Laura Beard

Laura Beard (6 October 1979, El Paso — 23 March 1997, Fabens, El Paso County, Texas) was an American bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder of post-hardcore/emo/punk band The Fall On Deaf Ears in 1996 with Cedric Bixler-Zavala of At The Drive-In and Clint Newsom (from Rhythm Of Black Lines and The Hades Kick). Laura extensively collaborated with her lifelong friend, Sarah Reiser, who played guitar in the FODE. One of their earliest joint projects, Rope, became the first "all-women" band to reach acclaim on the predominantly male West Texas punk scene. Laura and Sarah played in other local bands and published a feminist "riot grrrl" zine, Femme Fatale, together. They died in a single car accident at only 17; Bixler and Newsom posthumously published surviving material and dedicated a few songs and records to them. Beard grew up in El Paso, where she began making music with her childhood friend, Sarah Reiser, in the early teens. They co-founded "Rope" and joined "The Glitter Girls," an all-girl punk group formed by Laura's classmate, Kristin Woodward; she invited Clint Newsom, whose cousin Amanda also joined this band, to one of the practices, where he met and befriended Laura and Sarah. As Rope began gaining traction on the local El Paso scene, two friends met Cedric Bixler-Zavala, a prolific drummer and vocalist who co-founded several bands, such as Foss, the Dregtones, and, most notably, At The Drive-In. Laura and Sarah contributed backing vocals on the ATDI's second 7" single, ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo!, which came out on Cedric's label Western Breed Records in 1995 and soon began playing with him. Clint Newsom joined shortly after, and they established The Fall On Deaf Ears. The band only lasted for several months but was productive, extensively performing live; in May 1996, FODE recorded a five-song demo tape with Mike Major at Rosewood Studios. They disbanded amicably by the late Fall, playing the last show at The Rugburn in El Paso. In early 1997, Laura again started to make music with Sarah, singing and playing acoustic guitars. The newly-formed duo gave one concert, opening for Long Hind Legs and Thrones. They died in a car accident returning home from Austin to El Paso, rolling over and crashing in the ditch near Fabens, Texas — merely 20 miles away from their destination. (The third passenger in the car reportedly survived.) Buried at Memory Gardens of the Valley in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Laura Beard and Sarah Reiser lay under the same tombstone, decorated with a guitar and a ribbon that reads: "Best friends." The same year, Clint Newsom and Cedric Bixler released a commemorative In Memory 1979- 1997 7" split on Western Breed, featuring Rope and two FODE tracks on the B-side. The ATDI's third single, El Gran Orgo, and the 7" split by Ex Impetus and Egon were both dedicated to Sarah and Laura. (Cedric Bixler later wrote the song about the tragic loss, "Napoleon Solo," on ATDI's second album, In/Casino/Out.) In 2002, Newsom arranged a self-titled CD EP release by Fall on Deaf Ears, featuring the band's May 1996 demo, on Post-Parlo Records based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.