Where Ya Been? Grunge Edition: Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney

18 Jul 2006 06:00:00 EDT

Soundgarden guitarist now a virtual recluse; Screaming Trees' battling brothers go their separate ways.
By Gil Kaufman

Soundgarden's Chris Cornell in 1996
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

We couldn't get enough of them. Their songs were our soundtrack, and we laughed, danced, cried and loved along with them. They flashed across our radio and TV burning brightly ... but where have they been lately? As you'll find out in this regular feature, sometimes the stories behind your favorite songs are more interesting than the hits themselves.

Bust out the flannel, three-quarter thermal underwear and Doc Martens, because it's time to look back at the 15th anniversary of the grunge explosion. Though for a time it felt like the buzzed-out, grimy sound would never fade away, the only prominent group that survived the genre's rapid rise and fall intact are Pearl Jam, who recoiled from their initial fame so far that it might just have saved their career ... and, given the list of casualties, even their lives.

Less fortunate were grunge godheads Nirvana, whose meteoric rise to fame was cut short in 1994 with troubled singer Kurt Cobain's suicide, and Alice in Chains, whose frontman, Layne Staley, died of a drug overdose in 2002. After stints with Sweet 75 and Eyes Adrift, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic has retired from music and has taken up the soft-rockin' subject of election reform these days, and of course drummer Dave Grohl has enjoyed more than a decade of success with the Foo Fighters. As for Alice, after main songwriter Jerry Cantrell released two solo albums, AIC reunited for a 2005 show with guest singers, and this year for a U.S. tour with Comes With the Fall vocalist William DuVall (see "Layne Staley Died From Mix Of Heroin, Cocaine, Report Says" and "Alice In Chains Wrap Up String Of U.S. Club Dates In New York"). However, other grunge vets have strayed farther off the radar.

Who: Mudhoney

Biggest hit: "Touch Me, I'm Sick"

Why do I know that name?: Mudhoney helped start grunge and earned tons of respect and admiration from their peers, but came up notably short on large-scale commercial success. The band's explosive and often messy mix of punk and garage rock originated with singer Mark Arm and guitarist Steve Turner in the mid-1980s, when both were in a band called Green River with future Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard. After Arm and Turner hooked up with former Bundle of Hiss drummer Dan Peters and ex-Melvins bassist Matt Lukin, they formed Mudhoney, releasing their first Sub Pop single in 1988, which featured their signature song, "Touch Me, I'm Sick." The band signed to Reprise in 1991 and released its major-label debut, Piece of Cake, the next year. The group released two more Reprise albums before being dropped.

What now?: Lukin split after the band's 1999 tour, and it seemed like the group was history. But the band reformed in 2001 for some U.S. dates with former Steel Wool bassist Steve Dukich replacing Lukin. After Guy Maddison came on board as a full-time bassist later that year, Mudhoney returned to Sub Pop and have since released a pair of acclaimed albums, Since We've Become Translucent and this year's Under a Billion Suns.

Who: Screaming Trees

Biggest hit: "Nearly Lost You"

Why do I know that name?: Though Screaming Trees beat most of their contemporaries in signing to a major label (after stints on indie stalwarts SST and Sub Pop), the group had a less successful go at the big time due to its long-running internal struggles. Formed in the mid-1980s by brothers Van (bass) and Gary Lee Conner (guitar) and brooding singer Mark Lanegan, the band finally hit in 1992 with its album Sweet Oblivion, which featured the swaying hit "Nearly Lost You" — a highlight of "Singles," Cameron Crowe's 1992 grunge time capsule — and the dark ballad "Dollar Bill."

