L7 Bassist Jennifer Finch Dies at 59

Jennifer Finch, the bassist and co-founder of the ’90s feminist grunge band L7, has died. Finch was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2011 and, more recently, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Her bandmates shared the news of her death on Saturday (July 18) along with a statement on Instagram, calling her a “beloved bandmate, friend, and fellow troublemaker.” Finch was 59.

“We are shattered by the loss of our beloved bandmate, sister and friend Jennifer Finch, whose fierce spirit, humor and boundless creativity helped shape L7 and changed all of our lives forever,” L7 wrote in a longer statement shared with Pitchfork. “Jennifer was a true original who lived entirely on her own terms, and the impact she made on music, art and everyone lucky enough to know her cannot be measured. We love her beyond words and will carry her with us always. Rest in power our dear friend. With Love, L7.”

When Finch was initially diagnosed with brain cancer, she was advised to treat it with radiation, but as time passed, “unforeseen complications” resulted in her needing to undergo multiple surgeries. The severe physical limitations of those procedures required extensive medical care, leading her L7 bandmates to share a GoFundMe to cover Finch’s medical expenses and at-home care.

Born August 5, 1966, Finch grew up in Los Angeles as an adopted child with a burgeoning interest in photography, often documenting the early punk scene that was burgeoning around her by shooting bands like the Cramps and Bad Religion. With each passing year, she further immersed herself in the local music scene (eagle-eyed viewers can spot Finch in the crowd in the 1981 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization) before finally joining the Courtney Love-led band Sugar Babydoll in 1984 and, two years later, garage-punk act the Pandoras.

Finch formed L7 with drummer Dee Plakas and singer-guitarists Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks in 1985, using what her bandmates described as a “persistent” determination to join their ranks despite not initially knowing how to play bass. As L7 played around the city, Finch’s connections to longtime figures and fellow musicians helped boost the band’s status and further integrate them into Los Angeles’ music scene.

During their original run, L7 recorded six albums, with Finch playing on the first four: their 1988 self-titled debut, 1990’s Smell the Magic, the 1992 staple Bricks Are Heavy, and 1994’s Hungry for Stink. L7 were vocal champions of women’s rights and the feminist movement at large, and used their platform to push for political change, including the formation of the Rock for Choice concerts in 1991. L7’s biggest crossover hit was “Pretend We’re Dead,” a deceptively sunny single that laments the political and socioeconomic structures that marginalize women, which became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. In 1996, Finch left the band and L7 continued on with Greta Brinkman in her place, followed by Belly’s Gail Greenwood in 1997 and Janis Tanaka in 1999.

After announcing in 2014 that they planned to get back together, L7 officially returned the following year with extensive reunion tours, this time with Finch back in their ranks. They started working on new material with similarly confrontational lyrics, such as “Dispatch From Mar-a-Lago” and “I Came Back to Bitch,” and were the subject of a new documentary, L7: Pretend We’re Dead by Sarah Price. Come 2019, L7 rolled out their first album in 20 years, Scatter the Rats.

“L7 ain’t over yet. I’m in my 50s now and we still get to be examples,” Finch told Guitar World last year. “But also we get to fail publicly in a way that we couldn’t do in our 20s. I’ve never felt directly responsible for anyone picking up a guitar – pick up your own fucking guitar! It’s a thing you gotta do or do not. I’m very heart-warmed when particularly women say, ‘Because of you, I got into politics’ or ‘I got my medical degree because of you.’ You know, fighting for housing rights, that’s awesome.”

L7 celebrated their 40th anniversary last year with a special concert at the Belasco in Los Angeles. They also had plans to embark on their Last Hurrah farewell tour without Finch, which is set for this fall, after receiving a blessing from the late bassist to do so.

Countless musicians have paid their respects to Finch while mourning her loss, including heartfelt tributes by the Go-Go’s Kathryn Valentine, Garbage, Lunachicks, and Circle Jerks’ Greg Hetson. “God bless Jennifer Finch, bassist of L7 and all-around great person,” Tom Morello wrote in an Instagram story. “She welcomed my nerdy ass to LA with kindness & respect and without judgement despite her insanely cool stature. She was an important fixture of the LA scene and a friend I admired and she will be missed.”