“Stump” Cringer
Lance Hahn died last week of kidney diseaase. I never met Lance and unfortunately never saw him perform live with Cringer, his first band, or J Church his other band/project that he continued working with up until his death. I never saw Lance rock, and never had a chance to talk to him about the zines I was reading or the turds I was shitting; but I feel like I still lost a friend. Cringer helped me through my adolescence with finely crafted pop punk tunes about not giving in to the desire to push one’s fist through a brick wall or jump into a bed filled with stakes. I know that statement sounds a bit off kilter to the ear, but then again, if you’ve ever listened to a solid Cringer song like “Stump” or “Two Friends” or “Cocktail Molotov” you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
You’ll know that it’s okay to be 34, and still not have a clue how to define words like media, and why old guys begging for change on 33rd street make your guts feel clammy. When I lived at Redwood in Kalamazoo, circa ‘94, Tony Party would come over and throw on “Stump”, and that always made me smile. Tony loved that song so much, to the point that I would question him, and say, “Hey Tony — how about throwing on something new, like some Chino Horde or Pinhead Gunpowder. And he would say, “fuck that — this song is too good — everything else can wait.” I couldn’t argue. To this day, the song still evokes sharp bursts of energy in my drawers.
“I don’t know why”… “It’s something I won’t try again”.
Fast guitar. Fast singing. Fast life. Damn, Lance I sure am sorry you’re not around. We lost a good one.
