[citation needed] Finneran gained critical acclaim and radio success with his band the Ex-Idols, known for their single "Go Away", the 1993 Pill Popper EP, and 1994 Social Kill full-length CD (Relativity Records).
[1] Tuscaurora's 2000 album Malnutrition Headache showed the range of pop/rock/punk influences that melded in Finneran's songwriting style, and in his singing, which varied from raw volatile emotion to beautifully original melodic lines.
In 2009, after a long, troubled history with alcohol, Finneran was found dead in a hotel room in Van Nuys, a victim of his own suicide.
[2] His Ex-Idols bandmate Duke Decter called Finneran, "one of the best punk-influenced songwriters in American rock & roll.
Duke Decter (of The Ex-Idols), Nick Lane, and Anne Kadrovich (both of Tuscaurora) would compile and give out a cd entitled "Goodbye" at this service which would contain many of Gary's songs written about death from across his many bands.