Gary Lee Conner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lee Gary Conner |
| Born | August 22, 1962 Fort Irwin, California |
| Genres | Grunge, alternative rock, psychedelic rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Labels | Velvetone SST Epic |
Gary Lee Conner (born Lee Gary Conner, August 22, 1962) is an American rock musician, best known as the guitarist for Screaming Trees. [1] [2] [3]
Originally from Ellensburg, Washington, Conner formed the band Explosive Generation with his brother Van Conner and Mark Pickerel in the early 1980s. That band later evolved into Screaming Trees with the addition of singer Mark Lanegan in 1985. [1] The band moved to Seattle in the late 1980s to join that city's burgeoning alternative rock scene. [4] Conner played on seven studio albums with Screaming Trees until the band split in 2000. [1]
Conner released the album Mystery Lane in 1990, under the group name The Purple Outside. [5] During the 1990s he made regular guest appearances on recordings by other alternative rock acts. [6] After the demise of Screaming Trees, Conner retired from music for ten years, and re-emerged with a new band called The Microdot Gnome. That band released the album 4D Sugarcubes in 2010. [7] Starting in 2016 he began releasing albums under his own name, most recently Revelations in Fuzz in 2021. [8]
For his work with Screaming Trees, see Screaming Trees discography .
The Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Einar Örn Benediktsson, Þór Eldon (guitar), Bragi Ólafsson (bass), Margrét "Magga" Örnólfsdóttir (keyboards) and Sigtryggur Baldursson (drums).
Screaming Trees was 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. Screaming Trees became known as one of the pioneers of grunge along with the Melvins, Mudhoney, U-Men, Skin Yard, Soundgarden, Green River, Malfunkshun, among others. Although widely associated with grunge, the band's sound incorporated hard rock and psychedelic elements.
Mark William Lanegan was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins. He released 12 solo studio albums, as well as three collaboration albums with Isobel Campbell and two with Duke Garwood. He was known for his baritone voice, which was described as being "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather" and has been compared to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Nick Cave.
Clairvoyance is the 1986 debut studio album by the alternative rock band Screaming Trees, produced by Steve Fisk. Released on Velvetone Records, the album helped the band earn a contract with SST Records. While it is very much a combination of psychedelic and garage rock, it bears many similarities to early grunge. It was original limited to a pressing of 2,500 copies, which included full size, double sided inserts. In January of 2005, it was re-issued on CD by Hall of Records.
Sweet Oblivion is the sixth studio album by Screaming Trees, released on September 8, 1992. It quickly became the band's best-selling record, and was the closest they ever came to achieving mainstream success. Sweet Oblivion sold in excess of 300,000 copies on the strength of “Nearly Lost You”. The band's biggest hit, “Nearly Lost You” benefited from an appearance on Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, a Top Ten, platinum-selling hit album which featured many other popular Seattle-based music acts from the period.
Uncle Anesthesia is the Screaming Trees' fifth studio album and first full-length album on Epic Records. It was released on January 29, 1991. It includes two of the four tracks from the band's previous Epic release, Something About Today EP (1990). The album, recorded throughout June 1990, was the last to feature drumming by original member Mark Pickerel, who left on amicable terms in 1991 to work in a variety of projects. He was replaced by Barrett Martin.
Even If and Especially When is the second studio album by the Seattle band Screaming Trees, released in 1987. It was their first album released on SST.
Dust is the seventh studio album by Screaming Trees, released on June 25, 1996.
Other Worlds is Screaming Trees' 1985 debut EP. It was produced by Steve Fisk and recorded in 1985 at his studio in Ellensburg, WA. It was released on Velvetone Records later that year as a cassette only release, and distributed by K Records. The album was later re-released on CD and 12" black vinyl by SST Records in 1988.
Invisible Lantern is the third studio album by alternative rock band Screaming Trees, released in 1988 on SST Records.
Buzz Factory is the fourth studio album by Seattle based band the Screaming Trees, released in the spring of 1989. It was their final record for SST Records before they moved on to their major label debut. The LP itself was available on translucent purple vinyl. While touring to support the album, SST had informed that band multiple times that their album would shortly be released. However, this failed to materialize until the last day of the tour, after which they elected to leave SST. Their next recording, the Change Has Come EP, was released in December 1989 on Sub Pop Records.
Change Has Come is the second EP by the Screaming Trees. It was the only recording the band released through Sub Pop. After its 1990 release, the Screaming Trees moved on to a major label, Epic Records, for their next three albums - Uncle Anesthesia, Sweet Oblivion, and Dust, as well as the Something About Today EP. The album's cover art was photographed by Charles Peterson.
Mark Pickerel is an American musician best known as the original drummer for the alternative rock band Screaming Trees. He is also an active session musician and has released several solo albums as a singer/guitarist.
Van Conner was an American rock musician, best known as the bassist for Screaming Trees.
Solomon Grundy was an American Grunge band from Ellensburg, Washington, formed in 1989 by Screaming Trees bassist Van Conner.
"Nearly Lost You" is a song by the American alternative rock group Screaming Trees. It was the first single released in support of their sixth album, Sweet Oblivion. Perhaps their best-known song, it was a moderate success on modern rock radio, partly because of its appearance on the soundtrack to the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles.
The discography of Screaming Trees, an Ellensburg, Washington-based rock band, consists of eight studio albums, three compilation albums, five extended plays (EP), and six singles, though this does not include any solo material recorded by the individual members of Screaming Trees.
"Sworn and Broken" is a song by the American alternative-rock group Screaming Trees. It is the second single released in support of their seventh album, Dust.
Last Words: The Final Recordings is the eighth and final studio album by the American rock band the Screaming Trees. The album itself was recorded two years after their album Dust. Shortly after Dust was released, Epic Records decided to drop the band. However, in the years of 1998 and 1999, the band recorded the album in Pearl Jam's guitarist Stone Gossard's studio. Due to the band's break-up in 2000, and Mark Lanegan's refusal to perform with the band, the album wasn't released for twelve years until drummer Barrett Martin released it on his own label, Sunyata Records. The album received mixed reviews.
"All I Know" is a song by the American alternative rock group Screaming Trees. It is the first single released in support of their seventh album, Dust. The opening echoes "Flying" while the guitar solo lifts from "Do You Feel Like We Do".