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Tom Morello, Garbage, Violet Grohl and More Pay Tribute to L7’s Jennifer Finch
L7 bassist and vocalist Jennifer Finch has died aged 59 following an aggressive form of brain cancer, prompting tributes from across the music world including Tom Morello, Garbage, Violet Grohl, Michael Stipe and Courtney Love. Her death was announced by a family representative on Saturday (18 July), just days after L7 revealed her diagnosis meant she would be unable to join the band's forthcoming farewell tour. Finch was celebrated as an influential figure in the Los Angeles rock scene and a key architect of L7's sound during their commercial peak.
Finch joined L7 in 1986 and played on the band's breakthrough 1992 album Bricks Are Heavy, produced by Butch Vig and featuring tracks such as "Pretend We're Dead" and "Shitlist," which helped push the group from the LA punk underground into mainstream alternative rock. She left the band in 1996, performing with other acts before rejoining L7 after its 2014 reunion, and also worked as a photographer, writer and visual artist. L7's farewell tour, The Last Hurrah, was announced in May and is due to begin in October; the band said Finch had asked them to continue with it as planned.
In short
- L7 bassist Jennifer Finch has died, aged 59, from brain cancer.
- Tom Morello, Garbage, Courtney Love and others paid tribute.
- She helped shape 1992's Bricks Are Heavy; band's farewell tour proceeds as planned.
Explained simply
Jennifer Finch was a bassist and vocalist with L7, an influential rock band from Los Angeles that emerged from the punk underground. She joined L7 in 1986 and played a central role in creating the band's distinctive sound during their commercially successful years in the early 1990s.
L7 achieved major success with their 1992 album Bricks Are Heavy, which featured songs like "Pretend We're Dead" and "Shitlist" that brought the band from the underground into mainstream recognition and established them as significant figures in alternative rock. Finch left L7 in 1996 but returned when the band reunited in 2014, and she also worked as a photographer, writer and visual artist throughout her life.
L7 announced a planned farewell tour earlier this year, but Finch had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. She died at age 59 after a career in which she was recognised as an influential figure in rock music and alternative rock culture.
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