Lance Hahn, RIP

I can't sleep,
A tidal wave of stress is overwhelming me,
When I finally clear my head,
It's only when I feel the world is dead,
And back at school,
I never was tough and I never was cool,
I said "A tough girl is what I need in my life",
You laughed and said: "It's no surprise"

It's no surprise,
Surprise, surprise, surprise,
It's no surprise

And back at home,
Mom and Dad were drunk or fighting, I was all alone,
I had to get away,
So I watched girl's basketball practice every single day,
Yeah it's still cool,
It's been a long time since I thought about my school,
Not like you were always on my mind,
But if you were it's no surprise

It's no surprise,
Surprise, surprise, surprise,
It's no surprise

My girlfriend,
I'm only 17 and dating a lesbian,
At times it seems so strange to me,
To know that she'll see things I’ll never see,
Yeah, it's okay,
It’s been a long time since I thought about those days,
I missed our class reunion last night,
If you did too it's no surprise,
It's no surprise,
Surprise, surprise, surprise,
It's no surprise

This makes me very sad. Lance always impressed me as a friendly and generous guy. And J Church is probably the only band that I've loved unconditionally for my entire adult life.

Hard to pick a favorite, but I always considered "November" the quintessential J Church song.

As the rain falls hard it fills the cracks on Mission Street,
There's a hole in my shoe and it’s letting water soak my feet,
I don't know why I curse the sky because it won't stop the rain,
I don't know who I'm yelling to because it won't stop the rain

As the rain fall hard it falls on the people waiting for the bus home,
No matter who you are, you feel the same when you're wet, cold and alone,
Soaked hair and dress and all the rest divided by the rain,
When you get home you're still alone reminded by the rain, rain

So I went home like I normally do and I put on something dry,
I went out to get a coffee, read a book about anarchy,
And watched the commuters walk by,
Tears from the sky, I'm satisfied that I can't stop the rain,
Can't justify, and I can't define, and I can't stop the rain, rain

We only dream to float downstream, reminded by the rain,
Tied to a tree, cannot break free, reminded by the rain

All the wrong people are dying.

I think Arbor Vitae is probably my favorite thing they put out. Lance could write heart-on-sleave lyrics so sincere that you wouldn't even think to Cringe. And lyrics angry enough to fuel a thousand Molotov Cocktails. I never met the guy but from what people say, his art was a true reflection of who he was as a person. And that shit is rare. He was a true believer, and I'm drunk and pulling out all my old j church vinyl. I got about 20 records, that's gotta be, what maybe 1/100th of their output?

...Okay. Edit: maybe The Drama of Alienation is better.

I am the undisputed king of an infinite amount of nothing,
Don’t correct me when I’m wrong,
I’m proud to wear the crown of fools

I got to meet Lance a long time ago, when Cringer were still together. I remember him being very friendly and easygoing...a friend of mine interviewed him and Kamala. Also, by chance, he happened to review the first issue of my zine for MRR way back when, and said nice things about it.

I'm sad to hear that he's gone.

"November" was one of the songs I went to when I heard the news.
I also love the beautifully tossed off gems like "Misery."

Lance was a huge inspiration to me, and one of the sweetest, truest guys involved in music.

I'm so sad.

I met Lance it seems like a lifetime ago @ the Pink House in Oakland (late 80's early 90's) he was a awesome person as are all the people that I met way back then that were putting on shows and giving traveling folks a place to crash. There will be a void in the time space continuum. All the best to all his surviving friends and family.