Shortly had a lot of momentum going into the release of their debut studio album Dancer in 2021.
The project name of Alex Maniak’s musical endeavors, Shortly signed with New York City-based Triple Crown Records in 2017 and dropped the Richmond EP the following year. Once Dancer was released, it seemed Maniak’s career was about to ascend to new heights — but complications with their back put everything to an unfortunate halt.
Maniak learned that she has degenerative disc disease, a condition where spinal discs break down, and would suffer from herniated discs. The condition became worse on Maniak’s wedding day.
“We got married at the Rust Belt and I was carrying a thing of coffee from DoorDash up to my bridesmaids,” Maniak shared. “And I leaned to push an elevator button and I kind of went straight to the floor. And it sucked. And it was my wedding day. I was really lucky that I got a jump suit because every girl dreams about how their dress would look flowing behind them. I was in a jump suit so I was fine being in a wheelchair. We just put my train on the wheelchair back.”
Maniak continued: “Thus began my year of rest and relaxation where I realized that I had been kind of pushing myself too far as an instrumentalist. And I thought it was going to be a very short…’You’re going to heal and get through it.’ But after many rounds of steroid injections and many rounds of physical therapy and seeing all these doctors, it was like, ‘Actually, you might not come back from this one the same way.'”
“I just don’t take so many things for granted.” – Alex Maniak, Shortly
Maniak eventually opted to undergo spinal fusion surgery in 2024, adding significant time to their hiatus from music. However, she refused have their health issues keep delaying their reunion with something she loves so dearly — creating and performing music.
Watch Shortly perform live at 100.7 Ferndale Radio
“I realized that I can’t wait for music anymore. I’m not who I am. I can’t be myself without my music. And I’m not going to find a path forward without my music being there with me,” Maniak said. “It’s not at the end of the tunnel as I thought. It was something that I needed to walk alongside me. So even though things are still chaotic in my health world all of the time — I’ve got a rough spine…but I’m in a good mood about it. I’m a lot better than I was when I thought, ‘I’m young, this shouldn’t be happening to me.’ I think that it’s really easy to take a lot of things for granted, and now I just don’t take so many things for granted.”
That optimism has helped Maniak’s recovery and fans will now get to see Shortly’s long-awaited return to the live stage on Black Friday at The Loving Touch in Ferndale when they open for Midwest emo heroes Algernon Cadwallader and Philadelphia’s Gladie. It’s a fitting bill for Shortly to make their return since Algernon Cadwallader’s Joe Reinhart co-produced Dancer.
Tickets are on sale at ticketweb.com.
Watch the interview with Shortly above where we also talk about Maniak’s journey into voice acting, her friendship with fellow Detroit musician Chloe Moriondo and more. You can also check out Shortly performing three acoustic songs, including a new track called “What If I Start To Feel Nothing Again.”
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