Even on first appearance, Screaming Trees had more sense of history, and a load more talent, than the welter of grunge-styled bands formed in the Seattle/Washington area in the mid-1980s. And it s a promise they at last fulfilled with their 1996 masterpiece, Dust.
     
      The group was the creation of heavyweight brothers Gary Lee (guitar) and Van Conner (bass) who found splendid accompaniment in Mark Lanegan (vocals) and Mark Pickerel (drums). At the outset their songs were bar-room travelogues on life and love in the slow lane of rural Ellensburg, redolent of both 70s rock and 60s psychedelia, though their initial musical platform was pure punk rock.
     
      After an inconclusive debut release, Clairvoyance (1986), Screaming Trees switched to SST Records for a trio of releases beginning with Even If And Especially When (1987). Unafraid of introspection, this set the scene for the rest of their 80s output, with songs that dripped with Doors-like grooves and vivid scenarios conveyed menacingly by Lanegan s taught, emphatic delivery. Invisible Lantern (1988) and Buzz Factory... (More SCREAMING TREES Biography)