What now?: The Trees officially broke up in 2000 after a concert to celebrate the opening of Seattle's Experience Music Project museum, and it seems unlikely they'll reunite. Lanegan, who recorded several solo albums during and after the group's run, worked extensively with Queens of the Stone Age but has since left that band. He followed with the formation of the Mark Lanegan Band, which issued an EP and an album, Bubblegum, featuring guest spots from PJ Harvey, Josh Homme and former Guns N' Roses members Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin. He also released a well-reviewed collaboration with ex-Belle and Sebastian singer Isobel Campbell called Battle of the Broken Seas. Drummer Barrett Martin (formerly of grunge forebearers Skin Yard) continues to record with the cinematic instrumental band Tuatara, featuring R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, as well as playing on albums by the Minus 5, Therapy?, blues singer Cedell Davis, Queens of the Stone Age and Victoria Williams. He is also pursuing a graduate degree in anthropology at the University of New Mexico as part of his ongoing study of world music. He released his first solo album, The Painted Desert, in 2004. The battling Conner brothers have gone their own ways, with Van playing in the group Valis with the non-ST Conner brother, Pat, as well as the old-school grunge act Musk Ox. Gary Lee has recently relaunched the Web site for his psych-garage band the Purple Outside.

Who: Soundgarden

Biggest hit: "Black Hole Sun"

Why do I know that name?: More metal than straight-up grunge, Soundgarden were the workhorses of the movement — the Led Zeppelin to Nirvana's Beatles. Mixing psychedelic rock with pounding riffs and singer Chris Cornell's glass-shattering wails, the band started out on Sub Pop and quickly progressed to a major-label deal and a string of hit albums such as Superunknown and Down on the Upside. The band broke up in 1997.

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"Dream Wake Up, 'Sex' Burns Marcy Playground"

"Willa Ford Strips Down, Jesse Camp Drops Out"

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'He Got Me To Start Singing': Artists Remember Layne Staley

23 Apr 2002 08:11:00 EDT

Alice in Chains singer was found dead in his home on Friday.
By Joe D'Angelo and Jennifer Vineyard, with additional reporting by Jon Wiederhorn

Layne Staley
Photo: Columbia

While Alice in Chains — whose singer, Layne Staley, was found dead Friday — influenced an incalculable number of bands, perhaps no one echoes their legacy like Godsmack.

From Tony Rambola's jarring bursts of guitar to Sully Erna's angry, impassioned vocal delivery, Godsmack have sonically followed Alice in Chains' lead while adding their own distinctive edge.

To Erna, Staley was more than just part of the grunge foundation on which bands like Godsmack, Creed, Tantric and Puddle of Mudd built their sound. The Alice in Chains singer's raw urgency vaulted the former drummer front and center before one of today's biggest rock bands.

"He was single-handedly the guy that got me to start singing," Erna said. "To this day, I've never really heard a cooler singer. Alice in Chains was the coolest thing to come out since Aerosmith in the early '70s. They just had this persona about them, a cool vibe, very mystical and dark. Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley were the coolest team to me since Joe Perry and Steven Tyler.

"Just the way they addressed their melodies and harmonies, and his vocal style in general was so different from anything that anyone was writing that it was so appealing and attractive that you couldn't help but be influenced by it."

Needless to say, Erna was upset when he heard the news on the radio Saturday (see "Layne Staley, Alice in Chains Singer, Dead At 34"). At the same time, he wasn't that surprised.

"It's sad to say, but it was almost expected for so long," he said. "He disappeared. He hadn't been part of the scene. Everybody knew he was hounding for drugs for so long. It wasn't as shocking as it normally would've been, maybe if it had happened five or 10 years ago, ... but it was pretty upsetting to me. It's just finalizing it. It's the actual reality of when you put on Alice in Chains, you go, 'Wow, this dude is dead. He's no longer with us.' It's pretty spooky."

With Alice in Chains having had such an impact on Godsmack, Erna said it's likely their take on the tragedy will surface on his band's next LP.

"We just got to work on the new album and I haven't even touched lyrics yet, ... but I think once I start digging down and writing lyrics [I'll probably address it.] The one thing that I've always done is stay sincere to my feelings and to real events that have happened to me. It may be a more generalized statement. To me, it was just a waste of talent, and I can't believe that no one could've gotten through to this guy. And maybe that's what I could base a song on: What's the sense? Why?"

