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 been ...

band from

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, that existed from 1985 to 1995, fronted by Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon. According to AllMusic, "At first, the band specialized in dirges overlaid with the tortuous, throat-shredding vocals of frontman John Brannon. As time passed, their

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

connections became more and more explicit".

History

Laughing Hyenas formed in 1985 in

. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Brannon (previously of Negative Approach), guitarist Larissa Strickland (aka Larissa Stolarchuk, previously of L-Seven), drummer

Jim Kimball Jim Kimball is an American punk drummer. His former bands include noise-punk band Laughing Hyenas, Mule, and The Jesus Lizard, as well as The Denison/Kimball Trio (which contains only Kimball and fellow ex-Jesus Lizard Duane Denison). Kimball a ...

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 ''Come Down to the Merry Go Round'' is an Extended play, EP by garage rock band Laughing Hyenas. It was released in 1987 on Touch and Go Records. It was reissued in 1995 accompanied with five bonus tracks. Track listing Personnel Adapted ...

'' 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. Tou ...

. 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 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 ''Neve ...

. 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 The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

. In 1991, they recorded an Alice Cooper 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 often ...

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 Laughter is a Pleasure, pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the Thoracic diaphragm, diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or ...

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

–

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

(1985–1990) * Kevin Strickland (Kevin Munro) – bass guitar (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) *''

'' 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" ( Alice Cooper cover) on ''Alice Cooper Tribute'' EP (1991, Sub Pop Records) *"Candy" on ''Mesomorph Enduros'' (1992, Big Cat) *"Solid Gold Hell" ( The Scientists 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