Jennifer Finch, the foundational bassist and songwriter for the Los Angeles feminist punk band L7, died on Saturday, July 18, at the age of 59. She passed away following a brief battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
The band confirmed the news over the weekend via an Instagram statement. “With a very heavy heart we announce that our beloved bandmate, friend, and fellow troublemaker Jennifer Finch has passed away today,” they wrote. Finch’s diagnosis only became public earlier this month when unexpected medical complications and multiple surgeries forced her to step away from L7’s upcoming “Last Hurrah” US tour.
Finch joined L7 in 1986 and fundamentally shaped the group’s gritty collision of punk and proto-grunge. She anchored their most commercially successful era, playing on 1990’s Smell the Magic and 1992’s breakthrough Bricks Are Heavy, which spawned the MTV staple “Pretend We’re Dead”. During the early 1990s, Finch and her bandmates toured heavily with Nirvana and the Beastie Boys, and secured their historical legacy across the inaugural Warped Tour and Lollapalooza circuits.
Her influence extended far beyond music. In 1991, Finch helped launch the Rock for Choice concert series, organizing high-profile abortion rights benefit shows that drew headliners like Hole. She left L7 in 1996 following the death of her adoptive father to focus on photography and sobriety. She later formed bands like The Shocker before reuniting with L7 in 2014.
Before her death, friends and family launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover in-home medical care and preserve her artistic archives. That fund surpassed $394,000. L7 canceled their immediate upcoming dates but confirmed they will finish the tour according to Finch’s final wishes.