Formerly the guitarist in L-Seven (but not L-7, the later alt-girlcore band), Larissa Strickland joined up with former members of Negative Approach to play bass in the hardcore band Laughing Hyenas.

The music was garage-y and more melodic than most of their contemporaries, but John Brannon’s amazing vocal claws sent the band to places that no other could reach. Really, the Laughing Hyenas make it clear how little the emo/screamo bands of today have to offer.

And more than that, this was THE legendary Ann Arbor band when I was just starting to develop a musical consciousness. Where Big Chief and Getaway Cruiser had more fans locally, and certainly were more commercially successful, Laughing Hyenas were legendary. They were the band that I’d hear about at The Green Room and when I started digging into Bulb records. The Laughing Hyenas were signed to Touch and Go and were from my hometown!

But last night the news came out that Larissa Strickland had died, apparently of a Xanax overdose, which both feels ironic and unfortunate. I haven’t been able to find much on the web about it yet, but I hope that her family is doing well. I never got to see the Laughing Hyenas and always wanted to, though I’ve seen Easy Action (Brannon’s new band) a couple of times, and they’re OK.

I’ve added  “Playground,” a pretty representative track from their album Merry Go Round, but I can only imagine what chaos they must have been like live…