Screaming Trees

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Background information
Origin	Ellensburg, Washington, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Neo-Psychedelia Grunge
Years active	1985–2000
Label(s)	Velvetone Records SST Records Sub Pop Epic Records
Associated acts	Queens of the Stone Age Purple Outside Solomon Grundy Dinosaur Jr. Gardener Valis Musk Ox Truly The Dark Fantastic Mark Pickerel And His Praying Hands Skin Yard Nirvana Mad Season Tuatara R.E.M.
Members
Mark Lanegan Gary Lee Conner Van Conner Mark Pickerel Barrett Martin

Screaming Trees was a musical group considered part of the grunge music movement of the early 1990s. Founded in Ellensburg, Washington in 1985, their sound was a mixture of arty '60s psychedelia and west-coast punk rock. Though highly regarded among critics, they never achieved the superstardom of other grunge acts such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam. They disbanded after touring for their last record, Dust, released in 1996.

1 History
2 Band Members
- 2.1 Former members
- 2.2 Touring members
3 Discography
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 1985-1986: Formation

Brothers Van Conner and Gary Lee Conner formed Screaming Trees with Mark Lanegan in 1985. Lanegan and the Conners grew up in Ellensburg, WA, a small college-town some 90 miles from Seattle. The trio believed themselves to be the only people in their high school who listened to punk, garage rock, and independent music, so they gravitated toward each other. After falling out with the Conners before either completed school, Lanegan contacted Van Conner several years later. By that point, Van had a band with a singer named Mark Pickerel; the pair had recently kicked Lee Conner out of the band, so they invited Lanegan to sit in on drums. Eventually, Lee re-joined the group and they settled on a lineup that featured Lee on guitar, Van on bass, Lanegan on vocals, and Pickerel on drums.

Taking their name from a guitar distortion pedal, Screaming Trees recorded their first demo tape in 1985, just a few months after their formation. Their producer, Steve Fisk, was able to convince the head of Velvetone Studios to release an album by the band. The result, Clairvoyance, appeared on Velvetone Records in 1986.

[edit] 1986-1990: Early Releases

Early Screaming Trees with Mark Pickerel

With Clairvoyance in hand, Fisk was able to secure Screaming Trees a contract with Greg Ginn's SST Records, who had already been releasing albums by Fisk. The band's first SST album, Even If and Especially When, was released in 1987 and the Trees began working the dying American indie circuit, playing shows across the country. The following year, SST reissued the band's demo tape under the title Other Worlds as well as their third album, Invisible Lantern. Following the release of Buzz Factory in 1989, the group's contract with SST expired and they made the Change Has Come EP for Sub Pop early the following year. By that time, tensions in the band had grown somewhat, and the group spent most of 1990 working on side projects. Mark Lanegan recorded a solo album, The Winding Sheet, which featured support from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic; the album appeared on Sub Pop. Both of the Conners formed new bands and released albums on the SST subsidiary New Alliance. Van's band was called Solomon Grundy; Lee's was Purple Outside.

[edit] 1990-1996: Major Label Debut

By the end of 1990, the band had signed a major-label contract with Epic Records. Screaming Trees reconvened to record their Epic debut, Uncle Anesthesia, with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Terry Date as producers. Uncle Anesthesia appeared in early 1991 and, although it sold better than their previous efforts, the band remained a cult act. For much of the year, in fact, Van Conner was on hiatus from the band, choosing to tour as bassist with Dinosaur Jr. instead, with Donna Dresch filling in for him during shows. Late in 1991, Nirvana's Nevermind became an unexpected commercial success, opening the gates for the rest of the Seattle scene. Where many of their peers were able to capitalize on that success, Screaming Trees suffered more setbacks than the rest. Before they began work on their follow-up to Uncle Anesthesia, Pickerel left the group and was replaced by Barrett Martin. Once Martin joined, the band finished "Nearly Lost You," their contribution to the Singles soundtrack, and their 1992 album Sweet Oblivion. "Nearly Lost You" became a MTV and alternative radio hit in the fall of 1992, thanks to the momentum of the Singles soundtrack. The single carried Sweet Oblivion -- which had received more press attention than any previous Screaming Trees album -- to the group's strongest sales, peaking at over 300,000 copies. The band supported Sweet Oblivion with a year-long tour, during which they fought frequently. After the tour was finished, the group decided to take an extended hiatus. During that time, Lanegan recorded his second solo album, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, which was released in 1994.

