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.
