Laughing Hyenas was an American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that existed from 1985 to 1995, fronted by Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon. According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, "At first, the band specialized in dirges overlaid with the tortuous, throat-shredding vocals of frontman John Brannon. As time passed, their blues connections became more and more explicit".

History

Laughing Hyenas formed in 1985 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Brannon (previously of Negative Approach), guitarist Larissa Strickland (aka Larissa Stolarchuk, previously of L-Seven), drummer Jim Kimball and bassist Kevin Strickland (aka Kevin Munro). Following an eponymous 1986 demo cassette, they released their debut EP, '' Come Down to the Merry Go Round'' in 1987 on

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. To ...

. The band released their first studio album, ''

You Can't Pray a Lie ''You Can't Pray a Lie'' is the debut studio album of American garage rock band Laughing Hyenas. It was released in 1989 by Touch and Go Records. It was reissued in 1992 accompanied with ''Life of Crime''. Critical reception ''Trouser Press'' p ...

'', in 1989. '' Life of Crime'' followed in 1990, both recorded by future

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...

producer

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album '' N ...

. Later that year, the original rhythm section of Kimball and Kevin Strickland left the Hyenas and teamed up with P.W. Long to form Mule. In 1991, they recorded an

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

song for the

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

singles club tribute to Cooper. After their departure, former Necros members Todd Swalla (drums) and Kevin Ries (bass) joined the band, which released the '' Crawl'' EP in 1992. Ries was later replaced by another Necros bassist, Ron Sakowski, Laughing Hyenas Biography llmusic (accessed 1 June 2008) Huey, Steve. who appeared on their third and final album, ''

Hard Times Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

'' (1995). The band self-released a covers EP, ''Covers: Stolen Tapes 92 to 94'' that same year, before splitting. Brannon later formed the American band, Easy Action, and reunited with Negative Approach. Larissa Strickland died on October 8, 2006, at the age of 46, from a drug overdose in North Port, Florida.Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
- accessed August 2010

Former members

* John Brannon –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

(1985–1995) * Larissa Strickland (Larissa Stolarchuk) –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

(1985–1995) * Jim Kimball –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(1985–1990) * Kevin Strickland (Kevin Munro) –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

(1985–1990) * Todd Swalla – drums (1990–1995) * Kevin Ries – bass guitar (1990–1994) * Ron Sakowski – bass guitar (1994–1995)

Discography

Studio albums

*''Merry go Round'' (1987, Touch And Go Records) – 1995 Re-issue *''

'' (1989,

) *'' Life of Crime'' (1990, Touch and Go Records) *''

'' (1995, Touch and Go Records)

Singles and EPs

*''Laughing Hyenas'' demo cassette EP (1986, self-released) *'' Come Down to the Merry Go Round'' EP (1987, Touch and Go Records) *"Here We Go Again" 7-inch EP (1987, Touch and Go Records) *'' Crawl'' EP (1992, Touch and Go Records) *''Covers: Stolen Tapes 92 to 94'' EP (1995, self-released)

Compilation albums

*''Life of Crime/You Can't Pray a Lie'' (1990, Touch and Go Records)

Compilation appearances

*"Dedications to the One I Love (Live)" on ''Howl 7'' EP (1990, Howl) *"Public Animal #9" (

cover) on ''Alice Cooper Tribute'' EP (1991,

Sub Pop Records Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB Computing and technology * , an HTML tag for subscript * SUB designate ...

) *"Candy" on ''Mesomorph Enduros'' (1992, Big Cat) *"Solid Gold Hell" (

The Scientists The Scientists is a post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as the Exterminators and then the Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydn ...

cover) on ''Set It on Fire!'' (1993, Dog Meat) *"Shine" on '' Jabberjaw...Pure Sweet Hell '' (1996, Mammoth Records) *"Just Can't Win" on ''American Pie 2'' (1996, Rubber Records)

References

External links

Band's biography / discography
*

Allmusic entry on Laughing Hyenas AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

br>Trouser Press entry on Laughing HyenasLaughing Hyenas Website on Touch and Go RecordsOfficial 1988 Tour Diary
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Michigan Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical quartets Punk blues musical groups Touch and Go Records artists 1985 establishments in Michigan Third Man Records artists Musicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan