Jennifer Finch died Saturday July 18 at the age of 59. L7 announced her death on Instagram. "With a very heavy heart we announce that our beloved bandmate, friend, and fellow troublemaker Jennifer Finch has passed away today.
She had a long courageous fight with brain cancer and was loved by many wonderful friends, musical peers and fans worldwide. We love you Jennifer."
The diagnosis had only been made public on July 13, five days before she died. A GoFundMe launched by friends and family reached its $350,000 goal in 12 hours, with contributions from members of Green Day, Pearl Jam, Tool, Garbage and Bikini Kill. It had surpassed $400,000 at the time of her death.
Finch co-founded L7 in Los Angeles in 1985 alongside Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner and Dee Plakas, and before that played in an early band called Sugar Babydoll with Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland. L7 broke through during the alternative boom of the early 1990s with Bricks Are Heavy, produced by Butch Vig, which contained the band's defining anthem "Pretend We're Dead."
Their guitar-heavy, distortion-soaked sound sat at the intersection of punk, metal and grunge and carried political bite. Finch reunited with the band in 2014 and appeared on their 2019 album Scatter the Rats. She was unable to join their farewell Last Hurrah Tour due to her illness.
She was also a photographer, a label founder and a tireless presence on the indie music scene for 40 years. She was 59 years old.