Screaming Trees in 1996 with Barrett Martin

That same year, Martin drummed in the Layne Staley and Mike McCready side project Mad Season, (which also featured Lanegan on vocals on two songs, both of which he received a writing credit for) which released its only album in the spring of 1995. In early 1995, Screaming Trees regrouped to begin work on their follow-up to Sweet Oblivion. Following one still-born attempt at the album, the band hired George Drakoulias, who had previously worked with the Black Crowes and the Jayhawks, as producer. The resulting album, Dust, was released in the summer of 1996, nearly four years after its predecessor. Dust was greeted with positive reviews, and its first single, "All I Know," became a moderate hit on modern rock radio. Still, the album didn't sell particularly well, even though the band supported the record by touring with 1996's Lollapalooza. During this time, from 1996 to 1998, the band included guitarist Josh Homme, a former member of the band Kyuss. Following the Dust tour, Screaming Trees took another hiatus, with Lanegan beginning work on his third solo album, Scraps at Midnight, which was released in 1998. When Lanegan completed another solo project the following year, I'll Take Care of You, it seemed to confirm that the Trees' strained relationships would make it impossible for the band to continue. Following a June 25, 2000, concert to celebrate the opening Seattle's Experience Music Project, the group unsurprisingly announced their official breakup.

[edit] 1996-Present: Post-breakup

All members have moved on to other musical projects. Lanegan has released several highly acclaimed solo recordings, and was a part-time member of Queens of the Stone Age. Lanegan released Bubblegum, his latest solo album in August of 2004, and is working with former The Afghan Whigs leader Greg Dulli in a new project named The Gutter Twins as well as on-going collaborations under the Twilight Singers name. In 2006, he released a collaboration with former Belle & Sebastian cellist Isobel Campbell entitled Ballad Of The Broken Seas to great critical acclaim.

Van Conner formed the band VALIS in 1998 with Dan Peters (of Mudhoney), Patrick Conner and Kurt Danielson. The group is currently on Small Stone Records and has released 4 albums. VALIS/Kitty Kitty, Vast Active Living Intelligence System, Head Full of Pills and 2005's Champions of Magic. After Dan and Kurt left the group they were replaced with Sean Hollister, Wes Weresch and Adrian Makins.

[edit] Band Members

Mark Lanegan - vocals
Gary Lee Conner - guitar
Van Conner - bass
Barrett Martin - drums (1991-2000)

[edit] Former members

Mark Pickerel - drums (1985-1991)

[edit] Touring members

Donna Dresch - bass (1988, 1991)
Sean Hollister - drums (1991)
Josh Homme - guitar (1996-1998)
Dan Peters - drums (1991)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Album Cover	Date of Release	Title	Label	Type
	1985	Other Worlds	Velvetone Records	EP
	1986	Clairvoyance	Velvetone Records	Studio Album
	1987	Even If and Especially When	SST Records	Studio Album
	1988	Invisible Lantern	SST Records	Studio Album
	1988	Beat Happening/Screaming Trees EP	Homestead Records, K Records	EP
	1989	Buzz Factory	SST Records	Studio Album
	1990	Change Has Come	Sub Pop	EP
	1990	Something About Today	Epic Records	EP
	1991	Uncle Anesthesia	Epic Records	Studio Album
	1991	Anthology: SST Years 1985-1989	SST Records	Greatest Hits
	1992	Sweet Oblivion	Epic Records	Studio Album
	1996	Dust	Epic Records	Studio Album
	2001	Nearly Lost You	Sony	Greatest Hits
	2005	Ocean of Confusion: Songs of Screaming Trees 1989-1996	Epic Records	Greatest Hits

[edit] Singles

Year	Title	Label
1992	Dollar Bill	Epic Records
1993	Nearly Lost You	Epic Records
1993	Shadow Of The Season	Epic Records
1993	Butterfly	Epic Records
1996	All I Know	Epic Records
1996	Sworn & Broken	Epic Records

[edit] Compilation/Soundtrack contributions

Year	Title	Label
1988	"Love Or Confusion" on Sub Pop 200	Sub Pop Records
1990	Tales Of Brave Ulysses on Taste Test #1	New Alliance
1990	"Psycho" on Here Ain't The Sonics: A Tribute To The Sonics	Estrus/PopLlama Records
1991	"Yard Trip #7" on SST Acoustic	SST Records
1991	"Change Has Come" on The Grunge Years	Sub Pop Records
1992	"Nearly Lost You" on the Singles Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Epic Records
1993	"Ocean Of Confusion" on Thrash And Burn	Risky Business/Sony
1994	"Darkness Darkness" on the True Lies Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Epic Records
1994	"What Goes On" on Fifteen Minutes: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground	Imaginary Records UK
1995	"Working Class Hero" on Working Class HerO: A Tribute To John Lennon	Hollywood Records

[edit] Chart Positions

Year	Title	Chart positions			Album
Year	Title	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK Singles	Album
1991	"Bed of Roses"	#23	-	-	Uncle Anesthesia
1993	"Nearly Lost You"	#5	#12	#50	Sweet Oblivion
1993	"Dollar Bill"	#28	#40	#52	Sweet Oblivion
1996	"All I Know"	#9	#9	-	Dust
1996	"Dying Days"	#27	-	-	Dust