Screaming Trees Showcasing For Labels At The Viper Room

01/14/2000 12:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(1/14/00, 12 p.m. ET) - Screaming Trees, who've only played two shows together in the last few years, will showcase their latest material at Los Angeles's recently revamped Viper Room next month. The band has scheduled shows on Feb. 3 and 4 at the nightclub, which is owned in part by actor Johnny Depp. Both shows will be opened by Bicycle Thief, the latest band of former Thelonious Monster leader Bob Forrest.

The shows are being staged for prospective record labels to hear new music from the Mark Lanegan-led band, whose biggest hit was the 1992 single "Nearly Lost You" from its album Sweet Oblivion. The tune also showed up on the grunge-heavy soundtrack to the film Singles. Screaming Trees' deal with Sony-owned Epic Records lapsed about two years ago, but it was only this past Friday (Jan. 7) that it finished a new four-track demo CD that will be shopped to prospective labels, according to the band's manager Michael Goldberg.

The band worked on the demo with producer Toby Wright (Korn, Sevendust), as well as former Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme, who now plays with Queens Of The Stone Age. Homme is expected to join the Trees for the Viper Room shows. The four new songs are "Revelator," "Crawlspace," "One Way Conversation," and "Anita Grey," the latter track including extra guitar provided by Homme.

Prior to working on new Trees material, Lanegan has been concentrating on his solo career, and drummer Barrett Martin has been playing with various bands, including R.E.M. and Tuatara. Last year, guitarist Gary Lee Conner released a single, "Grasshopper's Daydream," via Seattle's Sub Pop label. His brother, bassist Van Conner, has been working with several other bands as of late, details of which can be found online at "The Strange World of Van Conner" (www.angelfire.com/wa/VanConner/).

-- Barry Jeckell, New York

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