Veteran punk rock drummer Jim Kimball, who performed with groups like the Laughing Hyenas and The Jesus Lizard, has passed away.
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The drummer’s current group, the post-punk band Ghost Forest, announced his death via Instagram on Wednesday.
“The world has another loss,” the band wrote alongside an image of an empty drum kit. “His fight has ended,” they continued. “Jim Kimball has passed on to the next journey this morning. You will be missed and remembered. One of the greatest drummers and great friend to many. Godspeed James.”
No cause of death was given. Kimball was 59.
This follows a post from Ghost Forest on Sunday informing fans that Kimball was in the ICU.
“We have unfortunate news to share,” began in their Sunday post. “Our brother James Kimball is not well. He has been in the ICU for a week and a half. He most likely will be heading to hospice for further care. Please send good thoughts his way. We wanted to officially share this with everyone,” the group concluded.
Kimball, from Michigan, first gained attention in the late 1980s as the drummer for the Laughing Hyenas, a band formed by John Brannon (Negative Approach) and Larissa Strickland. According to Noise, he later co-founded Mule, a raw trio signed to Quarterstick/Touch & Go, with bassist Kevin Munro. At the same time, he worked with Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard) on The Denison/Kimball Trio (DK3), an instrumental jazz and experimental project.
Jim Kimball Joins The Jesus Lizard
In the late ’90s, Kimball played drums for The Jesus Lizard on their album Blue and a 1997 EP. He later joined Firewater, led by Tod A. (formerly of Cop Shoot Cop), and recorded several albums with them. He also briefly played with U.S. Maple, a noise rock group known for their experimental style.
Meanwhile, the comments section to Ghost Forest’s announcement of Kimball’s death was filled with mourning fans.
“So sad to hear this. A toast to one of the all-time greats,” one fan wrote. “Very sad to hear this. He was an excellent human being,” a second fan added.
“I was a Hyenas fan in the 80s and saw them at the Middle East in Cambridge,” another fan wrote on a Reddit thread about Kimball’s death. “You Can’t Pray A Lie was a piledriver of an album, and as a drummer, I was in awe of the force of Jim Kimball’s playing,” they added.