Family Banding

Mid-May, after a show at Canes, Rhythm and the Method lead singer Rhythm Turner was saying goodbye to her girlfriend when she was attacked. Her dad, Papa Shawn, is a guitarist in Rhythm and the Method, and he told me this about the incident: “She was hugging her friend goodbye. Two guys were walking out and one said, ‘Are you two lesbians? Let me see you kiss.’ My daughter told them to get lost and the guy kept making comments. I’m sure at that point my daughter said a few curse words toward them. The guy said he’d slap her, and he did. And then he started punching her before running. My son, Evan, who’s the lead guitarist in the band, caught him and brought him back. He ended up running out of the club again, and he was caught again. This time [it was] security at Canes [who caught him], or maybe it was just security guards outside, I’m not sure. They held on to him until the police showed up.”

Local rapper MC Flow organized fundraisers for Turner. Papa Shawn said of her efforts, “Yeah, she’s putting lots of things together. At Humphrey’s on June 13, that’s the biggest event. We’ve been getting love and support from people all over the world. The benefits help. Rhythm didn’t have health insurance. She works as a yoga teacher and is a full-time student. The attack left her with fractures to her nose and eye socket. The guy is going to plead guilty, but the police aren’t going to charge him with a hate crime, which is something we had hoped they would.”

You can catch Rhythm and the Method at P.B. Bar and Grill on June 26, U-31 on June 29, at the Beauty Bar on July 1, and August 16 at South Bay Pride in Chula Vista.