Germs bassist and punk pioneer Lorna Doom reported dead

by Mike Usinger on January 16th, 2019 at 4:48 PM

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Lorna Doom, who played bass for the Germs during the Los Angeles punk scene's fabled first wave in the late 1970s, has been reported dead. This comes via Facebook posts by friends, former bandmates, and fans. No cause of death has been given. She was 60.

Born Teresa Ryan, Doom was an original member of the Germs, which only released one album, the hugely influential GI, produced by Joan Jett. The record--championed by the likes of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and members of the Offspring and Red Hot Chili Peppers--has become a touchstone for generations of punk fans.

Much of the group's initial notoriety was based on its choatic live show, captured in the Penelope Spheeris film The Decline of Western Civilization. What sometimes got lost were the group's suprisingly literate lyrics ("Let me touch the tips of inculcated desire/And brush the fettered veil away") and the fact that Doom, drummer Don Bolles, and guitarist Pat Smear took punk in fiercely original new directions.

In recent years Doom toured with a reformed version of the Germs, who broke up in 1980 and then quickly lost Crash to a heroin overdose. Smear continues to play music as a member of the Foo Fighters.

Here's a clip from The Decline., followed by remembrances from Twitter.