This is a weird story. Gavin DeGraw, the singer best knows for such hits as ????? got his ass handed to him early Monday morning. The basic story is that Gavin was drinking with friends in the Lower East Side on NYC. Gavin left alone (presumably) and he was attacked by a gang of thugs sometime around 4:30 a.m. After the thugs beat him up, breaking his nose and cutting up his face but not robbing him, Gavin then tried to walk it off, I guess, and he wandered into the street where he was clipped by a taxi. What in the world?

Pop singer Gavin DeGraw was viciously beaten by a pack of thugs on the Lower East Side early today — and then hit by a taxi as he stumbled off, police sources said.

The 34-year-old crooner — who’s spent the summer opening for superstar rockers Maroon 5 and Train — had been drinking and just left a group of pals when he was attacked by the marauding perps sometime between 3:50 and 4:20 a.m. at 6th Street and 1st Avenue, the sources said.

He had his nose broken and suffered cuts on his face, they said.

The creeps then fled, and the dazed singer, whose hit song “Chariot” went platinum, kept walking, sources said.

He wound up at 19th Street and 1st Avenue, where he was struck by a cab, although not seriously, they said.

He remained in Bellevue Hospital tonight.

The sources said the attack did not appear to be a robbery.

DeGraw, who hails from upstate South Fallsburg, has a Manhattan pad. He and his brother also own a bar, the National Underground, on East Houston Street.

[From The NY Post]

My guess is that the subtext of the “walking it off” part of the story is that Gavin was either not badly injured at first, or he didn’t realize how badly he was hurt, or that he was just in shock. Or he was just too drunk and numb to really “get” what happened. But he didn’t have a cell phone to call 911? It’s all so weird.

People Mag has more details – Gavin was definitely alone when he was assaulted, and the police came when “someone” called 911 saying that “there was a man with blood on his shirt who appeared to be heavily intoxicated”. Gavin’s rep says: “Gavin DeGraw was assaulted … and was taken to the emergency room at Bellevue Hospital by ambulance. He is currently under observation. We have no additional information at this time.” Poor Gavin.

UPDATE: Even People Mag thinks there’s something fishy about the story – People just released a new article about Gavin’s beatdown, and their police sources claim that Gavin was able to get ONE MILE from the scene of his beatdown to the place where the taxi hit him:

It was sometime around 4:00 a.m. Monday that Gavin DeGraw was walking through New York’s East Village when “some kind of argument” broke out between him and a group of men he didn’t know, according to a police source.

The words escalated to violence and soon the “I Don’t Want to Be” singer was under attack by what New York newspapers are describing as a gang of thugs.

The dazed and badly injured DeGraw then somehow ended up about a mile away, only to be clipped by a taxi.

Someone called 911 and DeGraw was rushed by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital’s emergency room where he was treated for a broken nose, concussion and facial lacerations. He’s now in stable condition and under observation.

More than a day later, a number or questions remain about the attack, including the identity of the assailants, a motive for the violence, what DeGraw was doing on the streets early in the morning and how he was able get so far before the taxi incident.

His reps have only released two brief statements, one of them ending with: “We have no additional details at this time.”

According to police sources, DeGraw’s recollections are clouded by his head injuries and the possibility he was intoxicated at the time. Police are hoping to find witnesses and security camera footage to fill in the gaps.

What is known is that DeGraw, who has a new album coming out next month and who has been touring with Train and Maroon 5, was apparently out alone at the time of the assault on the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. Why he was there at that hour remains under investigation, but DeGraw is a New York City resident and the attack site was close to a club he co-owns with his brother called the National Underground, where he was spotted Sunday night.

DeGraw told police that he encountered at least three individuals; various news reports say they were all men. A police source tells PEOPLE the “assailants were unknown to victim” and that DeGraw “can’t clearly recall” what they argued about.

After the assault, DeGraw then was next seen at 19th Street and 1st Avenue, 13 blocks away. Police sources say a 911 caller reported a man with a bloody shirt who appeared to be heavily intoxicated.

By Tuesday morning, his reps issued an updated statement: “Gavin DeGraw is currently recovering and in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital where he was taken … by ambulance after he was attacked by a group of assailants. He suffers from a concussion, broken nose, black eyes, cuts and bruises. The police are conducting an investigation of the attack.

