SCREAMING TREES - SWEET OBLIVION

Screaming Trees were an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bassist Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel was replaced by Barrett Martin in 1991. The band was associated with the grunge movement, while its music also incorporated elements of hard rock and psychedelic rock. After releasing a series of EPs and albums on independent labels during the 1980s, Screaming Trees signed with Epic Records in 1990. Their major-label debut, "Uncle Anesthesia", was released in 1991 and produced their first charting single, "Bed of Roses". Following Martin's arrival as drummer, the band released "Sweet Oblivion" in 1992. The album became their most commercially successful release. Its single "Dollar Bill" received radio airplay, while "Nearly Lost You" reached No. 5 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, No. 12 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 96 on the ARIA Chart. After an extended hiatus and several recording sessions, Screaming Trees released "Dust" in 1996. Its lead single "All I Know" reached No. 9 on both the Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, although the album did not achieve the same level of commercial success as "Sweet Oblivion". Following difficulties recording another album, the band announced their breakup in 2000. Recordings made during the late 1990s were subsequently released in 2011 as "Last Words: The Final Recordings". Lanegan died in 2022 at the age of 57, while Van Conner died in 2023 at the age of 55. The Conner brothers formed Screaming Trees with Lanegan and Pickerel in Ellensburg in 1984. The members had developed an interest in punk, garage rock and classic rock while attending high school. The band rehearsed at the Conner family's video rental store and recorded a demo tape, "Other Worlds", with Steve Fisk at Creative Fire recording studio in Ellensburg in the summer of 1985. The recording was initially distributed by K Records and subsequently received a wider release through Velvetone Records, an independent label also based in Ellensburg. In 1986, the band released its debut studio album, "Clairvoyance", on Velvetone. The album combined psychedelic rock and hard rock with the band's earlier influences. With Fisk's assistance, the album attracted the attention of Greg Ginn, and Screaming Trees subsequently signed with SST Records. In 1987, Screaming Trees released "Even If and Especially When", their second studio album and first release for SST. The band subsequently toured the United States, performing alongside other SST artists including Firehose and Meat Puppets. In early 1988, Screaming Trees collaborated with the indie pop band Beat Happening on the EP "Beat Happening/Screaming Trees". Later that year, SST released "Invisible Lantern" and reissued "Other Worlds". The band released "Buzz Factory" in 1989. Difficulties surrounding the release and promotion of the album contributed to the band's departure from SST following its subsequent tour. Towards the end of 1989, Screaming Trees briefly joined the roster of Sub Pop. The label released the EP "Change Has Come" in December 1989. Fisk produced part of the EP, while Jack Endino produced the remainder. Pickerel later described the recording as the band's best-recorded work up to that point. In 1990, Screaming Trees signed with Epic Records. Their first album for the label, "Uncle Anesthesia", was released in 1991. The album was produced by Terry Date and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell and included "Bed of Roses", which received airplay on alternative rock radio stations and reached No. 23 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was the band's first release to appear on a chart. Although "Uncle Anesthesia" sold more copies than the band's previous releases, Screaming Trees remained primarily a cult act. Following the release of "Uncle Anesthesia", Van Conner temporarily left the band to tour as bassist with Dinosaur Jr. Donna Dresch performed with Screaming Trees during this period. In late 1991, Nirvana's "Nevermind" achieved unexpected commercial success, contributing to increased international attention for bands associated with the Seattle music scene. Barrett Martin replaced Pickerel as drummer, and the new lineup recorded "Sweet Oblivion" in 1992. The album included "Nearly Lost You", which received substantial exposure through MTV and alternative radio following its inclusion on the soundtrack of the film "Singles". "Nearly Lost You" reached No. 5 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, No. 12 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, No. 96 on the ARIA Chart and No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the band's first single to chart outside the United States. "Dollar Bill" was also released as a single, reaching No. 28 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 40 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Sweet Oblivion" sold approximately 300,000 copies in the United States. Screaming Trees performed at the Reading Festival in the United Kingdom on August 30, 1992, on the final day of the festival, which was headlined by Nirvana. The band also performed at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark in 1992, where Nirvana also headlined. The band toured extensively in support of "Sweet Oblivion", during which tensions developed among the members. After the tour, Screaming Trees took an extended hiatus. During this period, Lanegan recorded his second solo album, "Whiskey for the Holy Ghost", which was released in 1994. In 1995, he contributed vocals to Mad Season, a side project involving Barrett Martin, Layne Staley and Mike McCready. Lanegan co-wrote and performed on two songs. Mad Season released one studio album before attempts to continue the project were affected by Staley's declining health and the death of bassist John Baker Saunders in 1999. A proposed continuation with Lanegan as lead vocalist under the name "Disinformation" did not materialise. In 2013, a deluxe edition of Mad Season's album included three recordings from the "Disinformation" sessions with new lyrics and vocals by Lanegan. In early 1995, Screaming Trees toured Australia for the first and only time as part of the Big Day Out festival. The band then began work on a follow-up to "Sweet Oblivion". After an unsuccessful attempt to record the album, the band hired producer George Drakoulias, who had previously worked with the Black Crowes and the Jayhawks. The resulting album, "Dust", was released in 1996, almost four years after "Sweet Oblivion". It reached No. 134 on the Billboard 200, No. 32 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 