Screaming Trees… those guys always felt a little different from the rest of the Seattle scene.
They were from Ellensburg, this small town out in the middle of nowhere, and you could kind of hear it in their music. Mark Lanegan had this deep, dark voice that just pulled you right in. I first got into them with Uncle Anesthesia and then Sweet Oblivion really did it for me. That record came out right when things were getting crazy around here, and it still felt like their own world.
I saw them live on October 9th, 1993 at the Capitol Theater in Olympia. It was one of those nights where the band sounded huge but the room still felt intimate. They played a good mix of stuff, including “Nearly Lost You,” and the crowd was really into it. You could tell they weren’t trying to be the next big thing — they were just doing their own thing, like always.
They never got as massive as some of the other bands from Seattle, and I think part of that was because they came from Ellensburg and never really tried to fit into the whole scene. That psychedelic, heavy, almost haunted sound they had was pretty unique. It didn’t sound like anyone else.
The band called it quits back in 2000 after struggling to get another record done. It sucked, but I get it. Mark’s been doing his solo stuff for years now and it’s really good. He’s got that same voice that always drew me in.
These days I still pull out Sweet Oblivion every once in a while, or Dust when I’m in the right mood. Some bands just stick with you even if they didn’t blow up the way others did. Screaming Trees had something special, and I’m glad I got to see them when they were still going.