Jason Matthew Thirsk (December 25, 1967 – July 29, 1996) was the bass player of the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

punk rock band Pennywise from 1988 through his death in 1996. He grew up in

Hermosa Beach, California Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. The c ...

. Pennywise was formed in 1988 by Thirsk along with singer

Jim Lindberg James William Lindberg (born July 26, 1965) is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the 1980s, when he played in local bands in his early career, he is best known as the songwriter and lead singer of the punk rock band Pennywise, w ...

, guitarist Fletcher Dragge, and drummer Byron McMackin. Thirsk reportedly did not like to travel. Thirsk had been in rehabilitation for

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

and suffered from depression.

Death and legacy

At the age of 28, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His girlfriend discovered his body approximately a day after his death. The band decided to continue making music after Thirsk's death, first by dedicating their performances to him at Warped Tour 1996. They later brought in bass guitarist

Randy Bradbury Randy Bradbury (born September 20, 1964) is the current bass guitar player for the Californian punk band Pennywise. He joined in October 1996 when founding bass player Jason Thirsk took a leave of absence to go to rehab for alcohol addiction. Br ...

from

One Hit Wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

. The band then set about writing an album of new material which was made up of mostly anti- suicide messages. One of Pennywise's most popular songs, "Bro Hymn", was originally written by Thirsk as a tribute to three of his friends: Tim Colvin, Carlos Canton, who died in a motorcycle accident, and Tom Nichols, who drowned at Hermosa Beach Pier in 1988. The band re-recorded the song after his death as a tribute to their fallen bandmate, replacing the line "Canton, Colvin, Nichols, this one's for you" with "Jason Matthew Thirsk, this one's for you", and renaming the track "Bro Hymn Tribute". It appears as the final track on Full Circle and a live version can also be found on '' Live @ the Key Club'', released in 2000. Justin Thirsk, Jason's brother and drummer from 98 Mute, appears on the re-recording, both on drums and vocals.

Thirsk's Pennywise discography

* '' A Word From the Wise'' (1989, EP) * ''

Wildcard Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

'' (1989, EP) * '' Pennywise'' (1991) * '' A Word from the Wise/Wildcard'' (1992, compilation of the EPs) * ''

Unknown Road ''Unknown Road'' is the second studio album by American punk rock band Pennywise, released on August 17, 1993, through Epitaph Records. After frontman Jim Lindberg briefly left the band during touring in support of its previous album, '' Pennywi ...

'' (1993) * '' About Time'' (1995) * '' Yesterdays'' (2014) *Contains previously unrecorded compositions by Thirsk. and see also * ''

No Heroes ''No Heroes'' is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band Converge, released on October 24, 2006 by Epitaph Records. The album was produced by guitarist Kurt Ballou, and the artwork was created by vocalist Jacob Bannon. ''No Heroes'' re ...

'' (1996) Humble Gods (This was the last official recording to ever feature Jason Thirsk). * '' Full Circle'' (1997, dedicated to him, also includes his own lyrics)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thirsk, Jason American rock bass guitarists Guitarists from California Suicides by firearm in California 1967 births 1996 suicides American punk rock musicians 20th-century American bass guitarists American male bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 1996 deaths