August 9, 2007
Velvet Lounge to Host John Stabb Benefit Show
Three weeks ago, John Stabb, singer from legendary D.C. hardcore act Government Issue, was attacked and beaten near his home in Burtonsville, Maryland. He describes the incident in a blog entry on Dag Nasty's website:
i'm about a block away from my place coming home after work & really exhausted. out from the outdor pool area of my condo community pops up 5 enthusiastic (now i'm thinking all hopped up on goofballs!) young hs kids. i pay no mind until one of them comes up to me "hey whassup, hey hey hey". now i'm thinking this might turn into a random assualt & robbing. because they're all around me i can't pay attention to them all & one of them sucker punches me ... last time i felt something hit me this hard was coming home from dc club in '93! his blow knocked my glasses off so i was concerned for my sight because i'm nearsighted as a mofo without my specs. okay, i figured that was it as they were laughing but they all stuck around.
Stabb goes on to describe how he fought back, and how the group only stopped beating him once a car showed up, prompting the assailants to flee. The result: a whole slew of facial fractures requiring reconstructive surgery. The surgery, a week following the attack, went extremely well, according to Stabb's wife, Mika. And while that's a bit of good news amid a host of bad, the insult to injury here is that Stabb's insurance is refusing to pay for a significant portion of the procedure.
A number of avenues to provide financial assistance have been set up, including a Paypal donation site and an eBay auction. Tomorrow night, the Velvet Lounge, along with a number of area artists, joins the effort with a benefit concert featuring Dave Smalley (ex-Dag Nasty/Down By Law), Marc Ganancias (who also organized the event), The Saviours, Pup Tent , Lorelei (Slumberland), and Jerry Busher (of Fugazi / French Toast/ All Scars). Tickets are $8, and the show starts at 9 p.m. We hope the Velvet is packed tomorrow night for what promises to be a great show for an even better cause. Our best wishes to John Stabb in his recovery.
Image of the flier for tomorrow's show from Marc Ganancias' Myspace page.
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But they are just kids, participating in their culture...you know, things like throwing rocks and randomly beating people.
Damn straight. These kids are protecting their turf from the evil gentrifiers in... um... Burtonsville.
Oh yes, the "children" are expressing their angst because someone five generations back may have been "opressed".
Let's try and look at this constructively: check out Just Up The Pike, East Montgomery County (including Burtonsville) blog.
I always tell people that Germantown, Laytonsville, Centreville and these ruralish areas are crime-ridden, but they always point the finger to DC first. I wish it didn't happen to Stabb, but people and the police have to recognize that these condo and townhome communities are already slums and will only get worse.
this is not an excuse for gentrifiers to take action on young people.. just because you are a gentrifier in dc doesnt mean you get to have a field day and jerk off to another crime news piece about a area you will probably never live.(as i cant see burtonsville becomi9ng trendy and chic anytime soon), you aint off the rope.
and that comment about "5 generations past" is just the mess that comes outta a dumb rascist apologists mouth that leads to a beatdown. shit even white people would roll their eyes at that reactionary dribble.
personally me, being younger, i prefer the foot in the mouth; cause thats just plain disrespect to my young life and you dont diserve to breath the same air as i do, or live without fear and strife.
only afluent post modern crimebags read this blog. were trully sick of you.
yuppies aint off the hook.
Guest 6:
what, pray tell, have yuppies done that annoy you that isn't racism or classism on your part?
i'm with 6. hell, i'm a young urban professional, and basically everything that yuppies do irritates me.
hell, even my previous post irritated me.
So guest 8, you agree that Stabb should have been beaten almost to death, given that is what we're talking about?