Jennifer Finch succumbs to Brain Cancer

It's less than a week since we had an official announcement letting us know that Jennifer Finch had been diagnosed with brain cancer. The great and good of the American music scene rallied round her and a Go Fund Me was established. It was clear that she was obviously no longer going to be a part of L7s Last Hurrah 2026 tour, but she gave it the go-ahead with her blessing.

Then, yesterday we found out that she had died aged 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 live forever.

Jennifer was a true original who lived entirely on her owns 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."

(Official L7 statement)

Jennifer Finch was born and raised by her adoptive family in west Los Angeles in 1966. She became immersed in photography from a young age, and was actually capturing the essence of the west coast punk scene from a young age. From her early teenage years she took photos of many of the emerging key players, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bad Religion and The Cramps.

One of her first forays into being in a band ended up as something of a glimpse into the female led bands that would emerge over the next decade. Sugar Babydoll, of which she was a member from 1984 to 1986, also included Courtney Love (later Mrs Cobain and founder of Hole) and Kat Bjellend (founder of Babes In Toyland).

But it was in 1986 that she really started to make her mark on the music scene when she persuaded her way into the fledgling L7. She completed their classic line-up, with Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner and Dee Plakas, and Finch contributed significantly to the band's songwriting over the next ten years. Their output included one of the definitive albums of the 'grunge' scene, 1992s Bricks Are Heavy. They also established Rock For Choice in 1991, a series of concerts raising money for abortion rights.

L7: Everglade (official music video)

After her adoptive father died and she was grieving, but also struggling with her health and money issues, she decided to leave in 1996. There would be other bands for her in the years following, including OtherStarPeople and The Shocker, and her own label, Little Pusher Records.

There was also the L7 reunion in 2014, with all of the original crew, which led to fresh material including 2019s Scatter The Rats. As well as the final tour that was being planned, there had been a 40th anniversary special show last year at the Belasco in L.A.

Finch (front right) with L7 in the 80s

L7: One More Thing (live for JBTV, 2018 - with Finch on lead vocals)

Pearl Jam's drummer from the early 90s, Dave Abbruzzese, simply said, "you left your mark... the coolest." Former Rage Against The Machine legend, Tom Morello, talked about how Finch "welcomed my nerdy ass to LA with kindness and respect and without judgement despite her insanely cool stature."

Fellow bass player Melissa Auf Der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) reacted to the news, calling Finch; "A rare and gorgeous powerful bird has taken flight. Fellow rhythm sister, rock pioneer, photographer, powerhouse, kind hearted goddess."

Kathy Valentine of fellow L.A. band, the Go-Go's, said, "I don't know if there's a bass player in our community who wasn't inspired by Jennifer. I sure was. She changed the way I felt about being part of a band as a bassist, the way I saw 'the role' of bassist.... Thank you Jennifer, thank you L7."

L7: Pretend We're Dead (live on dreadful tv show, The Word, 1992 - but it's a playful and blistering version nonetheless)