I've always been quite fond of the archetype of the rock bassist - quiet, straightforward, reliable.

It didn't surprise me to find out that Laura played the bass. For a while she'd been "that girl that lives with Ayne". But why? I asked myself. Ayne is assertive, eccentric, mysterious. She swoons for Brent Spiner as the voice of Puck in the Gargoyles cartoon. Laura is none of these things. She swoons for Brent Spiner as Data on Star Trek.

What I learned as I became friends with Ayne is that Ayne has very good taste in friends, and roommates in particular.

When Hunter and I started throwing around the idea of writing and recording some songs together freshman year, Laura was our first choice for bassist, as she met our highly demanding criterion of owning a bass.

As it turned out, she was quite good. While she never really felt confident enough to contribute to the songwriting, she sat quietly through the little passive-aggressive disputes Hunter and I would have over the music (more my fault than his), and when it came time to record her part, she'd give it as many tries as it took her, never once complaining. (Of course, the all-important final couplet of the Connan and Rangos Remix was her lyrical contribution - when she did give us an idea, it was absolute gold.)

To this day, I'm using a few bass lines she recorded in a song I'm working on - and I desperately wish she were still here to play the remaining ones which I'm trying to play myself, because frankly she blows me out of the water.

Behind that quiet exterior there are some powerful gears turning. Apart from being a science whiz, Laura always has something insightful to say. She won't say it unless you ask her, of course, but it's there nonetheless.

I've met few people more modest, kind, and intelligent. Laura, I salute you.