39 on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart. "Dust" received generally favourable reviews. The single "Sworn and Broken" reached No. 76 on the UK Singles Chart, while "All I Know" reached No. 9 on both the Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. The album did not match the sales of "Sweet Oblivion". After its release, Josh Homme, formerly of Kyuss, joined the band as a rhythm guitarist. Following the United States tour supporting "Dust", Screaming Trees again took a hiatus while Lanegan worked on his third solo album, "Scraps at Midnight", released in 1998. The band returned to the studio in 1999 and recorded several demos, including "Ash Grey Sunday", but was unable to secure a record deal for the material. In early 2000, the band performed several unannounced shows in an attempt to attract interest from record labels. The song "One Way Conversation" was subsequently released through the Musicblitz Records internet label. Following a concert celebrating the opening of Seattle's Experience Music Project in 2000, Screaming Trees announced their breakup. On June 22, 2011, it was announced that an unreleased album recorded by Screaming Trees in 1998 and 1999 would be released. Titled "Last Words: The Final Recordings", the album was mixed by Jack Endino and Martin. It was released digitally on Martin's Sunyata Productions label on August 2, 2011, followed by CD and vinyl editions. In 2021, Lanegan described his time with Screaming Trees as an important part of his development as a singer. He died at his home in Killarney, Ireland, on February 22, 2022. Gary Lee Conner announced on January 18, 2023 that Van Conner had died at the age of 55. Conner had previously been in a coma following stomach surgery and had subsequently contracted COVID-19. Pneumonia was reported as the cause of death. On Black Friday in 2023, "Wrong Turn to Jahannam: Live From Egg Studio 1991" was released. The album consisted of a previously unreleased in-studio rehearsal session recorded while Dan Peters of Mudhoney was serving as a touring drummer for the band. Following the breakup of Screaming Trees, the former members pursued various musical projects. Mark Lanegan released the solo album "Field Songs" in 2001. That year, he also became a member of Queens of the Stone Age, alongside Josh Homme. Lanegan recorded two albums with the group as one of its three vocalists before leaving in late 2005. His sixth solo album, "Bubblegum", was released in 2004 and became his highest-selling solo album and his first to chart. He subsequently worked with Greg Dulli in the Gutter Twins and the Twilight Singers. Lanegan also collaborated with Isobel Campbell on several albums, including "Ballad of the Broken Seas", which was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize. Gary Lee Conner formed the bands Purple Outside and Microdot Gnome, in which he performed as vocalist. He also worked as a session musician. In 1999, he released the single "Grasshopper's Daydream/Behind the Smile" on Sub Pop. The recording featured former Screaming Trees members Josh Homme and Mark Pickerel, with Van Conner serving as producer. Gary Lee Conner subsequently released four solo albums between 2016 and 2021. Van Conner subsequently worked on his side project Gardener with Aaron Stauffer, formerly of Seaweed and later of VALIS. In 2001, he contributed to Lanegan's album "Field Songs". He produced and contributed to recordings by several projects, including Kitty Kitty, VALIS and Gardener, as well as Gary Lee Conner's Sub Pop single "Grasshopper's Daydream/Behind the Smile". VALIS released several recordings between 2002 and 2012. Barrett Martin became a touring member of several bands following the breakup of Screaming Trees, including Stone Temple Pilots and R.E.M. He released two solo albums and subsequently contributed drums to Lanegan's album "I'll Take Care of You" and Queens of the Stone Age's album "Rated R". Martin later became the drummer of Tuatara and the drummer and vocalist of The Minus 5. He also played drums on two albums by Brazilian musician Nando Reis, "Para Quando O Arco Irís Encontrar O Pote de Ouro" in 2000, alongside Peter Buck of R.E.M., and "A Letra A" in 2003. In 2019, Martin formed the supergroup Silverlites with Peter Buck, Rich Robinson and Joseph Arthur. The group released its self-titled debut album in 2024. After leaving Screaming Trees in 1991, Mark Pickerel formed Truly with Robert Roth, original Soundgarden bassist Hiro Yamamoto and Chris Quinn. Truly released its debut EP, "Heart and Lungs", in 1991. Quinn subsequently left the band, which continued as a trio and released two studio albums and a compilation before entering a hiatus in 1998. Pickerel also played drums on three of Lanegan's solo albums during the 1990s. He released his debut solo album, "Snake in the Radio", in 2006, followed by three additional solo albums. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_Trees Studio albums Clairvoyance (1986) Even If and Especially When (1987) Invisible Lantern (1988) Buzz Factory (1989) Uncle Anesthesia (1991) Sweet Oblivion (1992) Dust (1996) Last Words: The Final Recordings (2011) ----- Screaming Trees were a British electronic rock band formed in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in the mid-1980s by Mark Swancott and Sean Maloney. The band combined elements of gothic rock, electronic music and industrial music. It released several 12-inch records on Native Records, as well as its only full-length album, "A Fracture in Time", in 1987. The band's early releases included the 12-inch records "Release" and "Beaten By the Ugly Stick" in 1986, followed by "Iron Guru" in 1987. "A Fracture in Time" was released by Native Records in 1987 and was produced by Stephen Singleton, formerly of ABC, and David Lewin. The album featured additional vocals by Mary Ryan, with Maloney performing bass and guitar and Swancott providing vocals, guitar and drum programming. Further releases included the 12-inch records "Asylum" and "Tangiers". The band's music incorporated electronic and industrial elements alongside influences from the British gothic scene. Contemporary and retrospective sources have variously described the group as gothic, electronic and electronic alternative rock, while one retrospective describes its later work as approaching EBM and the Belgian electronic scene. Following the Screaming Trees name, Swancott and Maloney continued working together on electronic music projects including Count Zero, Success and Tocsin. They subsequently released music in styles associated with electronic and techno music. Read more on Last.fm. 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