Erna wasn't the only artist eager to share his thoughts on the passing of Staley (see " 'An Angry Angel' Layne Staley Remembered By Bandmates, Friends"). Fellow grunge pioneers Pearl Jam issued a collective statement on their official Web site which in part read, "We are heartbroken over the loss of our friend. He will be missed immensely. We feel blessed to have shared life, love and music with him."

Former Screaming Trees/current Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Mark Lanegan, who collaborated with Staley on Mad Season's 1995 LP, Above, and frequently hung out with him while living in Seattle, said he spoke with Staley a few months ago at the singer's home. He sounded distraught while speaking of his late friend.

"I couldn't have been more sad," he said of his initial reaction. "I hoped this day would never come. He was such a lovely guy, like a brother to me. He was just a very smart, very funny, very mischievous guy. So anytime hangin' out with him, there was always a lot of laughter, regardless of what was going on. He was on a different plane, man. His concerns weren't so much about this world. [He was] one of a kind."

Lanegan is believed to be one of only a few people who talked with the reclusive Staley in the months leading up to his death, which may have resulted from a longtime struggle with heroin addiction. Investigators are still working to determine the cause.

"I tried to be a friend to him, which wasn't tough because he was a good friend to me," Lanegan said. "People are going to do what they're going to do, and he lived the way that he wanted."

Seattleite Barrett Martin, the drummer for Screaming Trees and Tuatara who contributed to Mad Season, chose to remember the singer's life rather than his death.

"If we look at his strengths and talents, his gift to us becomes clear: His life was expressed in his words and in his music," Martin said in a statement. "Listen to them! He said a lot in a very short period of time.

"When he was at his peak of greatness, he was awesome to behold. His command of his voice and natural charisma was a very rare combination indeed, and those of us who toured with him and saw him onstage remember the power he held. His unique vocal style has been frequently imitated since the heyday of the Seattle music scene, but none will ever really come close to his mastery. He was most certainly 'a natural,' and one couldn't have imagined a more perfect embodiment of a rock singer."

Although Al Jourgensen wasn't as close to Staley as some, and hadn't been impacted by Alice in Chains' music as much as others, he did have something in common with Staley — addiction. The Ministry frontman remembered that early on Layne seemed on the fast track to an unfortunate demise.

"I sat down and had a talk with him," Jourgensen recalled. "I remember he was really interested in what was being glamorized as this great lifestyle — being a heroin addict. And I remember telling him, 'Man, this is the furthest thing from the f---ing truth.' Movies like 'Pulp Fiction,' where you have Travolta drinking whiskey while shooting up this imported dope — you'd be dead if you even tried that. ... I tried to tell him then, but you could just see the wonderment, the experimentation in his eyes. ... I've been there too. It's not something pretty to watch. He was a talented kid."

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Mark Lanegan Returns To The Stone Age

18 May 2001 08:09:00 EDT

Former Screaming Trees leader joins former bandmate Josh Homme on upcoming album, tour.
By Teri vanHorn

Mark Lanegan
Photo: Chris Strother

Former Screaming Trees leader Mark Lanegan has gone back to the Stone Age, where he plans to stay awhile.

The singer/songwriter, who lent Queens of the Stone Age a hand on their most recent album, Rated R, has been co-writing songs for the band's next effort, some of which feature him on lead vocals. He also plans to accompany Queens on their European tour next month.

"It's a little bit more than what I did with them last time," Lanegan said Friday (May 18). "I'm definitely not the singer in the band. I'm just sorta gonna be one of the guys, part of the circus." Lanegan sang lead on Rated R's "In the Fade," which he co-wrote with Queens singer/guitarist Josh Homme, and contributed background vocals to a few other tracks.

Lanegan and Queens will warm up for the European tour with shows Wednesday and Thursday at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles. Lanegan said he'd join the band to perform a few songs, including a couple of new ones. The shows are billed "Queens of the Stone Age featuring Mark Lanegan." "Basically, I was rehearsing with them for these shows and they asked if I'd do the next record with them," Lanegan said.

