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Suicide Girls
by Daniel Robert Epstein

Jennifer "Precious" Finch started late in the music game. Not until she was 18. But she must have had something going on because she joined the famously raunchy all girl punk band L7 at the age of 19.

Since leaving L7 in the late 1990's Finch's career has had a series of ups and now she is back with her new band The Shocker and their debut album Up Your Ass Tray. This album is pure Finch with such songs like My Life as a Plumber and Bad Brain Good Head.

Up Your Ass Tray is also Finch's debut as an entrepreneur because Up Your Ass Tray is the also the debut recording from her record label Little Pusher. They are also releasing another band called The Counter next year.

I got a chance to talk with Precious about why she left L7, her favorite Suicide girl, doga and all the 12 year olds inside her.

Daniel Robert Epstein: How did you first find Suicide Girls?

Jennifer "Precious" Finch: A friend of mine wanted to steal the idea of doing a site like Suicide Girls so they bought me an account. I thought it was really cool but it already exists so I told her she can't take it.

DRE: So what else is going on?

JPF: It's my birthday today and doing this interview is a great birthday present.

DRE: Well then happy birthday. How long have you've been a member?

JPF: I was a member under an alias from January of this year until we went on the Warped Tour, then I registered as myself about a couple of months ago.

DRE: Do you have favorite girls?

JPF: Definitely Katie who was on the Warped Tour. She's my all time favorite.

DRE: Anyone else?

JPF: I'm going to stick with Katie. [turns away from phone] Go potty, go potty. [To me] I have a Pomeranian; she's my favorite suicide dog.

DRE: What is the shocker?

JPF: The shocker is any kind of middle finger symbol or devil horn symbol. You use it when you get excited. But what it comes from originally is a sexual hand gesture which involves 2 fingers, one pinky and the thumb. Some people leave out the thumb but that's the most important part. That's my political statement.

DRE: So it's a shock when the thumb goes up your ass?

JPF: No it's when the thumb is on your clit. The pinky goes up your ass and that's the shocker. I don't think that's very shocking though.

DRE: It's shocking when they stick the pinky up your ass and you didn't know it was coming.

JPF: Exactly. But when you start demanding it, it's not that shocking anymore.

DRE: I don't know enough girls like that.

JPF: Come on. But the thing that's kind of cool about it besides it being funny is that it's completely a selfless act of giving pleasure and it can be done by a girl or a boy on a girl.

DRE: What inspired the new album?

JPF: A desperate need to be in music again. I used to be in L7 for years and years; I left that band and went back to school. Then I got into this other band that was a pop parody band called Other Star People. It was meant to be very contained and contrived kind of like 80's music, not very sexual or passionate just this weird computer generated pop music. Then I didn't do anything for a year after I finished that tour. I went on the Betty Blowtorch tour and I had a really great time. I just showed up to play. I wasn't the center focus and I wasn't making legal decisions which is the stuff I usually do because I end up being the nucleus control person. I had a really great time because the people from Betty Blowtorch were really awesome. Being in a band where I was good friends with the other members is something I never experienced.

At the end of the tour Bianca [Butthole] passed away in a car accident. Although that should have made me so depressed that I should have never wanted to play music again instead it actually inspired me. I was walking around in Louisiana where the accident happened just a few days before, my cousins told me they were picking me up and taking me to a gun show to buy some guns. At the gun show we saw this huge ridiculous biker guy selling magnums and he had this fairy tattoo on his arm. My cousin pointed at it and said the fairy was giving the shocker then she said I should start a band called The Shocker. It just seemed like I should. It was just so weird.

DRE: When did you start touring with The Shocker?

JPF: Like December 2002. Right after the gun show I went home and recorded three of the songs that ended up on the CD. I just played everything then I met Lura Jones, Ari Shine and Claudia. We finished the record then Noah joined. It all happened pretty quickly.

DRE: What happened with L7? I'm surprised to hear that you weren't friends with them.

JPF: They are older than me. We were friends and we were close because we were in a band together. But we weren't super good friends. We would be ok when we were on the road but we wouldn't go see movies together or anything like what I do with the band now. With The Shocker, when we are done touring we'll go on road trips together.

DRE: Where do you go road tripping?

JPF: We just got back from San Francisco because we wanted to go to one of our favorite restaurants.

DRE: The Stinking Rose?

JPF: No! We have a Stinking Rose in LA. We went to a Chinese restaurant called the House of Nan King.

DRE: How was the Warped Tour?

