Sloppy Jane
photo via @sloppyjanebandd

Haley from Sloppy Jane mugged in Brooklyn, needed 46 stitches

Some scary news from Haley Dahl of Brooklyn’s Sloppy Jane, who you may know from their unforgettable live sets. As she writes on Instagram:

A few nights ago I was mugged walking home from the train 6 blocks from my house. I was coming from the G on Broadway/Boerum and was walking towards Bushwick – usually I take the L home but it was super late and the L runs slow at night and I didn’t want to get stuck, so I walked, and was on the phone. I was on Boerum/Humbolt when a man told me to get off my phone and threw it on the ground. He told me not to scream and to hand over my stuff or he’d stab me, and I screamed and I fought for my stuff even though I probably shouldn’t have. When I finally let go he ran away and I ran in the opposite direction and flagged down a woman walking to call 911. I went to the hospital and got an x-ray and 46 stitches (29 in my back, 11 in my right hand, and 6 on my face). The real tragedy, though, is that out of the six doctors that I hit on, not one of them would go on a date with me. I am still looking for a surgeon to take me on a date, so please loop me in.

I have been talking to detectives (also who won’t date me) and there were cameras nearby, so they are hoping to find the guy, but at this point they haven’t. To my friends who live/work/hang in the schwick I want to say that there is a man running around slashing people’s faces open at night right now, and to please not walk alone! And please message me when you get home, even if I didn’t know you were out. I love you.

There is a lot of good news here, weirdly. All of my wounds are superficial (there was a scary moment where it looked like one of my hands might be broken, but it isn’t) and are already healing. My laptop got stolen, which is a bummer, but all the music I have been working on was backed up, and our cellist Sean was a real champion and came over less than 24 hours after the situation to let me finish arranging our record on his computer.

I’ve gotten in a lot of arguments with friends during my adult life, about walking alone at night and how I shouldn’t do it. I have always said that I think women having to live in fear is what stops them from having crazy and great stories and seeing things that lead to creative innovation and that I’m going to walk where and when it makes sense and that if anything ever happened to me, it would be a fair trade for all the things I gained from years spent not being afraid. Big I-told-you-so from me is that: I stand by that firmly, and with my entire heart. I stand also by fighting the guy, even though I knew it was stupid and even though I wouldn’t have been hurt if I had just given him my stuff.

A lot of people are asking me what they can do for me right now/if I need things to help me heal/what the deal is with my medical bills etc etc. I appreciate this so much. I have caring friends and family who are making sure I am OK and the vibe is good. What is most important to me, since my injuries are superficial and my music is backed up, is that my projects are not derailed by some psycho with no humanity. As everyone knows, my band/a very large group of musicians are on track to record our next album in a cave next month, and that is still the situation. This effort is very big, and I am grateful that nothing has been done to me that really should prevent it from happening. I want to remind everyone, in this moment. That I have a gofundme campaign where I will Eat My Favorite Suit for 20k, and that if you donate 30 or more, we will give you a cool tshirt. Please help me eat my suit, it is really important to me.

Love
Haley Dahl

We hope Haley heals soon! You can visit her GoFundMe, I WILL EAT MY FAVORITE SUIT FOR 20K, and watch Sloppy Jane’s video for “In the Future It Was Me That Burned It Down,” below.