"I just like the music," he explained. "They're a great band. It suits me." Lanegan's friendship with Homme goes back to the mid-'90s, when Homme moved to Seattle to play in the Screaming Trees.

Lanegan's work with Queens of the Stone Age has delayed his plans to tour behind his new solo record, Field Songs, until the fall at least, he said.

Released May 8, Field Songs is a lonesome, mainly acoustic collection anchored in blues and folk. Using his weathered voice, Lanegan evokes vivid, often dreamlike imagery to create a haunting immediacy even as he conjures feelings of dislocation and lost hopes.

In the opener, "One Way Street," which Lanegan began writing while driving through Venice, California, at night, he sings, "The stars and the moon aren't where they're supposed to be/ But the strange electric light falls so close to me." Later, in "Kimiko's Dream House," he sings, "To make matters worse/ The trains are on time/ But we're lost at the station/ Still lost in our minds." Lanegan worked with long-time collaborator Mike Johnson (former bassist with Dinosaur Jr) and one-time Soundgarden guitarist Ben Shepherd on the effort, much of which was recorded in original Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan's home studio. McKagan plays drums on the final track, "Fix." Lanegan has also been working on material with former Afghan Whigs leader Greg Dulli. The pair plans to put out an album at some point but hasn't decided on a time frame, he said.

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Screaming Trees Call It Quits

28 Jun 2000 12:15:00 EDT

Screaming Trees "Nearly Lost You"

The Screaming Trees performed their final show together Sunday in Seattle, according to singer Mark Lanegan.

Despite reports from the band earlier this year that they were preparing to record the follow-up to 1996's "Dust," Lanegan said the group broke up several months ago but were offered enough money to re-form for an opening weekend concert celebrating Seattle's Experience Music Project interactive rock museum.

"The other guys have families and other projects to work on," Lanegan said, referring to guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bassist Van Conner, and drummer Barrett Martin. "And I'm working on my fifth solo record. We've only played, like, five shows in the last three years."

Onstage at Memorial Stadium, where the Trees were the premier attraction on a bill featuring other local talent such as Heart's Ann Wilson, Built To Spill, and Queensryche, the group appeared notably dispassionate, not communicating with each other or the lively crowd.

Lanegan, who is known for his introverted stage presence, kept his hands on the microphone and his eyes on the floor for most of the band's flawless set, which featured "Shadow Of The Season" and "Dollar Bill" from their landmark "Sweet Oblivion" album. The singer offered one "thank you" to the crowd, along with a poignant version of the band's biggest hit, "Nearly Lost You."

In contrast to Lanegan's comments, the band's manager, Brian Klein, said Monday that the Trees' status may not be as final as the frontman made it sound.

"It doesn't look like it's an active band at the moment, but you never know," Klein said, adding that the group has several projects in the works.

Sometime in the next few weeks, the Trees will release their first new song in four years, "One Way Conversation," as a free download on the music Web site musicblitz.com, Klein said. Additionally, the band is looking into putting out a compilation that will feature a mix of live and old studio tracks as well as some new songs.

Earlier this year, the Trees sent demos featuring several new songs to labels in hopes of sealing a record deal (see "Screaming Trees Set To Return With Industry Showcase"), but none of the majors bit.

"It's going to take a certain amount of time and money to put together a great record," Klein said. "We just didn't have the resources."

Klein said the group members' other activities had consumed time usually reserved for Screaming Trees. Aside from Lanegan's solo project, Martin plays in R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck's side band, Tuatara; Gary Lee Conner is taking classes; and Van Conner is an active producer and has worked in the tech field.

The men also live in different parts of the country, which Van Conner said in February further complicated plans for making a record. (Van Conner lives in Seattle, Gary Lee Conner lives in New York, Lanegan lives in Los Angeles, and Martin divides his time between Los Angeles and Seattle.)

Since forming in 1983, the Trees have split at several points in their career, with the blame falling on their notorious drinking and fighting. The band was inactive for more than a year following a short tour in the fall of 1998.

