Injuries are, unfortunately, very common from guitar players, be it from brutal post-playing wear-and-tear on the fretting fingers a lá Joe Satriani, or a good ol’ fashioned broken finger, which could put you out of commission for any number of weeks.
Sophie Lloyd came very close to having perhaps the worst guitar-related injury of them all, though, when she almost lost a finger during a recent video shoot for her new single with fellow YouTuber Cole Rolland.
Lloyd and Rolland teamed up for the third time to record Lost in a Memory – yet another display of the pair’s respective virtuosity, which places Lloyd’s fiery shred chops under the microscope.
When it came to the single’s video shoot, Lloyd and Rolland got kitted out for the cameras, and unfortunately for the former, one of her rings almost robbed her of a digit.
“This will definitely be in my memory for a long time,” Lloyd says. “Straight after filming my part in this song I had to go to A&E [Accident and Emergency] to get a ring removed as my finger started swelling and going numb. Luckily all is okay and my finger is here to shred another day!”
Whether the swelling was the result of an ill-fitting ring, or because of the sheer heat emanating from her fretboard after she set it alight with her shredding, is unclear.
Lloyd even documented her trip to the hospital in an Instagram post (the last slide of the post above), which revealed the, erm, rather precarious process of ring removal – which involved a hand-held mini circular saw.
There’s a big lesson every player can take away from this tale. Namely, be careful with what accessories you wear while playing. Unless it’s necessary – for a fancy video shoot, for example – it’s probably best to leave it at home.
Regardless, Lloyd isn’t too traumatized by the near-finger loss, and looks back fondly on the whole Lost in a Memory experience.
“I feel like mine and Cole’s playing and writing styles really complement each other,” she says, “and this song specifically not only showcases Cole's incredible playing but also his ability to mix and produce and sing a killer song.”
Lloyd recently announced her first solo live show, which sold out in five minutes – forcing her to upgrade the venue.