JPF: The Warped Tour was awesome. It was loading in at 8 am in the morning, possibly playing anytime between 12 and 3, then loading out at 8 pm and driving all night. That was completely the opposite of doing a club tour. I'm always the person that likes variety. I don't like doing one particular thing for more than three weeks. I have a mind like a ferret or a hamster so I need to change it up. We did Warped Tour for three weeks now we're doing a club tour for three weeks, then three weeks off then back to more club dates.

Some people's dream is be on a bus. I've done that, it's not all that. Three weeks in bus, three weeks in a van then three weeks of renting motorcycles.

DRE: Is The Shocker's music more personal to you?

JPF: I think it definitely is more personal. I wrote all the lyrics on this. That's not usually my thing. I'm really into the cheerocracy; I just love Bring It On [laughs]. I try to make it a cheerocracy but the people in the band say it's my vision and they want to support that. I'm like "Ok, the song is called Up Your Ass Tray". That's my vision. I have a 12 year old boy inside of me that likes to eat Twinkies and laugh at things like The Shocker.

DRE: Twinkies aren't as good as they used to be though.

JPF: No they're not. I'm still down for a Zinger though.

DRE: I miss Chocodiles.

JPF: There's no more Chocodiles?

DRE: I can't find them. Maybe you have them on the west coast.

JPF: Well in New York you have Little Debbies which we can't get too easily out here.

DRE: You have Red Vines.

JPF: You don't have Red Vines? No manufactured licorice, that's smooth and you can suck really fast.

DRE: No I wish.

JPF: Do you ever put Twizzlers into drinks and use them as straws?

DRE: Sure. But Red Vines are the bomb.

How are The Shocker's live shows?

JPF: It's high energy, lots of rock and movement.

DRE: Is it as nuts as L7?

JPF: A lot of reviewers are saying it was the next logical step from L7 if I hadn't left L7.

When I left L7 things got a little more personal for [L7 Guitarist/vocalist] Donita [Sparks] and a little heavier. Whereas I'm just at the top of the groove.

DRE: That's really good that people are saying your music is maturing and changing. Why did you quit L7?

JPF: Just personal differences. I wanted to do other stuff. It's so lame to say artistic differences but it really was. It was different visions for what the band was going to do.

DRE: Was it that you wanted to do the mellower thing like you did with Other Star People?

JPF: No they wanted to do a darker rock and I wanted to do a mixture of darker rock but still in the vein of hardcore. I don't know what to call The Shocker record because just calling it rock makes it sound like The Black Crowes. There's no shame in my game but I'm not going down that road.

DRE: Did things change with L7 after you got so big from the one song on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack?

JPF: Yeah I think some people took some personal and emotional liberties.

DRE: Was that it got too easy?

JPF: Sometimes people think it gets easier after something like that but I think it gets harder. When somebody is thrown into that kind of situation with any kind of low self esteem its really difficult. Because all of sudden everyone is looking at you and expecting the next big hit. It ceased to be four gals in a van getting to a show Texas. It turns into 18 people relying on 600 units moving in tandem. It got hard for me and the other band members. I can't speak for them but that was a general observation of all musicians. I tore up some dressing rooms and threw some deli platters. I'm willing to say that.

DRE: You threw deli platters at the wall?

JPF: At people. Straight at Nick Cave on Lollapalloza [1994].

DRE: Did he deserve it?

JPF: Oh fuck yeah! He's such a fucking twat. Y'know bologna sticks.

DRE: Who gave you the nickname Precious?

JPF: My father wanted to give it to me as a middle name and my mother didn't want to do it. So they never did it. But he would call me that as a kid, usually derogatory. When he passed away in 1996 I was going through some letters with my girlfriend and she found a letter he wrote to me where he addressed me as Precious. She cracked up and started calling me that. Then it grew among my friends and it expanded out from there. Since Other Star People was such a knee jerk reaction to leaving L7, losing my father and my dog and all this crazy stuff I ended up calling myself that to make myself feel better.

DRE: Feeding that 12 year old again?

JPF: [laughs] Not that 12 year old but a different one. I have many 12 year olds inside me.

DRE: Do you and Courtney Love keep in touch?

JPF: No but she is the friend that got me the account. I didn't want to namedrop.

DRE: What's the craziest thing anyone ever threw onstage at you?

JPF: Their children. There were two of them, a three year old and a six year old. I think they were just trying to get them out of the pit. I wanted to keep them. We needed roadies.

DRE: What's the craziest thing you ever threw back?

JPF: Donita threw a tampon in England once. I just held up the towel so no one could see her squatting.

