Speaking of hate crimes, local musician Brontez alleges that he was gay bashed last night while leaving Club Paradiso (2272 Telegraph) in Oakland. Via his Facebook page, he writes:

Got gay bashed last night. Me and my bandmate Adal were leaving the Paradiso in Downtown Oakland when two dudes with (Caribbean?) accents and dreadlocks started calling us "batty boys" and saying that if we were in Jamaica we'd be dead.

I [freaked] stated yelling at them as i [pedaled] away on my bike one of the guys chased me punched me in the head and i fell of my bike. The other dude punched Adal fracturing his face in two places and now he has to have plates put in....

I'M NOT SLEEPING ON THIS SHIT. if anyone knows of what else can be done besides calling the cops tell us. Oakland PD is NOT gonna care about us getting gay bashed. i cant even get them on the phone for a follow up.

If you're familiar Brontez, you're... well, you're familiar with excellent music. We wish him and his bandmate speedy recoveries, both physically and mentally.

That said, CUAV (Community United Against Violence) is a great place to go if the police won't assist. If anyone witnessed what happened last night, we urge you to call the Oakland Police Department at 510-777-3333.