"We never broke up," Gary Lee Conner said.

"Yeah, we never officially said, 'We're not doing this anymore,'" Van Conner said. "We were all just doing our own stuff."

Although the Screaming Trees never sold as many records as grunge contemporaries Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, they are considered one of the founding bands of the genre.

The band, named after a guitar distortion pedal, recorded its first album, "Clairvoyance," in 1986 with original drummer Mark Pickerel. After stints on Sub Pop and SST Records, the Trees signed with major label Epic Records in 1990 and released the Chris Cornell/Terry Date-produced "Uncle Anesthesia." It was 1992's "Sweet Oblivion," however, that lifted the band from cult status.

Lanegan released his first solo album, "The Winding Sheet," featuring Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, in 1990. All of the singer's solo projects were critically acclaimed, though Lanegan never talked of leaving the band for a solo career.

Before Sunday's show, Lanegan said his next album would include other Seattle musicians, but he would not reveal names because the record still was in an early stage.

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Screaming Trees Set To Return With Industry Showcase

12 Jan 2000 06:00:00 EST

The Screaming Trees will be replanting themselves in the public eye when the band debuts its new material at the Viper Room in Los Angeles on February 3 and 4.

The group, which consists of singer Mark Lanegan, drummer Barrett Martin, bassist Van Conner, and his brother Gary Lee Conner on guitar, has been in the studio cutting demos with producer Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Korn, Sevendust) with a little help from Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme.

A spokesperson for the Seattle-based band told MTV News that the demos are almost complete and that the tapes will be shopped to labels in a couple of weeks, with the Viper Room dates acting as a music industry showcase.

With the exception of an appearance at the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle in 1998 (see "Third Eye Blind, Live, Eve 6, Screaming Trees Set For Bumbershoot") and a show few days later at the Roxy in Los Angeles, the label-less group has been on hiatus since it wrapped up touring in support of the band's last album for Epic, 1996's "Dust."

Meanwhile, Lanegan continues to work on yet another solo album for the Sub Pop label, this time a CD of originals. His last effort was last year's critically lauded all-covers release, "I'll Take Care Of You."

A management spokesperson for Lanegan also confirms the singer has been writing songs and cutting some demos with former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan, but he cautions that no plans exist for the material.

"They're old friends who get together and jam," says the spokesperson. "It might develop into something, or it might just go away. They're both really busy with their own careers."

The pair recently worked together on a track for the upcoming West Memphis Three benefit album being organized by the Supersuckers (see "Supersuckers Champion Controversial Cause As New Albums Arrive"). The song also features former Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd and ex-Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin.

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Third Eye Blind, Live, Eve 6, Screaming Trees Set For Bumbershoot

28 Aug 1998 12:00:00 EDT

Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins

Third Eye Blind, Eve 6, Harvey Danger, Squirrel Nut Zippers and God Lives Underwater are just a few of the bands that have already firmed-up their Labor Day vacation plans, as those groups will join the over 2,000 other artists and artisans at this year's Bumbershoot Fest, being held in Seattle from September 4-7.

Other groups taking off for the great Northwest next weekend include Live -- making its first appearance since heading into a studio last month to start work on a new record (see "Live To Webcast Recording of New Album"), Fuel, Morcheeba, Mark Eitzel, Sean Lennon, Whiskeytown, Sunny Day Real Estate, Mary Lou Lord, Ozomatli, Yo La Tengo and Cracker, among a host of others.

Another act making a notable appearance at the arts festival -- which got its start back in 1971 -- is the Screaming Trees, whose Labor Day gig marks a "reunion" show of sorts, as the presently label-less band hasn't played live together in almost two years.

Tickets for the four-day event being held at the Seattle Center are available through all Ticketmaster locations for $10/day in advance, $14/day at the door.

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Tuatara To Tour With Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan

1 Jun 1998 12:00:00 EDT

Peter Buck

As Tuatara prepares to release "Trading With the Enemy," its sophomore album of world music-tinged, ethereal pop, the group is planning to embark on a short tour with Screaming Trees vocalist, Mark Lanegan.

