write the next “Espresso” song, which is great, but that wasn't where I was emotionally at. So instead of going out on the street, I went somewhere remote for a week to write songs, which was good for my soul.
I read a lot. I read The Alchemist and Grapes of Wrath I slowed down a bit, just to listen.
It's weird to hear you say you've slowed down when you've been able to go to a week-long writing session in Kansas and perform on the other side of the world.
It's hard for me to be objective about how fast LANY is constantly moving. In my mind, this is our job. You go to work every day. Why wouldn't we do that? We play like 100 shows a year, and we release five albums in 10 years. So, it's like, but in my mind, this is what we do. We're a band. We make music, then we go play music, then we go home and make some more.
What are the doctor's orders now that you're about to go full throttle again?
He told me I wasn't allowed to run or jump. He told me about two weeks ago, and he told me not to do that for another month, which means I'll probably run and jump. [laughs]I'll listen to my body if I feel like I'm pushing it too hard. But for now, I'm doing everything I can in the meantime to warm up and get ready to go.