“Gavin and his family appreciate everyone’s concern at this time. We have no information yet regarding his upcoming concert dates and promotion for his new album.”

[From People]

He doesn’t remember anything? Cough-drugs-cough? Actually, when I used to get really hammered, I would get into verbal disagreements with anybody and everybody, and I could never remember exactly what went down either. Maybe Gavin was just blackout drunk. I’m surprised Levi Johnston didn’t have sex with him.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Musician Travis Barker and celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, were among the surviving passengers in a private learjet which crashed taking off from a South Carolina airport Friday night. Both Barker and Goldstein are in critical condition in the burn unit of an area hospital. Four other passengers were killed, but their names have not yet been released. Barker and Goldstein were performing along with Perry Farrell, best known as the former lead singer of the band Janes Addiction, and Gavin DeGraw. It is not yet known whether Farrell and DeGraw were on the plane. (Update: according to various accounts, both Farrell and DeGraw are fine and were not on the plane.)

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and a popular disc jockey were critically injured in a Learjet crash in South Carolina that killed four people, authorities said Saturday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the plane carrying six people was departing shortly before midnight Friday when air traffic controllers reporting seeing sparks. The plane went off a runway and crashed on a nearby road, she said.

Hospital spokeswoman Beth Frits said Barker and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, were in critical condition at a burn center in Augusta, Ga., about 75 miles southwest of Columbia.

NBC News reported that Barker, who also starred in MTV reality show “Meet the Barkers”, had performed Friday night at an event alongside Perry Farrell, the former Jane’s Addiction singer, as well as Gavin DeGraw and Goldstein.

‘Terrible and tragic’
It was not clear whether Farrell and DeGraw were also traveling with Barker and Goldstein.

Federal officials confirmed that two crew members and two passengers were killed in the crash.

“It’s absolutely terrible and tragic,” Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said.

Bergen said the Lear 60 was headed to Van Nuys, California. She was unable to confirm the names of those on board.

Barker and Goldstein perform together under the name TRVSDJ-AM.

[From MSNBC]

This is awful news and our hearts go out to their families and to those who lost their lives. Part of me hopes that Farrell and DeGraw were not on the plane, but it’s a tragedy no matter who died in that accident.

We’ll have to stay tuned to this story and see if more information is available.

Update: Here is a photo of the crash and more information from the local news source, WLTX. The plane crashed into an embankment when taking off, and then caught fire. Baholicious notes Perez Hilton says Perry Farrell and Gavin DeGraw were not on the plane, but that has not yet been confirmed. There were two passengers and two crew members who perished in the crash:

An airport spokesperson says a lear jet–a small, private passenger plane–crashed just after take off a little before midnight Friday.

At this time, it appears the plane was attempting to take off, ran off the runway, through a fence, and hit an embankment along Highway 302. The plane then caught fire, and airport emergency crews are working to put out the blaze.

Six people were aboard the airplane. It’s believed four people are dead, and two were taken to the hospital.

CBS News has confirmed that Travis Barker, a drummer who once was a member of the rock bank “Blink 182″, and D.J. AM, who’s real name is Adam Goldstein, were aboard that plane, and survived. They have been taken to the hospital for treatment at the Augusta Burn Center, and they both are in critical condition.

Barker and Goldstein were in Columbia Friday night as part of a concert in Columbia’s Five Points.

Update 2: TMZ is reporting that Perry Farrell was not on the plane. Hopefully Perez Hilton was right and Gavin DeGraw wasn’t on the plane, either.

Update 3: Gavin DeGraw wasn’t on the plane, according to his rep, quoted in People.

The other two passengers who died are said to be males, while the two crewmembers were a female pilot and a male co-pilot.

Update 4: TMZ reports that the pilot and co-pilot have died, Sarah Lemmon and James Bland, along with another male passenger, Charles Still, and Travis Barker’s assistant, Chris Baker, 29, (no relation) who was featured on his reality show Meet the Barkers. Baker had a wife and baby at home.

Barker and Goldstein escaped by opening the door of the plane and jumping out right after it crashed and was already on fire. Barker is said to be burned from the waist down and it is thought that he will survive. Goldstein has suffered serious burns to his face.

Travis Barker and DJ Am are shown at the MTV Movie Awards on 9/7/08