DRE: You guys are nuts.

JPF: There's a couple of really interesting things that only women can do onstage and that's one of them. It's uniquely feminine.

DRE: I read about you dropped your blouse back in the day opening for Pearl Jam.

JPF: Yes we were playing at The Daughters of the Revolution Hall which is a very old established political venue in Washington DC where black people weren't allowed in until the 1960's. I was talking about it with Gloria Steinem and she was saying that the place is so conservative they even have in their bylines that they don't allow nudity onstage. This is a weird thing to have in your bylines in this modern age. I was like, hmm, so I ended up playing naked. It got on the cover of the Washington Post entertainment section and the New York Times table of contents "First breast to be exposed at Daughters of the Revolution Hall." I feel like I'm a daughter of the revolution.

DRE: So say you've got Avril Lavigne tied up. What do you do to her?

JPF: Teach her to play guitar for god's sakes. Stop just standing there.

DRE: What made you start playing music in the first place?

JPF: I was so ADD when I was a kid. I could not sit down to practice anything mechanical or technical. If someone said pick this up and take it to the next room, I couldn't remember that. But I started playing for the attention and to meet people. I wanted to tour so bad. I was a teenage heroin addict and it seemed like music was a good way to keep using drugs and have a career. I loved the lifestyle of heroin. I had a really hard childhood and I just always need that feeling of well being. Heroin just totally saved my life. I don't know what I would have done without. Now they have medications for that kind of stuff. Back then you couldn't go to psychiatrist and get anything.

DRE: When did you kick?

JPF: I think I quit when I was 22.

DRE: Any special thing make you quit?

JPF: I joined L7 when I was 18. Things just started to happen. We got our Epitaph record deal and we did a tour with Bad Religion in 1988. We were just doing all this stuff and I couldn't maintain a habit anymore.

DRE: What's your favorite pornography?

JPF: I'm pretty adventurous with my porno because I like it to be not what I do at home so it has to be pretty extreme. I grew up through the 1990's which was pretty much an "anything goes" time of porno.

DRE: We have three kinds of girls on our site. Punk, emo and Goth. Which are your favorites?

JPF: I am a punk girl but I totally fetishize the Goths. Which is why I love Katie so much. But another kind of girls that are on there, are the Betty Page crisis girls. The Americana girls which I'm sure are mistaken for punk girls.

VIOLENT CANDY INTERVIEW
2004
Interview with Jennifer Finch

For those who haven't heard the Shocker, how would you describe the music?

The SHOCKer Sound is a mix of the kind of California hardcore that I grew up with and

the rock, punk and pop that I love.  It is definitely hard, but catchy as well, lots of melody and nibbly bits to stick with the listener.

In relation to L7 , how do you feel you have progressed over the years musically, and personally? 

In both cases I feel I know more of what I like and what I am about.  I know better when to be open minded and when to stand my ground. But basically, I am still treading water in a sea of musical retardation.

L7 were one of the first prototype riotgrrl bands, how would you say the Shocker compare?

Are you asking how does the SHOCKer compare to L7 or how the Shocker compares to Riot G proto types??  I still believe that the R word is a media moniker, but what the heck; if it makes you happy then I will answer this question as “Riot-ie” as I can:

L7=1992---the SHOCKer=new millennium!

L7 are known for their crazy antics, are you glad to be out of it?

Once again I am not so sure what you are asking--Am I glad to be out of L7 or am I glad to not be involved in the antics? I am glad to be out of L7 and as far as the antics, they just seem to follow me where ever I go! Why just today the band was whacked over the head with a rubber chicken, while wearing artificial moustaches.  I then we all slipped on a bananna peel!    

Jennifer - you're incredibly involved in most aspects of the Shocker (ie, your website company, the Shocker Ep being released on your own label in the US) -is there anything else you would like to do within the music industry, or indeed outside of it?

My company, BeeCHARMing tech specializes in high-end web sites and graphics for manufactures.  I thought the entertainment industry would be what I would end up doing, but I seem to have taken a different path.  I love it, but music is still my day job.

This summer will be your first touring on the Warped tour as the Shocker. How are you feeling about it? 

I have no expectations on anything in my life, so we were offered the slot and showed up.  It was hot and dirty and there were lots of hot and dirty boys and girls.  We just got home tonight (as I write this) and nobody wants to leave my house and go home, we all had too much fun and did not want it to end. 

Are you considering the Shocker as a side project?

