Alternative Press announced on their Twitter account just a few minutes ago that Jim Lindberg of Pennywise is leaving Pennywise after 20 years! This truly sucks for Pennywise fans, and I’m certainly sad to see him go. I honestly hope they don’t try to replace him with someone else but sounds like that’s going to happen. Maybe the band can change the name to something else? Rage Against the Machine to Audio Slave sort of deal? Except let’s hope the new band doesn’t sound like Audio Slave.

“After 20 years, nine albums and thousands of shows around the world, my time in Pennywise has come to an end. Being the singer for this band has been an amazing experience, and along the way we made some of the best fans anyone could ask for. There are few things that made me more proud than seeing people at our shows singing our songs, and it’s your support and encouragement that’s kept me going this long. I would sincerely like to thank everyone who helped us along the way and wish everyone in the Pennywise family the best of luck and continued success. Yours truly, Jim.”
[Altpress]

Perhaps Jim left the band to spend more time with his kids? I really don’t know, that seems like a good reason to me. He wrote a book a few years ago called “Punk Rock Dad” and now he’s working on a documentary with the same title. At least he’s not totally out of punk rock just yet.

If you want to be entertained, read Jim’s Advice Column right here at ReadJunk.com!

Update 3:30pm EST:
The members of Pennywise, Fletcher Dragge, Byron McMackin and Randy Bradbury, have issued the following statement regarding singer Jim Lindberg’s departure:

“After 19 years with Pennywise, Jim Lindberg has decided to step down as lead singer. Pennywise has long stood behind the motto that you should always follow your heart and pursue what makes you happy, and we wish Jim the best of luck in his new ventures, whatever they may be. Pennywise has become a way of life for a lot of people, and has definitely become a way of life for us. As the three remaining members of Pennywise we feel that we are not done delivering our message to our fans.

”The band has always been about moving forward in life no matter what obstacles stand in front of you. We will begin our search for a new singer immediately. We will continue to tour the world and we are looking forward to writing new music. We’ve had a lot of good times and survived the hard times thanks to the undying support of our fans. We’re looking forward to what the future may bring”
Sincerely Fletcher, Randy, and Byron