All-American Rejects Singer Nearly Lost Leg

10/14/09 5:30pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

All-American Rejects singer Tyson Ritter is probably looking at his right leg a whole lot differently these days, because he almost lost it.

Ritter performed with his band while sitting in a wheelchair last month, but did not fill anyone in on how he acquired his injury. He recently told Kerrang! magazine his knee became infected after he did a knee slide on stage. He went to hospital, got it looked at and was 12 hours away from his leg being amputated.

"One minute I'm fine, the next it's, 'Hey, fuck you. Love, your leg,'" he said. "I played in West Palm [Beach, Florida] in a leg brace but after that show, doctors wouldn't let me leave without going to hospital. They told me if I'd waited 12 hours, they'd have had to take off my leg!

"They put me on medical grade heroin for five days. It was fucking nasty shit. I went crazy and was having all these fights with people who weren't even there. The nurses almost had me committed. I should probably be in a padded room right now but I don't remember a thing because I was checking out of reality really hard."

Ritter's injury forced The All-American Rejects to postpone their shows until Saturday, and they're now back out on the road. You can see the band here:

Oct. 14 London, England @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Oct. 15 Manchester, England @ Manchester Academy
Oct. 17 Nottingham, England @ Rock City
Oct. 18 Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowland Ballroom
Oct. 20 Brussels, Belgium @ L'Ancienne Belgique
Oct. 21 Paris, France @ Elysee Montmartre
Oct. 22 Cologne, Germany @ Live Music Hall
Oct. 24 Munich, Germany @ Theaterfabrik
Oct. 25 Berlin, Germany @ Astra Berlin
Oct. 26 Hamburg, Germany @ Grosse Freiheit 36
Oct. 27 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg Amsterdam
Nov. 3 Lansing, MI @ Michigan State University
Nov. 4 Morgantown, WV @ West Virginia University Coliseum
Nov. 5 Mansfield Park, PA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Nov. 6 Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Nov. 8 Atlantic City, NJ @ House Of Blues Atlantic City
Nov. 10-11 Foxboro, MA @ Showcase Live at Patriot Place
Nov. 13 Latrobe, PA @ Saint Vincent College
Nov. 14 Annapolis, MD @ United States Naval Academy
Nov. 16 Fairfax, VA @ Mason George University
Nov. 17 Millersville, PA @ Pucillo Gym at Millersville University
Nov. 18 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
Nov. 20 North Myrtle Beach, SC @ House Of Blues
Nov. 22 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle Atlanta
Nov. 24 Oklahoma City, OK @ Bricktown Event Center
Nov. 25 Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom
Nov. 27 Biloxi, MS @ IP Casino Resort & Spa
Nov. 28 Bossier City, LA @ Horseshoe Riverdome
Nov. 29 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
Dec. 1 Corpus Christi, TX @ The Pavilion at Old Concrete Street Amphitheater
Dec. 2 San Antonio, TX @ Lonestar Pavilion
Dec. 4 Fort Walton Beach, FL @ The Swamp
Dec. 5 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues Orlando
Dec. 6 Miami Beach, FL @ The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater