Flipper vocalist Bruce Loose dies at 66

Bruce Loose, original co-lead and eventual sole lead vocalist of the highly influential noise punk band Flipper, has died at age 66. The band shared the sad news on Facebook, and Stereogum points to an Instagram post from Who Cares Anyway SF that says that Bruce passed away from “an apparent heart attack” after “a prolonged struggle with life.”

Bruce took part in a few of the Flipper reunions that occurred in the years following their initial 1987 breakup, but after decades of back problems caused by a broken back in 1994, he found performing to be increasingly difficult and eventually left the band for good in 2015. Other surviving members of Flipper continued the band with The Jesus Lizard’s David Yow on vocals and then with the Minutemen’s Mike Watt on bass and vocals.

Most famously, Flipper were a huge influence on Nirvana. Kurt Cobain included their 1982 debut LP Album – Generic Flipper in his list of his 50 favorite albums of all time, and his homemade Flipper shirt is about as iconic as the album itself. Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic went on to play bass for the band in the 2000s and recorded an album of new material with them, 2009’s Love. Krist also contributed liner notes to the 2006 reissue of Generic Flipper.

Rest in peace, Bruce. Your massive impact lives on.