Lorna Doom, The Germs Bassist, Dies at 61

Lorna Doom, a founding member of the seminal Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs, has died. She was 61. Doom’s bandmate, drummer Don Bolles, confirmed her death in a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon.

“She left this mortal coil today around 1,” Bolles wrote in the comments section under the status that simply read: “Lorna.”

Born Teresa Ryan, Doom joined forces with Jan Paul Beahm (Darby Crash), guitarist Georg Ruthenberg (Pat Smear, Foo Fighters/Nirvana), and drummer Belinda Carlisle (who became known later for her work with The Go-Gos) in 1977. Bolles joined the group in 1979. Known for their high-energy, no-frills live show, The Germs released one album, “(GI),” which was produced by Joan Jett and several singles before Crash took his own life in 1980, just after the band broke up.

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The band also featured in Penelope Spheeris’ documentary on punk rock, “The Decline of Western Civilization.” A biopic on the band, “What We Do in Secret,” was released in 2007.

The Germs had reunited for several performances and tours sporadically since 2007, with their last show taking place at the Echoplex in Los Angeles in December 2013.

The Germs were instrumental in pioneering the rapid-fire hardcore punk sound. They were one of the most important early punk bands to emerge from the West Coast at a time when New York City and London were the only cities renowned at the time for punk.

Here’s Bolles’ statement:

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