Sam Jayne, the frontman of indie rock band Love As Laughter, has been found dead, the NYPD confirmed to Billboard on Wednesday (Dec. 16). He was 46.
A little after 2:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 15, law enforcement responded to a 911 call about an unconscious individual. “Upon arrival, police observed an unidentified, unconscious and unresponsive male laying in the back of the vehicle,” NYPD spokesperson Sophia Mason told Billboard in a statement, noting that the man has been identified as the musician. “EMS pronounced the male deceased at the scene.”
The medical examiner has not yet determined a cause of death, and police say the investigation is ongoing.
Jayne’s Love As Laughter bandmate Zeke Howard also confirmed the news on Instagram. “The search for Sam Jayne has concluded and our hearts are broken,” Howard wrote late Tuesday night. “Our dear Sam is no longer with us but his memory and impact will endure.”
In the days leading up to the New York-based musician’s death, friends had shared their concern for him on social media, saying they had not been able to find or contact him in days. Many also shared missing persons posters in an effort to find Jayne.
As news of his death spread, Jayne’s fellow musicians remembered him on social media.
“Rest In Peace, Sam. You didn’t know it but you were an elusive and formatively inspiring hero to me and you touched so many of the lives of the people we love,” Robin Pecknold of Seattle’s Fleet Foxes shared on Instagram.
“There’s not a single bad word I can say about him,” The Moldy Peaches’ Kimya Dawson captioned an Instagram photo of Jayne, whom she befriended while the two were living in Olympia, Wash., in the early ’90s. In her lengthy post, she went on to share some of their adventures together, before ending her post about how much she used to enjoy his hugs. “I am so sad I won’t feel one of those hugs again but feel lucky that I had him in my life during those different wild times. I will miss my friend forever.”
Jayne, who was born in Olympia, formed Love As Laughter in 1994 after his band Lync broke up. Love As Laughter released several albums on Sub Pop.
