I Was Chased Down

"I was chased down, called [an expletive], and stabbed. I assume they were white supremacists."

Rapper/blues guitarist Jae Strawbridge, 25, had just spoken with Johan Acevedo, managing partner of the Longshot bar in San Marcos, about an upcoming gig when he stepped outside with his friend and guitarist Chris. Strawbridge started freestyling (impromptu rapping) as Chris beat-boxed (made rhythm/drum machine noises with his mouth). That's when he was confronted.

"They said, 'Shut the fuck up,' " said Strawbridge about the men who had just been inside the club playing pool. "Eight dudes surrounded me. I looked at Johan and said, 'These guys are causing trouble. Can you ask them to leave the premises or intervene in some way?' I told him I had 911 dialed on my cell phone.... Then two guys got close up in my space. I pushed one off me, and then I pushed another. I ran in the parking lot to get away from them so I could talk on 911.... I made it to the street in front of Fry's Electronics.... One grabbed me from behind. The other one was hitting me."

Strawbridge was stabbed twice, once below the heart. He also sustained a 12-inch laceration in his back close to his kidney. "I was almost killed in the name of hip-hop," said Strawbridge. He was treated at Palomar Hospital and released after six days.

Acevedo said he has videotape of the assailants from when they were inside the club. "By chance there was no entertainment that evening, and we had no security that night. I went outside because I saw a lot of people were going outside. We don't usually get involved with what goes on outside the bar. The stabbing did not happen at Longshot's. Something different could have been done, but I'm not a cop. We gave the sheriff anything we could. I'm happy to have the benefit for him."

Reason to Rebel, Parkhurst, Lucid, the Midas Touch, and Innocent Noise appear at a fundraiser to help cover medical bills (though Strawbridge works as a nurse, he does not have health insurance) tomorrow night, Friday, at the Longshot. Admission is $7; all ages 6--10 p.m., 21 and up after 10 p.m.