A hard-drinking rock band from the rural community of Ellensburg, near Seattle, USA, the Screaming Trees blended 60s music (the Beach Boys being an obvious reference point) with psychotic, pure punk rage. Not to be confused with the Sheffield, England synthesizer band of the same name who were also operational in the mid-80s, brothers Gary Lee Conner (b. 22 August 1962, Fort Irwin, California, USA; guitar) and Van Conner (b. 17 March 1967, Apple Valley, California, USA; bass) are among the largest men in rock, rivalled in their girth only by fellow Seattle heavyweights Poison Idea. The rest of the line-up comprised Mark Lanegan (b. 25 November 1964, Ellensburg, Washington, USA; vocals) and Barrett Martin (b. 14 April 1967, Olympia, Washington, USA; drums - replacing original incumbent Mark Pickerell in 1991). Even If And Especially When, the best of three strong albums for SST Records, included notable compositions such as the live favourite "Transfiguration", which typified the band's blend of punk aggression and 60s mysticism. Major label debut Uncle Anaesthesia brought production from Terry Date and Soundgarden's Chris Cornell.
By the time Screaming Trees moved to Epic Records they had embraced what one Melody Maker journalist called "unashamed 70s Yankee rock", straddled by bursts of punk spite. Lanegan had by now released a solo, largely acoustic album, The Winding Sheet, for Sub Pop Records in 1990. This affecting, intensely personal collection included a cover version of Lead Belly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", which Kurt Cobain would later employ as the trump card in Nirvana's MTV Unplugged session. Other extra-curricular activities included Gary Lee Conner's Purple Outside project, and his brother Van fronted Solomon Grundy (one album each in 1990). After four years they returned with Dust, a comparatively mellow and highly commercial album. The mellowness was induced by Lanegan's friendship with the late Kurt Cobain, and reflected in the lethargic "Look At You", although the album's mantric "All I Know" and "Make My Mind" dispelled any accusation of wallowing in self-pity. Lanegan subsequently concentrated on his increasingly successful and acclaimed solo career, and the Screaming Trees officially disbanded in 2000.