Tuatara, whose members include Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Barrett Martin of the Screaming Trees, will kick off the June and July dates with a special June 14 show in Washington, DC, that will be held after the curtain drops on that day's Tibetan Freedom Concert. Buck and Martin, who plays on R.E.M.'s new album, are slated to perform at the Tibetan benefit show the day before at RFK Stadium.

Fans of R.E.M. may also want to keep their eyes on Tuatara's June 19 concert scheduled for Athens, Georgia, which will brings Buck and Martin to R.E.M.'s hometown.

Lanegan's newest solo album, "Scraps at Midnight," arrives in stores on July 21 (see "Screaming Trees Vocalist Finishes Up New Album"), and the vocalist will support Tuatara for the first five dates before re-joining the band for a July 22 show in San Francisco.

Tuatara, which releases "Enemy" on June 23, will end its tour with two sets at this year's WOMAD music festival (see "Tuatara, Joan Osborne, Wilco To Play WOMAD USA") which will also include Bela Fleck and Ravi Shankar.

The dates announced for Tuatara's summer tour:

6/14 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
6/16 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
6/17 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
6/19 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theater
6/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
7/12 - Winter Park, CO @ Music Festival
7/22 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
7/26 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
7/27 - West Hollywood, CA @ House Of Blues
7/30 - Portland, OR @ La Luna
7/31 - Seattle, WA @ WOMAD USA Festival
8/02 - Seattle, WA @ WOMAD USA Festival

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Screaming Trees Vocalist Finishes Up New Album

26 Mar 1998 12:00:00 EST

Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan is finishing up his new as-yet-untitled solo record, which is slated for release July 28.

The album, Lanegan's third solo effort and his first since 1994's "Whiskey For The Holy Ghost," marks a step forward for the singer, whose last major appearance, at a performance during 1997's CMJ music fest, was cut short by technical difficulties and Lanegan's erratic behavior.

Lanegan has been working on the record since the beginning of the year with Paul Soldier, the guitarist for Ten Minute Warning, the band that ex-Guns n' Roses bassist Duff McKagan has returned to (see "Duff McKagan's Ten Minute Warning Wraps Up Recording"), and whose own album is out May 5.

As we previously reported (see "R.E.M. Meets The Screaming Trees"), Trees drummer Barrett Martin has been tapped to play on R.E.M.'s new record. Martin has kept himself busy since the release of the band's last record -- 1996's "Dust" -- by sitting in with other groups such as Tuatara.

Despite the individual band member's dabbling in outside projects, a spokesperson for the group's label said that the Screaming Trees had not broken up, although they probably wouldn't work together until sometime next year.

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R.E.M. Meets The Screaming Trees

1 Dec 1997 04:30:00 EST

December 1 [16:30 EDT] -- Ever since MTV News reported that drummer Bill Berry was departing R.E.M., there has been much speculation about who will take his place.

Though there is no offical replacement named, Screaming Trees drummer, Barrett Martin, will be guesting on the next record in a San Fransisco studio when R.E.M. follows up "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" this February.

Martin plays in the band Tuatara with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. Also guesting on the new album will be guitarist Scott McCaughey, who plays with Buck in the band minus 5.

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Drug Charges Against Screaming Trees Singer Dropped

7 Apr 1997 04:00:00 EDT

April 7 [16:00 EST] -- Drug charges filed against Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan were dismissed during a hearing in San Francisco on Thursday.

The district attorney's office told MTV News that misdemeanor charges of cocaine possession (not heroin possession as previously reported) were dropped because it could not be proven that he was actually in possession of the drug during the March 27 bust.

Associated charges of possessing drug paraphernalia (a pipe and syringe) were also simultaneously dismissed. Another individual in the vicinity was charged instead.

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Screaming Trees - Bed of Roses

21 Jul 2006 12:00:00 EDT

Bed of Roses

Artist: Screaming Trees
Label: Epic
Album: Uncle Anesthesia