Jennifer Finch, bassist for the influential Los Angeles rock band L7, has died. She was 59. <\/p>\n
Finch died of \u201can aggressive form of brain cancer,\u201d according to a statement from the band. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d the group said in its statement. \u201cJennifer 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finch was receiving ongoing treatment for brain cancer, and just last week backed out of the band\u2019s planned final tour. The group said those dates were \u201cplanned along with Jennifer when all four of us were in good health and spirits,\u201d and Finch had asked the band to continue the shows while she sought treatment.<\/p>\n
Finch, raised in Los Angeles, was an outspoken and ambitious fixture of \u201890s rock. She briefly performed in a band with Courtney Love pre-Hole and Babes In Toyland\u2019s Kat Bjelland, and once dated Dave Grohl<\/a>. But she came to prominence in L7, a foundational act in the alt-rock scene of the \u201890s. <\/p>\n Formed in 1985 by guitarists and singers Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks, drummer Dee Plakas and Finch, they made a fast impact on L.A.\u2019s punk scene, which was growing out of the hyper-masculine hardcore era of the \u201880s. Alongside Hole and Sleater-Kinney, L7 helped usher in the riot grrl wave of confrontational, female-led rock acts onto charts and festival bills. <\/p>\n \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 roll was invented and became popular because of its rebellious nature,\u201d Finch told the Times in 1993. \u201cBut the world has seen every form of rebellion–from throwing TVs out the windows to heroin abuse to just the guy in the leather jacket with greased-back hair–and the rebel image is becoming tired and burnt out. So (the press) is finding new interest in women who (rebel), creating a whole new aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe unfortunate thing is that journalists are trying to create a genre out of gender, which trivializes it,\u201d she added. \u201cThat\u2019s extremely ignorant, because it bypasses the uniqueness between the groups.\u201d<\/p>\n Bolstered by Finch\u2019s ferocious basslines, hit single \u201cPretend We\u2019re Dead\u201d received significant airplay on alternative rock stations and became the group\u2019s signature song, along with the biting anti-war anthem \u201cWargasm.\u201d Finch wrote several songs across the group\u2019s catalog, including the scabrous single \u201cEverglade.\u201d L7 went on hiatus in 2001, but reunited in 2014. <\/p>\n