J Church (band)

J Church
Origin San Francisco, CA
Genres Punk rock, pop punk, anarcho-punk
Years active 1992–2007
Associated acts Cringer, Jawbreaker, Severed Head of State, Monsula
Members Lance Hahn
Gardner Maxam
Aaron Olson
Adam Pfahler
Brendan Murdoch
Wade Driver
Reed Burgoyne
Andee Connors
Scott Bradley
Jeff Bursley
Ben White
Chris Pfeffer
David DiDonato

J Church was an American punk rock band formed by the guitarist and vocalist Lance Hahn and the bass guitarist Gardner Maxam in 1992 in San Francisco, California, after the demise of their former band, Cringer. The group continued through numerous line-up changes and released a number of vinyl records and CDs before Hahn's death in 2007.

History

Hahn and Maxam had played together in Cringer from the band's inception in 1985 to its demise in 1991. This group, whose additional members changed frequently in its short career, was initially based in Hahn and Maxam's native Hawaii before relocating to Los Angeles where Maxam was attending college.[1]

After Cringer disbanded, the pair's new three-piece group, J Church, began. The band was named for the San Francisco Muni Metro J Church line that Hahn took down Church Street to band practice and to work every day. They went through a large number of drummers in their career; a noteworthy early player was the former Jawbreaker drummer Adam Pfahler. From its inception, J Church embarked upon writing and recording what became an extensive discography including numerous singles and splits with fellow punk rock bands including Discount and Less Than Jake. The group has released an estimated 150 records.[1]

Maxam played in the band until 1998, when he became overwhelmed by the rigors of touring and decided to leave.[1] In 2002, the band relocated to Austin, Texas, and the group's final line-up included the bass guitarist Ben White and the drummer Chris Pfeffer of Severed Head of State, Storm the Tower and Signal Lost.

Hahn had become active as a "punk rock history writer", writing many pieces for Maximum Rock 'n' Roll, the long-running San Francisco punk zine, and working on a book compiling various writings on anarcho-punk groups. He also ran the independent record label Honey Bear Records.

Hahn had been suffering from kidney-related medical problems since 1999, and the problems worsened during the following decade. On July 7, 2007, a benefit entitled "Let's Do It For Lance!" was released to help defray the cost of his medical bills. He died on October 21, 2007, aged 40, after falling into a coma nine days earlier due to complications from kidney dialysis.

Members

Touring musicians
Timeline

Partial discography

The following partial discography of full-length albums is derived from the J Church fan web site.[2]

Studio albums

Singles collections

Split albums

Miscellaneous full-length releases

References

  1. 1 2 3 J Church Biography at j-church.com
  2. ↑ Discography at j-church.com

External links

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