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Tim Bluhm & the Coffis Brothers

In one brief, excruciating instant, Tim Bluhms life changed forever. The acclaimed songwriter and avid outdoorsman was speed flying (a more intense version of paragliding) down a California mountainside when he lost control and crashed, slamming feet-first into a pile of felled trees at roughly 35 miles-per-hour. The force of the impact snapped his ankle in half and nearly tore his foot from his leg. By the time his body finally came to rest, his pelvis was completely shattered. While Bluhm was lucky to be alive, he faced a daunting road to recovery, one that required him to be bedridden for the better part of a year as he underwent more than a dozen surgeries. It was the kind of traumatic injury that could easily end a career, but for Tim Bluhm, it was more like a second chance.

It changed my outlook on life and it changed my whole self-image, says Bluhm, a California native best known as a frontman for the legendary The Mother Hips. It was a humbling thing to be physically incapacitated like that, and it was a reminder of just how fragile we all are. Im more grateful than ever to be alive right now.

Bluhm began his musical journey while studying at Chico State, where he co-founded the now-iconic Mother Hips, a group the San Francisco Chronicle has hailed as one of the Bay Areas most beloved live outfits. Performing at frat parties quickly gave way to club shows, regional touring, and national buzz, and before theyd graduated from school, Bluhm and his bandmates were signed to Rick Rubins American Recordings on the strength of their debut album, Back To The Grotto. Over the ensuing two-and-a-half decades, Bluhm would release eight more studio albums with the band as they cemented their status as architects of a new breed of California soul and earned a reputation as festival and critical favorites, sharing bills with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes along the way. Rolling Stone called them divinely inspired, while Pitchfork praised their rootsy mix of 70s rock and power pop," and The New Yorker lauded their ability to sing it sweet and play it dirty.