Janitor Joe

Emerging from the Minneapolis noise-alt underground in 1991, Janitor Joe first assembled around guitarist-vocalist Joachim Breuer, drummer Matt Entsminger, and bassist Kristen Pfaff. The trio quickly aligned with Amphetamine Records and released its four-song debut EP, Big Metal Birds, the following year. During a 1993 performance, Hole’s Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson recruited Pfaff to fill their vacant bass chair, prompting her departure. Janitor Joe recruited Wayne Davis as her successor, and he appeared on the band’s sole album, Lucky, issued in 1994 before the group disbanded. Breuer and Entsminger subsequently launched Gnomes of Zurich, which surfaced with the 1997 release 33rd Degree Burns. Pfaff’s sole recording with Hole remained the 1994 album Live Through This; she died of a heroin overdose on June 16, 1994, shortly after rejoining Janitor Joe for a European tour.