I do a lot, run my own label, Little Pusher Records, photography and run my own web design biz, and play in the Shocker full time, but I consider all these things equal parts of my life! As I said before, The Shocker is my day job!

Do you think the riot- grrl days are over?     

Not in my house.

Are there any other women or men that inspire you, and that you admire?

 I am most inspired by the others in this band, Lisa, Adam, and Ronnie+ Quist

MUSIC KULTURE interview

Past Shocker Members Speak

2004

ND: How did you guys get together and decide to form the Shocker?

Lura Jones: We met Precious a while ago (2002). She had come to see our other band, The Golden Bats, play. A couple of months after that, she came to Ari and asked

 if we wanted to play with her in the Shocker.

Jennifer Finch: I just said, "You know, we should just figure out a way that we can all tour and split expenses, and just be in a band and go have fun. I'll just jump up and do the  Shocker--we can help each other roadie, drive and sell T-shirts." And it was this really great idea that quickly fell apart. They (Golden Bats) fired their drummer at one point, so of course he was fired from the Shocker as well. Lura, Ari decided that instead of sharing a drummer, we should each get our own drummers. The hard part was that I was still not sure if this was something I wanted to do full time, so I asked a super good friend, Claudia Rossi to cover on drums for a few months and play on the record, which she did. Claudia wanted to get “serious” with her life and quit music so she could only commit to a few months, which was perfect for me. When her time was up I got another friend to fill in until the end of the year, Noah Shain. Noah did all the hard work (touring). This entire time, the Golden Bats could not find a drummer, so Noah stared playing with them as well, even though we had planned to not share drummers. It all went full circle! After the year was up, I started to look for full time members in 2004. The orginal plan was jack-ass, but it was great to be with friends.

ND: Did you guys write all of the songs on the Up Your Ass Tray EP together?

JF: I'd written "Smoke Rings" and "My Life As A Plumber" prior to showing these guys what I wanted to do. All the other orginals were written with Lura and Ari.

ND: What made you decide to cover "Angel of the Morning"?

JF: I have a secrete life doing some voice over stuff and I do singing professionally sometimes to make extra money, and it's a song I wanted to do just to show my range. It turned out to be a cool version when everyone played on it, so we put it on the CD.

ND: And you released the CD through your own label, Little Pusher Records. Are you going to put out the full-length or any other releases on the label?

JF: Yeah. Next year, we're doing a band called The Counter from L.A. And I'm looking for other acts.

ND: Are you guys going to be working with producer Dean Menta again for the full-length next year?

JF: I don't know. Noah Shain is actually a really great producer on his own, so we might use Noah as a producer. Keep it in the family. Although Dean--I went out

with him for years. He used to be in Faith No More and he was my boyfriend and I know we work well together.

ND: Are there any bands out right now that you'd really like to play with?

JF: The Gossip. There were bands we met on Warped Tour that we really great, like Letter Kills and Eleventeen. I'd love to tour with them.  And The Used. And Turbo Negro.

ND: How was the Vans Warped Tour?

LJ: Pretty good. It was a lot of work. It was really fun, but it was a lot of work.

ND: How was audience reaction at the shows?

JF: Awesome.

ND: What musical influences do you think everybody brings to the band?

LJ: Ari and I both like a lot of late 70s, early 80s, post-punk stuff.

AS: We love The Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs.

JF: I grew up with hardcore. California hard core, like Agent Orange and Social Distortion. We make an interesting team.

LJ: Precious really likes the L.A. punk stuff, like The Screamers, Black Flag.

ND: Of all the hand gestures, what made you pick the shocker as your symbol?

JF: I had never heard of the shocker before until under a year ago. I was out with a cousin of mine, and he pointed it out. It was tattooed on some guy's arm. And he was like, "Hey, that big ass biker guy has the shocker tattooed on his arm, that's so cool." And I was like, "What is the shocker?" And he explained it to me, and I couldn't stop laughing for about eight months. I was like, "We'll just call the band The Shocker." And on the Warped Tour, tons of people would walk up, like "Oh my god, we used to do that five years ago with our fraternity" or whatever. Like it's a real alpha male thing, old fraternity brother of fucking symbol.

ND: So what should people expect when they come to the show?   

LJ: A good time!!!!!!!!

AS: We never stop moving. It's complete chaos. There's so much sweat, yelling, and crazy stuff. FUN.

ND: What do you like about playing music?

JF: I like the performance. I like the energy. I like being connected with people. It keeps me connected to the audience and other band members.

I tend to go home and isolate when I'm not in a band. When I'm playing in a band, I go see more bands too. I'm a part of something.