Janitor Joe

'90s noise-alt group Janitor Joe is best-known as the original band of late bassist Kristen Pfaff, who would go on to join Courtney Love in Hole. Originally comprised of members Joachim Breuer (guitar, vocals), Matt Entsminger (drums), and Pfaff, Janitor Joe was formed in Minneapolis during 1991. The trio signed with the Amphetamine label shortly thereafter, issuing a debut four-track EP in 1992, Big Metal Birds. In 1993, Love and Eric Erlandson from Hole caught a Janitor Joe show and immediately offered Pfaff the open bass slot for their band, which she accepted. Janitor Joe soldiered on with a replacement bassist, Wayne Davis, who played on the group's lone full-length release, 1994's Lucky, before splitting up. Both Breuer and Entsminger went on to form a new outfit, Gnomes of Zurich, who issued a recording in 1997, 33rd Degree Burns. Pfaff only appeared on one Hole album, 1994's Live Through This, before dying from a heroin overdose on June 16, 1994. (Just prior to her death, Pfaff temporarily rejoined Janitor Joe for a European tour).
© Greg Prato /TiVo